<Begin Segment 26>

TI: And earlier you also mentioned how you met your wife in Gila River, or she was a neighbor at Gila River?

SK: Oh, yes.

TI: Can you talk about how you started dating your wife?

SK: Well, I just knew her. And she was a bright girl, too. And they went to Arkansas, I mean, Iowa to college then. And I just happened to know them. So I'll have to even tell you some stories about my business and how things were, then I can go back to her. But when I got back, we had a place, a business on Kern Street again, further away from the street, I mean, where the church is. And it was, again, it was sort of general merchandise store that my father had, couldn't get back the old location, and he found a new location. And it never occurred to me then that parking was a problem. And by that time, the war was over, so I needed, I heard that, I mean, I looked around and found a lot of places had a, sort of a loading zone where it sort of looked like a free parking to me. So I had to ask our family friend S.G. Sakamoto, "How do you get a loading zone?" You know what he told me? It's really funny. He said, "Just get a gallon of paint and just paint it."

TI: Just paint the street?

SK: Yeah, and that's what we did. The first loading zone I got, I just... my brother and I just got a gallon of yellow paint and painted the whole sidewalk from one end of the store to the other end. And some of my friends that retired from the job, so I don't think, I don't think they can do anything for me, I mean, the place is gone anyway. What happened was that after a few months, the paint crew from the city came and repainted that whole sidewalk for me. And then every few months, they'd come back and painted the sidewalk again. I mean, I always had a good loading zone. [Laughs]

TI: That's a good story. [Laughs] And you said you were gonna tell a story and then talk about your wife again?

SK: Oh. No, let me go just a little bit further then. During the job, I mean... this is what they did, the old days. I had a, we had a, not a hardware store, it was a combination of everything, you know, little place. And there was a man that used to give me a pretty bad time over everything, inspector, health inspector. And he'd come along and tell me to do this or do that. I really had a bad time with it, so I had to go ask Mr. Sakamoto for advice. And you know what he told me? He said, "Oh, just give him ten buck and you can get rid of him." So I tried to give him ten buck, and he wouldn't take it. Actually, I was sitting next to a judge the other day. He's much younger than I am, but they can't do anything anyway. But let's see... oh, the funny part is my daughter heard about it, and she says, "That's a bribe." [Laughs]

TI: [Laughs] Yeah.

SK: So I... there's another one. Well, I'm going to skip one about the electrical inspector, but there was a, there was this Monty Pearson, the ex-New York Yankee pitcher, star player, first-class. He was a health inspector, and he used to give me a bad time. But you got to see, you have to know what the location was like. But he'd give me a bad time, but I got to see my World, first World Series because of him. And I don't know how he... he told me, when I get to New York, go to the workers' entrance, I mean, helpers' entrance, or players' entrance, I think it was. And they'll be some tickets waiting for me. And I guess he either wrote this fellow a letter, or I don't even know who the Yankee that he called up was. But anyway, for a long time, I used to think the Yankees are a cheap club, that workers had to work to, after their retirement. But anyway, I did get to see my first World Series because of him. And the reason for why I said that was that this, the wife was living in -- my future wife, let's say at that time -- they were living in Cleveland. And that's where I used to go. Gave me a chance to see Cleveland and my first ballgame, first football game. And we went to a football game, and in those days, I guess it's not like it used to be. It's like, it's unlike what it is, like it is now. You can hardly get tickets or anything. Anyway, we went to see the first football game, and that's the first time, first and last time I've been to either the World Series or the football game. It was the Chicago Cardinals and the Cleveland Rams, I guess.

TI: And so it was through your work connections that got you to the first World Series and then the football game, which then connected you with your first wife.

SK: Yeah. Well, I was traveling back and forth. I mean, I went back and visited her, and we got the relationship started again.

TI: And can you tell me what year you got married?

SK: I don't even know that. 1950, I think.

TI: 1950, and then I just want to kind of go through this. And then you had two daughters and a son?

SK: Yeah.

TI: Okay. And then unfortunately, your first wife... and then before I go on, what was your first wife's name?

SK: Emi.

TI: And what was her maiden name?

SK: Harada.

TI: Harada. And unfortunately, she died...

SK: Oh, in '63 while my kids were very young. They were in grade school.

TI: And what did she, she die of?

SK: Cancer.

TI: And then you got married again in 1968?

SK: Sixty-five years after that... yeah, '68.

TI: And who did you marry?

SK: A girl from Sanger. I knew her from childhood, anyway, family friend.

TI: And what was, what was her name?

SK: Mizuki.

TI: Okay, Sachi Mizuki.

SK: Right. I mean, I met up with her again quite a bit later, but I knew her when... well, she was a child then. 'Cause I'm quite a bit older.

TI: [Addressing JS] So we're coming up to noon, and I wanted to see if you had any other questions.

SK: Is it that time already?

TI: Yeah, so Sat, we've gone a lot longer than we thought, and so I'm going to end the interview now. Your wife is waiting for you downstairs. So thank you so much for the time. This was excellent.

<End Segment 26> - Copyright © 2010 Densho and Preserving California's Japantowns. All Rights Reserved.