<Begin Segment 4>

RP: So, where did your father first settle on coming to America?

TI: Well as far as I know he landed in San Francisco or in Oakland. And he may have had some friend here in the southland so I guess he just came south and met this man and started farming.

RP: And that was in the Villa Park?

TI: Villa Park area, yes.

RP: Orange County?

TI: Orange County.

RP: Uh-huh. And what type of farming did he do there?

TI: Well, I believe it was... well, it was all kind of farming. Vegetable farming and I believe the owner had fruits that had to be taken and brought to the market. He did all that.

RP: And then he, there was a major change in his business. He shifted from agriculture to fishing.

TI: Yes.

RP: And can you explain a little bit about...

TI: Uh-huh. I don't know how they were introduced, but I believe they must have been farming in that area too. There were three of them. And they got together and they bought a small boat. But they, the thing about it is none of the three had the intelligence or knowledge to take the boat out to the ocean and do any fishing. So they had to hire a Japanese man that was a fisherman from Japan.

RP: Do you remember his name?

TI: I think the last name was Takeuchi. But I forgot the first name.

RP: So your family moved from Orange County to Long Beach?

TI: Uh-huh, to Long Beach, yes. And it was close to the cannery that they unloaded the fish that they had caught during the day. Very, very good house if I can remember. It was a big house.

RP: Do you remember the name of your father's boat?

TI: No, I don't really remember.

RP: How about the two other guys that he went in on this boat with?

TI: Let's see, what was their name? If I hear their name I could say yes or no but I can't remember.

RP: So, about this time the fishing industry was really picking up.

TI: Yes, picking up.

RP: And so he wanted to jump in on this.

TI: Yeah, yes. And I guess it was more in his line anyway than to do farming.

RP: And then you, your family moved to Terminal Island, I guess he got a job with the...

TI: Yes, well, the fishing industry was gradually enlarging in Terminal Island. So they loaded all their property on this small boat and they came to Terminal Island and at that time I guess a house was already reserved for them.

RP: So you, everything was moved not by a truck or a van...

TI: Oh no, no.

RP: But you used a boat.

TI: Boat, yes.

RP: Also there was an incident that occurred during the time that your father was fishing with his own boat. Can you share that with us? Kind of a sort of tragic, not really tragic, but a incident that occurred off the coast?

TI: Yes. Now, I've forgotten exactly where it was but it must have been around Laguna Beach or in that area, if I'm not mistaken. It was a foggy day. And the captain miscalculated and they went aground. But fortunately nobody was injured. But the tragedy of all this is they got off the ship and I guess they must have left everything as is but when they came back, why, a lot of the equipment was stolen off the fishing boat. Just overnight maybe.

RP: So that's when your father decided to go fish for somebody else.

TI: Yes, uh-huh.

RP: What was it like growing up in Terminal Island?

TI: Terminal Island, oh, gee, that's a beautiful place and well, I say beautiful place. It's nothing there but it was beautiful place because your neighbors were all Japanese, Japanese family. And when you went to school -- there was an elementary school there -- teachers were real nice and I think the teachers had a hard time teaching us because we all spoke Japanese, even at school. And, but we somehow graduated, went to Dana Junior High School and from there to San Pedro High School.

<End Segment 4> - Copyright © 2010 Manzanar National Historic Site and Densho. All Rights Reserved.