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Sugiyama, Kimi (audio interview #2 of 2)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - Kimi Sugiyama was interviewed in the home of her son and daughter-in-law with whom she lived at the time of the interview. The home was located near Virginia Country Club. TOPICS - Japanese farmers; Bixby Ranch; Santa Anita Racetrack; and internment;internment; Jerome, Arkansas; military; children; education; and the Pike;oil wells; Japanese farmers; and internment; 5/28/1980
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- 2022-10-20
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- SUBJECT BIO - Kimi Sugiyama was the wife of the leaders of the Japanese Association and helped him operate a Japanese language school on Signal Hill. She also helped Japanese immigrant and Japanese American farmers deal with the changes that occurred in the area when oil was discovered in 1921. She served as a translator and negotiator when oil drilling operations ruined crops and threatened the farmer's livelihood. In these two interviews, Sugiyama talks about coming to the United States at an early age and growing up in Pasadena, although she was born in Japan. When she married, she moved to Signal Hill with her husband. When World War II began, she and her family were interned in Arkansas. There she helped organize activities for visiting soldiers and sent her daughter out of the camp to continue her education. When she was released from the camp and her husband died, she had to support her children and rebuild their lives in Long Beach. This interview was conducted as part of a project to study the impact of oil on the development of Long Beach. INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - Kimi Sugiyama was interviewed in the home of her son and daughter-in-law with whom she lived at the time of the interview. The home was located near Virginia Country Club. TOPICS - Japanese farmers; Bixby Ranch; Santa Anita Racetrack; and internment;internment; Jerome, Arkansas; military; children; education; and the Pike;oil wells; Japanese farmers; and internment;
- *** File: shksugiyama3.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-5:08)... Introduction In the 1920s the diachon ranch was near where she lived at the time of the interview, near San Antonio Drive. As the wife of the secretary of the Japanese Association, she answered the phone when emergency calls came in. The man who lived on the diachon ranch called to say his wife was about to deliver their baby. She went with Dr. Montgomery to translate and help with the birth. At the ranch, they only had a kerosene lamp and butane heat, but the labor was easy and the baby turned out to be strong. She also accompanied doctors to visit sick children. The Japanese Association addressed welfare and legal issues of the Japanese community. A doctor asked held a clinic on Sundays and examined people on a dining room table. They asked the patients to pay 25 cents for supplies. They found 2 children with hernias. They didn't ask the city or other agencies for help. (5:08-13:46)... By 1924, they realized that children needed religious training. Many of the parents in the community were Buddhist, but they wanted children to have an American religion. Her husband took the lead in organizing a Christian church. They needed $10,000 to get started. Her husband visited farmers on Sunday when they were picking produce for sale on Monday. He asked each family to raise $100 for the church. At the time of the interview, there had been discussion of selling the church. She protested and told the congregation about the struggle everyone had gone through to raise money to buy the church. Before WWII the church has wonderful programs. It was a place for funerals and weddings and Sunday services featured a choir. Japanese community felt more comfortable in their own church. During WWII, the Council of Churches leased the building for 4 years and used it for a Boys Club. When they got it back, it need many repairs. A former missionary to Japan who spoke Japanese left money to maintain the church. (13:46-21:53)... She went to visit some of the farmers at Bixby Ranch and looking through a window, saw a baby alone inside. She was upset and asked her husband to speak to the mother. Her husband explained that the woman had to work in the fields and couldn't can't stay home with her children. Women who worked on farms often wore men's clothes and worked side by side with men. Her mother came from a city in Japan and was surprised to see women gardening in Pasadena. Women wouldn't have done such things in Japan. The farmer's houses on the Bixby Ranch didn't have heat, electricity or plumbing. Farm families bathed in a box with a fire under it and canopy over the top. Farmers there asked her to come and make an American dessert for a family who was leaving to Japan. The Bixby family treated renters well. (21:53-25:54)... A farmer near Seal Beach, who was active in the church, grew only parsley and red radishes. He sold parsley to meat markets. His children picked the parsley and radishes while his wife supervised them and he tended to church business. Japanese family built additions on their houses as their families grew. They were livable but makeshift additions since they couldn't buy property. (25:54-45:57)... In 1930 she and her husband built their own home in Long Beach close to their church, schools and transportation. Before that, their house had been provided by the Japanese Association. In 1942 they were forced to evacuate. They had only three weeks notice. They rented out their house in a big hurry. At first, they didn't think so many people could be evacuated in such a short time. She'd heard stories about Manzanar so she bought boots and extra glasses for her family members. Her husband had heart trouble from an injury he got during the 1933 earthquake. Each person was only allowed one bag, so she made canvas bags and they practiced carrying them. They sold and stored their furniture and took only durable clothes. They took the Pacific Electric trolley to Santa Anita where they stayed in horse stables. Each family member got a cot and the family got 2 stalls for 7 people. Her son volunteered to do carpentry so they could get a house to live in. They stayed in Santa Anita for 6 months and then on October 10 they took a train to Arkansas where they needed warm clothes. They got a small monthly allowance which they often spent in mail order catalogs. They lived in barracks and there were no schools for their children until they organized them. End of tape *** File: shksugiyama4.mp3 (0:00-9:43)... A woman who had been a Y Leader in San Francisco helped the women organize the camp. They organized a group for children and a Teen Group. As WWII progressed, they organized to entertain soldiers on leave from training at a nearby military base. They were only allotted $75 per month for expenses. They used a barrack as a lounge and cooked snacks out of things they found in the nearby woods. They had music for dancing and helped translate messages to send to soldier's parents. Sometimes people from the camp visited soldiers at the military camp. Later they received letters from the soldiers saying how much they appreciated the visits. After WWII, when she was shopping in Los Angeles, she met mother of boy who she had met a the military base and who died in war. (9:43-11:34)... In the relocation camp, she volunteered as a kindergarten teacher since her youngest son was 4 years old. In Arkansas the summer was hot and muggy. There were not enough places to wash clothes and she had to scrub them by hand and the water was cold. In the winter, the roads were icy. (11:34-14:53)... They spent a year and a half in Arkansas. Gradually the government began closing the camps and the Jerome camp in Arkansas was one that was closed. Her older son went to Chicago to work in a defense factory and her daughter graduated from high school in camp. Then she received a scholarship through church to attend college. She worked at a professor's home to earn money; the professor and his wife who was a psychologist, had 3 children and need help. She went to visit the family and thought it was a good place to entrust her daughter. When she got back to the camp in Arkansas, most of the people had already left. (14:53-17:38)... She arranged to go to Arizona to be closer to California and she spent a year and a half there. She got a job in the property control office and other people who were interned worked on camouflage nets. When that camp began to close, she arranged to return to Los Angeles. Her mother was with her and her father had passed away. (17:38-22:48)... Her mother's home had been in Pasadena since 1904. Her husband was transferred to a hospital in Sunland and she stayed with him until he died. A young minister there arranged for him to visit their home in Long Beach for one day. He died 3 days later in the hospital. Her youngest son was 7 years old and she was worried about how she would make a living and support her children. Her older sons got jobs, one as a waiter and in another in a shipyard. The government told employers and schools not to discriminate against them. Her 15 year old son was afraid of returning to school, but managed to make friends. (22:48-31:22)... When they left the camp, their stayed in Pasadena with her mother for a year. She notified the renters in her Long Beach home that she wanted to move back in. The house was in bad shape. The renters had taken in boarders and the rooms were very dirty. She had to fix it up and replace a cracked toilet. The house needed new walls and new rugs. Her family needed new mattresses. It took 2 or 3 years to get it all fixed. Most of their things that they'd left in their garage were gone. She returned to old job as bookkeeper at the Fancy Hand Laundry and Curtain Cleaning Company at Redondo and Anaheim. (31:22-33:25)... Their church had been used as a Boys Club and when the congregation got it back, it needed to be fixed up. There were 2 Oriental Art Goods stores on the Pike. One was owned by Mrs. Kanow whose son became a minister. There were no high tariffs then and the stores sold such things as embroidered kimonos, lacquered trays which were quite popular in those days. Japanese craftsmen don't make such things any more. (33:25-42:51)... There were stores in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles that specialized in dolls. Many dolls were sent to family members from Japan. The dolls represent stories and legends. Her mother told her the meaning of the dolls. One pair told the story of an elderly couple raking leaves but they were really gathering memories of a lifetime. A woman's organization in Long Beach presented dolls to its members on the golden anniversary of their joining the group. (42:51-44:55)... Most Japanese farmers in Long Beach leased rather than owned their land. There was an employment agency for Japanese workers in Long Beach. There was also a boarding house for single men looking for work. The employment agency helped men find work in jobs such as gardeners, house boys, cooks. Most of the Japanese professional that she knew worked in Los Angeles. Japanese attorneys could prepare cases, but couldn't represent clients in court. End of tape *** File: shksugiyama5.mp3 (0:00-7:51)... Introduction Sugiyama worked as interpreter for attorneys who represented Japanese farmers. This was especially important after oil was discovered in 1921. Oil wells became gushers and ruined flower beds and other crops. Oil well drillers had no regard for Japanese farmers' leases. They trampled the crops. Most farmers believed it was better to settle claims with oil companies out of court. Sugiyama used knowledge she'd learned from commercial law classes. She typed up statements of the income farmers expected to get from ruined crops. Most farmers hadn't saved money so they needed settlement money. She tried to be friendly with oil company representatives and most settled out of court. Most farmers could afford to hire a lawyer to fight the oil company lawyers. Some attorneys, however, provided her with advice about settlements and issues of housing, (7:51-21:30)... Sugiyama interpreted for Japanese farmers who faced other legal problems. One farmer threw stones to scare seagulls away from his crops and accidentally killed a seagull Someone passing by saw the dead gull and reported it to authorities. She accompanied the farmers to explain to the judge and the charges against the farmer were dismissed. Another time, a farmer allowed band of gypsy to camp over night on his farm. When he asked them to leave, the gypsies threatened to report his threat to the police. There was a hearing, but Sugiyama went to the wrong building. Some officers who knew her picked her up in a police car and took her to the right building. When she translated for the farmer, the judge told the gypsies to leave. Another time woman was beat up at a restaurant and a Japanese cook was the only witness got scared and left town. She searched boarding houses in Los Angeles but could not find him. During prohibition, a Japanese farmer brewed Saki at home. She interpreted for him and helped him prove he was only making it for his own use. She also interpreted for those who parked on the wrong side of the street when they went to sell their produce at the Long Beach farmers market. She interpreted for a farmers who was accused of plowing up a road to use as farm land. He argued it was only trying to keep the weeds down. (21:30-23:45)... The first time she saw snow fall was when she was interned in Arkansas. She remembers going to mess hall and thinking that the place looked like a postcard. Later she discovered that thawing snow is messy. (23:45-29:55)... Japanese people were not allowed in live in the Wrigley District in the 1920s although one family lived on Magnolia near 20th in a really old house. When her family went to Pasadena to visit her parents, they drove up Cherry. There were no freeways and the streets were lined with palm trees. Once out of Long Beach, they saw only dairy farms and pastures. Downey wasn't developed until after 1930 and there were orange groves in the San Gabriel. Her mother thought Long Beach was way out in the country. End of tape
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