<Begin Segment 9>

TI: Okay, so Eddie, before we talk about going to camp, I want to ask about some of the businesses in Japantown. Do you remember the old pool hall?

EI: Yeah.

TI: So Koga Pool Hall? Tell me about that. What was that like?

EI: It was right across the street from us, and I used to go play pool over there to the evening, enjoyment. And there was my wife over there, working on the pool hall, and his brother was doing barber shop. And then...

TI: But going back to the pool hall, so you said your wife, so this is your future wife. So this was someone that you met at the pool hall?

EI: Uh-huh.

TI: And what was her name, your wife's name, what was her name?

EI: Sue Matsueko.

TI: And describe for me the pool hall. How big was it? How many tables did they have?

EI: Two, that's all. Two tables.

TI: And generally, how many people would be in the pool hall?

EI: Oh, about twenty-five, thirty people.

TI: A lot of people. [Laughs]

EI: Some played card.

TI: So in addition to playing cards and pool, did they, was there drinking, like beer?

EI: Uh-uh.

TI: No drinking?

EI: Soda water.

TI: Just soda water.

EI: They're young, so they can't have a beer.

TI: How about things like smoking? Did people do a lot of smoking?

EI: I know some people smoked, but not too much.

TI: And when people played pool, did they sometimes gamble? Did they bet on games or anything?

EI: I don't know. I think so.

TI: And were the twenty people, were they all young people?

EI: Young people, oh, yeah.

TI: Like your age kind of thing.

EI: Yeah. Under twenty, about. Seventeen up to about twenty-five.

<End Segment 9> - Copyright © 2009 Densho and Preserving California's Japantowns. All Rights Reserved.