<Begin Segment 8>

JD: But it wasn't until 1958 that you saw an opportunity to perhaps get into a different line of work?

JH: That's right. Because I went through college after I graduated high school. Went to college, and like I say, I was invited to work at the local bank here, but I got my draft notice. And that wasn't, as I stated before, it wasn't really a waste of time because I learned a lot during my army years and my years doing most of the bookwork, and my dad's attempt to rebuild Bainbridge Gardens. It was a great lesson.

JD: What did you study in college?

JH: Business administration.

JD: Did you imagine getting into some completely different business, starting something of your own?

JH: [Laughs] I sometimes do a lot of things without thinking. [Laughs] I went back to see if my job at the bank was open yet, it wasn't. It was tough times. And somebody, I remember who told me to do this, the Nakata brothers. Says, "Why don't you go open a flower shop? We need one in Winslow." So I did. My ex-banker that tried to hire me says, "You need some money?" I said, "Yeah." He gave me ten thousand dollars.

JD: Is this in the early '60s when you came back from the military?

JH: Yeah. And then built a small nursery store, I mean, a flower store right there at Thriftway, at the very end of Thriftway, you'd never know it was a flower shop at the time. Look there real carefully, you'll see the outlines of the building that was once a flower shop, store there.

JD: About where the flower part is now?

JH: Yeah, it's east of that. And we struggled. Not only that, kids kept popping up, my own personal kids. [Laughs] Those were very tough, struggling years, but slowly and slowly, we kept working and working, and then I went from that location to where the yardage store is, and we went up to the village and stayed there until I got situated back here at Bainbridge Gardens again. So in the long run, it worked out for me.

JD: Even though you found yourself as a nurseryman again?

JH: That's right. [Laughs] That's right. Yeah, actually -- I stated this before -- but what I did just seemed to flow. They had divine guidance or something, just seemed to flow. But it's a wonderful thing that happened during that time. You can't imagine... well, maybe you could, how wonderful it was to rebuild something that was a legacy and a treasure of years ago. There's a lot of feeling. I want to tell you, share a story with you. We had that little restaurant, New Rose Cafe there. And there's a guy who used to run lumber, moved to Port Townsend. He came down and he said to me, says, "Junko, I've got to tell you a story. You won't believe it, but it actually happened." Said, "My wife and I were sitting having our lunch at the New Rose Cafe, and while we were sitting there, two objects glowed like gold." And I said, "That's my dad and mom." And I still believe that. So it was a wonderful thing that happened, probably never would have happened if it wasn't for something that triggered this off. And it has a lot of veracity because both of them saw it. So, see, all these things that happened, and you treasure 'em as you... you know how rich I feel now? It's not money, it's just, I'm protecting something that my dad and mom wanted to finish their goals. So that was another highlight of my life.

JD: Do you sometimes feel that they're still around?

JH: Yeah, I do. I do. I was just talking to my wife this morning, says, "You know, there's somebody else in this bedroom." She says, "Oh, you silly guy." But I keep hearing this breathing, and I think that's either my mom and dad looking after me.

JD: It seems in some ways, you have been an amazingly lucky person.

JH: I am, yeah.

JD: I know the members of the Bainbridge Island community also feel as if we're incredibly lucky that your father and your uncle and your family built Bainbridge Gardens and that you are, that you have built it up again into what it is now. It's a treasure for us.

JH: Thank you. Yeah, I'm very fortunate.

JD: So you don't regret the bank, you didn't get to go to banking?

JH: [Laughs] Yeah, well, I probably would have made a bad banker.

<End Segment 8> - Copyright © 2007 Densho. All Rights Reserved.