<Begin Segment 10>

MH: Let me go back. After you quit farming, what other jobs did you do?

EF: Well, I went into wholesale produce business, eventually took over the company and called it Edward H. Fujii Wholesale Produce, and it was very successful. I had it for ten years, and the person across the street asked me one day, "Aren't you ever going to retire?" And I kind of looked at him, and I says, "Well, heck, I'm just getting my second wind here." Well, he was very interested in the business. Actually, he walked to the place every day. He was only across the street, so he had a very good eye on that, what was happening in that business. So he kept talking, and I thought, well, I was sixty-seven years old at that time, so I thought, well, this could be a good chance to getting out. So he met my terms. So I says, "Go ahead, you can take it. You meet my terms and you can take it." So the company is still running today, and they call it now Fujii Produce instead of Edward H. Fujii.

MH: What did the company do actually?

EF: They're in the wholesale produce business. They handle, they cater to all the major chains, Safeway, Fred Meyer. They've got all Albertsons, United Grocer. They've got practically all the major chains they service.

MH: So did you have to contact farmers to get this produce --

EF: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. He had a good teacher. He had a good teacher. He had a good teacher, and he followed, he followed my rules, so he's doing okay. Especially with that name, Fujii is still there, involved in the company. I never knew he was going to keep the name. I thought he'd change it. I mean there was no stipulation when I sold it, but he had to, he could do whatever he wanted to do with it as far as I was concerned.

MH: You belong to GT JACL and was quite active in it. There was an award given to you recently. How did you feel about that?

EF: It was an honor. It was an honor especially when you've been in this club that long. It was an honor, and I chaired, it was an honor to get it.

<End Segment 10> - Copyright © 2003 Oregon Nikkei Endowment and Densho. All Rights Reserved.