Densho Digital Repository
Densho Visual History Collection
Title: Norm Hayashi Interview
Narrator: Norm Hayashi
Interviewer: Virginia Yamada
Location: Emeryville, California
Date: March 12, 2019
Densho ID: ddr-densho-1000-468-11

<Begin Segment 11>

VY: Let's see. Okay, so let's go back to the nursery and... so you, originally you were saying that you weren't considering going into the nursery business. Your mom passed away, it sounds like you had a pretty good relationship with your mom.

NH: Yes.

VY: Do you want to talk about that, about what your relationship with your mom was like?

NH: Yeah, she was the human side. She was a bubbly personality, apparently very popular when she was young, very pretty lady. And she always had kind of an adventure side to her, she would read about other cultures, and she always said when my dad retired, they were going to rent a trailer and go around. And then a lot of times she was sick but she was gutsy, try to do things while she was sick. And one of the things in particular, we were, getting out of camp we didn't have too much money, I guess. They couldn't afford a Christmas tree, my mom made a Christmas tree.

VY: She made a Christmas tree?

NH: Yeah, well, she made something conical and put decorations on it and everything like that. Then one other Christmas she had like a treasure hunt, made three maps for three of the boys at that time. Made our shirts, sometimes made our shirts.

VY: That's right, because you said she went to design school?

NH: Yeah, making clothes and stuff.

VY: It sounds like she was a very strong and creative and talented woman.

NH: She wasn't bossy or anything like that, it's mostly guidance about her.

VY: And she raised all you kids while she was in camp pretty much by herself.

NH: Uh-huh.

VY: And you were the oldest. Even though you were very young at the time, you were the oldest. Do you feel like you had a close relationship with her, more so than your other siblings?

NH: Maybe because I was the oldest, I had more time with her. And that's interesting, I always felt this sense of responsibility for my two brothers. I don't know where it came from, they never said, "Make sure you do this," I just felt it. And whenever we found things like extra money or things, I always knew I had to split it three ways, and I never got the big share, then the other two, somebody gets it. It's just a sense of responsibility growing up all the time. And we used to go all over (to explore and play). When I think about that, we had kids, I wouldn't send them all over like I did.

VY: Where would you go?

NH: Well, like the nursery, we'd go to, almost to the coliseum area, walk all that way.

VY: So how far is that?

NH: It's one, two, three miles, I'd say, offhand. Of course, the neighborhood and everything, that was relatively safe for kids. And we'd pick up bottles and redeem it at the store and get the pennies for candy and all that kind of stuff. One time I remember I had enough sense, we're going up somewhere, Oakland Hills, and we got lost and it was downpouring, rain, and it started to get dark. But I had enough sense to go to a house that had a porch light on, knocked on the door, says, "We're lost. Could you call my parents?" They invited us in to dry off, said, "No, that's okay." And my dad came.

VY: How old were you?

NH: Had to be the sixth grade, fifth grade, maybe.

VY: And who was with you? Was it your friends?

NH: My two brothers.

VY: Two brothers.

NH: And another neighborhood friend. Just crazy things. [Laughs]

VY: And the family that answered the door, were they surprised to see you at their door?

NH: Yeah. But we were all there soaking wet. We weren't prepared for the rain at all.

VY: Did you remember any other things like that that you did with your brothers?

NH: (Like) skateboarding. We got skates for Christmas one time, and then I built a little, you lie down, (nail) skates on a board. But we got bawled out by (neighbors), they got tired of (us) on the sidewalk making that noise, going around the whole block. Wait a minute, city blocks were long that time.

VY: How has everything changed over time? Because it sounds like you had a lot of territory to cover, but it's probably built up more now?

NH: Yeah, you mean territory, you cover...

VY: Yeah, like geographically, have things changed? Because you're talking about, that was in your neighborhood, right? How have things changed in your neighborhood that you grew up in?

NH: Nothing, no nurseries there now, it's all crowded. The ethnic group is different now in Oakland.

VY: So what was it more like then and how has it changed? What is it like now?

NH: Oh, just too many cars. You don't know anybody, that's what I would assume now.

<End Segment 11> - Copyright © 2019 Densho. All Rights Reserved.