Densho Digital Archive - Fred Oda Interview (denshovh-ofred

<Begin Segment 8>

TI: Let's talk a little bit about the business district. You talked about how you played with lots of the boys whose parents had businesses.

FO: Well, back in the '30s, I remember there used to be one side of Main Street, east side of Main Street, east side, from the river, which was the lowest of the lower Main. There was a Japanese grocery, soda fountain, and a pool hall run by Mr. Kokka. And then I remember a laundry, they used to call that Tokyo Laundry, that was run by Mr. Matsuoka and Mr. Ide, I guess it was.

TI: And were most of these businesses run by, you mentioned the men, did they have wives also?

FO: Yeah, yeah.

TI: And usually the kids, so you were running around with the kids.

FO: Yeah. Then, let's see. There used to be... see, I'm talking about, this is the old days, you know, the real old days, back in the '30s. There used to be, my dad had a barber shop, then next door used to be a Japanese grocery store. (Narr. note: There was also Utsunomiya restaurant and Kozeni shoe shop.)

TI: And the grocery store next to your dad's barber shop, what was the name of that grocery store?

FO: It's Yamashita. It's still in the Watsonville area, run by Yamashita. Then there used to be another barber shop by Mr. Nakata, yeah. Then there used to be a photography, portrait, Mr. Jimura, Mr. Jimura.

TI: And all these businesses you're talking about, who would the clients be? Who would use these stores? Was it mostly Japanese or was it...

FO: Well, it's everybody, I guess.

TI: So everybody meaning you get a lot of Caucasians coming down?

FO: Yeah, yeah. Well, I didn't know Caucasians...

TI: The Chinese?

FO: Chinese.

TI: Filipinos?

FO: Yeah, Filipinos later. Those days, there weren't that many.

TI: And then geographically...

FO: Then --

TI: Oh, go ahead.

FO: On the west side of Main Street, I remember (Uyeda restaurant and) Matsuda Drug Store. Then his father had an insurance company, Mr. Matsuda, yeah. Then I remember Mrs. Morimune had a tofu shop. Let's see... Kawaguchi had a restaurant, and (Takata) had a grocery store. And Yamaguchi -- Yamauchi had a tofu shop, yeah, tofu/grocery. They used to go around the country in a truck selling things. (Narr. note: I also remember Enomoto shoe shop, Iwami barbershop, Torigoe sporting good, and Suezaki Grocery. On First Street was Sugidono garage, Hayashi boarding, Dr. Koda. On Van Ness Street was Sugiyama grocer, Matsushita gas station.)

TI: Oh, to the farmers?

FO: Farmers, yeah.

TI: So it was kind of like a delivery service.

FO: Then there was, on Union Street, there was an Aramaki, there was a grocery store and tofu, and they used to go around the country selling things. (There was also Dr. Ito, dentist, Hashimoto party food, Arita bath, and Madokoro candy and manju.)