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AA: And then one summer I worked on a yacht. This family by the name of Griffith had a yacht that was 129 feet long, and it was moored at the Seattle Yacht Club. And I was a waiter and dishwasher and deckhand. And we used to cruise up and down the British Columbia.

TI: So that Inside Passage...

AA: Inside Passage.

TI: ...next to Vancouver Island.

AA: Yes, north. That was quite an experience.

TI: That seems a lot easier than working as a farmhand. [Laughs]

AA: Well, not really. [Laughs]

TI: Not really? So what did you have to do as, tell me about the work on a yacht, what was that like?

AA: Oh, I'd have to get up early in the morning, and they wanted, I still remember having, they used to have about fifteen guests aboard, and used to have to help the cook prepare breakfast. And then I'd have, I'd be the waiter, and wait on the tables, and then afterwards I'd have to clean up, wash all those dishes. And I couldn't get over the fact that they used so many dishes and utensils. [Laughs] At home, we had just a plate and knife and forks, they had all kinds of things. I had a mountain of dishes to wash. And we didn't have a dishwasher on board. And then I'd have to clean up, and I had to go back and clean up the cabins. And then late at night, they'd have, they'd have their drinks, they'd be playing cards, and I'd have to, they wanted ice or mixers, I'd have to help wait on them 'til late at night, then I'd have to get up early in the morning. So I didn't get that much sleep. I was working fourteen, fifteen hours a day.

TI: And what happened when the ship wasn't out sailing? Would you still work, or would you...

AA: We were, the ship was out about half the time, and the other half we were down at the Seattle Yacht Club. And I'd go there every day and clean up and do a lot of work on the ship. There's a lot of work, varnishing, scraping and painting, doing things like that.

TI: So I'm curious, how did you get this job?

AA: Oh, my uncle Jim Sakamoto knew Stanley Griffith, the son of the owner. (James) Griffith, I believe, was a member of the Press Club -- I don't know how, why -- but Jim Sakamoto knew him, so Stanley asked Jim if he knew anybody that wanted to work on a yacht. That's how he got the job. The pay was a little better than the farm because I was able to get tips in addition to my salary.

<End Segment 11> - Copyright © 2008 Densho. All Rights Reserved.