Nobuyoshi Kano Oral History

This biography of Nobuyoshi Kano was dictated to Highline Historical Society Trustee Dick Dahlgard in October 2006, in a conversation with Nobi and Tomi at their home by Rainier Golf and Country Club.

Nobi’s father came to Seattle in 1912 from Japan and leased what is now called the Vacca farm from two guys named Saudi and Hunt (last names) at Sunnydale. That was prior to the Italians going in there. He was growing celery and lettuce. He wanted to know how to do a better job of lettuce so he went to California and learned how to grow lettuce. He was the first successful lettuce grower in the state of Washington.

Later his father outgrew that space so he went down to Renton Junction/Kent and leased 200 acres. He had 10 Japanese families working for him. He provided the Pike Place Market with their lettuce.

Nobi was born at Sunnydale on Sept 19, 1914, and went back to Japan with his family in 1918 to go to school. After he finished school in 1933 he came back to the US. He joined the Army in 1942 and was a member of the 10th Mountain Division, teaching skiing in Minnesota. Later he was sent to Japanese Military Intelligence School in Minnesota.

For many years Nobi taught skiing at Snoqualmie Summit. On Thursdays he had a Women’s Ski School for housewives. Sometimes he would take movies of the women learning how to ski. He would put his skis on backward and ski down the hill that way, taking movies of the students coming down the hill. He was honored in 2002 by the National Ski Instructors Assn.

Nobi was the head of the professional department at Tall’s Camera after he got out of the Army. Dick Dahlgard worked for him from 1954 – 1957. Dick used to cover for him when he taught Thursday ski lessons. After he left Talls Nobi owned two camera stores in Seattle and one in Bellevue. Dick does not recall when he retired. He thinks it was probably in the 1970’s.

Nobi’s wife is Tomi (Tamako). She has helped with this information. She and Nobi are well known for arguing with one another. One time Dick and the two of them were visiting in Palm Springs and she would say something and Nobi would always argue.

Tomi recommends that we acquire a book, “100 Years of Cherry Blossoms,” by Hyakunen Zakura, which is about the Japanese and has some information about the Kanos. They presently live in a huge townhouse at Rainier Golf and Country Club. Dick couldn’t get it out of her, but he has been told that she is related to the Mitsubishis in Japan, but was born here.….this is hearsay.

She is a graduate of Harvard and went to Japan and helped coordinate Japanese studies.