Densho Digital Archive - Sumi Ikata Interview (denshovh-isumi-01-0012)

<Begin Segment 12>

JK: Now he did finally start his own business?

SI: Yeah.

JK: And was that shortly after the war?

SI: It was not too long. He happened to be up on Northwest Thurmond Street. I forgot what he was looking for, looking for a job or what, but he stopped in at this place, and it was run by an old man and old woman, and the man, oh, it was called Abco Chemical Company. And the wife ran the business because the husband had gotten chemicals in his eyes and he became blind. And it was a two-story building, they lived upstairs and did the business down here. And my husband happened to stop in and was talking to him, and they said, "Oh, we're so glad you came by because we're trying to get out of this business. My husband is blind, and I'm by myself, I can't do it." So my husband said, "Well, I'll try it." He said, "I don't know anything about it, but I'll try it." So he used the main floor to sell his chemicals, and I think soon after, the old man died and it was just the lady, and then she moved out and went to live with her son. And so my husband started selling these chemicals. And then he thought that location wasn't the best place, so he moved (from) Tenth and Thurmond, moved over to Russell Street, which is black country, all black people. And there was a building open on the corner, and the man who owned the building, his name was Hank Williams, and he owned the downstairs and the upstairs, and he told my husband that he could rent this, and he'll use the upstairs and next door. And he had divorced his wife, he was a womanizer. Wife didn't want anything to do with him, so she said, "You keep the business." He had a business called City Galvanizers. They put some kind of a coating on metal things. Hank Williams who was doing this galvanizer business, and my husband used the downstairs for his office, and he started selling chemicals. And let's see, I'm trying to think what kind of things he sold. Well, first of all comes to mind is bleaches, you know, and it's things that get into bottles, anyway.

JK: And were they used, like, for cleaning, the chemicals?

SI: Yeah, I think so. It was a big space for building, you know. But my husband had to get out and sell it, nobody's going to come to him. So he had his little office, and then our Ojiisan, he wanted to get out of the house and get away from his wife, so he would come over on the bus with my husband, and he said he could be like a watchman, you know, when you have to leave the door open. And then while he was there, he said they'd all put the labels on the bottles for you. Well, anyway, he can't read English, my husband discovered that he was putting the labels on upside down. [Laughs]

JK: So Grandpa helped...

SI: Yeah, he tried in his own way.

JK: Your husband was very industrious, just by finding work and meeting people who were looking for...

SI: Yes. So then he found a secretarial service in the building downtown, I think it was the Cascade Building. And there was a secretary up there that had several phones. This phone is for this company, and so she would hold a phone for him, and he would pay her a fee each month, and she would take his messages so that my husband could get out and get new accounts.

JK: Right, and he wouldn't lose any orders.

SI: Yeah.

JK: So he was learning, he was learning as he went along how to start a business and run a business. How did he get financing, money? Did he just save, did you guys just save?

SI: Well, we did. We went to the bank where the money is, and in order to borrow money, if you were a married man, you got to bring your wife. You can't say I'm borrowing in my own name, because they knew for sure he couldn't pay it back. So I was working uptown in an office. So that day on my lunch hour I met him, we went down to the bank, First National Bank or something, and there's a loan office downstairs, and you have to sit down there. And the man inside of the box, he's the boss. And I don't have too much time, you know, I'm on my lunch hour. And the man wouldn't pay any attention to his. We just waited and waited, and we went to borrow money. And finally my husband got mad, and I remember he walked over to the boss's cubicle and he said, "God damn it, we've been sitting here this long, my wife is on her lunch hour, we're trying to borrow money from you, and you don't even pay any attention to us. How can you do any business? You're not going to loan any money just standing there." And after that, after my husband cussed him, he got to be really nice to my husband, treated him nice. He said eventually they became good friends. [Laughs]

JK: So he was able to borrow more money?

SI: Yeah, so we would borrow money, and then six months later we have to return that money, then we had to borrow money again to keep going. And eventually we got out of that rut, you know, didn't have to borrow money.

JK: So it sounds like you were also working?

SI: I was working at another office, yes.

JK: Right, and it must mean that Grandma was taking care of the kids. So everyone had to work together so you could move forward as a family.

SI: So when I got my paycheck, I would give her so much money.

JK: For watching the kids?

SI: Uh-huh. Well, by that time, my oldest daughter was already going to school, so she didn't have to watch her, so it was just the youngest one.

JK: So it took time to restart your lives after the war.

SI: Yeah, definitely.

JK: And that your husband really worked hard.

SI: He worked very hard, yes.

JK: And you had to work, too. Is there anything else you wanted to share about your memories or experiences?

SI: Well, we were making money gradually, and we were able to buy a new car. My husband said we're not going to buy a used car, we're going to get a brand new one, and I remember it was a burgundy-colored car. We were so proud of it, it was our first new car. And Henry Matsunaga, who lived a little ways down, he said he could still remember us, we'd go out and take a cloth and polish it. [Laughs]