<Begin Segment 9>

TI: How about, you hear about some of the, what's the right word, the criminal sides of the canneries, the criminal side meaning gambling and things like that. Did you see a lot of that happening?

RO: No, but I know there was gambling.

TI: Because I heard stories of, they would even, there'd be these professional gamblers who would come up to the canneries and try to take the money from the workers, and I'm wondering if you had heard stories like that also.

RO: No.

TI: Now, did the workers ever come into Ketchikan and go to the bars and brothels and things like that?

RO: Well, it was available to them. We used to have a Filipino barber next door, and that was quite a gambling place where a lot of the bachelors that were up in Ketchikan, they had music, just great. Next door and you can, they're playing a lot, too, with instruments.

TI: And when you say the bachelors, were these Filipinos or Japanese?

RO: Filipinos.

TI: Filipinos.

RO: It was sort of their gathering place, the barber shop.

TI: And what was the barbershop's name? Do you remember the name of the barber shop?

RO: Blanco, B-L-A-N-C-O. Right next door to us.

TI: So it was kind of a hangout for a lot of them.

RO: For the bachelors, yeah, Filipino bachelors.

TI: And did the barber have any role with the workers or the canneries?

RO: Blanco was actually a foreman at Ward's, I think it was Ward's Cove. But he was, he was a cannery foreman.

TI: Okay, so he had a lot of power, I guess, 'cause he, again, he'd be one of the ones who would determine where people would work and things like that. Okay. And in, I'm trying to think, so where would the, like for the Japanese workers, who would be the bosses of them, kind of in charge of the crews and things like that? Do you know?

RO: I don't, but they used to always have a foreman. And I'm trying to think of, well, of course, let's see... well, okay, the foreman of the area where I worked was Harry Takagi. He used to be an NVC chairman.

TI: Now, I'm curious, did the Japanese businesses ever cater to the Japanese workers, like with special foods or, or activities or goods or anything like that?

RO: As far as I can remember, I don't think they came into town that often, because they had their sleeping quarters and dining room out at the cannery.

TI: Okay. Good, that's interesting. It's just interesting to get your perspective, from the local's perspective because I hear the stories of people going up there, working, then coming back. And they talk about the long hours and...

RO: Exactly.

TI: And here you see these waves of workers coming up to Ketchikan, working, then leaving.

<End Segment 9> - Copyright © 2011 Densho. All Rights Reserved.