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TI: So where did this sense of community or sharing come from? I mean, you could have gone the other way and said, "You know what? I have more and I'm gonna get more," and just go, go, go. But through your actions, you've been very generous sharing, volunteering. Where does that come from?

JY: Well, I think it comes from, come to Japantown, buy groceries and this and that. And then go to the church area there, here you have people walking around there, homeless people, actually. I was reading the, some of the reports, there were approximately three to four hundred people living at the church at one time.

TI: Right. So there's all these areas where they need help...

JY: Hostels, yeah.

TI: But I'm thinking of you personally, this value of helping others. Where did that value come from of realizing, "Okay, so I need to share what I have, I need to help, I need to volunteer." Where did that value come from?

JY: I think, not, at the time, at the point where I think I myself... I know I've talked about it before, I went to school, high school to be a carpenter. And then because the union didn't allow no Asians in the carpenters union, so I couldn't get a job because that way, I looked different. That's really, made me realize that as long as I look different, it's a challenge for me to change that. And then I came back in June of '46, and soon as I come back, one of the union halls was given my card, and they just kicked me out as fast as I went in. But I went back on my own myself to see if I can change it. And finally in mid-August, they said, "Jimi, okay, you go get a job in a union shop, we'll give you a card." That's when I said, "That's fair enough." So I went down the street and got a job at a union shop, they gave me, they said, "Okay, Jimi, you get your job, you come back and get your card, you'll be a union member." And from there, I didn't know at the time, but... I knew quite a bit, but lot of the Niseis, while they're in camp, they did construction work, right? Maintenance work and this and that, they learned how to do things pretty well. And they worked to join the carpenters union. Never had no experience previously except went to camp for four years, they come out, hey, I was able to help all those guys. There are four or five guys I knew personally, they all got a union card, they went out and got a journeyman's pay. I said, "Boy, I thought I did a real favor to a lot of guys to help them out." That's where I felt real good at the time.

TI: So let me make sure I understand this. So it's almost like when you were treated fairly, that changed you. That sense of being treated fairly, you, by that happening to you and the others who were in camp with the carpenters unit, that in some ways saw, to you, the value of this more equal treatment.

JY: Yeah. Because after that, I went to Los Angeles, I worked for a short time in Los Angeles, not enough work here. And I called two or three of my fellows that worked with me in camp, "Come and work with us." So those three lived different places, we jumped on the car and we used to go to work. At least those three guys got carpenters wages, all the experience was in camp, carpenter work, that was enough. I mean, the basic... and so I thought that's the way to go. As much as I can help people... I think by being bitter and sore all the time, it doesn't pay. It paid off. Lot of times, sure, when I was in business, it was hard, hardship. You're fighting obstacles constantly, but as many times there was lot of rewards come indirectly through being nice to people, being fair and square, I think, regardless of who they are.

I think the biggest time in my life that, when I really found out to be even square, regardless of who they are, I did this Great America, it's a park out there, you know. I'll just kind of give you backtrack, a job there, a friend of mine says, "There's a job for you if you want it at Great America." Okay. So it was 1974, I was on the road up to then. Then went to apply for a job, said, "Sure." That's what I did, and then, okay. So they gave me a job, and right away they gave me a job as a foreman to do all the trim work, the finish work, the doors and windows and all, many other things I have to do. And I was the only Japanese there working, and I was the foreman. So the hakujin guys would give me a bad time, oh, they really chewed me out, you know. Anything to make me miserable. I was the only guy with the name "Foreman." The rest of the guys was "assistant superintendent," "project this and that." These guys can have all that, I don't care. I'll do my job. I had about two hundred guys working under me during that job. And anyway, as time went along, the job was getting close to be finished, so end of 1975, the job, everybody got fired. Everybody got the walking papers. I got my, secretaries, everybody else. So next day, I went to see Al Larson, was the project manager. Says, "Hey, Al, says, we're not done yet. How you gonna finish this project?" Because they had to bring on the maintenance crew, and then the operations crew, and they were union, not union, and the construction part was union. And the construction division was part of Marriott corporation that was doing the job. So they couldn't have one part of the company union, one part of the company non-union. So the union guy says, "Either you be all union or you be non-union." So everybody was fired, no union guys on jobs were here, the so-called operational people would come on the project. Because Easter of that, '76, that's the day of opening. And talked about this and that, they all says, "Jimi, you got your contractor's license?" I says, "Yeah." "Then you got the job if you can finish this project."

TI: So that would be a non-union...

JY: Yeah. I'm the union, but I'm an outsider. I'm not part of the Marriott corporation, I'm an entirely divorced company working for --

[Interruption]

TI: So what we were talking about is, you're just talking about how after the construction, you were now going to be the contractor for the, more operational, the main --

JY: Yeah, operational. You know, right along as I did the job, I had to make a budget, I had to estimate the job and so forth. But my estimates were coming out pretty close according what I had, so much part of the money. It was a thirty-three million dollar project, and I had eight million of it myself. My department had eight million. But I was able to live within the eight million, I guess, maybe that's where Al Larson saw me. But anyway, I finished the project up and naturally they guys gave me a bad time, I just give them a bad time. "Forget you guys, I'm not gonna hire none of you guys." [Laughs] But I finished the job and opened up Easter Sunday. I think at the time, I was fair to everybody. Al Larson saw that, sure, we had, there was approximately four to five hundred men working at one time on the project there, and we're part of the organization to work, and I never made any fuss, I never made any, give 'em a bad time. Sure, I give 'em bad time as a construction schedule, but actually among the workers themselves, everybody was happy. So I think he saw that I was doing a fair job with everybody.

TI: So that's a good story that shows not only being fair is the right thing to do, it feels good, but it's also served you well in terms of your work experience. By being fair, that's helped other people see that and helped promote you.

JY: Yeah, that's the thing. Sure, I got, being Japanese, you get shot down lot of times in construction work, and it gets to be a big hassle, but then again, long as you're fair, I mean, sure you get mad at somebody, but you give 'em a square deal, they'll come back. I have no problem. So that's what my life was all about.

<End Segment 3> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.