| scope and content | The collection consists of two series. The first series consists of black and white photographs showing a portrait of the Yamaura family, school group portraits in Maple Ridge and Hammond, BC, one image of Port Hammond Japanese Hall, internment photographs from Slocan, BC and Ontario, and JCCA picnic photographs. It also contains two sets of negatives. The second series consists of a BC Japanese Canadian directory, forty and fifty year reunion directories of Hammond, Ruskin, Haney, Pitt Meadows, and Whonnock, a fifty-one year reunion directory of East Lillooet, BC interned Japanese Canadians, and three immigration identification cards of the Yamaura family from 1927.
The one image of Port Hammond Japanese Hall was originally accession number 1995-117-1 but as of June 12, 2012 was merged with this collection as accession number 2012-5-1-33. |
| biography | David Yamaura was born on Townline Road in Port Hammond BC in 1925. His immigrant father, Kinoe Yamaura, was born in Nagano-ken in Japan and his mother, Iwama (nee Iwashita), was Kinoe's second wife. Kinoe had a daughter from his first marriage, and 6 children from his second marriage. David's siblings consist of: Tom (born in 1921), Bill (born in1924), Arlene Kanaye (born in 1926), Rebecca Terumi (born in 1930), and Sumiye (Ebbesen) (born in 1932). Noboko was Kinoe's daughter from his first marriage to a Kitagawa. Kinoe worked as a night fireman at Brown's Brothers Nursery also on Townline Road. His job was to keep the furnace hot for the hot houses.
David remembers his neighbors the Kawamotos because the fathers used to drink sake together, and both mother's made the sake in illegal stills in the backs of the farms. Later on Hiroshi or Hap Kawamoto would sell pop to David's store in Vancouver post war. The children also went to the same schools, Hammond elementary and later on McLean High school.
In April 1942, the Yamaura family was sent to Hastings Park and stayed in a horse barn. Tom, a mechanic, and Bill were then sent to Vernon Orchard and subsequently to Neys, Ontario to cut wood for a pulp and paper mill. At this time, David who was 16, remained with his father. David's mother and three sisters were still at Hastings Park. After leaving Hastings Park, the family went to Vernon in October of 1942. They were on a train with twenty soldiers who were having a birthday party. Later on in 1942, they were sent to Popoff. David's mother and father negotiated with the government to keep the family together. In response, they were sent to Cedar Springs, Ontario to an experimental farm in 1943. McGuigan's farm was a one thousand acre orchard with straw, tomatoes, tobacco plants, apples, peaches, plums and cherries, and pears. The oldest son was a horticultural student, preparing to take over the family farm. David's job was to spray the orchards with chemicals to kill weeds, but also involved in shipping peaches and plums to the Eaton's store in Toronto, and peaches and apples to the CNE inToronto. The Yamaura family stayed here for five years. During this time, Sumiye attended Cedar Springs Public School. Rebecca went to school as well, but passed away of tuberculosis at the age of sixteeen. Arlene had passed away in New Denver in 1949.
In 1949, the remainderof the Yamaura family returned to Vancouver. Tom, Bill, and David looked for jobs, but found this difficult due to the fact that they were Japanese. Eventually, David was employed by Chinese employers at a greenhouse called Keefer Florists for two months. He rented a house at Parker and Slocan Street for the family. He then worked for fruit wholesalers, Pacific Produce, to unload box cars with ice packed vegetables, and delivered the fruits and vegetables with a truck. He was a salesman for Pacific Produce for six or seven years. He was so successful in garnering business with the Japanese stores in Steveston that the company eventually required two trucks to deliver produce there. He was tipped twenty dollars regularly. At times he drove a semi trailer to Yakima and Seattle, delivering watermelon and cantaloupe.
In 1954, David's mother wanted to open up a grocery store in Central Park. They did this for five years. They worked day and night; never had any time off. In 1957, Bill went to Japan to take care of a sick aunt. At the age of thirty-three, David also went to Japan to visit his aunt (a far relation of his mother's) in July of 1958. He was to meet his wife Bev there, married and returned to Surrey, renting a house in1960. His son, Derrick, was born in 1967. Derrick graduated from BCIT in computer science with honours and from SFU in archeology with honours.
David worked as a traveling salesman for Johnston Terminals from 1971 to 1990. He did freight sales and then drove a semi trailer doing contract hauling. David also worked for Dominion Glass and then Telephone Book Trailers for five years. He retired with a Teamsters pension.
In 1980, David was asked by Norm Tsuyuki to attend the Nikkei National Museum (NNM) meetings. He was a member for several years and attended monthly meetings. He started a food booth with Frank Kamiya as chair. In the early 1990s, the NNM office was moved to 511 East Broadway. David was elected to run the food booth and to coordinate volunteers from 1992 to 1997. They sold rice and chow mein and nigiri. David coordinated NNM picnics till 2000. He also attended his first bus tour of the internment camps.
David married in 1958. |