<Begin Segment 8>

AI: Well, can you tell me a little bit about his successful times in business? What he was doing at that time when you were in high school?

KO: Well, I think what success he had was that he was able to run a business for awhile. But, like a lot of people without real formal education of any kind -- he must have come over here when he was a young kid -- he just could not hack running a business. So, I don't think you could say that what he did was successful in any way. We're just thankful that he was able to take care of us during those years. That's --

AI: He made a living.

KO: That's right.

AI: And did he continue mainly doing export business, during the time you were in high school? Was that...

KO: Well that was part of it. But as I said, he would have things going for awhile, and then he'd -- he could always find a job, because he was so... knew a lot about the lumbering business. And so, he was never out of work, but...

AI: Sometimes he had to piece things together.

KO: That's right. There was some lean times, too. As there were for many people back in those days.

AI: So when he did do his exporting business, was that connected to the lumber business also? Was he exporting lumber, or trees or...?

KO: Yeah, just lumber. Yeah, just logs.

AI: Logs?

KO: Yes. Yeah, he'd go out and buy logs, and then bring 'em in and load 'em onto the ships that would come into Raymond.

AI: And was that mostly exporting to Japan? Or other countries as well?

KO: That's right, exporting to Japan. 'Course, what happened was that just in that period before the war, things got pretty sticky. So, he just couldn't stay in that business. And so he was, as I said, he was ended up working in a lumberyard. I mean, in a sawmill.

AI: Right, because apparently there were quite a few restrictions being put on business with Japan.

KO: That's right.

AI: Even in the time before the war really started.

KO: That's correct. Yeah. There were things going on, and we as youngsters probably weren't aware of it; but it did affect the trade.

AI: So he didn't really talk to you about the business, or bring you into that.

KO: Not really. He's another fellow who, like many of us, keep things to themselves, and did not open up to the family. I kind of wish he had've, and maybe I could have helped him some, but...

AI: But at the time, you really weren't involved in the business with him.

KO: Definitely not.

<End Segment 8> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.