See Terms of Use for publication and licensing information.
In this interview,
This oral history is from an interview conducted by the Oral History cluster of the Landscapes of Injustice project.
Oh Mr. Umakoshi, there's your family there.So he would come out to the window and it's barred. Oh. But it's open so we'd just come in and wave your hands like. And then we found out that they were going to ship this group of people to the interment camp on the train so that afternoon we went to see my dad and all I could remember is my dad yelling and he's telling my mother,
Make sure you eat good food. Don't skimp on your food and stay healthy.He was quite focused on eating good food like we did. And that was it. Well then after he got shipped to Petawawa, there were more groups. They took in the naturalized Canadians, they all got in and then after that they started getting the Japanese Niseis in. and while there was one group they kind of protested, that the food was bad or something. So they had a riot in there. They threw toilet paper out of the window and everything. Oh really?
Mom, we could send letters into the immigration building,just a note, of course it would be censored. So I said mom,
Lets do something. I'll put a red handkerchief in the envelope and write to Johnny and tell him if you see a red handkerchief like us waving, you come to the window and wave at us.And can I ask who was Johnny? John is my brother. Oh okay. Okay. Yeah so the next day we went and the three of us, like my two sisters and my mom and I, we went and raved this red handkerchief. And somebody must have said,
There's somebody waving a red handkerchief.So naturally my brother came out and he was waving his red handkerchief. And then we knew he was okay that he was there. But then that story caught on and soon there was a white handkerchief, blue handkerchief –
Oh it's twenty after 7:00, ten more minutes and we'll be out of school.And that was the longest ten minutes. But anyway when they started shipping all these people out, we couldn't go to the immigration building. All we could go was go down to Alexander Street and watch the train go by and then we could see the men in the train waving their hands. But you know what it's like a train going, how are you going to pick out your father or your brother just like that. You can't see anybody but somebody would say,
Oh I saw Johnny on the train, he was on the train.Oh somebody would say,
Oh Mr. Umakoshi was on the...but then every night, everybody used to walk down to Alexander Street to see the train go by because at that time they were sending people to ghost camp too. Ghost towns on the train, right. So that was another thing. Every other night we would go down Alexander and watch these people go down on the train and that was quite a thing too. And then we got the notice that we had to go to Slocan and you're only given 48 hours notice. And the reason we went to Slocan was see they were all told where to go. Like the doctors were told to go here, the dentists were told to go here. Ministers, Kaslo was the United Church minister, Greenwood was the Catholic nun, Slocan was the Anglican. New Denver was the Buddhist Priest and that's how it went. And my sister worked for this dentist in Vancouver and he was told to go to Slocan. So the dentist said,
Well if I go to Slocan, I want my nurse. Like my aid to go.So that's how we ended up in Slocan. Because of Margaret. And then once we got to Slocan we had to live in this tent. And the tent you can see the replica of it in
You take this palius, go out in the field and fill it up with straw,out in the field there was a whole pile of straw or hay, I don't know what it was. But we had to fill this up and bring it back to the tent and that was our mattress. And we were each given a gray blanket, one of those itchy two, two itchy gray army blankets. And that was our bed. How many in the tent? How many in the tent? Just me and my sister. Okay. And your mother. Oh yeah and my mother. There was just the three of us, it was just the family. I don't know how many other people lived. But at least four people could live in the tent. And I can't remember what we did about our pillow or bed sheet. We brought it with us but it was still in the baggage car. But that's how we stayed and for two months. And then how did you get out of the tent? How did we what? How did you get out of the tent? Like, why did you get moved? We moved because we were in there. We left Vancouver the day after Labour Day, September, October, we were in that tent. And you know how cold it gets? And Japanese are smart. They think of something.
Oh my god we got bombed.And that was it. So the next morning there was no place to go so they moved us into the house. They're building this shack, but the house – it was the way they distributed people into the house was the way they came in. So you had to go by name like the people that were there first got the empty house. And the houses, they couldn't build these shacks fast enough for the people to live. And that's how we had to live in a tent 'til we got the shack. But then we managed and lucky to share a shack. But another thing was as long as you were living in the tent, you had to eat in the mess hall. How else can you get – there's no way of cooking. It was just the parent. So we went into the mess hall and this mess hall used to be this old skating rink in Slocan. So naturally the floor is dirt and they've just built tables out of old wood and benches. And that was the mess hall. And then you go in and you have to line up, like the working men ate first as soon as they came from their work about five o'clock or twelve o'clock. They would eat first. So the men and the women and children, old men and women and children, they had to line up outside. Wait in line 'til the men finished eating. But naturally we were working in the office right? So as soon as the men finished eating, we could go down and eat. But the first time we went to eat in the mess hall, you have to wait in line, walk in line and there's a stack of tin plates and I would swear, I'd swear that they must've picked it out of the dump at some army camp or something. They were dented, some were rusty and then every now and then you'd see this white rim and you'd think,
Oh it's an enamel plate, I'll get that.And pull it out and you know how enamel is when it gets old you get this black spot, it's got black spots and knife, but that's what we had to eat. And then they show your food, you line up and you go and they line up and throw food in. And I remember I had happened to be in front of my mother and I looked at her and her face just turned white. I could still see her. I mean in Vancouver, my dad was quite particular about the food we ate. That's why he yelled at us, mom to make sure you eat good food right? And we ate out of good chinaware. We had the Noritake chinaware set, we ate good food. And to see all this slaw, to us it was slaw. It was just something else. Yeah. And then Japanese there was an old saying, tengoku, means heaven and jikoku means hell. Mom used the first, quite a while she was saying it was just like tengoku too, for her. And it was like that for us. And then here we moved into the house. Well it was a shack, but to us it was an old wood stove. We had a gas stove in Vancouver, we had oil heat. Mom wasn't used to cooking on a wood stove. So it was all a new experience for her. So I often thought, no wonder it must've been hard on my mother. But she never complained, not once. We would complain every now and then. But mom never did because she said,
Think of your dad and think of your brother. They'd be worst.And no indoor plumbing, outside we had to go and fetch water with a pail. And for every six houses, three on that side and three on this, there was a washstand. And you'd go to New Denver and you see this replica of the washstand. It's just a wooden box, and then there's this pipe, it's sticking out. And you turn the water and you fill your pail and you come home. And it was – my mother and my younger sister, they looked after the water all the time. So after supper, it was my older sister and my turn to go and fetch water for the night. And I remember this one day, I told you. Yes you did. It was my turn to go fetch the water so I go get the water, fill it up, this is in the wintertime. Fill it up two pails and start to turn around and naturally it's all icy because everybody else is getting water and you know how it splashes, and everything is icy around and I turned to go and I slipped and I fell, two pails full of water just spilled. And I'm telling Joy, I told you,
I just swore my head off.
What did I do to deserve this?And that's the only time I felt so angry about being in an interment camp like a ghost town. That's how it was, you had to get used to it. You had to fetch water every time. Tell the story about the money. About grandpa, your father and how he knew and he took all the money and gave it to grandma. Well I told you that didn't – Oh the money when the war started my dad knew right away. You know how rumors go around? That they were going to get all the Japanese nationals because they were enemy aliens and they were going to round them up and deport them. Japan. So naturally the first thing that my dad thought was the money. So he went took all his money out of the bank, I think there were two banks he dealt with. Took all the money out of the bank and then he had three insurance policies on his life. Got all the money out of the insurance policy because he lost quite a bit too, right? But at least he had the cash. And then he was going to sell his house and get the money, but by that time, they had frozen all the Japanese, they froze the houses, right? So he couldn't get the money. But what we didn't know was that my mother all during that time she carried all this cash with her. And that's how we were able to buy a few things and all that. Can we go back a bit Betty to your childhood? Oh yes. Can you tell me a little bit about yourself? And your family, how many siblings you had, where you lived on Cordova? Oh we lived quite comfortably. And I won't say well, we were
Oh they look so smart.And being a big theatre, the theatre was open at eleven o'clock in the morning and it ran all day long until eleven at night. So you could go in anytime. Anytime during the day to see a movie. And I guess this is why they had this theatre, I mean, these usherettes working. There were twelve of them. Six during the day, they worked in shifts. But every theatre the usherettes had their own uniform. And we thought the one at the Beacon Theatre had the nicest uniform. They had this satin top and satin pants and it was the same style but the colours were different. Sometimes it would be white stain blouses, red satin kind of a shaharazad pants, you know? And they would carry flashlight and show you your seat. And sometimes it would be a gold top and a blue pants and they really looked smart. And I remember Jean and I we were always saying,
Oh we're going to be an usherette when we grow up.Now what about your parents. Where did they come from? My mother came from Wakayama kin. They both came from Japan. They lived in Vancouver Island for a while. Grandma was a picture bride, wasn't she? Originally? Well my dad was my mother's second husband. The first one was the picture bride, came to Vancouver and then my brother was born. And then right after my brother passed away – No your brother's father passed away. Oh yeah my brother's father passed away. My mother was single with this small boy and I guess dad happened to be working and they got married then. And that was it. So that's why my brother for a while his name wasn't Umakoshi, it was different name. It was another last name. Another name. And then after dad married, he decided to adopt him and that's how he changed his name to Umakoshi. But then he worked in the logging camp here in Vancouver Island so mom knows – What did I say one day? You mentioned... Fanny Bay. Oh Fanny Bay oysters. Yeah. He worked in Fanny Bay. He worked in Fanny Bay or something. And then he went to Vancouver and got the job working in the Beacon Theatre. And he started as a janitor or whatever, but then he went up and got to be more like a maintenance man. So working in there, we could go in for nothing every Saturday. Especially the Beacon Theatre was just on Hastings Street, one block away from Woodward's building in Vancouver. And every Saturday from eleven o'clock Saturday was the matinee was the kids used to go there. So whenever there was Roy Rodgers or Gene Autry there'd be a line up, half a block long. Waiting for the door to open at eleven o 'clock. And here's mom and us three girls would just slip in the side door. And we could go upstairs to the balcony, front row, middle seat. That was our seat. And we lived good. And I remember sometimes our friends would come over and they think they could come with us to the theatre for nothing, right? But mom would say,
No, we can't take anybody with us.You'd have immediate friends. And that's how we grew up. And I remember going to the theatre when it was still black and white and no talking. Wow. Yeah you know how the words used to come out? And we would sit there and couldn't ready anyway, but we'd sit there and watch these black and white movies. That's how long my dad worked. And right to the very end. And when my brother graduated or finished grade nine, most of his friends went to work in a sawmill or a lumber camp or on a fishing boat, but my brother went to work for my dad. And every day at about 3:30, dad would have to go to the theatre to make sure everything was clean and in proper order and for that he used to wear his suit and his tie and go and check everything just for about three quarters of an hour or so. So when my brother started working, they took turns every other day. So dad didn't have to. So my brother, he just enjoyed that. He was quite the snazzy dresser. So he would dress one day, he would wear his suit and next time he would wear his sport coat and in those days those suit suits were in fashion with the big lapel and this port pie hat. He would get dressed up and go. And he always made – my dad went about 3:30, but my brother timed it so he would in about 2:30, that's when the stage show would end. So especially when there's a big band playing, he would go in about 3:30 and go backstage and get all the – like Duke Ellington, all Lana Hampton, Louis Armstrong – He got their autographs?! Oh yeah he got all their autographs. And my brother is very, very outgoing. He was a
Hi I'm Johnny! How are you? Can I have your autograph?He had all of them with all their autograph on it. There was one Louis Armstrong, he just wrote such and that was it. And my brother really enjoyed it. And he used to say and this is after the war, some of his friends used to envy him because of his work. And I think my brother enjoyed doing that. But then when the war came, by war I mean, Pearl Harbor, all Japanese lost their jobs right away. By the end of, I think, December there weren't many people. The manager didn't want to let my dad go. He was very well known in the theatre. Even the usherettes used to call him Yuma. He was known as Yuma,
Oh you're Yuma's daughter,like you know? Instead of Umakoshi. And that was that. And then whenever there was one of the girls who would have a birthday, the management would give her a bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolate or something. So every time when dad went to work and it happened to be one of the girls birthday, the girl would snip out a carnation from her bouquet and put it in my dad's lapel. And dad would come home with this flower. And my brother used to kid and say,
Oh he looks like a glorified floor walker.So when my brother started working and he'd come home with this lapel, we used to joke at him and told him he looks like a glorified undertaker.
Yeah you look like a glorified undertaker to me.But that's how it was and my dad was able to work 'til the end of February. But then he wore this Chinese pin on his lapel, right? By that time the Japanese were looked down on even when going to school. They called us yellow Jap and enemy whatever. So the Chinese community, they made out these lapel pins with a China
I'm going to go to school two more months,April May because end of May was the graduation.
Two more months I'm going to go to school.So I thought okay I'll go too. So we went, our school was in Fairview Commerce, like we had to go on the streetcar for twenty minutes. But we went on the streetcar and went to school and of course they used to call us Jap and we got called names and all that. Oh really? Yeah. And then we finished, managed to finish school. And we were both recommended. That meant we didn't have to write exams. So we were both recommended and then we told we graduated,
You're welcome to come to the graduation ceremony,but we couldn't go because we were denied – we were curfewed. You were curfewed. We couldn't go to the graduation ceremony, which was from eight o'clock at night in one of the small theatres close to our school. And this is what we wanted was the diploma. But one of my friends, her name was Joan Black, I got to know her. She said,
Betty we'll get the diploma for you.So I remember the day after the graduation her father on a bicycle, came and brought me the graduation diploma. That's nice. Really? Yeah that was it. And to me that was important because it showed that we went to school for twelve years. Why give that up? Yeah. But that other, like you said, other Japanese students did drop out just because they didn't want to face all the name calling and criticism. I guess so. They were scared. Oh yeah they were scared. They said,
Oh you're silly, I wouldn't go to school, forget about it!because by that time the Japanese school was closed too. Yeah. So I guess they didn't want to go to school, but I thought... Well I wouldn't have gone if I was by myself, but Masako she said she was going to go so I thought,
Oh I'll go with her.And I was kind of glad I did. Absolutely. Just to get the diploma. Those who didn't that's almost a form of dispossession, right? You get denied that, your twelve years of school. Even if by choice, they didn't finish. Well, yeah. Well I went eleven years because I remember skipping grade three or four or something. Oh you were brainy. Come from good stock. Just to situate everything on a timeline. Can I ask you when you were born? What year you were born? I was born in 1925. 1925. February. So by the time Pearl Harbor happened, you said you remember Pearl Harbor. I was seventeen I Think, was i? Yeah. So do you remember the day when Pearl Harbor happened? Do you have any memories of that? Well oh yeah everybody knew. We were all watching the radio. Yeah. Oh I mean not watching, listening. Listening to the radio. That's how we knew. Everybody especially being Japanese. So what was your reaction? What do you remember? It was just terrible.
Sell everything, as much as you can. Get the money.It was the money that was more important to him. He was smart. Yeah. Yeah. Very smart. So there was this... I don't know if you knew about this or not, but there was this Jewish fellow who would come down with his great big trunk and he would come and look at your –
I'll give you $100 for all of that.And you know by that time people are getting desperate so
Okay take it, take it.And they sold everything. That's why the Japanese didn't like the Jews. They didn't like it. And when we went to Toronto, the first time Tak and I went to Toronto. There were lots of Jewish stores and they would tell us like Kay or Kimi will say,
That's a kuichi store.kuichi. And I'd say,
What's a kuichi?Well you know Japanese ichi, ni, san, shi, go, roku, ku is nine, ichi is one. So nine and one is ju is ten.
No matter what happens, keep this. Don't ever sell it.So that toolbox came with us. You guys took a tool box to the – Toolbox, heavy. And anything that's over your weight, you have to pay. Well mom did. Oh wow. And then another thing was mom had this real nice stainless steel wherever pots and pans set. The whole thing, she had the whole thing. And that was one thing she wasn't going to part with. So dad made a little cardboard box for her and told her,
Okay all your pots and pans will go in here. So we'll tape it.So we took that. I still have the frying pan, remember? She still has the frying pan! You do! I have the frying pan. Oh yeah, I'll give it to you. And it still looks like it's brand new. Yeah... It's like brand new. And the pot, one pot, I still have one pot. Oh my goodness. It's this real thick wherever aluminum pan. Yup, yeah. And then somebody else told us already there in Slocan, would write letters, they would write, they said,
No matter what happens, bring your own mattress.That was it. So we took two double mattresses with us. You're kidding?! Oh yeah, mom brought – we had our own mattresses – Oh because it all got put into storage while you were in the tent. Yeah. And another thing somebody said was being a fat girl you need your sewing machine, bring your sewing machine. You're not the only one. I've interviewed other families who brought – and not just portable ones, full-blown Singer Sewing machines. Yeah. That was ours. The single treadle. Oh my goodness! Brought that. Yeah. I think most people paid to bring their sewing machine. Oh wow. And that was the only thing. The others we sold everything. We sold everything and took the money. But you took blankets, sheets and towels and – Oh yeah. That we could manage. Just a few towels and blankets and just the ordinary Dinnerware set. Brought all that. And that was it. I was just wondering what your father's name was? I can't remember. Father? Tasoji. Tasoji, okay. T-A-S-O-J-I. Oh yeah, Tasoji. Yeah we have a file on him. Oh really? We're waiting for it from the Library Archives.
No we're not going,like my dad he wanted his money back. In the meantime, they sold his house. He never got anything out of it. And he wanted – they were protesting against the Government because they weren't treated properly and unless they got, what, an explanation or apology they weren't going to go out. So they sent these group of men to Moosejaw. Right. There was an interment camp or something in Moosejaw. That's where he went and he was there for quite awhile. Really? After the war? Yeah and this is after the war. And by that time my mother and my sister they were all in Thunder Bay, Fort William, it was called Fort William. Because Johnny was there. Johnny was there. That's where he went. And he was on his own and he had a house so he called mom, Jean and Tak and I we got married and we were in Slocan. So they talked dad into coming, you might forget about all that. Wow, I never knew that. Forget about all that and come and live in Thunder Bay. So he finally decided to go to – Thunder Bay. Thunder Bay or Fort William then. And then years later I think they sent him a cheque. They sold his house and they sent him a cheque for about four hundred dollars – I can't remember what it was. They said,
We sold your house and here is your cheque.And I'm sure Johnny said four hundred dollars. My dad was so mad. He started to tear the cheque. And at that time my brother was expecting their second child or something. First child? Anyway the wife was expecting. And he wanted to buy the house. Johnny did? Johnny did. So he said,
At least that money would pay for the down payment.So he taped the cheque up. But I remember years later this girl in Vancouver, we used to go to school together, this is after the war we happened to be talking. And her dad owned a shoe shop on Powell Street. Her name was Kato. And they had a nice house in Vancouver too and he lost his shoe shop and the house and then later on just like my dad, the Government sent a cheque to her father. And she says her father was so angry when he looked at that. She says,
It was the first time I ever saw my father break down and cry.Isn't it something? He cried, but then my dad was so mad he was going to tear the cheque up. And that's how it was. Wow. These are the stories you're hearing, eh? Yeah, yeah. Donna's father too. Grandfather. Oh...Yeah you said – He sent it back. Really? But he needed it back years later so he wrote again because he was sick and had no money. Wow... But then when you think about it, my dad just losing his house it was nothing compared to some other people. They had big stores and boats, businesses, they lost everything. Yes. That's incredible. Can you tell me how you met your husband in Slocan? Oh this was in Slocan. Everybody knew Tak in Slocan. I knew him, my older sister Margaret and I, we even went to the studio and got our picture taken and it was him. But then we didn't know him at all. Tell her what dad did. He was the photographer in Slocan. Like I said, nobody had cameras, right? So he was kind of an entrepreneur, right? Definitely. And he started the PA system. He was into music so he said, we'll put on a dance and he built his own PA system and he had a little group, they called him the SMC, Slocan Musical Co-op. And Kay and your Aunt Katie Suagar, they were all into it. And every Saturday they would have a dance and Tak would play all these music and put on the dances and everything, took pictures. So when my sister got married two years after, Tak came to take the picture. The wedding picture and the reception picture. And this was another thing if I go a bit astray. My sister got married to this fellow, he was in Fort William in the sawmill living in Fort William. And at that time he came to Slocan to recruit men to go and work in – see they were trying to get everybody out of the camp out east. So he came to recruit some people to work in this lumber sawmill in Thunder Bay and he was there for about ten days or something and then he met my sister. Although they knew each other in Vancouver. Like my sister and Harold, and they started exchanging letters and they got married. This was in October they got married and they went and had this reception in this school in Slocan. So during that reception we knew – my brother Johnny had come out of the interment camp and he was working in tobacco farm in Ontario. And that's how we knew he was out, but he kept saying he wanted to come to Slocan and get enough money to pain for his train fare to come to Slocan. So here during the reception it was just ready that Tak was ready to take the cutting of the wedding cake picture. The door opens and somebody yells. We look and here's Johnny walking into the room in his traveling clothes. He had just got off the bus with three other fellows and somebody went and picked them up and when he looked at Johnny, he says,
Oh your sister got married, they're having a reception at theSo he brought them into this reception. And we're sitting there not knowing what's happening. Oh wow. And here he comes walking in and everybody's yelling because most of them knew Johnny and mother's all in tears and we're in tears. It was quite the thing. And then Tak was already to take a picture of them cutting the cake. So mom got up she wanted to be beside and then the Tarrow's parents were there so they all took pictures and here is everybody's in their ties and shirts. And my brother's standing behind mom in their traveling clothes. I think Margaret should just treasure that picture. I bet. Do you have it? Does she have it? I haven't, but I hope she because my brother – and then after that the lady, the bride, always used to change her clothes into a different dress. And my sister changed into her Japanese kimono and while he was changing, somebody had told Johnny you better change your clothes. He had his suit and tie in the suitcase so he took it out and he wore his shirt and tie. But he couldn't tie the tie. He didn't know how to tie his tie. Three years or four years in the interment camp he said,.
I don't know how to.And I remember Harold tying his tie for him. Wow. And then Tak was there taking the pictures. And I didn't know him then. Oh okay. I just knew that he was a photographer. That's who he was. And then I worked in the Slocan office. There were about twenty, twenty-five people and every Christmas, that Christmas we always had a dance and party. And every time whenever we have a dance and party, we invited Tak to take a group picture.
No we'll eat at eight.So we go at eight and nine o'clock they have a little show in the corner, a little orchestra comes up to play. And I guess that's what he was expecting. So when the orchestra came and people started dancing, Tak goes up there and asks,
Would you play Dancing in the Dark?What a romantic! Yeah. And we danced and I didn't think anything of it.
Mr. Toyota, Toyota-san stopped and gave us a ride.Mom didn't know Tak that well; it was Toyota-san then to him. And he stopped and gave us a ride so we got on. Every time you see Tak's car go by he's full of giggling old women.
Oh I've got to stop the car!he stops the car, jumps out, fills his pale of water, opens up and puts water in. How did he go about getting a car? I don't know. Kay knows more about it than I do. The tires were only about that thick. And Kay was telling how they had to fix the car up or something. But another thing, I lived in Fifth Avenue 21. They were all marked first, second, third. Fifth Avenue 21 was almost at the very end. There were twenty-five houses facing each other, twelve on that side and fifteen on this. And Tak would come and court me to see me. And he would stay for a couple hours and go back. But you could hear this chitty chitty bang bang, toot toot toot coming up the hill.
I was sound asleep and about 10:30 woke up heard Mr. Toyota-san's car, woke us up,or something. So from then on my mother kind of politely told Tak, do you mind parking out on the highway and walk. That's what he did. Park his car out on the highway and walk. Well it so happened that one of my closest friends, Amy. Amy, Auntie Amy. Remember. They lived right up the first house on the highway and she would look out and said,
Oh Tak was there last night,
How do you know?
His car was parked in front of our house.I couldn't get away with that.
they sold my house, but I couldn't get any of the money.But then grandma did have money? From the bank. She had the money from the bank and the three insurance. So what did she do with it? And what happened when you went to the camp? She carried with her all that time and we didn't know. We didn't know anything. And even in Slocan, not Slocan, but Creston was it? I remember she came to visit me once – oh when.. Ron? Ron was born. No was it in Slocan. Everywhere she went she had this purse with her, this bag. Carried it with her. And I remember saying once,
Why don't you leave that home or something.
No, no, no.And that's where all her money was. All those years. But we didn't anything about her having all that money. So when you went to Slocan, how did you get your job? The first day we went to go into the mess hall there was this man there. And mom recognized him from the school days; they went to school together in Japan. And they recognized each other and mom said,
What are you doing here?And he says,
I'm looking after the mess office,and he's got two girls who were working for him. But he was so busy he could use another girl. So my mother said,
Oh Betty just graduated, she can type, she can take short hand, why don't you hire her?So he asked me,
Have you got a typewriter?And I said,
No,I had a standard in Vancouver and sold all that. So he said,
If you had a typewriter I'll hire you right now.So after we ate dinner, mom said let's go down to the store and let's see what we can find. And in Slocan they just had that one general store that sells everything. And it so happened that they just had this one small portable typewriter. I guess you remember that. So mom said,
Okay I'll take it.She didn't even ask how much it was. Took it and paid for it, we went back and mom says,
Here's Betty, here's a typewriter, did she get the job?And he says,
Okay you start right now.And that was it. But then afterwards, the two girls showed me these are the girls that wanted the job and here you come and you get a job right away. So the rumor went around that because of my mother's charm and her personality, she talked this man into giving me this job. But then a couple of days later another girl from Vancouver came in, like she had just got off the train carrying a typewriter asking for a job and she got a job right away. So it was the typewriter. It wasn't the charm, it was the typewriter that got you the job. No, I had nothing to do with it. That was it. So grandma having that money in the camp made your life a lot different from a lot of people. Well another thing was that Margaret was working. I was working and when I was working I was getting the same pay as the – there were about a dozen men working. Some of them were men and they were all married. They had family, we were all getting the same pay, so you know these men with that men, they've got to support their families. And that Mr. Matsushita – Seven kids. Yeah he had three, no four kids was it? I thought it was seven. It was seven, yeah. Oh was it? It was seven. And they all needed clothes. I could see he was a woodchopper it said. Well he would only get so much. So how can he feed his family of seven with just the money he was getting from the commission? So you can't go on welfare unless you got no income. So he had to live on his – that's how I took it when I read that. Yeah but he had a monthly stipend from there. So he couldn't – he would ask for more. Yeah. But he needed but he couldn't get it. No he couldn't get it - Even though he had money in the accounts. I could see that that so we weren't that – we were both working so we were quite comfortable. So you're bringing money in. Quite comfortable. And across the street from where I lived. There was the family, they were sharing a house. One woman had two kids about two and four and six years old or something. This side, this woman had three kids the same age and she had a baby about four months old. And their husbands were both in the internment camps because they were Japanese nationals. So here's this mother with two small - and they were on welfare. But I don't know how much they got from welfare, I wouldn't know. They couldn't buy anything extra. And when we first moved into our shack, for the first month and a half, we didn't have power because they couldn't bring the power in fast enough. And another thing was to get the material during the wartime. So for about a month and a half we didn't have any power so they gave us two candles every night. Two candles. Well this won't do. It was jus like when we were in the tent. They gave us two candles every night. And that just threw us off. So soon as we got in the house, mom went and bought a coal oil lamp. And dad helped a lot. But these two families they could afford. So I remember mom saying every night she took her two candles for one family. And that's how it was hard on– On some people. Another thing was there's a goke... intown goke, have you ever heard of that? Never heard it? Intown means Japanese were interned. Intern you know they call it intown in Japanese. Goke means widow. Okay. Okay so my mother was a intown goke. Oh because the husband was off working – No they were – it's not – the husbands are interned. Interned, oh okay. Yeah. These were the women who had their husbands who were all interned. And that's why we were interned window. So these two women across they were both intown goke. And that was another thing, like there was a lot of work for men there. One of the first things for the men was to go up in the mountain – Chop wood. Chop wood. Cut the wood. Bring the lumber you know there were lumber. Bring it in the truck and bring it in and they dumped it in front of the mess hall, which is empty now with all the tents gone. They would pile all these logs up in the front. And then there was another crew that would come with this machine and they would cut these logs so like and pile it all up to fit the cook's stove. And then there was a truck that would load the logs and take it to every house and dump it in front of every household. So here is this log, like wood, pile of wood. And then there was the woodchopper, like this man in Lemon Creek said he was a woodchopper.
Oh I want this, I know this.You want this, I gave them all away. Oh they're all given away. Most of them. Because if you were to donate them to Nikkei National Museum, they would archive them. A lot went - I sent quite a few to somebody in JCCL or something. Oh okay, could be. But they sent it back. Some of them came back. Oh they digitize them and then send it back. Oh! I think I've got some pictures. Yeah. Can you dig them out? How do you feel about? Oh I don't need them. Do you want send them. We would love to send them, yeah. Can you send them out to me and I'll get them to him. Yeah. Or I'll come out and pick them up. I think I still got a box, but I don't – like pictures of our Slocan dance and all that. Excellent. Everybody came and
Oh I want this! I want that!so take it, take it. And I thought the National Archives? You know that picture- what's that book you have? Oh you don't, I send you that book about – The exodus of the Japanese?
We had a war with letters.With Letters
Beautiful I love it here.He loved it there. It's probably that's as far as the Jalopy would go.
Where did you get it from?and they all said,
Tak's we got it at Tak's.They never said Creston Electric. So he changed the name to Tak's. And Ron told us a story about furniture moving through the valley, Okanagan. Creston Valley. Creston Valley and they would say,
Oh you got this from?Tak! Tak and – And that was his store. That was it, it was just Tak's. All the store, the banner, the truck's would be called Tak's. even had a shirt with Tak's written on it. So then it went from the radio repair, to televisions to appliances, to furniture to started selling musical instruments and records and tapes. And then it grew Creston then he expanded to Cranbrook, expanded to Ferny, expanded to Golden, went to Castlegar, went to Grand Forks. But that's after Tak – Yeah, it was actually Ron. Oh okay. So when my dad passed there was Creston, Cranbrook, Ferny and Golden. And what was it called? Was it still Tak's? Tak's. Tak's Home Furnishes. It was Tak's and when he started selling furniture he called it Tak's Home Furnitures. Yeah. But everybody just said Tak's. And then he passed away in '73. Yeah and my brother who was 26, he was 26 at the time, he took over. He had been working in the store as a store manager in Cranbrook. And then my dad passed away very unexpectedly and my brother had to – Took over the business. He took over the whole business. So when you look back now with your experiences during the war and what you and your husband did, how do you feel about all your experiences? Well in a way it was better for us to get of Vancouver because even Tak said if he lived in Duncan, he would have never got to be the counselor. He was a counselor – he got into the town hall. Town politics. And look at Ron now, he's a mayor. Yeah. If we lived - you know... If you had never met. He would have been just another Japanese. But this way he – and I think it happened to lots of Japanese. They all went out east. They all got to be well-known lawyer and this and that. Designers. If they lived in Vancouver, they would have still been working in the sawmill or a logging camp. Fishermen. Do you ever miss your home in Vancouver? Hm? Do you ever miss your home in Vancouver? I miss the city life. Do you? They say you can take the girl out of the city, but you can't take the city of the girl. I totally get it. And I really – my sister lived in Burnaby after she married. So every now and then I would go and visit her and we would go down Granville Street and all that - Your younger sister Jean? No older sister Margaret. No Margaret, my older one.
That's not Japanese!
Danburo. Danburo ni aruta.And they didn't know what it meant. So my mother said,
Here's a Japanese and she doesn't understand a Japanese word.And my sister, oh my sister Margaret was with me. She started laughing,
Danburo isn't Japanese, it's down below!
Every five years change or do something or grow, but do something different.And that's what his thing was whether it was buying a new house or starting another branch of his business or whatever, having another baby. Whatever it was every five years. So when he was 50 he turned the reigns over to Ron to run the store and he went back to university. He went back to university of Calgary to get his grade twelve because in Duncan – He never finished school. He never finished school. So he went back and got his – High school. High school and then he was taking first year psychology and sociology courses. And his intention because he'd always been involved with young people and teenagers and holding the dances. When he was in Creston, my mum – they did all this for my older brother whose ten years older than me, then I came along and none of this was done. But for my older brother when he was graduating, they started hosting the grad teen dances, all night party. He started the all night party. What it was was a dry grad and they would have themes. So I remember one year was Hawaiian theme. So they'd walk into their hall where the dance was and there'd be waterfalls and palm trees and all the parents who were the chaperones are all dressed up in their grass skirts and luaus shirts and everything. And all the food was basic luau food, they had a roast pig and all the fancy fruits and everything. And then another year was I think, cowboys? Cowboys, western theme. Western theme. So made a swinging door to go into the legion, yeah and as you come in there's a roulette table. We ran it all night. And they did that for many years. My dad was part of the Creston Blossom Festival Committee and started the Battle of the Bands. Battle of the Bands. And the Queen ceremony, like you always elect your town queen. But this battle of the bands was very, very popular. Really popular. Each town that Creston had these ambassadors, Cranbrook had their thin red line, so everybody would come to cheer their...and this was all teenagers you know. Yeah and then they'd all come and it would be the Battle of the Bands. And this ran for about two days, wasn't it? Yeah it was over the whole weekend. And that went on for like years. Many years even after he passed away. It sounds like your father was quite community oriented? Oh totally. Well my brother takes after him. And so when he went back to university for sociology and psychology was he was trying to learn about teenagers and the way – Between the parents and the child. Yeah parent-child relationships. Yeah and then he was going to write a book. He was going to write a book about parent-teen relationships. Yeah he was awesome. Yeah and then our rec centre burnt down in Creston. Right. There was a skating rink. So there was nothing. So we had another referendum to build another rec centre. And then the referendum didn't go nobody wanted it. But Tak said,
We need a big rec centre. Let's just go direct to the people. And ask two hundred dollars each from every family. And if you can't afford it, it's okay. If you can afford even ten dollars okay. So he divided the whole town into grids. And then with him, Japanese style, everybody that donated their name was going to go in the paper, that's Japanese style, right? Which the Hakujin people didn't like and there was lots of opposition, no way, no way. But he went ahead and did it. And they finally got enough money to build that rec centre, no mortgage no nothing. So after it was built and he had already passed away. They wanted to name it the Tak Toyota Rec Centre. Really? Yeah. There were three groups of people that came to talk to me and they wanted my permission,
Can we name it after Tak.And I said,
No.As long as I can remember, Tak had told me if there was anything good to say to me I want to hear it right in my face when I'm alive. Not after I'm dead. Don't name anything or do anything to me after I'm dead. He didn't want it. So that why I said no. And Ron agreed with me. So we didn't name it. But they did put a plaque in. The one year they made a plaque with his name on it and that was that. What made you think motivated Tak to do all those things? That was him. Even in Slocan, he started to the teen dance, and he started showing the movies.
The kids need this, you don't want to pay but the kids need this.Same thing with the dances in Slocan. And his biggest influence was his grandfather, not his father, but his grandfather who was really into – apparently his grandfather could take apart a car and put it back together in a week. He learned everything from his grandfather he said. Tak said he taught him how to fix radios and all that. And the sad part was that the first year that we moved to Slocan that was 1942, it was the worst weather, they even said it was the worst weather in Slocan and he died because of the cold. They lived in that old shack in Popoff and Tak said he died. Oh! This is Takejiro. Mhm, no Daigoro. No Daigoro's dad. Yeah. Takejiro. Because
Would you like to know?No. God leave me alone! When you're a teenager, yeah
Seven years, get over it in seven years.I don't think I even did. She never did. But you said at the very beginning there was prejudice. Did that go away? Got to know a few friends and it wasn't bad. Was it tough for you in school? Oh
You call that bullying?Like I remember coming home in grade three I remember telling my mom,
I never want to go to school again.She'd make me go back. And I remember Tak telling when she grew up with Tak telling her
Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me.Do you remember that? Oh yeah I said it – He was forever saying that. But it's tough when you're that young. But I can remember so well that I knew that poem before I even knew what it meant. So I'm saying these things, I remember this one,
Stare stare like a bear don't forget your underwear.And just repeating that, repeating that, repeating that, repeating that a billion times in my head and just doing this with my fingers. Because everybody would stare at me. Everybody would stare at me. My mother dressed me like a Japanese doll. So it was staring not out of meanness or cruelty. No they were discriminating – It was just that,
Look at that little girl, look how cute she looks.Because I had the little haircut and I had the little eyes and other kids would come up,
Why is her face so funny? Why are her eyes so funny?Like all through right through to grade eight, nine, ten. I remember people making fun on me. Oh the boys picked on me, they drew pictures, they put notes on my locker, they would trip me in the hallways, oh they did things. Like you know, the girlfriends that I'm meeting this weekend who I graduated with, we went to kindergarten together and grew up together. They defended me. We would go to a school dance and a boy would come up and go,
You're never going to get asked to dance because you're so stupid looking.And I would just break down in tears and I remember Lee Lane going up to one guy and just boom! Socked him in the face and dropped him. And I just...yeah...
There was one boy that always every time I saw him, he would call me Chinky Chinky Chinaman.And then he says,
Boy he was dumb. He didn't know I was Japanese.Well in contrast I grew up in Ontario with – as maybe one of two families in my school. I must've been 'til 15 and I realized that I wasn't, I thought I was white all the time. I didn't have any prejudice. You're kidding. It was fine. What town did you grow up in? In Burlington. Holy crowly, seriously. I had a few bullies but that night we'd be playing hockey you know? Levels the playing field. Yeah, yeah. And you can nail the bully on the ice, he doesn't pick on you anymore. But it was, it was very little discrimination. So it must've been because it was BC. Small town. Although my husband describes Creston as redneck. Like he'll say it's a little farming community, there were First Nations because Kootenay band was there. So we had, I don't like calling them Indians, call them First Nations. There were no East Indians, there was one Chinese family who owned the Chinese restaurant. Where was this? In Creston growing up. Oh yeah. There were no East Indians, there were no blacks, there were no Jamaicans, no East Indians. So sounds like it was quite homogenous. It was very white, except for this one Chinese family who had a girl named Eva. And everybody would come up and say,
Hi Eva!and I'd go,
Well I'm not Eva!
Mom do you know anything about Mr. So and So?And I said,
yeah, he's an old timer, he used to live here was in the council, blah blah blah,and I said
I don't know why but he doesn't like me. He won't even talk to me.And he's one of his new clients. Says,
He won't talk to me and every time I want to talk to him, he has a daughter in Cranbrook. He has to phone the daughter in Cranbrook. And then the daughter will phone him.And he wanted to know why because he says,
I don't even know him.And then I told him,
When your daddy came to Creston, -That was the guy.
Wanted a business license, he was on the council and he was one of the guys that said no.but then I thought why carry it after war? Yeah. This is how small these darn – he was a
Son is a son 'til he gets him a wife, but a daughter's a daughter for the rest of your life.And that's my life. Because I got three good sons, but they're different from a daughter. I got threatened more
How are you mom, how are you doing?It makes all the difference. I have one of each and they're very different and that's so true. I'm very close to my daughter. My son, I mean, he goes off and does his own thing, but he checks in once and a while. But only to check in. Yeah but that's about it. Yeah, yeah. And I think it comes in the development too. I mean we're getting off track here, but I keep in touch with my daughter more. And yet there are daughters that can't get along with their mothers.
Mom I really want just sit down and just go.And we'd just ask her questions and she'd talk and – The memory is amazing. That's what I love – I mean I can't even remember that kind of detail from last year. Yeah. Right? And was it important to you to share these stories with Joy and other family members or was it just part of your everyday life? It was just that's it. To other family members – like now when my older sister Margaret was alive we used to talk about
Remember we did this in Slocan...We were close, we double-dated, right? That's why we were close. Jean my younger sister she lives in Golden now. She doesn't want to remember Slocan. She didn't have a – well – A very good time. Well I won't say that. She just doesn't remember. So she doesn't even tell her kids to go to New Denver and see the... You know like me I tell all my kids, even my grandkids,
You should go to New Denver and see what we went through.And they go and read all these things. And that's what's really very cool is that her grandchildren have a real interest. And that's why this is perfect because they want to hear these things. Jessie, Brian is her grandson, Ron's daughter's son. He actually went to Japan. Yeah he went as an exchange student for a whole year just outside of Tokyo. And he enjoyed it and learned a few Japanese and all that. But they're interested in the history. They want to know about her stories. And then when they went to Vancouver he phoned me,
Grandma what was your house number?So I told him and he went and the kids posed in front of the door. I thought that was very neat of him. Yeah. They very much honour you. We're really seeing that cycle as the assimilation in the second and third generation is going forward. But now it's quite vogue to be Japanese and Japanese things and people of the fourth generation are sort of mixed marriage so they're sort of losing half of their heritage so there's sort of this coming back in a circle. And I'm finding with my children and lot of their generation, there's this genuine interest in their heritage and their culture. Absolutely. Yeah that's very cool. Would you say when you look back, did the interment have an effect on you at all in anyway? No, not really. It was just part of an adventure I think. I guess I was just in that era of it. I just turned 18 and I had no regrets. One of the things she's – and this is like – always just amazes me, you always say,
We made it fun. We made sour fun.Yeah I know we had to. That was the only time I swore was when I spilled those buckets of water and I just thought that was it. But that was the only time I thought,
Oh this fun.You did the best that you could. I don't know what my mother thought. Yeah it must've been tough for her. Yeah it was tough. That was it. To us it was a new adventure and that was good. And everybody said,
Well at least you met your husband,so okay. Yeah. Joy when you look back on your history and it sounds like the family is quite involved with this particular time period and sort of the events that have come after that. Being raised by your mother and father would you say that the interment had an effect on you and your family or maybe your siblings I should say? I don't know about my siblings because the brother closest to me is five years. Five years difference. Yeah and then seven and then ten. For me it's the comparison to everybody that hasn't gone through it. Of ... it gives me an attitude – my whole attitude is we're all equal. I hate war; I hate things that are divisive. We are all one. Period.
Oh the generational farm!and
This was handed down and this has been in our family for centuries, look at this!That's where it hurts me. Because of that disruption. Because there's no history. I might have a watch from my grandmother, I have no – well there's some pictures, not a lot. Like the Noritake China those kind of things that all my other friends have, things from their grandparents and their generations. That's where it hurts me. And it also makes me want to tell people.
You're very fortunate, this is what my parents had to go through to get here.And then the second thing is the racism and that whole thing. I still carry that a little bit. Oh you do. It's very hard for you, yeah. Yeah and I don't think I realized just how hard was until like in the last ten or fifteen years. You get to reflect. Well and you grow up as this damaged person and then you realize,
Oh this was nothing – it's not who you are.It's not who you really are. Here is who is who you really are. Oh wow, wow. And that's the effect it has on me. Don't ever let this happen again. Be aware people. Love all. You are all one. And I just want to share that with everybody that I meet and my friends and let them know that. But I notice one thing with Ron and Gary. When they both decided to marry English. Race never came up with their family. You know Judy's family and Shirley's family. Oh he's Japanese sort of a thing. It never came up. You know they were just like another person. And that's what I was quite thankful about too. Right so the point is where does that, like, in hearing that where does that feeling of being inferior come from? If it's not from there it must be from here from something. From something in my past, right? And I think it is some of the stories, but the way I was treated when I was younger, right? I was treated different. I knew it and it was pointed out to me. That's the effect it's had on me. And growing up in a small town that was tough. That was really tough. Yeah that's it. That was another thing, everybody knew you. And then the whole little family dynamic part, which has nothing to do with being Japanese Canadian, but it has to do with the fact that my three brothers were brainiacs, successful, and everybody loved them. And then I came along and it's like... What? Oh yeah I was a... Because you're into music now, you had mentioned. I wasn't – yes, I'm the musician, the artist, the hippie
Oh I'll go in and see what they've got.So I walk in by myself and she looks at me,
We don't carry anything your size.I could have gone in there looking for a scarf or a purse, but when they tell you and say – I'm very sensitive in one way. You noticed it. Never go in that store again. So there are several stores I won't go in. I don't care who it is. And Tak always used to say you should go to Supervalue and Co-op, there was Overwaitea and – SuperValue. And I always shopped at Overwaitea because they were really good and we knew the Overwaitea boss anyway. So always went there. And Tak always used to say,
You should divide your business. Go to Supervalue every now and then and buy something.So I would say,
Okay I'll go to Supervalue today.One of the women there was quite rude to me so I didn't feel like going. But I go to the store and I'm going to get my groceries at Supervalue. I go there I front of the door, my head says,
You got to go in there.My feet say,
No wayand I turned back. That's how it was. It was some stores that I won't go. Like Mrs. Neko, she was my dear closest friend. She was the type that wanted to go to every store just to look around she said. And I'm not the type, if I want something I'll go to the store, buy what I want and come out. I'm not the type to browse. But she was the one that liked to go and
Oh let's go in and look around.So I go in and look around and the storeowner would come and they would show her,
Oh we got this, we got that, new shoes.Completely ignore me, right? And that's why I don't feel comfortable going to any store. That's why I hate shopping by myself. In Creston. Even in Creston. Well because it was a small town. Still? Until when? But now if they know me now I'll go. You know they're kind to me now. How long did that last? Or how long did that... Seventies, eighties... What do you mean? Well the feeling that – I still get it. Do you still? Oh you still. Wow. I was gonna say, that stuff never ends. Like if it's a new store I hesitate going in there. Okay. Yeah, that's stuff never ends. If I don't know the person. And then most people know Ron now. Yes.
Oh your Ron's mother?But that was it, but otherwise. So it obviously tainted her... Yeah and I can also understand you were saying about liking bigger cities because there's more different people in big cities. That's why in the bigger city they don't know you! That's right. Yeah my mother used to say,
Oh let's go in there and tease them a bit.And to me if you go to a small store you have to buy something. But no... that's why I like – that's why I don't mind walking into big store and just look around and come out. And in the small town they know you, they want o know what you want and this and that. So I rarely go shopping, just to get my groceries and come home and go to the bank and come home. That was it. And then most of my friends are all – you know have social life or they're all gone. Nobody's – even the men, they're all gone. Plus in being in a small town there was no Japanese community. Like she said there was one friend, but she moved there, Mrs. Yamamoto moved there quite late. So you had a brief friendship and then she passed away. It was nice when she was living in Creston. They were really Japanese so she would phone up quite often and says,
Oh I've got some salmon, come over and eat some salted salmon and rice,And I would go and that was it. You miss that. And then also you hang on to Japanese tradition. In a way I still do. Very much, well the polite ones. Like when you go to someone's house you bring a gift. Thank you. Like this is where I fail. And but also that's how you are. Yeah. But also it reflects back on because you had nothing but white friends they would come to your house when you'd invite and not bring anything. And it would – It doesn't bother me.
Hi Betty I came but I didn't bring any omiyage, you know, you're used to it.You're used to it and I was because the people in Creston never did that. Yeah so that was an adjustment. Yeah you get used to it. Having to get used to the white community. That's something that doesn't bother me at all; it kind of bothers me if they don't. But at first it was hard getting used to all that. And the small city, I'm in a small town and I'm used to living in a big city. We went to the theatre every Saturday, they're open from eleven o'clock either 8'oclock, nine o'clock. Here you go to the theatre and its open from 8, one show. One show a night?! And it's some kids movie. And I'm like what? I'm not used to all that. The amenities are different. Yeah that's something I have to get used to. That's why I hated, that's why I didn't care for Creston at all. But Tak loved it. He loved the small town. He didn't like big city. My dad had a personality that – Didn't bother him. Didn't bother him. Everything just rolled right off his back. He was just so - That's a Toyota. That is totally. Is that right? Oh yeah. Who was this? Mas and oh yeah. It's a Toyota trait, it's very Toyota. Oh that was it eh? Yeah, yeah. Really? Just nothing bothered him?
If you go in and do your duty, if anything says anything bad about you, as long as you're doing your duty.It didn't bother him at all. And he says he didn't go in to be complimented. He went in to do his job. To get the job done. That was it. What a strong sense of purpose. Very. And he didn't want anybody praising him after he was dead. Said,
If there's anything good to say, say it right direct to my face.And I found that out because when he started this thing about collecting two hundred dollars from every family. There were several people that opposed it. They weren't for – especially this one fellow. I still remember it. He was dead set against it. And I remember one day the phone rang. Remember we had a phone upstairs and one downstairs. I happened to be upstairs and picked up the phone, well Tak was downstairs he had already picked up the phone and he was saying hello. The first thing I hear is,
You blah blah blahswearing words. You're kidding? Oh no. And he just swore and he went on and on and on and I'm standing there. And then finally he stopped, dad said,
Are you finished?and he says,
Well for now.So dad just
Oh Tak was such a wonderful man.Are you serious? I'm not kidding. I just felt like spitting in his face. This is what Tak meant. I thought,
Why couldn't he have talked like that when he was still alive?But here he said,
Oh he had a bright future, he could see the future and he had bright ideas and blah blah blah.And I still remember that. And here he was swearing at him over the phone. So this is what Tak meant, if there's anything good to say, say it in my face not after I'm dead. Yeah, he was pretty amazing. So when they asked me if they could name it after Tak. No first they said,
We want to name it the Toyota something,The Toyota Centre or something. Toyota Centre or something. And right away Ron said, no way you'll get sued by the Toyota Company. No the Toyota Company would love it
No way.And that was that. So now it's called the Creston and District Community Centre. So it was interesting. Yeah. He died way too young. Yeah. Died way too young. Hm? He died way too young. Oh he did. He brought the TV, cable into Creston. Until then we didn't have TV at all. Yeah I remember this I was probably eight or ten years old and we went down to Spokane. We went and visited the CBS and ABC studios. He went in there and talked to all the executives about how do I – Build your own market. Yeah he went in and then he got the radio tower erected on Mt. Thompson and they brought cable video in. They started a cable company and then all of the sudden the TVs were flying out of the store
Tak can you come and fix my TV I'm watching wrestling.I remember your dad, Tak saying,
Forget about, go to bed and wrestle with your wife.
Do you remember the time Tak that I phoned to come and fix my TV and you told me to wrestle with my wife? Well here it is.
Can you come and fix my TV set.Oh I know they phone him and he'd have to run off to Riondel and Windall and drive all over the place. Oh yeah. All the time. And he enjoyed it. Yeah. He hated fishing. He loved to eat fish, but he hated fishing. And we had a cabin up the lake and he would go out on the boat just to catch fish and an hour later he would come back and I said,
Did you catch anything?No but he wished he was fixing TVs.
Waste of my time sitting out here. I could've fixed two TVs.He would say. He enjoyed fixing TVs. Really? God the things I never knew. He enjoyed fixing radios and that's what he wanted. Tinkering. So I often think right now when you see all these things. I often wish Tak was alive. He would have just enjoyed. That was right up his alley. Well Ron, you saw that picture? Did you see the picture that was going around at the barbecue? It was a black and white photo that Carole had brought. And it was of the Duncan barbeque. They had these community barbeques or community – Ah I saw one picture and Auntie May was in it? Is that the one that says,
Oh can you pick out Auntie May.And I said – Oh no was it all Japanese people? Yeah. Because this was a school picture maybe. Because it had everybody. Okay. And it says, pick out Auntie May, oh right there, she goes,
Oh yeah that's right.My dad was in it and he's holding a box camera. He's probably fifteen years old so it was taken in, we figured it would be 1931 when the picture was taken.