In
the early part of the 20th century many of the hills in the Arroyo Grande
area and much of the coastal hills between Avila Beach and Pismo Beach were
farmed by Japanese families who planted bush peas each spring. Some of the
farms extended to the very edge of the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
In 1922 the pea growers of the Pismo Beach area banded together to form Pismo Pea Growers Association with George Fukunaga as its manager. The assembly of the association provided the growers with a centralized marketing capability. Soon after the formation in 1925, the growers in the Arroyo Grande area followed suit forming the Arroyo Grande Pea Growers Association.
It was with the merger of these two organizations that Pismo Oceano Vegetable Exchange (P.O.V.E.), as it is know today, was organized as a nonprofit cooperative. The first manager of P.O.V.E. was the younger brother of George Fukunaga, Bob Fukunaga. As a Hawaiian born and educated individual, Bob was proficient in both English and Japanese. The fact that he was a U.S. citizen was important at the time because there existed a California state law titled the Alien Land Law (enacted in 1913, but declared unconstitutional in 1952) that prohibited all U.S. aliens of Asian origin to own or lease any land. U.S. citizens like George and Bob Fukunaga helped lease the land for the Japanese families to farm.
The newly formed Pismo Oceano Vegetable Exchange was made up of more than 40 members where most ground was farmed in the hills of the South County. With each passing year more and more families moved from the hills to the lowland of the Arroyo Grande Valley where irrigation water was available to grow various vegetables crops throughout the year.
By
the late 1920's, the lower Arroyo Grande Valley in the Oceano District was
the most important vegetable farming region in San Luis Obispo County. The
irrigated pole peas grown in this valley became famous throughout the country
for their fine quality and unique sweet taste. Because of the great demand
for the Oceano pea, the members of the Pismo Oceano Vegetable Exchange were
able to weather the Great Depression without undue hardship, unlike farmers
nationwide who were experiencing severe problems.
The organization continued to flourish throughout the 1930's with the shipment of diverse vegetable crops that included celery, broccoli, cauliflower, iceberg lettuce, cabbage, and brussel sprouts, as well as peas. However, the activity came to a sudden halt after the inception of World War II when all persons of Japanese ancestry, aliens as well as U.S. born, were ordered to evacuate the West Coast to the internment camps located in the interiors of California, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Arkansas, and Colorado.
During the absence of the Japanese families from the West Coast, some families outside the Central Coast area had their properties burglarized, ravaged, and burned. Luckily the families in the South County were very fortunate and their losses were minimal because they had good friends in the Arroyo Grande Valley who looked after their farmland and possessions. Pete Bachino, Vard Loomis, John Enos, Joe Silveira, Cyril Phelan, Ed Taylor, and Ernest Vollmer were among those who stepped forward in the face of pressures from local communities to help their Japanese friends.
When the Japanese were allowed to return to the West Coast after World War II, only a few members of the Pismo Oceano Vegetable Exchange returned to their farmlands. Although these families had farms to come back to, they had very little capital with which to farm. Furthermore, businesses that were willing to extend them credit were almost nonexistent. Once again, it was the Loomis families along with Jack Snyder, the village blacksmith, and Earl Wilkinson of Wilkinson's Meat Market who helped their Japanese friends by extending them credit when no one else would be of assistance. Getting themselves reestablished under these circumstances was no easy task. Due to the lack of capital, the farmers had to do without needed equipment and supplies, while hiring only as much help as they could afford. Instead the entire family both young and old, joined hands and families helped one another. Together they labored long and strenuous hours--many times well into the night--to get themselves back onto their feet.
Pismo
Oceano Vegetable Exchange was reactivated once again in 1946 with Tulie Miura
as its manager. Poled peas, which played such an important role in the earlier
years, could no longer be grown because of soil disease. Celery took over
as the most predominant crop. By the time Ken Kitasako took over as general
manager, replacing Miura in 1955, the second-generation farmers--Stone Saruwatari;
Kingo Kawaoka; Hilo Fuchiwaki; Kazuo, Seirin, and Saburo Ikeda; Mitsugi and
Harry Fukuhara; Haruo and Akio Hayashi; Ken Kobara; Ben Dohi; and Nori Kawaoka--had
taken over from their parents and continued their postwar rebuilding process.
As capital became more available, antiquated equipment was updated and packing
house facilities were expanded to meet the increasing production. Ironically,
it was not until the final year of Kitasako's long and dedicated 26 years
of service that the enlarged cold-storage facilities, which he so frequently
requested, and the hydro vacuum-cooling tube were finally installed.
Many changes took place in the ensuing years, much of which was dictated by the demands of buyers and consumers: better refrigeration to improve shelf life, centralized buying to allow trucks to pick up all their needs at one location, palletization to reduce handling costs, and growing more salad-oriented products to meet the needs of people's changing eating habits. Because of these and other changes the volume of sales doubled within 10 years making P.O.V.E. one of the most important mixed-vegetable shipping companies on the Central Coast. During the course of one year, as many as 24 different vegetables were grown and shipped, including its specialty crop, Nappa (Chinese Cabbage). P.O.V.E. can rightfully claim to be one of the world's largest grower and shipper of Nappa Cabbage.
The third generation of the Pismo Oceano Vegetable Exchange is already active in the affairs of the organization. Leroy Saruwatari; Stan, Vard, Tom, and James Ikeda; John, Robert, Alan, and Michael Hayashi; Gary and Bruce Kobara; and Hugh and Peter Dohi are looking forward to continuing the proud traditions established by their fathers and grandfathers.
Pismo Oceano Vegetable Exchange is a living testimony to the dedication, commitment, and hard work of the Japanese farmers in the South County of San Luis Obispo who overcame many obstacles by working together for more than 75 years to establish a successful agricultural cooperative.
