Words like “topping” and “thinning” were used often when my family would talk about working in the sugar beet fields. I never really thought about what they really meant until I went on the sugar beet trip in 2019. Someone demonstrated how the tops of the giant beets were hacked off using the very large...Continue reading
My mom’s family are story tellers. Family gatherings and dinners would usually end up with them talking about their past – growing up in pre-war Steveston and then the war years in Turin, Alberta working the sugar beet fields. And their stories would often include some humour which would result in much laughter. I think...Continue reading
I don’t have many memories from that time. However, I remember my mother saying that she had to take me to the sugar beet fields with her. I can kind of remember those days when my sister and I were left under the shade of trees. Many of the sugar beet workers came from the...Continue reading
When the Japanese Canadians were required to relocate a minimum of 100 miles from the Coast, the family decided to move to Alberta to work in the sugar beet fields. This decision was made so that the family could remain together as there was much uncertainty about the future at this time. (L) Yui Higo ...Continue reading
[When we were forced to move off the west coast], we moved to Raymond, Alberta to do sugar beets. We didn’t know anything about farming whatsoever and had to learn from scratch. Some congregation members would come and help us. I remember you had to leave the sugar beet plants about 10 to 12 inches...Continue reading
