Minami family (Image Source here)
Yaemon Minami:
1880 - he is born in the village of Wakayama Japan
1905 - he arrives in San Francisco after spending two months in Hawaii
Worked in Monterey before relocating to Guadalupe
Worked as a stoop laborer for the Union Sugar Company in Betteravia
Paid very little
Back breaking job
1909 - with his sparse savings, he put together a plan
Yaemon's Plan:
1909 - became a grower for the Sugar Company and furnished laborers for the company at the same time
1916 - became an independent beet crop farmer by leasing 170 acres of land
1917 - farmed 1200 acres of lettuce in the valley
known as one of the best in the business
1925 - switched from growing sugar beets to planting vegetables
established Minami & Son Produce Company
Invested 100,000 yen and set up Minami and Yamada Trading Company
the primary office was located in Yokohama
1940 - his business became known as "General Farms", making $3 million annually
Building a Family:
Yaemon had two sons
Isamu Minami
Yaemon put his land in Isamu's name because he was an American citizen, having been born in America in 1922
Yataro Minami
World War II:
On December 7, 1941, everything came to a halt after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor
Government officials picked up Yataro and Yaemon Minami at midnight
They went from detention camp to detention camp for five years, before staying in Santa Fe, New Mexico until the war ended
Meanwhile, 20 year old Isamu and his mother left Guadalupe a few months after the bombing
They relocated the Colorado
Post-War:
The family reunited in Colorado
They returned to Guadalupe and got back from the bank their 80 acres of property, which had been held in trust
They began farming again, except their farm's name was changed to "Security Farms".
1949 was a profitable year
So the family expanded their farmland from 80 acres to 2000 acres
Became one of the largest farms in the valley
Also well known in the state of California
Concentrated on lettuce
Minami's Legacy:
Became a U.S. citizen in 1955
Generous contributor to many charities
Lived with his wife in Guadalupe for more than 50 years
Passed away in May of 1973
Lived to be 93 years old
More than 1500 people from all over the country came to celebrate his life
Known as the stoop laborer who rose to become "the lettuce king".
Works Cited
“Shirley Contreras: Yaemon Minami Persevered as 'the Lettuce King'.” Santa Maria Times, 12 Apr. 2020, santamariatimes.com/lifestyles/columnist/shirley_contreras/shirley-contreras-yaemon-minami-persevered-as-the-lettuce-king/article_9c7b6182-8e4f-5e27-b736-d1237017f881.html.