<Begin Segment 6>
SY: So your father, then, was farming that, the Long Beach area when your mother arrived?
BW: Yeah, so my father was working for some Japanese farmers in southern California. It may not have been one farm, but he was working for some farmers. And so when my mother arrived in Long Beach she said that he and a couple of friends came to the port and picked up my uncle and my mother, and took her to their apartment.
SY: And in the meantime, with your father, between the time that he came to this country, can you backtrack a little and tell us, I know you said that he went, really traveled all over Utah, other places, so how long do you think he had been in that, in the farming business in Long Beach by this time, by the time your mother came?
BW: You know, I'm not sure when my grandfather left, but I would imagine my father was here farming five years or so, something like that.
SY: And your grandfather left, did you say how your, what happened to your grandfather?
BW: Well, like I said, my grandfather was involved in this inventing of the gold sluicing machine, and so he went bankrupt. Apparently it was, from what my older brother told me about what he had heard, the machine worked quite well and they were thinking they're gonna get rich, and this other company wanted to buy their machine, invention, which they refused, and so this other company, a bigger company, came up with their own and essentially put my grandfather's company out of business. And so the business fell apart, but there were a lot of debts, and so I guess my grandfather had a difficult time trying to pay back the debt and went back to Japan kind of a broken, disappointed person. I guess at one point you're thinking, "We're gonna make millions on this machine," and then all of a sudden it's like you're out of business. So he went back, and then my father stayed and I believe he, it must've been a few years at least where my father was basically farming by himself, working on different farms for different Japanese farmers.
SY: So he, this invention, as far as you know, that was sort of in the, when they were traveling around? And then they ended up...
BW: Must've been out in the...
SY: Countryside.
BW: Countryside somewhere.
SY: The old mining area.
BW: Yeah, in the old mining areas where they were looking for gold.
SY: So your grandfather was quite inventive.
BW: Yeah, the stories I've heard is he was inventive, he was a responsible person, and apparently some of his partners flew the coop and they just took off, and he was sort of left holding the bag.
SY: So he never came back to the United States after that?
BW: He never came back. He worked for a few years to try to pay back his debts, and then he eventually went back to Japan. And I believe he died around 1936, and my understanding is he died of cancer. So my father went back to Japan in 1936 to see his father before he died.
SY: And your father's siblings, did he, where were they during all this? Or did he have --
BW: Well, he had one younger brother, and he basically stayed on the farm.
SY: Stayed on the farm in Japan, back in Japan. So he never came to the United States?
BW: Never.
SY: And did your, as far as you know, did your father have contact with him?
BW: They must've sent letters 'cause my father found out that my grandfather was ill, and so he did go back to Japan.
SY: But you never met your uncle on your father's side. That would be your only uncle, on your father's side.
BW: Well, I did meet him 'cause I went to Japan in 1967, '68, stayed at his house. I met him several times before he died.
SY: So, but as far as contact with him, family contact with him, was...
BW: Prior to meeting him, I didn't know anything about him.
<End Segment 6> - Copyright © 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.