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AI: Well, so in the meantime...

TM: And at that time... oh, you mean...

AI: Well, what was your father doing in the meantime?

TM: That time father started working in the Barneston sawmill.

AI: He had left Hawaii, long time ago, and...

TM: Yeah. Well... and now have to go back to my father's. And Father is, after me and Mother went back to Japan, he heard from somebody, big recruit from mainland and work in the some railroad, some in fishing cannery in Alaska. That's big money. Nothing like a dollar a day. That's big money. I guess Dad thought, "Maybe I better go to the mainland." So he quit that small farm. Then he went that recruit person to come to this country. And what he went is a railroad group. Well, I think a little trouble on the boat. I don't know what the boat. Anyway, I think around 400 people or so in the boat and the boat can't leave the Hawaii. I don't know, some, some trouble was there. Well, finally, long time is hung up in dock and finally sailed. And boat is came to Victoria or Vancouver. I think it was Victoria, B.C. and then change boat. Then this boat came to Tacoma. Then he thought maybe get off here, but no. It's Tacoma, one night then come back to Seattle and start unloading, unloading in Seattle. And that is Great Northern Railroad was just pulling in and so they need lots of labor. I guess, well, we came to the place where they are looking for. This is America. And I guess the, get off from boat and some people they really rush, rush, rush going to the train. And my dad is, "Oh well, long as we came here, you don't have to rush. They pick up." He said he was very much of the last, last bunch to get on the train. Well, then train then they start and pretty soon just stop and they cut bottom car off then the train go. Well, that's how it is. That's why the guy from get on the train late, they don't go too far. He said -- I'm thinking now he said must have been around University of Washington someplace.

AI: Where he got off.

TM: Yeah, got off there. Get on rush, rush in, and right on the first part, they went far as Montana.

AI: All the way to Montana?

TM: Yeah. "That time I was pretty smart to get on the last so I didn't have to go to Montana." [Laughs] I think he work railroad. I don't know how many years, one year or so. I think. One place to another, change him around. Then I think you start working, they talk, and you get friend. Then friend get some news then they usually change job when you are young. I guess work in the sawmill here and there. Then around 1907 or so he work for Mr. Hisajima. He was Kumamoto-ken, too. And he said, "I have a farm in Vashon Island. How about you work for me?" So I guess Dad went to the Vashon Island and worked for him. "By gosh, I gonna start a farm myself." He start strawberry farm and he rented a five acre or so land and then start strawberry, strawberry farm. Well, strawberry, the main, real crop, start about three years after. Second year, a little bit you get crop. And third year, finally you start very good crop. Well, just about crop start to come, the Depression hit that time. Pretty bad one, too. President was Mr. Taft. He was 1908, I think, he came in. So in 1910 really was bad and they can't even sell the strawberry at Bellevue. All over, strawberry farmer is everyone broke that time. So my father broke. Then moved to -- oh, no, no, no, no. He start farm then he found out how hard is farming is, single man. Single man, how hard it is. So he thought he have to find a wife. Well, so those days, just around that time, lots of those shashin kekkon. And so my dad said, "I like to have some wife and help my farm." Meantime, one lady was this country before, and she went back around that time, I think, to Japan and ask him to want -- I mean, her, ask her to find the woman. "I like to get married." So she, she found my stepmother. That lady, "shashin kekkon is all right", but just Mrs. Matsumoto is real nakadachi, you know. She is the one that said us. [Ed. note: "nakadachi" indicates that Mrs. Matsumoto was "in the middle", assisting with the matchmaking.] Another thing is my stepmother's dad, he was one time in California so he understand what America look like. I guess he said that's all right. That's right. She came to this country and joined my dad. That's around 1911, I think. Then that Depression and strawberry farms all broke. You know, those day small island, Vashon there was about one hundred Japanese were there farming. That's what my dad said.

AI: That's quite a few.

TM: Yeah, quite a few. So my dad went to Barneston to work in the sawmill.

<End Segment 5> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.