Memories of railroad workers who stayed at family's prewar hotel in Spokane, Washington

Memories of railroad workers who stayed at family's prewar hotel in Spokane, Washington Working as a night clerk at family's Spokane, Washington, hotel, throwing out the drunk residents Family's hotel clientele, transients traveling by rail Japanese American railroad workers are fired following the bombing of Pearl Harbor Losing job with railroad because of being Japanese American A racist encounter at a movie theater following the bombing of Pearl Harbor Encountering a train full of Japanese Americans being transported to a concentration camp Description of the process of chick sexing The rigorous work schedule of a chick-sexer in upstate New York The importance of speed and accuracy in the chick-sexing industry The enormous demand for chick sexers in the chicken hatchery industry

Transcripts available in the following languages:

And quite often, the workers would come in, and my mother was the one that was working in the hotel, and my dad was working at Great Northern, so he wasn't home during this period, time element. And the WPA CCC people would come in and give my mother, they used to call her “Mama,” you know, like I used to call my mother. And would give her a big steelhead trout that they somehow captured in the streams that they were working in, in the mountains. And I remember several instances where the steelhead were, it seems to me they were in the eight, ten, twelve pound range. Large trout. And naturally we ate it. They were good enough to remember my mother and I guess we just all got along real well.

Date: March 15 & 16, 2006
Location: Washington, US
Interviewer: Megan Asaka
Contributed by: Denshō: The Japanese American Legacy Project.

family hotels railroad