| biography | Sansuke Kawamoto came to Port Hammond in 1906, leasing land from John Chatwin. He immigrated from Shirakata in Yanai city, Yamaguchi Ken in 1902. He worked in Steveston and logging until he could gather some money to go into farming. Koto (Tanaka) Kawamoto was a picture bride in 1907, and she wrote a story about that in an NAJC history contest in 1958, winning first prize. She worked as hard as a man clearing the land until they could buy their own land in 1910. They grew strawberries and expanded the crop to raspberries, vegetables and later raised chickens. Koto took her first three children, Masao, Kimiko and Fukuyo to relatives in Japan in 1913 to ensure they had a good education, they all returned in 1926 or 1927 to the farm, kika nisei (returning nisei). On her way back from Japan, Koto had her fourth child Midori in the Fukui Ryokan on Powell Street. She was to have four more children, Tsugio, Hiroshi, Makoto, Suyeo, and Tomoye. They were able to buy ten acres on Townline Road on the border of Haney and Hammond in 1920. The children all helped on the farm and pooled the money.
Finally in about 1937, they were able to buy their first vehicle, a GMC pick up truck to take the berries to the coop, and to watch the legendary Asahi baseball team.
Sansuke was active in the Port Hammond community, as Secretary of the Nokai (Farmer's association) for many years, he was also active on the board of the Japanese language school in Port Hammond, and was active in the Fraser Valley Coop with Yasutaro Yamaga. Koto was a member of the Mother's group in Haney.
At internment, Sansuke handed over his beloved GMC to the custodian, but a few months later, Hiroshi got it back to finish harvesting the strawberries and take to the coop. They had chosen to go to East Lillooet self supporting camp and needed the truck to get the required income to support themselves. Hiroshi and Sansuke arrived early (April or May 1942) in order to build the shack for the family. The winter was very cold and they secured work in Vernon, so the next year the family moved to Vernon where they stayed to wait out the restrictions placed on Japanese Canadians until 1949. Sansuke applied to the Bird Commission for the fair market value of his land as the Custodian of Enemy property sold it in 1943. Masao Kawamoto also applied to the Bird Commission for his uncleared plot of 10 acres in Haney.
The Kawamotos stayed in Vernon until early 1950's and eventually made it back to the coast, one by one. |