<Begin Segment 3>

SF: So after your dad was in the market for a while, then where did he go?

TS: Well, then he started a secondhand store right on Main Street, just right above Sixth Avenue South.

SF: And that's kind of like in the heart of Nihonmachi in those days?

TS: Yeah. Yeah, basically, yeah.

SF: Where did he get his materials and who did he serve, basically?

TS: Well, you mean the things he sold?

SF: Yeah.

TS: Well that's kind of interesting. He used to leave the shop early in the morning, and he'd go to Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul. They were -- they have all that kinda stuff. And then he'd come home with a whole bunch of junk, and go through it and put 'em out for sale. And then, if the rent was due, or some, for some reason if you needed money, and he didn't have enough, why he would go through the jewelry, and he'd -- he had the black stone and some kinda acid, I think nitric acid or something. And he'd scrape the black stone with this thing and rub this metal on it. And if the metal didn't melt or whatever, then it was gold. And he'd put that aside and he'd sell it by the pound, or by the ounce to the people that bought gold.

SF: And the jewelry was stuff that people had hawked or sold to him earlier?

TS: No. I don't think they sold to him directly. But he somehow got 'em through the Saint -- well, maybe he got some of that stuff, because he had a lot of watches and stuff, too.

SF: So did the -- did all the other Japanese, when they hit hard times too, come to your dad and say, "Hey, I got this whatever it is, and can you give me X number of dollars and..."

TS: I really don't know if he got so much that way. But all I remember is that he left the shop and went downtown during the week to St. Vincent, Salvation Army, and... in fact, at home, I have a piece of paper that gave him permission to ride on buses after the war started -- before he got picked up -- saying that it was all right for him to do that. It had his picture on it. Because I guess maybe they were limited in going around town, the Isseis?

SF: So his customers were like new immigrants who were coming over who needed furnishings, or were they Isseis? Or would they, might be older Niseis?

TS: Oh, it was a pretty good mix of people. He had a lot -- not a lot, but quite a few white customers, too. Plus, I don't know, I can't recall too many Isseis, but some of the older Niseis I remember coming...

SF: Was the relationship between the customers and your dad such that he would put a price on the article or -- was it a fixed-price deal, or was it one of these, kinda barter or negotiations kind of thing?

TS: I think he probably had fixed prices. But whether they bartered or not, I really don't know. I imagine they tried to, and I don't know how that worked 'cause I stayed in the back and never got involved in the sales part of it.

<End Segment 3> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.