Densho Digital Archive - Henry Nishi Interview I (denshovh-nhenry

<Begin Segment 14>

RP: When did your father start his west Los Angeles nursery?

HN: I think it was 1930, 1929 or '30. They moved out to... he was able to get a lease from the Veteran's Administration. They leased him 10 acres of land right next to the Veteran's Administration. But the land, land was a lemon orchard. In order to utilize the property, he had to clear the lemon trees which was cutting the 10 acres of lemon trees. These were mature lemon trees, and I wasn't helping out doing that but I know I went there when, when they were clearing that. And one thing good about clearing that lemon tree, that lemon orchard was it was a, a big demand for firewood, citrus firewood. So once you cut it up, you had no problem getting rid of it. I don't think we sold it, but people just came and got it. So he didn't have to dispose of it even though 10 acres of lemon trees would be a lot of wood.

RP: And tell us what he established on the 10 acres.

HN: Well he had 5 acres, 5 acres were the front part, facing Wilshire Boulevard, was for the retail business. And the 5 acres on the back half were for, for what they called field grown, field grown plants. And 1 acre was devoted to shade area, lath house, for growing kentia palms.

RP: Did he, did you have a, a house on the site, too?

HN: Did it have a what?

RP: Where, was the house built on the site, too? A house?

HN: No. There was no house. He did build a small office which was, he built a little stone office building and another kind of, almost like a storage area where we had a fireplace. But yeah, we did have a, have an office building.

[Interruption]

RP: This is tape two of a continuing interview with Henry Nishi. And Henry we were just talking about your father's development of the west Los Angeles nursery.

HN: Yes.

RP: And, you said he, he also had a tree moving company which he established?

HN: Yeah, yeah. Which was pretty unique because I think the tree moving business was just getting started. There was one, there was, as I recollect, there was only, I think there was, as far as I know there was two tree moving companies that, that's all they did was, was move trees. And one, the big company, the major company was Hampshire, Hampshire Tree Moving Company, which was, that's all they did was move trees. And there was another, oh yeah, I think it was called Superior Trees, trees. And they were, and that's all they do, just move, relocate trees. And I think my dad was interested in doing that, too. I guess he liked that, the engineering of moving trees. So you can... I know he bought a, one of those big trucks for, a ten-wheeler, where you could... 'cause a mature tree, when it was boxed, weighed probably several tons. And he started out, he had a nice truck, I remember. But it was primitive in the way that he didn't have a power winch, a winch that was run by a, by a motor. He used a, a hand-winch which you had to, which powered by hand. And then a drum full of, a winch that was with a steel cable wrapped around a tree box and then wound up by, by hand. Opposed to having a power winch run by the truck motor. So it was quite a chore to get a...

RP: Get that box up.

HN: Get that tree back on the truck. Actually, it was kind of a dangerous job. [Laughs]

[Interruption]

RP: And you didn't help him with that, did you?

HN: No.

RP: You weren't the guy with the, cranking the winch?

HN: [Shakes head]