Densho Digital Archive
Densho Visual History Collection
Title: Robert T. Ohashi Interview
Narrator: Robert T. Ohashi
Interviewer: Tom Ikeda
Location: Seattle, Washington
Date: June 29, 2011
Densho ID: denshovh-orobert_2-01-0002

<Begin Segment 2>

RO: So explain to me how your father now meets your mother.

RO: I'm not sure how that actually worked, but he went back to Japan to pick up my mother, and that was about 1924 somewhere.

TI: Okay, so around 1922 he goes back.

RO: Yeah.

TI: And how, do you know how he met your mother? Like how was that sort of, I guess, arranged in terms of your mother and father?

RO: I don't think it was an arranged marriage. See, a lot of that older stuff I'm not really familiar with.

TI: That's okay. I'm just getting some just general background information, so don't worry about not knowing all this.

RO: Sure. That's okay.

TI: So, but he goes back to Japan, gets married to your mother, and then they return to Ketchikan. And what, what does he do in Ketchikan? Does he continue working for your father?

RO: Exactly. Yes.

TI: And tell me, you said initially your father, your grandfather had a restaurant, but then that was the early days and he changed businesses, so tell me what you know about the different businesses or what he did after the restaurant.

RO: Well, like this photograph, that, you know, the storefront looks just like that today. [Holds up photo]

TI: So you're doing this photograph, and this is a, it's called the George Ohashi Store? Grocery store?

RO: That was from the old days, that photograph, but the storefront is the same.

TI: So that, that store is still in Ketchikan.

RO: That store, we, the family sold it, but it's being renovated to be a historic site, 1908.

TI: Oh, cool. So that's so neat that your, your sort of descendants, I mean, generations later, will probably be able to go up to Ketchikan and it'll be up there.

RO: (Yes). It'll be there, I'm sure.

TI: Now when they renovate it, will there be any pictures of when your dad owned it? I mean, when they're historically preserving it, is it about, are they gonna include that history of it being owned by --

RO: I'm sure they'll have a history, but I'm not that familiar with it.

TI: That's interesting. I'm gonna have to go up there and find out what they're doing.

RO: Really? You'll see Creek Street. [Laughs]

TI: Okay, so we'll talk about Creek Street a little bit later. I want to be sure I get this. So before we go to your childhood and Ketchikan, why don't you tell me, first, what was your father's name?

RO: Buck, B-U-C-K, Wakaichi.

TI: Wakaichi.

RO: Ohashi.

TI: And then your mother's name?

RO: Komatsu Saito.

TI: And siblings, so can you tell me your brothers and sisters?

RO: Yes. I was the oldest. Next was Hope, then Neil, then Edward, and Paul.

TI: So four boys, one girl? Okay, good.

<End Segment 2> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.