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Mizusawa Brothers Farm and Mizu Company

Steven and Ron Mizusawa

Early years

The farms of the Arikawa, Mizusawa and Takahashi families were run much like a coop with the core being the Kitasaki sisters (Chieko, Tomoko and Tomiko), spouses of Seigo Arikawa, Fred Minoru Mizusawa and Ko Takahashi. The Farms were located in Santa Ana near Newhope and First Street, Garden Grove near Westminster and Harbor Blvd and Fountain Valley near Newhope and Warner Ave.

Frank Mizusawa was founder of Mizu Company which was located at 11905 E. Westminster in Garden Grove on essentially the same property as the Mizusawa Farm at 11911 E. Westminster Blvd.

First products were made for the Mizusawa Brothers’ farm and nursery. The Mizusawa farm was purchased in late 1940’s after the brothers returned from incarceration at detention camps for U.S. citizens of Japanese ancestry. Fred and Tomoko Mizusawa were married in camp in 1943 and went to Denver before the camps closed down.

Early crops on the farm included Cauliflower, Celery, Bell Peppers. The main crop grown during the summer was tomatoes. The Arikawas grew flowers on the farm in later years and the Takahashis grew Strawberries and Olallieberries.

Two homes, a packing shed and the Mizu Company factory were built on the property by Frank and Fred Mizusawa with help - most likely the other close relatives and friends. It also included a large glass green house taken care of by Mie (Moe) Mizusawa and the three Kitasaki sisters, which was used to grow seedlings of tomatoes for transplanting to farms in the area.

One of the first products of Mizu company was a mechanized tomato sorter which sized the tomatoes before packing. This sorter used a series of belts with holes of different sizes which the tomatoes traveled along. The smallest tomatoes fell into the first bin as that belt had the smallest holes. When packed in wooden lug boxes the tomatoes had varying sizes from 7x8 up to 4x4. 7 by 8 tomatoes were about 1 and ½ to 2 inches in size. 4 by 4 tomatoes were about 5 or 6 inches in diameter. One of the kids’ duties when we were elementary and junior high school age was to put labels (Mizusawa Brothers) on the wooden boxes before they were packed with tomatoes. We were paid one cent per label and was one of our first sources of spending money. After the boxes were packed, we nailed slats on the top of the boxes which prevented stacked boxes from falling into boxes below. These boxes were picked up every evening and taken to the vegetable markets in Los Angeles.  One of the problems with the first tomato sorter was that once in awhile a tomato would get stuck in the hole in the belt and get crushed.  When the belt reached a roller which the belt traveled around. When that happened the machine had to be stopped and a clean up was done to keep other tomatoes from getting tomato juice all over them.

A new sorter was developed by Frank which used a rotating series of slats that got further apart as they progresses along the length of the sorter. This stopped the occasional crushed tomato.

Early on small farm items were developed which helped with harvesting various crops. Special knives were created for harvesting cauliflower and celery. Special carts were created so tomato pickers could push several boxes for putting tomatoes in. The kids had fun turning these into toys like attaching sails to them when the Santa Ana winds blew. We had little land sailing carts. I think those carts were popular with other farmers as I can remember. We made quite a few of them, many more then we needed for our farm.

One non-farm invention that my Uncle made for us was a gas powered go-kart. To me ( 80 pound weakling in those days) it weighed a “ton” and it didn’t  go all that fast but it was still fun.

Our farm also had a couple of buildings to house our migrant farm workers. The same workers seemed to come back every year to help with the harvesting of crops. We came to know them and I loved eating their home made tortillas.

We had other workers who helped with tomato picking and packing who had permanently relocated to our area from Mexico. They of course made the best tamales every Christmas.

Work at the Mizu company

 Many of the nephews of Uncle Frank and Auntie Moe got their social security numbers and first paychecks due to the Mizu Company. My Social Security report shows my first “reportable” earnings in 1965 when I would have been 15 years old. This would have been when I started working at Mizu Company.

By this time Mizu Company was making a range of products. All of the nephews went through the apprenticeship process. I didn’t work on the many products as I was the clean up crew. I cleaned all the machines after they had been used. Slowly over time I was taught how to use all these machines and hand tools as well. Over time my main machines were the lathe, band saw, drill presses, and hydraulic punch presses. I did less work with the sheet metal bender.

The work crew (varied over time)

Frank and Mie Mizusawa (owners and head engineer and painter)

Clifford and Harry Matsukane (head welder and craftsman)

Steven Mizusawa (Clean up crew and machinist/craftsman)

Ron Mizusawa (Clean up, machinist and painter)

Robert Mizusawa (Clean up, machinist)

Walter Takeda (Machinist and craftsman)

Rik Takeda (Clean up crew and machinist)

Bernardo (Paint preparation and craftsman)

Ko Takahashi (Occasional help, machinist and welder)

Don Takahashi/John Nakamine (Occasional help)

What did Mizu Co. make?

Most of the products were for tomato crop farming as I’ve already mentioned. As small scale farming of tomatoes became more difficult, the main crop in and around Orange County  became strawberries. Strawberries also became a popular crop in Central and Northern California.

Most of the tools we made were to make harvesting and planting strawberries easier. Fumigation of the ground in preparation for planting strawberries became popular at the time. A special fumigant was marketed by Great Lakes Chemical and it was called Methyl Bromide. This was injected into the soil and quickly covered with plastic sheets to keep the fumigant in the soil for a few days.

Frank designed and built a modified a plow type attachment for tractors so that is would channel Methyl Bromide from tanks mounted on the plow and into the ground. Also attached to the rear of the plow was a wide spool of plastic sheeting which was laid down as the plow was pulled down the field. Discs dug trenches at the edges of the plastic and buried one side of the plastic into the ground. On the second pass another sheet of plastic was laid down adjacent to the first. This time the 2nd sheet was glued to the first. The plow was fitted with a glue dispenser to accomplish this task. This ended up being a fairly complicated piece of equipment since it had so many functions to do. You may have seen large plots of land covered with plastic many years ago, and maybe still today in some places. At one point I remember working on a metering pump that would put a measured amount of the Methyl Bromide in the ground.  I got my fair dose of Methyl Bromide working on that pump. Hope I don’t get cancer from that!

After a few days the Methyl Bromide had done its work and the plastic needed to be removed from the field. For this Mizu Co. devised another product to pull the plastic up. This looked like a rectangular box which attached to the tractor. It had two wheels one of which drove a chain drive mechanism up on the top of the box which pulled the plastic up and into the box. After the box was full it could be emptied from the bottom and the used plastic was shipped off to the dump.

Another use of plastic with Strawberry crops was the use of the plastic to cover the tops of the rows where the berries were planted. This kept the berries up off the ground and prevented spoilage and kept them cleaner since they would sit on the plastic instead of on the ground. We made the machines that would shape the Strawberry row (bed) and put the plastic on top of it and bury the sides so a nice plastic covered soil bed was made for the strawberries. We also made some handheld burners to burn holes in the plastic so the plants could be planted in the soil beneath the plastic. The burners were propane tanks with a brass attachment which was heated so that a hole was melted in the plastic quickly when touched to the plastic.

I remember building several of these Strawberry machines for customers down in South America. After we build the equipment we built a wooden shipping crate around the equipment so it could be loaded on a ship and taken down to maybe Brazil.  

We also built some very large plow type equipment. They were so wide that we had to make them “foldable” so each end could be folded in so they could be driven on the street.

During my years with Mizu Company we had a couple of Japanese Engineers from Kubota Tractor working in our shop. They had hired Uncle Frank to help them develop farm equipment for their compact sized Kubota Tractors. These days I see those Kubota Tractors all over the farms and landscaping businesses here in the U.S. One of the projects I remember working on was a rotary mower. This worked like the rotary lawn mowers you can buy today. The units were larger as they were attached to the rear of the compact Tractors.

Another project I remember working on were large tanks on wheels which were probably used for spraying crops with pesticides. These tanks were made of stainless steel and welded inside the tank. We had to go inside and paint the seams of the welds so they wouldn’t rust. I remember getting a little high on those paint fumes.

One of our self improvement projects was required when the OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) department came out to look at Uncle’s shop. The shop had multiple rooms that were cobbled together with no real planning. Some of the passage ways were not up to code so we had to put warning signs up to tell people there was a low doorway.

So, that is some of the history of the Mizu Company. Sorry no photos of the things that were made. I remember we took Polaroid photos of everything that was made but who knows where those are today. Uncle Frank and Auntie Moe have been gone for a while now. There were drawings of most things we made as I often was the drafting person for those. Thanks to the Mizu Company for giving all of the Sansei relatives education and experience In so many areas.

By Steve and Ron Mizusawa, former employees of Mizu Company

Fred Mizusawa on his tractor in front of the home in Garden Grove

Celery harvesting on the Mizusawa brothers farm

Celery harvesting on the Mizusawa brothers farm

Packing celery in the fields

Washing bell peppers before packing

Packing bell peppers

Hamada Family nurseries: Blossom City, Garden City, Batavia Garden

By Ellen Crane • 30 Apr, 2021
At the turn of the 20th century Yasaburo Hamada came to America from Jigozen, Hiroshima, at the age of 15. A man of small statue and a quick temper, “Harry” Hamada was adept in judo and kendo and was not afraid to use his skills. One family story recounts a job he had in San Francisco in the basement of a building. He argued with his boss and walked off the job. The next day the Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake happened and buildings everywhere collapsed killing thousands including the people in the basement of Yasaburo’s building. At the age of 38, after more than twenty years in the U.S., Yasaburo returned to Hiroshima to find a wife. He was recommended to the beautiful youngest daughter of a prosperous farming family, Shiki Nagaoka. Shiki’s older sister had left several years earlier to marry a man in Hawai’i and she was also open to going to America. Shiki agreed to marry Yasaburo, 18 years her senior. She recalls the initial meeting he had with her father where she was expected to serve tea. Too afraid to even look at him, Shiki didn’t know what Yasaburo looked like until after she consented to marry him. They wed in Japan in 1920 and left for the U.S. soon after. Their son, Ben, was born in 1921 in Hollywood. Two more children followed, Namiye in 1923 and George in 1925. Ben recalls living in various places in Southern California: San Fernando Valley, Hollywood, San Pedro. They family worked hard at various endeavors but gravitated to farming and the nursery busines. Yasaburo, a man of many talents, had a gift for growing, not just plants, but animals too. Namiye remembers moving a lot but said they always had nice houses. The family spent the war years in internment camps, initially in Jerome, Arkansas, and later at Tule Lake, California, camp for the infamous “No-No Boys.” After the war, like everyone else coming out of camp, the Hamada’s worked hard to make a living. By then, Namiye was married to Manabu Okada who farmed with his brothers Taka and Shigeru. Yasaburo and Shiki had various jobs and 24-year-old Ben worked as a gardener, using trimmings to propagate new plants. Through their friends, the Gotos, who had a thriving flower shop in Montebello, the Hamada’s arranged to open a nursery next to the shop on Beverly Blvd, and called it Blossom City Nursery . Meanwhile, Ben who also wanted to farm, leased land in Huntington Beach on Talbert Ave. and Beach Blvd, while still helping his parents with Blossom City. By then he was married to Masako and they eventually had four children: Ellen, Ron, Kent and Joanne. The family’s nursery business was joined by George and his wife, Hazel, in 1950 when they returned from Chicago, baby Karen in tow, soon to be followed by Gerry, Teri and Parry. In 1953 the family purchased four acres in Garden Grove on Harbor Blvd and opened Garden City Nursery . The thriving business supported Ben and George’s families, Yasaburo and Shiki. They remained there until 1963 when the nursery was forced to move because of the construction of the Garden Grove Freeway. Garden City Nursery relocated to East Chapman Ave, Orange, in 1963. In 1971 brothers Ben and George parted ways and took ownership of separate properties and nurseries. George and Hazel continued operating Garden City and Ben and Masako opened Batavia Garden Nursery next to their home in Orange. Garden City Nursery closed in 1987. Batavia Garden Nursery remained in business until 2019, operated initially by Ben and Masako and and their children, Ron, Kent and Joanne.

Sakuma Farm

29 Apr, 2021
In 1907 Takeo Sakuma left Kyushu, Japan to go to America. He moved to Bainbridge Island, west of Seattle and began farming; taking the ferry he sold produce at terminal markets and Pike’s Place Market. Returning to Japan, he married Nobu in 1914, immigrated in 1915 and they started a family. Takeo became known for strawberries, challenging due to growing conditions on Bainbridge Island. The fertile Skagit Valley near Burlington was recommended as ideal for strawberries. Atsusa Sakuma moved to Burlington in 1935. Atsusa was the oldest Nisei, first born in the U.S., and first to grow berries in Skagit Valley. One by one, Atsusa’s brothers moved to Skagit after high school to help with harvesting. In 1941 the brothers farming in Burlington supported the family remaining on Bainbridge Island. Then Pearl Harbor was attacked in December. The Sakuma family was imprisoned at Manzanar in March. In June the brothers from Burlington were ordered to Tule Lake (northern California), five hundred miles from the rest of the family. While family was treated as the enemy, three of eight Sakuma boys joined the famed 442 nd Infantry Regiment. Three other sons served with the MIS. After the war, the Sakuma family returned to Bainbridge, but their property was lost, so they moved to Burlington. During the war, their farm was maintained by the Oscar Mapes family—a never forgotten act of kindness. With success, the brothers went into the certified plant business in 1948. They provided the start for strawberry farmers throughout the West Coast. Two brothers in Redding, northern California, ran the growing Norcal Nursery around 1970. Norcal acreage covered Oregon and California. The Sansei generation started management from 1997 until 2000 when the last Nisei retired. Bryan, Glenn, and Richard managed Washington operations; Ron and John managed California operations. The Sakumas entered fruit processing in 1990, and Sakuma Brothers Processing, Inc. began in 1997. Since 1997, plant propagation, research, commercial operations and sales, berry and fruit farming, harvesting and beginning a fruit stand. Sakuma berries sell throughout the U.S. and worldwide. 2004 brought the first female board member and first Yonsei to the business. The tradition of excellence continues today. The new generation is committed as the first to their corporate vision: “Honoring our past, growing our future.”

Kayano Farms Inc.

By Tommy Kayano • 21 Feb, 1970
In the late 1950’s a small farm was started in the Westminster area of Orange County, CA. It was a farm consisting of three families. it was made up of the Nakatani family, Hashiba family and the Kayano family. It was known at the time as NHK Farms. As the families grew and got older they eventually split into three separate farms, Nakatani Farms, Hashiba Farms and around 1970 Kayano Farms was started by Hajime and Noriko Kayano. Hajime’s family came from Okayama, Japan while Noriko Nakatani’s family were from Hiroshima, Japan. Coming to the United States by way of Seattle they eventually settled in Downey, CA. WWII came and they were interned in Rowher, Arkansas. Kayano Farms was based in Westminster, CA but had plots of land that they worked in Garden Grove, Stanton, and Riverside. Growing primarily leaf lettuce the operation eventually downsized and opened a roadside stand at the Westminster location. The farm and roadside stand stood until 2011 before it was permanently shutdown .

T. Ohara Farm

By Lisa Ohara • 11 May, 1968
Toyoaki Ohara was born in Japan on December 7, 1903. He came to America at the age of 16 and worked as a gardener for Fox Studios. When he saved enough money, he married Teruko Kuboyama in 1934. In the 1930s they started to grow flowers in Inglewood, CA. When WWII started they were put in a concentration camp in Rohwer, AK. When the war was over, they returned to California and had to start over. They started growing flowers in Harbor City, CA on leased land. Here they grew stock, aster, and lochspur. Toyoaki and Teruko Ohara had six children – Sachiko (Susie), Toshiaki (Tom), Yoko, Teruaki (Ted), Etsuko (Patsy), and Masaki (Roy). In 1950 the family bought some land in Orange County and started to grow chrysanthemums under cheesecloth, and later in plastic greenhouses. In 1968 brothers, Tom and Ted, bought the flower business from their dad and leased his property while they looked for their own land. In 1979 Tom and Ted bought 10 acres of land in Anaheim, CA. Here they built 250,000 sq ft of steel greenhouses and a few saran ones and grew chrysanthemums, china, pom poms, and spiders all year round. They had a side crop of stephanotises, myrtle, and ivy. Even though Tom and Ted owned the business, it was still very much a family affair. Grandma, Susie, and Barbara (Ted’s wife) worked on the farm. Grandpa and Grandma lived in a house on the property (Tom lived in a separate house on the other end). Ted took the flowers to the Southern California Flower Market three times a week. They farmed on this land until 2004 when they sold their property under imminent domain to the Orange County Water District and were forced into early retirement.

Takahashi Farms

By Faith Ishibashi • 22 Apr, 1964
Henry Takahashi graduated from Garden Grove High School and began strawberry farming in Garden Grove in 1964. A son of a farming family who grew various vegetables in Cypress, he concurred with other farmers that the most profitable crop to grow in Garden Grove, because the soil and temperature were both right, was strawberries. Not having any background in strawberries, Henry turned to Paul Murata for guidance, and within a year, Henry was a successful strawberry farmer. Henry says farming has changed through the years. As a farmer, he was not just a grower, but also a mechanic, carpenter, truck driver, horticulturist, pesticide specialist, welder, truck driver, human resource manager, accountant, and more. Henry Takahashi retired from farming in 1972 and now resides in Fullerton. The family has many stories to tell, such as actor James Colburn's mother lived over the fence ®gularly bought strawberries to give to her son. Their farming days were full of many wonderful memories.

Mitsuuchi Farms

By Marti Hosoda • 22 Apr, 1963
Strawberry farming meant a steady income for Roy and Nancy Mitsuuchi, who began farming strawberries in Santa Ana in 1963. The Mitsuuchi found that the sandy soil was ideal for strawberry farming and eventually all their farming was switched to strawberry growing. Prior to strawberries, the Mitsuuchis farmed beans, celery, cauliflower, and tomatoes. The strawberries the Mitsuuchi harvested by the efforts of family and migrant workers were sold at their stand, to various restaurants and to the co-ops.

Sakamoto Farms

By Ann Imayanagita • 22 Apr, 1961
Haruki and Shizu Sakamoto began strawberry farming in Garden Grove in 1961, while continuing to work on the Fountain Valley farm of their relatives Paul and Hatsuye Nagamatsu. The Sakamoto farm in Garden Grove was small and was handled by the family and a couple of migrant workers. For over 30 years, Teruko Shimoda drove from Los Angeles every weekend to help the family stand (see photo below). In 1977, Haruki moved to Yorba Linda and continued farming until 1995.

Kotake Farms

By John Kotake • 22 Apr, 1960
After World War II, Masajiro Kotake returned to strawberry farming in Norwalk. Over the years, Masajiro began accumulating land and expanded the strawberry farm. The height of the Kotake strawberry farming came in the early 1980s with their farms in Orange, Los Angeles, and Ventura. In 1960 the Kotake brothers joined Naturipe Berry Growers Association as charter members. Strawberries were a good source of cash income and held high retail prices at the stands. Strawberry farming provided a comfortable life for the family but farming required everyone to pitch in and help from preparing boxes with baskets to picking strawberries. Strawberries were a good “mix” as it was a “winter” month crop between the tomatoes and other crops.

Matsumoto Farm and Nursery

By Eileen Matsumoto • 08 May, 1959
Nobu and Masako Matsumoto came to the U.S. in February, 1922. He was 18 years old and she was 17; both from Tottori, Japan. They were farmers in Fountain Valley and Garden Grove, California. During WWII, the Matsumoto family was incarcerated in the Santa Anita Assembly Center and the Poston Camp in Arizona. From 1922 to 1932 they had five sons; Key, Tak, Terry, Hiroshi, and Fred or “Freddy;” during the Korean War he served in the U.S. Army, 3rd Infantry Division, from 1952-54; he became squad leader of a mortar platoon and returned as a decorated sergeant. Soon after, brothers Fred, Terry and Hiroshi began farming in Niland, California, near the Salton Sea. In 1959 they built a packing facility, North Shore Produce, Inc., with specialized equipment for handling cherry tomatoes. Fred, a talented inventor, developed and improved machinery to chill, wash, color-sort, dry, wax, and convey the fruit in baskets. A grower’s son who worked with the brothers recalled one of Fred’s inventions: “a planter with seed hoppers capable of planting four rows of tomato seeds from the back of a tractor plow attachment! ….Another ingenious idea was to use airplane propellers to blow away the frosty winter morning temperatures in the desert, thus helping the tomato plants survive the frigid cold.” The three brothers helped popularize the cherry tomato through growing and shipping their “Mr. Tomato” brand, until bad weather and a voracious pest ended their operations in 1965. Fred returned to work with his parents and brothers Key and Hiroshi, running the Exotica plant nursery in Fountain Valley. Fred continued to create and refine machinery and devise equipment to remove large trees from the ground for transplanting. He became adept at the trimming technique need for cultivating black pines and Hollywood junipers, trees for which he was best known. He helped specialize in niwaki (garden trees). After his parents passed, the nursery became Fred’s. The family continued to gather there and enjoy his delicious persimmons, avocados, and sweet grapefruit. The nursery ran from the mid-60s until recently. Condensed from Rafu Shimpo Newspaper and Eileen Aiko Matsumoto
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