<Begin Segment 9>

TI: Growing up, I'm trying to think of some other maybe memories you have like, for instance, did you ever have any, like, part-time jobs, besides helping the family business or things like that? Were there any other jobs that you did growing up?

TK: It seemed like I did. Oh, bathtub. I was cleaning bathtubs for Mr. Ito. Mr. Ito was the president of the Japanese Association. And he had a bath, laundry, barbershop, and a laundry, and he had about four baths down in the basement where people from outside could come and take a bath on Saturday night. I don't think that happens anymore. But these loggers and workers come in. And I got a dollar a day for cleaning the bathtubs after each bath, each person take a bath, he'd go and then I'd clean the bathtub out for the next person. I got a dollar a day for that.

TI: So on Saturday nights you would go down there.

TK: Yeah.

TI: And as people would finish, you'd have to clean the bathtub.

TK: Clean the bathtub out.

TI: So describe that. How would you clean the bathtub? So you'd have to drain the water, or explain the whole process.

TK: As far as I can remember, we just get the rag, put the cleanser on it and the ring around the tub, you just clean that off. And then rinse it out, that's all. And then put the plug in and start the water for the next fellow. That was my job.

TI: Now was it like a public bathhouse where the bathtubs were next to each other, or did each one have their own separate room?

TK: No, it was, well, it's a wall between each bathtub. But it was one big room, but partition between each bathtub.

TI: Now were these, when you say workers came in, were these Japanese workers?

TK: Far as I know, they were all hakujins, Caucasians. Far as I can remember.

TI: And so, they came to the place, you mentioned barbershops. So they'd get their hair cut or something and then take a bath?

TK: Yeah, I think so. As far as I can remember that.

TI: And how many of these barbershops were around? Were there quite a few of these?

TK: Oh gosh, there must have been, gee, maybe half a dozen, dozen maybe, I don't know. Jim Yoshida, he's the famous war hero, World War II, his folks had a barbershop there. And I remember that one was, another one, I can't remember their name, they was right below our Tourist Hotel. There was one there, then on Main Street, there's all kinds. Uji was a very popular one that all the, we used to go to that. After my folks quit, I used to go there. And Suto, that's another one. Then there's... oh there's several more, I can't remember.

TI: And about how old were you when you were cleaning bathtubs?

TK: I think I was about, gee, I might have been about ten maybe.

TI: Sounds like an interesting job. How about some other jobs that you can remember, as you got maybe older? What were some other jobs?

TK: Gosh. I worked at Pike Place Market a few times on trimming lettuce for a Saturday.

TI: So describe that. I'm interested in, so this is, Pike Place Market is a farmer's market in Seattle. And so they have these individual stalls and so is it there that you would...

TK: Yeah, they would rent the stall for one day, Saturday. And maybe they were there all week, I don't know, but I just went on a Saturday. I was cleaning lettuce. I didn't think they could sell that much lettuce, all day long, just trimming the lettuce, so they could sell it. They keep coming, they keep coming. But I just did it once or twice, that's all.

TI: And how would you get a job like that? Who was the farmer that you worked with? Or how did you get that job?

TK: I don't know. My aunt said to come on down and help. So I went down to help. I think I went about two or three times, that was all.

<End Segment 9> - Copyright © 2008 Densho. All Rights Reserved.