<Begin Segment 6>

[Ed. note: This transcript has been edited by the narrator]

TI: I want to go back to your, now that we have sort of the kids, and the grocery business started in 1923, I want to go back a little bit to your mother, thinking of her upbringing, her education. I'm guessing that it was hard for her to all of a sudden have young children work in something as difficult as the grocery business, which I imagine she helped out also. And with her upbringing, did you ever get a sense that she struggled with this?

SA: Oh, she hated it, she hated it. Because merchants were actually, in that era, thought of as under the farmers (in status). It was the lowest, actually, on the status rank. She was very upset, and she kind of maintained that to the end. And it was kind of (sad), we always said, "Why can't she just realize that in America we're all equal?" But it never has gotten through, as you know. I was quite astounded at that part, she held firm. And so actually, we all worked in the store, and she was a great asset to my father because she could run the store. I don't think an ordinary person could. Because he was (up), from early morning he'd wake up at four-thirty (a.m.), he didn't get to bed 'til midnight, and he's up at four-thirty to go down to what we called Western Avenue, which actually runs into Pike Market. And the produce he bought there, he was quite fortunate in that the store we bought, (had) a balcony. The store is now Tai Tung, by the way, and there was a balcony there. And Mr. Kawamura used that as his office, and he actually had an express (...) service. He (owned) a big truck in which he had put on these heavy ropes, so there was a big enough area on that (truck) so that my father could buy a lot of the produce. And (my dad) bought for three other (grocery) stores besides ours. It helped in that we could get quantity sales. And so what he would do is go down and pick out all the produce for Tanagis, (...) his own grocery, but for the Teshirogis, the Tada family, (and the Satos).

TI: You're talking about Mr. Kawamura did this, or your father?

SA: My father would buy the produce, Mr. Kawamura would pick it up with his truck.

TI: I see.

SA: And (he) would bring it to our store. And besides, my father could communicate in English, which wasn't (great, but) it's broken English, of course, but enough to be understood. And the others couldn't, the other Isseis.

TI: And that was useful because, was there quite a bit of negotiation for the produce?

SA: Oh, it would help, you could buy in quantity, you could cut the price. I don't think he had that in mind, but he was asked by the others to please do the buying. And so he purchased, like I said, for the Teshirogis, (the Tadas, and) the Sato family, too (...).

TI: And so Mr. Kawamura's office was in the same building as your father's?

SA: Well, (yes), we were renting it to him, we were also leasing (the store). As you know, (Japanese Isseis) couldn't buy (any land or property) at that time. And so Mr. Kawamura had his desk and everything and his office on the balcony. But then the truck is parked in front of our store, our grocery store. But it really helped us out, and it worked for him, too, because he knew we would always pay him.

TI: And so while your father was out there buying the groceries, helping probably to deliver to the other stores...

SA: Well, that is it. He would (wait) until my father was -- he didn't go with him, my father walked down to Western. I don't know how he did that, it's quite a walk. And then he would purchase it and (he'd) leave it there, and he would tell Mr. Kawamura and he would go and (...) pick it up. So they would bring it to our store and then the others would converge on our store and pick it up because we didn't have a car and (some) did, (or Mr. Kawamura could deliver it).

TI: Good. And then while this was going on, what was your mother doing?

SA: Well, she was opening up the store and we were running it, you know, from eight o'clock in the morning. And we all worked it because we took turns eating. Someone had to be (in the store) front. And we did quite well for the times, from 1925 to 1929 when the Depression year started. Because I remember after I was grown that one of the fellows I met in camp said he remembered me from when I was about seven, and I said -- I had not known him -- but he said he walked into the store one day and a voice said, "Can I help you?" And he looked around and he couldn't see anybody, and he said my head was just above the counter. [Laughs] And I thought, "Wow, it's remarkable." But I do remember that after I came home from school, elementary, I was in the store. We had to take turns, so we all ate at different times.

<End Segment 6> - Copyright © 2008 Densho. All Rights Reserved.