Densho Digital Archive - Bill Hirabayashi Interview (denshovh-hbill

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MA: So you said Mr. Byfield passed away in 1950, and you stayed on for another year 'til '51?

BH: Yeah, well, the way that happened, I came home from my vacation, and I was up on the roof of the warehouse putting a new roof on it. And when he pulled into the driveway, I started coming down to get down on the ladder. And Mr. Byfield said, "No, you stay up there," because he says, "I don't feel well." This was in December. He said, "I don't feel well," so he said, "I'm going to go to Guaymas, Mexico," to his other hotel, and kind of recuperate. Well, he went to -- and then he said to me, well, I told him how I enjoyed the vacation, he said, "Well, we'll talk about it when I come back from Mexico." Well, then it turned out, he went over there and he had a heart attack. They had to fly him over, back to Chicago, and he only lasted a few, I think about a week, or I can't remember now. But anyway, it was a short time, and he passed away. But before he passed away, Dave Garaway is a good friend of his, and he had bought a Jaguar in the summertime, and he, Mr. Byfield drove it and liked it, so he ordered one also. But it took four or five months for it to come, 'cause he had to order it out and everything. And so just before he passed away, couple days before he passed away, they had said to him, "Your car has just arrived." And he, that's when he smiled, and within a day or so, he was gone.

But then for me, it was sad because here he did all that for me. And it got to be that he wasn't just a boss to me, he was a friend. You know, I could kid with him and all that sort of thing. And like I said before, that anytime he introduced me to any movie actor or actress, it was, "Bill works with us." It was never, "Bill works for me." That's the kind of gentleman that he was. Well, after he passed away, I went over to the house, 'cause Ernie Byfield, Jr. and Hugh, and the family was there, and Mr. Byfield, I said, "Here's the title to the car." I said, "I can't accept it because Mr. Byfield's gone now. I can't continue to do things for him." And they got mad. They said, "What are you talking about? Mr. Byfield" -- they called him Poppy -- they says, "Poppy gave it to you because he must have had an intuition." And they said, "You earned it, and it's for you to keep, and you have a job as long as we have the farm here," says, "you have a job." And I said, "Well, thank you."

But then a fellow by the name of MacArthur bought the place, and he is a, his name is John MacArthur, and he's a billionaire. And he had another farm out in Libertyville or something. But anyway, after he bought the place, I ran both places for a little while, and I got along good with him. But the way he treated his help, I didn't like it. It wasn't the style that I was used to with Mr. Byfield and all that. And so then I told him that I wanted to move Minneapolis, and he wanted to know why. I said, "Well, to get into a business of my own." And so then it worked out, he hired another person, I stayed with him to teach him whatever I could. And then in the meantime, Anice came up here to buy a house, and then we came up here. So that's what happened. But then that's the only reason I left Grassmere Farms. But Mr. MacArthur sent a lawyer up to where I was working. And I said, "What's up?" He says, "Mr. MacArthur would like to have you come back, and he will give you a nice raise, and can you come back and operate the place?" And I said, "Gee," I said, "You know" -- his name was John also -- I said, "Well, John, I love the place and have good memories and everything," but I said, "I'm happy where I am now, and I'd rather not go." I said to him, and I laughed, I said, "Even if you double the wages," I said, "I'm happy where I am." He said, "Bill," he says to me, "You're a damn fool." I said, "Well, whatever, I'm a happy fool, then." And so then a week later he came back again where I was working, he said, "Bill, if you turn this down," he says, "you are a damn fool." I said, "Why? What's in the offering now?" He said, "He's going to double your wages." I said, "John, I told you, even if you double that, I'm happy where I am," I said, "my brothers are here, my parents live here." And I said, "I'm happy the way it is." And that's what it was, and that's all there was. So that's the closed book from the Byfields at that time.