<Begin Segment 5>

RP: And then when does your father return to the United States?

LY: He came back March 6, 1921. He was eighteen and nine month.

RP: With a high school graduate...

LY: Then he met my grandfather in San Francisco and they stayed at Bocho Hotel, traveling hotel. And I also have the book on that too. I purchased in, last year when I went to a Asian craft fair, they had a booth selling the particular book and I said, it's a Japanese town in San Francisco. So I said, "Wow, I got to look at that." And then looking through and I found the Bocho Hotel and the picture. And I said, "Wow, that's the place my grandfather living there." So, quite few years.

RP: Do you, you said that your grandfather worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad?

LY: Right by the Bay Bridge road. That's what it says on...

RP: Do you have any idea what your father was doing when he came back in 1921?

LY: My father?

RP: Yes. Was he employed.

LY: Oh, okay. I know. let's see, 1921 he has worked at the American Fish in that particular place that's the Japanese town. And his owner is a classmate from Japan. So, he worked there and I haven't figured out how... I think he worked there for half a year. And then he went to L.A. And I don't know what he did 'cause we never asked or we don't know. But my grandfather had all the records and he moved and he had such and such a address so that's how I found out, oh, this is the place where he lived. So my father moved from San Francisco and went to L.A., Little Tokyo, and then it said 211 East First Street. That's where they have a 366 is a present day Japanese National American Museum. So, one block from there, he was there. But today I think it's a civic center, where he was living. And...

RP: Now, did your father return to the Bay Area later on? Or did he stay in Los Angeles?

LY: Yes. He went to San Jose, Menlo Park, Palo Alto. So...

RP: Do we know what he did there?

LY: I only know by, let's see, census. That's one place he lived and then I know he mentioned something about Menlo Park before he got married. So when my mother married to my father they lived in Menlo Park. But before that, you know, he has lived in San Jose area and Menlo Park and Palo Alto.

RP: He got involved in working at nurseries didn't he?

LY: Yes. Because he was working at the nursery. So when he got married he already had a florist. So when my mother married to him, they had a florist business right by the Stanford University. So my mom used to say that, oh, they had a lot of Stanford students come and buy the corsages and different arrangement.

RP: That's a good, yeah, that's a good location.

LY: Oh, right.

<End Segment 5> - Copyright © 2009 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.