Grand Service

There are some people you come across in life who make you believe in the human spirit. Jerry, our mechanic, is one of those people.
For over thirty years our family has been taking our cars for Jerry to repair and maintain. It was back when my father worked at the Zenith plant on the west side of Chicago. The Grand Service Center was within walking distance so he began taking our cars there to be worked on during the work day. And although my father's workplace changed over the years, we continued to take our cars there. Even though it was out of the way with no convenient access to expressways or public transportation. There was reason for that.
We had the pleasure/misfortune of needing to return to Grand Service during our last trip to Chicago. The car started making horrible noises less than half way to Chitown and we desperately needed to patch it up for the return trip. We needed it done right and as cost efficient as possible, so we took it to Jerry.

So who is Jerry? He's a Vietnam Vet who now runs his own car repair shop with his wife handling the front office. He gives you the straight story about your car. Complete with examples of other times he's seen that or a similar problem. Sometimes they were last week, sometimes years ago. He always gives you back the parts he replaces so he can show you why they needed to be replaced. He walks you through what he has done to determine what the problem is. He showed us how bad the fuel filter was. He drained it and showed us that since you could not blow through it, the filter was finished. He genuinely wants for you to have a correctly running vehicle. Heck, he would even give you stuff for free if his wife as not watching out so that they make what little profit they make. It is the kind of service you would easily pay double if he would accept it. And he's always looking out to get you the best parts for the price. If he relocated to a more convenient location or to a better neighborhood, he could easily make much more money.
But that's it. He's a fixture in the neighborhood. He could never leave. Even though the character of the neighborhood has not changed for the better, he is still there to look out for all his old customers and their now grown up kids. He checks on the elderly and watches out for them. He knows all the local policemen which can be a rarity in the city nowadays.

Jerry is a talkative fellow. No trip to his shop was a short one. He always had a story to tell. And at times it was the same story. We made three trips to his shop and he told us the same story twice. It's not fair to call them stories because they are recollections. He told us how he had convinced an old customer of his who is now elderly that the grocery store was giving away free food. In reality, him and his wife were getting items two for one and giving the second one to her. She's on a fixed income and barely uses her utilities. No TV, only radio with the heat down to 50 degrees in winter. But that is just an example of so many stories he has told us over the years. There is always the latest car story, the latest neighborhood news, or just reminicing about how it was to fix cars in the old days.

It makes you feel good to know that good-hearted people like that are out there and hope that you can someday be the same.

My Father's Son

I used to have an uncle who would always boast that he was his father's son. Basically saying he was just like his father. At the time, I was a teenager with the same name as my father. So wanting to establish my own identity, it was the last phrase I would have wanted to tag on myself.

Well, two decades gives a lot of time to establish your identity and it also gives you perspective.

Today I am very proud to say that "I am my father's son!"

I am who I am today due in very large part to him and his character.

If you talked to his family and friends, they would say his two most prominent qualities are his loyalty and generosity. He always remembers his family, friends, and those who helped him become who he is today. He keeps in contact with friends and relatives who have moved away. He still attends reunions for the elementrary school he attended across the street from the projects. He still donates to schools and organizations that either he, my sister, or myself attended or participated in decades ago. When we were kids, we would often help out at the Little Brothers of the Poor. We would help pack holiday boxes with donated foodstuffs or travel door to door in the blighted areas of the city delivering those boxes. When I expressed interest in spending a year studying abroad, he pulled out all the plugs to make it possible. For that I am eternally grateful. It is easily the single event that determined the course for the rest of my life.

Another aspect of his character is that he is a planner. When we were children, he and my mother would take us on two or three week cross-country road trips. He had our itinerary written out on one big spreadsheet. It included every stop and sight with approximate times of arrivals and destinations. On an extended family level he has organized large reunions for members from Florida to Ontario to come and enjoy the big city. He has already started the ball rolling on a reunion for what would have been my grandmothers 100th birthday in 2008. On a professional level, he has been on the committee organizing a large conference of financial managers in Chicago. He was even the chairman (head organizer) for a year or two.

He has also been a great teacher. My sister and I were introduced to so many aspects of the world around us. Our family made regular visits to the Museum of Science and Industry, the Shedd Aquarium, and the Adler Planetarium. Every Sunday night we would sit down to PBS and watch their lineup of cooking shows, This Old House, documentaries, Nova, even Monty Python and Faulty Towers. We often went to the River Trail Nature Center at all times during the year be it the summer, the maple festival in the spring, or the honey festival in the fall. Sometimes just for a walk in the woods as seen in last week's photo. Every couple years we would take road trips around the country. Yellowstone, Washington DC, San Fran, Acadia, Seattle, Boston, and even Knoxville. Each place with something to offer be it nature, history, or diversity. He also taught me sports. Everything from skill sports like bowling or darts to team sports like football and of course baseball. Techniques, strategy, and just plain enjoyment. We were given such a diverse base of knowledge and interests from which to start our lives.

But above all, he has been supportive. Through our schooling and into our adult lives. He was there to offer advice in a supportive way. Even as young adults you don't know what may be the best way to go about things or what possible solutions are available. He has always been there to offer a hand or share the knowledge he had acquired over the years. He has also been supportive regardless of his feelings. He did not agree with my running marathons, yet he was there each race day trying to cheer me on from as many points along the course as possible.

He has even been supportive for one of the worst things I could have done to him. Taking his only son and grandkid(s) 850 miles away. I know of all people, it hurt him the most, yet he didn't say a word. He was too concerned for my feelings and concerned that my wife would not feel any guilt moving to her hometown. Friends, family, and the city I love could all be visited time to time. But his frequent presense is a void that cannot be replaced by this new home. Lost are all the in-between times. The hanging out at home catching a game. An early weekend morning of golf. Or just having a beer in his favorite bar. On the positive side, when we see each other a few times a year, those times are that much more special.

So in many ways, I feel that I am my father's son, but at the same time I feel it is what I aspire to be.

Nathalie

Nathalie was born in Quebec to a francophone family. She had earned the nickname "grasshopper" for her unstoppable energy. The only way to get her to stop was to sit her down with paper and crayons. She loved to draw. Her tenacity and drive were evident even at an early age. On her first day of school she pushed her way to the front of the line for the bus. Someone was not happy with this and pushed her into the doors. So she missed that first day with a bloody nose.

During her childhood she was told that women had their place and it was not in the work world. In high school, she told her guidance councellor that she was interested in architecture. Again she was told she it was not a reasonable goal. She applied to various architecture programs but was not excepted. She was not deterred. She enrolled in an architectural technician (architectural drafter with technical knowledge) program. Unlike her peers she still had a passion for architecture and becoming an architect. After finishing her degree, she continued with other related programs while still trying to get into an architecture program. She attained degrees in urban planning and environmental design. First she applied to francophone architecture programs in Quebec. Then she applied to anglophone programs across Canada who did not accept her because her level of English did not meet their standards. Finally she applied to the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Versailles and was accepted.

She wanted so badly to become an architect that she was willing to fly to Europe alone to live with distant friends of the family on her own dime. In short it was a difficult time being alone in a foreign land. After four years, she won a scholarship to travel back to study for a year at an American university. And that is where I met her. She returned to France for two years to finish her degree. She chose the Bibliotheque Nationale de Quebec as her thesis project locating it on the parcel of land just west of Place des Arts in Montreal. After near constantly working on it for months, she finished in record time. In addition to the local professors and architects on her jury, Anne Cormier of Atelier Big City was flown in from Montreal. She won awards for an exceptional project and exceptional work ethic for her project (exceptionnel projet de thèse et exceptionnel Éthique de Travail). She even won another scholarship to return to the US to do a thesis there. Again she worked hard on a thesis title "Architecturalizing the Edge". It dealt with creating an physical interrelationship between the city grid of Chicago and the lake. She even had Pritzker Prize winner Thom Mayne sit on her jury.

She then entered the work world gaining employment at Perkins & Will architects in Chicago. During her five years there, she worked on such esteemed projects as the interiors of the Hotel Sofitel in Chicago, the LG office towers in Korea, Tribune Interactive in Chicago, Terminal 3 of the Dubai Airport, and a new university in Angola. But it was not until moving here to Montreal that she would be able to work on a project as the head designer. Last year her first completed work took shape.

This is an office building in Repentigny, Quebec built to house a contracting company. The mayor decreed it as an example of the calibur of commercial building he would like to be built along this commercial avenue. It is very special to have a project of hers finally built.

I am very fortunate to call Nathalie my wife. We have two wonderful young daughters and their character is a direct reflection of the great care their mother takes in helping them becoming the best they can be. They are fortunate to have her as their mother.

Happy Mothers Day Nathalie! We love you very much!

Anne Marie

In the early eighties, Anne Marie found herself an intelligent and well read woman without a college degree and overweight. The persistance in her character would soon become evident. She began taking night classes and decided to take up jogging to help shed the pounds. After a decade of night classes and two different universities, she received her college degree.

Running started out as a way to loose weight, but soon became a major facet of her life. She joined a local running club (The Lincoln Park Pacers) and attended their monthly meetings. She also joined CARA (Chicago Area Runners Association) and began running in the races on their circuit. Soon she was running in about three races a month of varying distances (5k, 5 mile, 10k). She subscribed to Runners World and Runner magazines. She kept a daily log of her distances. Soon it became her identity. She was a runner, but it didn't stop there.

She decided she would attempt a marathon as the next challenge. Marathon running was not in vogue as has become today, especially for women. Back then it was almost only for people who were seriously into running. Even then you had to have some special drive to think about attempting it. Today it has become a major industry with prescribed training programs everywhere and groups that meet once or twice weekly to help you through your long runs. Back then you were pretty much on you own with a handful of possible training programs to follow. In 1985 she completed the Chicago Marathon in four and a half hours. She had caught the bug.

She ran Chicago again the next year, but there was also the Lake County Marathon in the spring. So she went out and ran that one. She has continued to run Chicago every year, but has completed many others over the years. She had worked herself up to six marathons a year. She even ran the Pikes Peak Marathon. A 7815 foot ascent and descent in addition to the 26.2 miles. In 2001, her finish at the Chicago Marathon marked her 50th marathon. She at one point attempted to qualify for the Boston Marathon, but her times were not getting any better. So she decided to take on another goal.

Ultra-marathons. Now she had completed ultra-marathons before, but they were ONLY 30 miles (a marathon is 26.2). She attempted and finished the Ulmsted 50 miler near Raleigh, NC in 2000. Then she completed it again the following two years. But then there was another goal. The 50 miler at Ulmsted is the shorter of the two races held. The big race is the 100 miler. The runners are given 30 hours to complete the course along the trails in the Ulmsted National Forest. In 2002 she attempted the 100 miler, but came up 10 miles short due to serious blisters and an unlikely finish before the time cut-off. 90 MILES completed in 27 hours. She decided to give it one last try the following year, but had to stop at 70 miles.

Since then she still runs a few marathons a year. She is up to 71 not counting the ultra-marathons more than once. But now she has a new beau and her interest in running is now shared with her interest in Harley Davidson motorcycles. She has a Superglide that her partner converted into a trike (three wheeler). She has logged 15,000 miles on it and takes it out for long rides on the weekends. Her fashion has changed from brightly colored running apparel to jeans and black Harley t-shirts. I mention this because I find it interesting how her outward appearance now shows the strength of character I have always seen in her. And it's just fun to say my mom is an ultramarathon biker chick.

Audrey

Audrey was born in south central Illinois soon after the turn of the century. She was a flower child born decades too soon. A liberal open-minded free spirit born from liberal parents in an highly conservative part of the country during a highly conservative time by today's standards. "She treated everyone equally and held no prejudice" wrote my sister. "She taught her family to live life without bias, to be optimistic, and to never stop learning." She was a country girl who dreamed of life in the big city if not the world. In her teens she ran off with a friend to the nearest big city, St Louis. She was married at an early age, but it did not last. She left him and divorced at a time when divorce was uncommon.

She then moved to Chicago where she met and married an Filipino man. Interracial marriages were also uncommon at that time. She continued to dream. She studied the city of Paris and people who had travelled there would be convinced she had been there due to her knowledge of the place. She dreamed of drinking cafe au lait on the Champs Elysee. She would have six children with this husband, but would also leave and divorce him.

Her third husband was a Japanese performer who had recently lost his wife and his career. "She was his morning glory who gave new meaning to his life" my father was quoted as saying. She would have another child and in her senior years she lived downstairs from us. Her imaginative nature lended to hours of creative and imaginative play. She would hold meetings of 'The Endangered Species Society" where we would study animals on the brink of extinction. The meetings were very formal with role being called. We played games like the Grand Prize Game. Just like on the Bozo Circus filmed blocks from our house. During the summer she would sit on the front porch making us clover flower jewelry as we ran to collect more.

As my cousin Cathy said of her "she was way ahead of her time. She got the most out of life, and did exactly what she wanted."

Many people called her Audrey, but I called her Grandma. Years after her passing, I was fortunate enough to live in Paris. I got to know the city quite well. I wish I could have shared it with her.

3 Women

Over the next three Sundays, I will post articles about three women in my life. These three are/were women of great character who have/had great influence over who I am today. I feel this should be acknowledged.

Fukuzo (Frank)

The life of Hashi & Osai before 1941 was covered in the previous post. They had a very successful act that afforded them liberties and relative freedom from prejudice. All of this during the Great Depression. This changed when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Suddenly everyone looked with suspicion at anyone with an Asian appearence. They changed their names to Hia Sing and Sue Ming to attempt a disguise as Chinese performers. The last performance of "Hashi and Osai" was on Christmas Eve, 1941. Although still performing under pseudonyms Hia Sing and Sue Ming they were too well known as Japanese performers and could no longer work in the industry.

They spent some time with close friends in central Illinois, but could not find a retreat from antagonisms. Locals hearing of Japanese hiding out came to break their radio and take their knives. So they returned to Chicago where they had never had any trouble. With their performance career over, Frank tried various jobs until he owned a restaurant. The cooks would not cook for him, so he learned to cook himself. He had found his second career. He worked in the kitchens of many esteemed Chicago restaurants including the Ding Ho, the Mid-America Club, the Wrigley Building, the Conrad Hilton Hotel, Marshall Field's, Maurice's Restaurant, and the French haute cuisine of Le Manoir.

While Frank's successful second career paid the rent, Osai stayed at home. They lived with other Japanese, some of them performers, but speculation is that she found this to be a very difficult time. Her career had ended abruptly and she was home with no children of her own. Osai fell ill of cirrhosis and passed away April 28, 1949 at 51 years old. Although he had pulled out from the difficulty of losing his first career, after losing Osai, Frank had hit bottom. He found comfort in his longtime performer friends from near and far. His life would change dramatically again and it would become turning point in his life.

He opened a new chapter in his life when he married a white woman, Audrey, and they had his first and only child, Francis Dean, at age 55. He was pulled out of the depression from Osai's passing by a very loving relationship with Audrey in which they shared common viewpoints and perspectives on the world. He embraced the American culture studying hard in an American History course he enrolled in. And in 1965 he became a US citizen at age 69.

When I was very young, the couple moved in downstairs from us. Frank from my perspective was quite an interesting person. I saw him in his retirement days. He was largely a quiet man who spoke only when he needed to and still spoke with an accent after all these years. He was quick on his feet for someone in their eighties. He was an avid Cubs fan listening or watching games when possible. He also like playing cards whether it was solitare after lunch or pinochle with the other senior citizens at their weekly meetings. We accompanied him to the store of Japanese goods and took him to the Ginza Holiday festival to see the taiko drummers.

One memory is still very vivid. He needed to change a light bulb hanging in the center of the room. At 85 years old, he pulled out the step ladder and climbed up to the top step to reach the bulb. Audrey screamed at him saying it was too dangerous. He looked down and just said "Baaah" as if to say 'I was an acrobat, I can at least climb a ladder and change a light bulb.'

On July 26, 1986 he passed away, just four months after his 90th birthday. He had lived quite the wonderful life. He had seen every state of the union, lived the life of a successful performer, and worked alongside many famous people. He had found the love of his life twice and happily lived into his retirement years surrounded by family. As my cousin Cathy remembers "His kindness. Never said a mean word, always had twinkle in his eye, and just treated everyone so kindly. Sweet, sweet man... He was a total gentleman... Very classy."

It has been with great pride and great pleasure that I relay the story of my grandfather's life. This is a rough summary of my sister Nancy's History Master thesis. Pretty much all the content is from her work and some copied word for word. Her thesis also compares Hashi and Osai's experiences with other Japanese immigrants who were largely young males coming to work in agriculture. She is hoping to get is published and if it is, I will forward info about it.

Hashi & Osai

My sister, Nancy, recently finished her thesis in history which focused on the uncommon experience of two Japanese acrobats and their life stories. Their names were Sei "Osai" Sakamoto and Fukuzo "Frank" Hashimoto and they eventually formed the performing duo of Hashi & Osai. Nancy also created a great webpage about it as part of a webpage design class that you can see here. I will try my best to summarize her work.

Osai was born in 1897 and as was common practice at the time, was excluded from being listed on a family register as thus did not have any formal family status. She was given up for adoption and was taken under the guardianship of an acrobatic trainer. In 1905 she was brought to America and the city of Chicago. It was in Chicago that she was trained. Along with her fellow performers the training included harsh beatings resulting in scars, a broken arm, and concussions. Less than a year after arriving, she began performing as part of the Otora Japanese Family. Soon after the troupe was reorganized into the Namba Troupe and began traveling around North America. She continued to perform in show business as a acrobat, contortionist, and performer.

Fukuzo was born in 1896 to a large commoner agrarian family in Japan. He was recruited to join the Fukumatsu Kitamura acrobatic troupe and came to America in 1906 leaving his family behind. The training was very strict and he recounted that beatings were given if routines were not performed correctly. Although he had no family, he developed strong and lasting relationships with his fellow performers. In 1907 he joined the Ringling Brothers Circus for three years. He gained the favor of the eldest brother, Al Ringling, and Fukuzo's contortion act was place in the center ring. After Ringling, Fukuzo went on to join Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show for three seasons. He helped train wild horses and worked as part of the Japanese cavalry performing as one of the Congress of Rough Riders. After the Wild West Show, he continued to perform in vaudeville.

In 1917, Fukuzo and Osai along with two others formed the Fuji Troupe and toured the country for three years. In 1919 they married and soon quickly formed the duo act named "Hashi and Osai". It was at this time that Fukuzo changed to the Americanized version of his name, Frank. Their performance encompassed several elements: high perch, water spinning, girl on pedestal, fast tumbling, spotted flip flops, hand balancing and a Risley act. Their act was always a two-person team and consisted of acrobatics and gymnastics, contortion, and balancing. In the many towns where they performed the reviews by critics of their exhibition was always held in high esteem.

One article read "Hashai & Osai, a Japanese boy and girl, offer one of the surprises in their oriental thrilling and sensational juggling act, said to be one of the best that has been on the American stage in years." Another read "the sensational act of the well-known Japanese team, Hashi & Osai, as one of the five outstanding acts of vaudeville in the Beacon's Theater's stage this week, outclasses any turn of this nature to come to Vancouver in months." "Dynamic feats of thrilling gymnastics that will keep you in breathless suspense. Extraordinary entertainment - with a complete change of acts in each of the two shows each evening."

They performed in popular venues such as the Chicago Stadium and Soldier Field in 1929, Palisades Park in New Jersey in 1930, the Shrine Circus in Los Angeles in 1932, the World's Grain Exhibition in Regina, Canada in 1933, the Al Ringling Theater in Baraboo, WI in 1936, and the Oriental Theatre in Chicago in 1939. They also hopscotched across the US and Canada including: Montreal, Boston, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Sioux Falls, Cincinnati, Dallas, Vancouver, Billings, Des Moines, Wichita, Omaha, Ottawa, Winnipeg, and St. Louis in addition to countless small towns. They were very successful enjoying a life of freedom and acceptance unusual for Japanese immigrants at the time. That changed on December 7, 1941.

part two to come next week...