Densho Digital Archive - George Maeda Interview (denshovh-mgeorge

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KL: And what was your father engaged in when she joined him in this country?

GM: My father, best I can describe him, he was an entrepreneur. He was not afraid to start up a business, he owned a soda manufacturing company that he had to sell because it almost went under. He owned a pool hall, he wasn't very proud of that. Later on I'd like to tell you a story about my father catching me in a pool hall one day. [Laughs]

KL: I will definitely make a note of that.

GM: And he... I always admired him because he told me a story once that when he came here, there were a whole batch of immigrants, Japanese immigrants that hired themselves out as farming help. And he said if you learned how to speak English, he could be the boss of these people, to negotiate with them, with the farmers. So my father, for his time that he came to this country, spoke very good English, and he told me that story. So he was very adventurous. One of the things that my mother always said was whenever he tried anything, he went on such a big scale that oftentimes it failed. Like when he grew cantaloupes in Saugus it was like a 150 to 170 acres of cantaloupes. And Saugus melons were pretty famous in those days, I used to see them in the markets all over the place. Anyway, that was the life of my father. I respected him very much. He was fifty years old when I was born. So I remember the proud look on his face when I turned twenty-one, 'cause someone told him that he'll never see me at my twenty-first, when I turned twenty-one. But he passed away when he was ninety-six, so I was actually, I think, forty-seven when he passed away.

KL: Where all did you live before you were born?

GM: I was born in Chatsworth, California. Chatsworth is near Simi, California. And then we moved twice before being sent to the internment camp.

KL: Let me back up a little bit and ask, you said your father came in through Seattle?

GM: Yes.

KL: Where was he living before he married your mother?

GM: I think he was in the San Gabriel Valley area because my aunt owned a store in Azusa, California. And she used to invite, she and her husband used to invite him over for dinner a lot. So he lived more as a transient, but he had a crew of farmworkers that used to negotiate with the farmers.

KL: I should ask you your aunt's and uncle's names, too, your mother's sister...

GM: Yes. I don't recall my uncle's first name, but his last name was Oki, O-K-I. My aunt, who was my mother's sister's name was Asa Oki, A-S-A Oki. And they owned one of the first general merchandise stores in Azusa, so they lived there all their lives, practically.

KL: Do you know if they married in Japan or if they married in the U.S.?

GM: You know, I don't know that.

KL: It's kind of interesting that two daughters from this comfortable family in the city both came to the U.S.

GM: There was a third sister also that lived in Los Angeles. And the three sisters were only like six years apart and very close. The other sister's name was... I can't recall her first name, Mrs. Ito, I-T-O.

KL: And she was married, too?

GM: Yes, and had three daughters. Mrs. Oki had one son who just passed away at age ninety-seven last year.

KL: How were the sisters in age? What was the order?

GM: Mrs. Oki was the oldest, Mrs. Ito was next, and my mother was the youngest.

KL: And then after your parents married, were they living in San Fernando right away?

GM: I think they lived either in San Fernando or Chatsworth, in that area, San Fernando Valley, near Simi Valley. Because my older sister went to Canoga Park grammar school which is in that area.

KL: And what... I guess, I know you're the youngest of three. Would you introduce to the tape your, the family that you grew up in, the names and years of birth of your siblings?

GM: Yes. My mother's name was Kimiko Maeda, my father's name Yozo Maeda. My older sister, before her marriage, her name was Shizuko Maeda. The next youngest sister still living is Takeko Maeda. She's the one that's married to Archie Miyatake presently, and then I came along, George Maeda. And interesting question, I asked my mother, my sister's names were Shizuko and Takeko, and my legal name is George, I never had a Japanese name. So I asked my mother, "Why didn't I ever have a Japanese name?" And she said, "Well, George is a name in Japan, and it's pronounced 'Joji.'" But my birth certificate only has one name, George.

KL: And what year were you born?

GM: 1932.

KL: What about Takeko and Shizuko? Do you have in your memory what years they were born?

GM: Takeko was five years prior to my birth. November 25th, I think, is her birthday. Shizuko was four years older than Takeko, and her birthday was July 25th, I think.