<Begin Segment 11>

TI: And where would your father sell his produce?

TO: Well, at first, because we had no truck, there was a guy that used to come around and pick up the, on a certain day we had no telephone, so he just, certain days would come to pick up the vegetables and sell it. And a guy named, I think a Yamada that was in Kent then was in the wholesale produce business and he's send a truck out and then pick up our lettuce and vegetables and sell it on commission, I think. And I could distinctly recall he wouldn't come pick it up from those days. And so I had to get on the bike and go up to the store about a couple miles away to call them. They said, "Well, we got too much lettuce, we can't sell it, so there's no use us coming to pick it up. So then I don't know what my dad was, all crated and ready to go. But I think we just had to dump it if I recall. And I think my mom was a pretty strong lady, woman. 'Cause those lettuce crates were pretty heavy. And she'd be boxing 'em and then she'd carry 'em out to the road. And wow, thinking about those days and her, she had to be real strong to do that. But that was, later on, my dad was able to buy a truck, and he couldn't drive. And I had just, I think I was still fifteen years old when I was driving that truck, he'd sell a lot of his produce here at the Pike Place Market. So I'd, before school, I was going to Kent junior high school by then. He'd, I'd drive him into town with a load of vegetables to (Pike Place Farmers Market) and then I'd dump them off and then I'd go back to school. And in the evening I'd go back to school again.

TI: So you would have to wake up pretty early to do this. Probably it was still dark and just drive into the city?

TO: Yeah, yeah.

TI: And he would then just rent a stall to sell the produce?

TO: Right, uh-huh. Yeah.

TI: And when you would go pick him up, generally, did, would he have sold all the produce?

TO: Not... I don't recall. But yeah, he sold most of because I think... of course, towards the end of the day you lower your prices, so you're practically giving it away so you don't have to take it back. But I don't recall having to bring too much stuff back, unless it was something that would keep like leeks or onions, they would keep. But lettuce and stuff, there's no use bringing it back. So I think he practically gave it away, I'm not sure how he did it.

TI: And describe what you could recall about the community at the Pike Place Market amongst the farmers who did the stalls. I mean, what was that like?

TI: Well, it was kind of an interesting... I recall there was quite a few Italian farmers that were there, and I don't recall any animosity or anything between the Italians and the Japanese farmers. They all seemed to get along pretty good, joking with each other and things like that. I think there was, one Italian farmer, during the pickling season, he'd be selling pickles for pickling. And he'd have, you know, a whole table, and he'd be selling it like mad. And my dad thought, well, maybe he should try raising pickles. But for some reason, that particular place we were farming didn't raise a good pickle or cucumbers like other places. So he kind of gave that up. But I distinctly recall that.

TI: But I'm thinking, when you got there early in the morning, there must have been lots of farmers unloading and doing that.

TO: Oh, yes.

TI: Do you recall how your dad was assigned a certain stall? How would that...

TO: I don't recall exactly how that was. I think it was, they drew numbers if I'm not mistaken, ahead of time. So if he didn't have a good table, he wouldn't go to market. I think that's the way it was, because some, he wouldn't go all the time. Of course, the real bonus, like on a Saturday, if you got a good table, then that was a big thing for him. But I think it was by drawing. I'm not really sure how they worked that.

TI: Now, like on a Saturday when you didn't have school, did you often stay down there and help?

TO: Yeah, definitely.

TI: And when you were down there on a Saturday, who would be the customers?

TO: Anybody that came to the market. I don't recall any distinctive ethnic group or anything, anyway, that came along and bought the produce. I remember at that time, the metal tables they had, people were allowed to put boards up to make it more distinct, those slanted boards that you put right on the tables, those metal tables. And I remember some of those... and those customers were able to pick out the vegetables they wanted and then they'd hand it to the clerk or whoever was selling it. And oftentimes they would put that under the table and pick up something and throw it in the bag and sell it. I'd never seen people do that. My dad never did that, "That's wrong," he said. But I thought that was one of the things I distinctly remember. So I think later on, they wouldn't allow that anymore. But in the old days, they used to have boards that, their own boards that they used to put up on the tables and kind of slant it to make it a better display. And, of course, one person will do it and the person next stall, they'd have to do the same thing. Because a flat table isn't as nice as a slanted table.

TI: So there was all these little tricks that they would do to help sell the produce.

TO: Yes.

TI: Like setting prices for your produce, how would you do that?

TO: I don't really recall. There was a guy in the, older Nisei that would come around. He was kind of a sign painter. And they used these paper bags and put the price on, you know, put that bag on a stick and you put it into your produce yourself. But he would put down the price, so I don't know if he was the one that set the price. I imagine he knew about what everything was selling for so he would be up on that. But he would be a sign painter. I don't know how much he charged. I don't remember his name, but I distinctly remember the guy coming around. He was a nice, typical sign painter that would just mark each one of these bags.

TI: And then would you pay the sign painter with money or with produce?

TO: Money, I'm sure, it was money. I don't think he'd want produce. [Laughs]

TI: Any other stories from the market?

TO: Well, I remember that being a, growing up in the country, and very seldom we ever went to a restaurant, but for lunch we'd go to a, we'd get to go to a restaurant. Of course, I would go and then my dad would go. Boy, that restaurant was a real, real treat to go to a restaurant to eat something. We never, never ate at one.

TI: What would be an example of...

TO: I think for some reason, link sausage was really a treat, and hamburger, you know. Because we very seldom ate hamburger at home for some reason. We ate a lot of fish at home, but maybe Mom wasn't into hamburger back then. But those were treats.

TI: And when you made those long drives from the farm into town with your father, do you recall any conversations during those times?

TO: I don't recall. No, definitely, I don't think my dad was, you know, a small talker. If he had something to say, he'd say it and that was it, yeah.

TI: So pretty quiet, just back and forth.

TO: Yeah. Of course, in those days, you know, the trucks were a little noisier than cars and trucks now. But I don't, he wasn't a small talker. Like I said, if he had something to say, he'd say it, and that was about it.

<End Segment 11> - Copyright © 2009 Densho. All Rights Reserved.