•1929 / king street side

The grocery store at the corner of Allen & King streets in San Bernardino, California was opened around 1914, by Sam & Tillie Freedman, immigrants from Russia.

Sam & Tillie eventually moved uptown, and leased the store to Jimmy Sakaguchi, who was married to George Sakoguchi's sister.

Nineteen-year -old George worked for his brother-in-law for awhile (before leasing his own grocery store in nearby Riverside).

^ George Sakoguchi at the King street side of the grocery that was then operated by his brother-in-law, Jimmy Sakaguchi.

•1932 / cousins

George's sister & brother-in-law operated the grocery store at Allen & King streets in San Bernardino for several years, then decided to sell the business and move their young family to Riverside.

^ Emi & Kumi, daughters of Jimmy Sakaguchi, on the front step of the grocery store at Allen & King streets in San Bernardino

•1935 / sakoguchi firstborn

George Sakoguchi returned to San Bernardino with his new bride, Mary.

The couple purchased the grocery business at Allen & King streets from George's sister and brother-in-law.

Their first child was Teruko, who would later be known as Lillian.

^ Teruko, daughter of George Sakoguchi, by the front step of the grocery store at Allen & King streets in San Bernardino

^ George & Mary in Los Angeles in 1934

Excerpt from an Interview with George Sakoguchi in 1976:

"My wife's house is practically across the street from my father's house in Japan. The parents used to talk, 'Well, I have a daughter in America and your son is in America...why not let them get married?

In those days, you always depended on the parents to match your spouse. That's how we got married. We didn't have any love affair or anything like that."

[George Sakoguchi]

•1937 / new brother

George & Mary put in a lot of hard work, and were making a success of the little grocery business.

Their second child was Robert.

^ Teruko, George & Robert on the front step of the grocery store at Allen & King streets in San Bernardino

^ Mary & Robert

•1940 / store construction

The laws of that era classified George as an "alien ineligible for citizenship" and prohibited him from owning real estate.

Because Mary was a U.S. citizen, the couple was able to purchase the grocery store property in her name, and replace the old building.

^ Building the new grocery store at Allen & King streets (The contractor may have been Sebas Sauceda. Sebas was a carpenter who had built his own family grocery store, a half a block away, on King street)

"Before supermarkets, there were lots of little mom & pop stores that served the neighborhood, and the competition was friendly...Mr. Sauceda was killed during a robbery of his store in 1941." [ben sakoguchi]

Ben Sakoguchi "Postcards from Camp" acrylic on canvas 1999 - 2001 (Teruko, neighbor girl, Robert...carpenter)

^ Framing Crew

^ Scratch Coat boy leaning on spare tire......mud crew......carpenter (or neighbor?) waving

^ Scratch Coat up close Mary & Benji......carpenters in doorway

^ Finish Coat, and back in business customer in doorway......neighbor minding Benji......mud crew

•1940 / new store

At some point, the new store was christened "Mary's Cash Grocery."

It was cash-only in those early years, but eventually they would carry a tab for a few good customers.

"Ybarras...Trevinos...my Pop had these little books for them behind the counter, and we'd just add up their groceries and write the totals in their book" [ben sakoguchi]

1940 ^ a neighbor kid......Mary, Benji, Teruko & Robert in front of new Sakoguchi grocery store

"It was open from before dawn 'til after dark, seven days a week...they closed once a year, on Memorial Day. I was born in that house next to the store in 1938 ." [ben sakoguchi]

•1940 / before camp

"They were so proud of the new store, and so optimistic about the future." [ben sakoguchi]

One of Ben Sakoguchi's Postcards from Camp paintings:

Ben Sakoguchi "Postcards from Camp" acrylic on canvas 1999 - 2001 (Teruko, Robert, George, Benji)

•1944 / camp

"While we were in Camp, my folks would worry about their store. Some other people were supposed to keep it going, but when we came back it was closed."

"The store was completely empty except for the counter, the shelves and the reach-in case. Then one day when we came back from school we could see a big stack of cartons through the window...we were so excited." [ben sakoguchi]

Ben Sakoguchi "Postcards from Camp" acrylic on canvas 1999 - 2001 (George holding Helen, Robert, Benji, Mary, Teruko)

Excerpt from an Interview with George Sakoguchi in 1976:

"Even after we started our business for a few weeks we didn't sell. The first day's sale was about five dollars. On the weekend we only sold about ten dollars a day so we got disgusted. With a ten dollar sale we'd never make it.

I was going to go back and pick oranges or potatoes somewhere out in the field, for that's what most of the Japanese had done. But this man, Mr. Melcher, from Smart & Final, explained it takes time to get your business back.

He said, 'Don't quit right now, because if you quit, all your years of business before the war will be lost. Wait for people to come back to you.' He told me to stick it out with my business. I just kept on, and finally after a month or so, we started selling fifteen, twenty, twenty-five dollars a day, and built our customers back to where we could make just enough to live off of."

[George Sakoguchi]

•1945 / business license

"My Mom & Pop faced resistance from local officials when they tried to re-open the store after we came back from Camp...the Federal Government had to intervene." [ben sakoguchi]

Ben Sakoguchi "Postcards from Camp" acrylic on canvas 1999 - 2001 (George, Mary, Helen)

Excerpt from an Interview with George Sakoguchi in 1976:

"We couldn't even get a business license, so we wrote back to the directors of the W.R.A. and told them they wouldn't give us a business license.

They wrote to the County, or somebody, and said that we were an established business before the war, so they finally gave us a license.

Naturally, I wasn't an American, but my wife was a citizen, so that's the only reason we got a license. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten the license, because I was born in Japan, classified as an Alien."

[George Sakoguchi]

•1948 / butcher paper

"Whenever I had to mind the counter, there was that big roll of butcher paper and I'd tear off a long piece, spread it out on the counter, and draw.

"I stood on the bin that held the dry pinto beans, so I could reach...drew airplanes, mostly." [ben sakoguchi]

^ Robert, Benji & Lillian (Teruko)......customer

^ Helen & customer by the reach-in case

"We called that big refrigerator the 'reach-in' case, but I always thought it was a Japanese word...like 're-chin'...didn't figure it out 'til I was in college. One time an old man, I remember he was wearing overalls...he was reaching in for a Pepsi or something, and just then lightning hit the house, and PAZOWIE!!! there was a big flash and he jerked back...it really scared him...it scared everybody...we thought it might have killed him, but he was all right. He was a tough old guy" [ben sakoguchi]

•1948 / pickled pigs' feet

"There was this great big barrel-shaped jar on the counter...pickled pigs' feet...very popular with our customers. They'd point to one, and we'd fish it out and wrap it in butcher paper. We sold the big dill pickles, too.

"And bologna sausage as long as my arm...we'd put it on the slicer and cut just how many slices they wanted...couldn't sell the end pieces, so we got to eat those...a treat." [ben sakoguchi]

^ Mary with customers

^ (detail) Pickle jars & scale......'Pecan Pie' sign

•1948 / wonder bread

"Right after we came back from Camp, Pop tried to get bread from the Weber's guy, but he wouldn't sell to us...said, 'We don't sell to Japs'...so we always carried Langendorf & Wonder Bread.

"When the Weber's salesmen would come by in later years, my Pop always said no. He never forgot." [ben sakoguchi]

^ Customers with Mary

"All the customers liked my Mom...she was such a nice person...fluent in Spanish. And she could juggle three oranges...I was always asking her, and she was usually too busy...but when she did it, we'd all watch, and it was...WOW..." [ben sakoguchi]

^ Wonder Bread blimp

"We went to see it! They had a raffle and, 'I hope, I hope, I hope it’s me that gets to ride!'…of course the odds were slim…they had a LOT of vendors who sold Wonder Bread. It was just my Pop & me who went, at the Tri-City Airport, out by Colton. [ben sakoguchi]

^ Tri-City Airport hangar c.1940's

"My Pop's enthusiasm for Wonder Bread wasn't hurt by the endorsement of 'Stan the Man'...one of his baseball heroes." [ben sakoguchi]

•1950's / front on allen st

"It sometimes got busy out front...people coming and going all the time."

"We were a pick-up point for the day-laborer trucks...early morning, when it was still dark...had to be open so they could get food for their lunches." [ben sakoguchi]

Friends......neighborhood kids

•1952 / fish

"My Pop LOVED to fish. He had this horrible seasickness (like I do) but he'd keep getting on that boat...in those days the boats didn't have to go out so far for the big fish." [ben sakoguchi]

^ George holding Yellowtail & Sea Bass, Benji......Mary, Lillian, Helen & customer

•1956 / fish

"Regular customers, and especially our older black neighbors, would come in and ask, 'George, any fresh fish today?' If they didn't buy it all up, then we'd be eating fish for a week." [ben sakoguchi]

^ Customer in doorway......George with Sea Bass & Albacore

•1957 / kid brother

"My kid brother was born when I was at Valley College...a nice little kid, and very entertaining...we all doted on him" [ben sakoguchi]

^ George with his young son

•1958 / fish

"My Pop would gut the fish, but Mom cleaned and cut them up. She had this butcher table where she'd cut all the meat...pork loins into chops...took a big cleaver and, 'whap, whap, whap'." [ben sakoguchi]

^ Kid Brother, George holding Sea Bass

•1958 / valdo lopez fan

"Seems like there was always soap and toilet paper stacked in the windows, and a sign or two for a local event."

"I really liked all the bright colors in our store...tin signs, the labels on all the cans and boxes. Especially when we first opened after Camp...I remember Camp as mostly browns and grays." [ben sakoguchi]

^ Kid Brother

•1969 / mary

"Around the 'sixties, they started carrying Japanese foods for the 'war brides' at all the military bases around there...our store became sort of a meeting place.

"Mom could speak very good Japanese and she would listen to their problems and offer sympathy or advice." [ben sakoguchi]

^ Mary in the Japanese foods department

"I was long gone by then…at UCLA…the war brides would come from all over: George Air Force Base in Victorville, March, out by Riverside, the Marine Base at Twentynine Palms…there was a network and they all knew...you could get Japanese foods without driving that extra sixty miles into L.A.

"She would order these publications, thick magazines or books, really…recipes, sewing patterns, all sorts of things like in women’s magazines…and it was kind of a lending library…they would all come and check out those books.

"When my Pop was on a visit to Japan...he's talking to a stranger on the boat from Okinawa, and Pop says he has a grocery store in San Bernardino...and this guy says, 'Ah, yes! Mary’s Grocery!'...and my Pop was just flabbergasted." [ben sakoguchi]

•1969 / george

"My Pop didn't have much formal education, but he had really nice handwriting, and he kept copious notes...about nearly everything...had his own unique filing system." [ben sakoguchi]

^ George behind the cash register

•1975 / george & mary

"The San Bernardino newpaper did a piece that featured five of the 'Mom & Pop' grocery stores that were left in town. The part about my folks was mostly accurate." [ben sakoguchi]

•1975 / allen street

"When supermarkets took over, the little stores had to get a Beer & Wine license to survive. And my folks started carrying Japanese foods too, so they needed to add more square footage." [ben sakoguchi]

^ Mary's Grocery on Allen street

"The neighborhood got tougher, and they adopted the 'riot renaissance' style of architecture." [ben sakoguchi]

•1975 / allen street (detail)

"All of us kids wanted our folks to retire. The store hadn't been robbed since the 'thirties, but the neighborhood was getting more dangerous.

"It used to be that most of the thugs around there had come into the store for penny candy when they were little kids, and they knew my Mom, and the store was off limits. But not anymore" [ben sakoguchi]

^ George & Mary in front of their grocery store

•1975 / king street side

"Los Niitos...Los Dukes...Meadowbrook 15...my Pop finally just gave up repainting the Coca Cola sign." [ben sakoguchi]

^ Gang tags on the side of Mary's grocery