Densho Digital Archive - Ann Sugimoto Interview (denshovh-sann-01-0014)

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RP: How did you meet Dan?

AS: Oh, he lived, he lived around. He worked in the store and, I don't know, he was just around. He went to... he was, I think he was just a senior, but he went to same school. But I got to know, her brother and he were real good friends like that. But anyway, so he got into a position that he liked after all these years.

RP: So Dan was working at a store, a vegetable store?

AS: Yeah, uh-huh, and he was managing a store at the corner, supporting his folks, 'cause he was kind of like the change of life kid, I guess. And his brother is Henry Sugimoto, the artist. He did okay, but nobody could help support the folks that were pretty old.

RP: How many brothers did he have?

AS: He had three brothers. He was down at the end so did okay, working so hard.

RP: Where was this produce stand located?

AS: Was at a corner there, Lincoln and Washington. It was there where the dog racing... what's there now? Oh, Costco's there now. But anyways, things, you know, the Japanese people, I tell you they all, whatever they did, they never, always on their own. They didn't have to depend on the gardener, I mean government, for support. They all help, help each other. Folks and all. The kids, too. My husband, too, helped support. You know, they didn't put 'em on welfare or this or that. Isn't that something? They were just that way.

RP: Both of your parents were very well-educated and worldly --

AS: My father was... you telling me, my father was, years before, he liked to travel, my dad. He went back East and... you know, California. My dad, to tell you, he's an old man, but he didn't look real Asian. He looked kind of more Russian like or Jewish like. He had curly hair, unlike me. He had curly hair and high nose. And they thought he, a lot of people in the produce business think that he was Jewish. He kind of looked that. He was very fair complexioned, but he, high nose and he had curly hair. That's like me and John, we all got curly hair. But that's the way.

RP: So he traveled extensively?

AS: Yeah, he was, went back East and the funny thing, when he first went back there he's very mixed with everything, so he got on the bus, sat there, in the back there, and the bus driver came up to him. He, this is the thing, he says, "You know, sir, you don't belong there." My father thought, well, and he went to, like to go in the back of the bus, and he said, "You know, you're a white man. You got to sit farther up." Isn't that something? He didn't know. He liked to sit at the back of the bus, so the bus driver comes, says, "Sir, you're in the wrong section." My father wonders why. [Laughs] He was very surprised, all that. He wasn't into that. And then he went to, he and my mom traveled around the world, too, and then he went to Brazil quite often, getting the family in there, very well. He wanted to move there, but we didn't want to move down to Brazil. We were still, we were in school then.

RP: So he wanted to go?

AS: Oh, how many times he went? He helped his relatives go down there. You know, helped them financially and all this and that. I wonder where, no wonder... which is, it's okay. We did okay.