Peter Kaplanis and Cami Kaplanis

00:06 My name is Peter J. Kaplanis. Kaplan is age 74 today's date is Sunday, January 12th, 2020 location Santa Monica, California and my partner with an interview person named Kristen.

00:33 Name Cami kaplanis my other daughter and the relationship of courses our daughter.

00:45 And I am Cami kaplanis age 50 today is Sunday, January 12th, 2024 in Santa Monica, California. I am interviewing my dad Peter and he is my father.

01:00 So super excited to hear something. I've been thinking about for known about for a long time and finally got to make it happen. And I think it's perfectly fitting because you love to tell stories and so I thought this was the perfect match for you cuz you are the person of you've always been Storyteller. So I thought that I'd ask you about some different.

01:34 Cool steps through your life that you have Christy of sorts a good stories. So I thought we'd start with the very very beginning of the story about how your dad immigrated from Grease through Ellis Island 9 years old grease

02:00 And with his mother and father and brother and sister and they came transatlantic steerage passage about 16 days at the whole trip to Ellis Island, New York.

02:24 And have once they got to Ellis Island. They have been had a predetermined termination of that my

02:36 Uncle lives in San Francisco, California. So we headed out to the Californian on the way my grandfather.

02:53 Borked

02:55 As a delivery merchants in in Greece found that he could not.

03:05 I provide for his family and until he

03:10 Turn the key over.

03:13 Got the kids together and we head for.

03:19 United States because it was

03:25 Ugly uncle was in a California we headed west and they on the way my grandfather worked in the coal mine for about 2 weeks and found out that it was real dark there and he didn't like it and he was down.

03:48 Below ground and he just was not comfortable with that and one-time the

03:56 Lights went out and down down the coal mine and it took him like a half a day to get out and when he got out he threw his cap didn't bother to pick up the pay and get on the train headed for, California.

04:17 I never knew that so he he didn't like that being in the cold. He didn't like being in the dark and you didn't like that at all. So once they get California the first of all Ellis Island tour ticket to New York in order to get to California. So it was a Ellis Island was a big point in the travels. So Ellis Island was hoping probably an 1892 and close approximately a 1954 and during that process of millions and millions of immigrants.

05:07 Processed through Ellis Island, and and another long story that is that when Ellis Island was being reconstructed here and then late.

05:23 The 80s baby 80s their 80s. They look for anybody who he was connected. And so they because I was connected by my father he

05:41 He

05:44 They were asking for donations for the bricks to be right there. They want yeah, they want a fundraiser. So I realized that and I sent a $200 in as my contribution to an island brick and part of the part of the courtyard and

06:21 It has your dad's name on it.

06:24 Hit me that my dad's name on it.

06:27 They contacted him.

06:30 Indy Florida and said

06:35 Congratulations, your brick will be the further reminder to the world of your entry to the United States and become an American citizen. My father when you got that said was wrong. He says you you cannot honor me which I tried to do you say You must honor my mother and father cuz they bought me and I was with my brothers and sister my brother and sister and so bored. Your dad was about a boy and 8 or 9 or something when he came through Ellis Island was 9/9 when he arrived, but now we're talkin his parents. So I am.

07:28 I figured well, how do we fix this? And since my father's saying don't honor me honor my mother and father his mother and father. So I sent another 200 another $4 to cover the first $200 and now I got my father and his parents three bricks or is that too bright? And then we also living in San Francisco was his sister. So she heard what happened and she said me too. I want to be I want to be on that brick. I want to be on that island. I want to be part of the whole program so I had to send some money.

08:18 Back to include her and pretty soon. I got around to the family. You got to my mother's side and they found out I had done this wonderful thing over my father and his parents so they called me and I that time I was intent. I was in Los Angeles. They called me from San Francisco and say we heard you do this wonderful thing and you were honoring the complaint of family and what about your grandmother and grandfather on your on your mother's side if they're going to be regarded we want everyone regarded. So it was $4 and when I go through with that in the in the answer the uncle's I think I was down about $1,800 before I finish the project but being that said,

09:18 We got him on a book entry. We got them on a

09:31 Tell have bricks there on that, of course all of them have bricks and you can you can go there and find them for them. Exactly. So this is the story of the time of arrival how they put the transit ship to the right to the right side. Let all the first class people get off and he stayed aboard overnight and then went to Ellis Island the following morning and that was that was the entrance to United States for wish my father was

10:25 Enormously ass was a whole lifetime grateful and he when he got off the plane he travels he can he got off the pill every plane and kiss the ground instead. I'm in America the great way to start and I just thought it was kind of perfectly fitting that like you start with that story of your family name being saved and recorded in and truly part of American history and then having this experience today being recorded this part of American History is kind of similar, but different ISO. Okay, awesome and we started our life there.

11:22 I was

11:25 I wasn't born yet, Tell me tell me about San Francisco. You had give so many stories and services go maybe one from Golden Gate Park or from that restaurants and bars that your dad owned or a story from George Washington High School where you went to school from Grade School in San Francisco.

11:52 We

11:54 Richard Carrillo

11:57 Grade school and we

12:02 There is that girl got mid midterm. It was you came in January when she was supposed to start in September, but we got end in January instead and it's kind of alter my life in my grades when you graduated Middle School through high school and threw a year-and-a-half spring class instead of fall class. What's but you still doing

12:30 I love the first day of grade school the

12:36 Pretty note on my lapel and said

12:41 He doesn't speak enough English cuz it's from my mother and father murdered my mother and father's parents. Am I my mouth my father's parents, and so I had a four grandparents on all of speaking Greek and I was kind of I guess mixed up in grade school and kindergarten.

13:19 By June

13:21 And we were generator June and then they said Peter we're going to have you.

13:31 Complete the second you complete the first grade again.

13:38 What white wine near I'm sorry. Please complete kindergarten again. And we're going to make you the dispenser of milk in monitor for the cop in milk. I was charged that were they got me excited to get cookies and milk at at all the times that you're everybody's best friend. So we went through like a school. It was a very Middle School 6th 7th grade ninth grade. Can you tell me the story about music class in elementary school?

14:22 That reminds me. We we took up Eichler. We took up an instrument everybody.

14:31 II band and so I was probably

14:38 Average too high and it was time to make a

14:48 Is it Cup made your grades and you had to do a little solo with a Nike light was a clarinet and

14:58 I did my solo and the teacher always took your way.

15:05 And listened to the

15:09 I'm I'm application of whatever he wanted me to form. And I did real well, I kind of liked it in fact, and it did well and then they called guy next to me.

15:23 And his name is Abby. Still. And he said okay. You're next.

15:30 And you're super liked to be he was down in the band somewhere and he looked at me and he shook his head and I said don't worry about it. You just play like you're playing and I'll look at you you fake it and I'll give you the new I'll give you the tune. And so I turned around and well, he know if you knew you knew me. He knew my face gotten pretty soon. We all through y'all through. Yes you through this is mr. Kaplan has

16:13 What you did it twice and he knew from the tone and the preparation. I suppose Andy the sounding he knew it. I had dope in for somebody else and got caught for covering for your friend wasn't prepared Heelys homeroom teacher and tell me the story about your homeroom teacher when will ride near the

16:46 School was a gas station and

16:51 On time from time to time. I work part-time a little bit on weekends in the gas station. So I was very familiar with the whole operation. And when the when I want my teacher mrs. Picnic came in my homeroom teacher get gas. I was she was happy and I was happy to see each other and we fill the gas up and Evie Olson and then along the line before they left.

17:26 I looked it up on the ground and I found $20 near the curb and this is like in the 40s or 50s or something though.

17:38 I'm okay. And so so I came back to the car and I said I just found this money is going to come and it's not mine. Is anyone here they lose 20 $20 anyone here lose $20 and nobody nobody since so no one here is responsible or identifies.

18:20 The cast are you can

18:25 Let me have it.

18:28 And I'll deal with you next week. So we went to class and we got the class next week. Mrs. Had written Hozier story and the board.

18:43 About finding

18:46 Being truthful be honest and interested. It's such an example and who is it in Edwards? My name was not on there and then at the end of the week.

19:06 From Monday to Friday she on Friday put down there. It was Peter Jacob planners and I was the the honest man for the class high school was very exciting excelled in 3/4 Sports and did well and got his letter society and all that. It just was very very but there were a couple of incidences there.

19:45 In high school, we're at those times people were still getting into the military.

19:56 After World War 1 after World War II was finished. They were still getting in the military but to get into the military you have to have some sort of a calculation of attending school and completing some format and there's a guy there named Evie Silva and he wanted to quit school and he wanted to go in the military and they said if you get if you get this confirmation that you complete this course.

20:35 You're in and if you don't you're not in and he have to go back to school again, and he didn't want to go back to school again. So year old son, and I knew him rather. Well, we won basketball team we played together and he

20:58 Climbed out on the third floor roof of the high school and

21:06 There's a short ledge there and he he got on that ledge and he told the teacher.

21:13 You don't give me a perfect.

21:15 Admission

21:17 Give me all you meant whatever you supposed to feel in there for my activation. I'm going to jump.

21:26 An alien Aero jump, give me an A or I'll jump and I'll do it. If you promise promise you lyrics changed and pretty soon. She I guess he's she gave some confirmation that there's my grade. There's your ass. There's your a grade. There's my signature and you completed the course and so they got back in through the window and consider his day made and you were home.

22:02 And yeah, okay, and can you tell me about

22:13 The story about Golden Gate Park and what it was like to have a victory garden there during World War II, but he was on Masons.

22:27 We will have rationing to ourselves because my father owned a grocery store so we had

22:36 All we needed and we had enough to give to other neighbors down the block cuz everything was rationed.

22:44 Guess who's racing tires are rationed of certain pork and you only have so much and we had a family next door that has eight kids. And so we will forever feeding them almost daily basis with they're going to get part but the real reason

23:11 That sticks out of my mind is doing that during those Warriors that said 1941-1945 to my cousins were drafted their older than I was I was.

23:29 Can you turn guys and and

23:34 He they were green farewell party that whole family is giving a farewell party cuz if they're both going to go one to the Pacific at 1 to the to the Atlantic and to Europe and then they didn't know whether they're going to get killed. In fact, there were people in our block in San Francisco that hold you had gold stars on their windows and we had to go star on your window. That means you lost.

24:08 Remember your family during the war so we have this big party and uncle on on my my inside his.

24:27 It was it was your uncle there that came and never once said well, what did you give these kids who are going to war for the world war? Maybe never come back. Again. Everyone is always giving me like $25 if we were a camera or or something of that nature and there's a gentleman on my

24:55 Inside that came and he had he didn't have anything to get with nothing to give but a stick of gum.

25:04 And he did he did he he said I'm going to give Andrew and I'm going to give it to George and everyone's shocked and he Hazel 25 people contribute to this cause and so he got in the car and my brother myself and my cousin and drove to the Golden Gate Park to Golden Gate Park during World War II was a victory garden and it was controlled vegetables growing and so he comes at night and unleashes. I didn't get some lettuce and get some pie.

26:04 Whatever whatever it was and bring it to the car bring the car Uncle mangy go out and vegetables before he was in his garden, but he he grabbed all the carrots carrots and lettuce and whatever and then he came back to the house and he said his my contribution.

26:30 That was that was a disappointment for River what you're doing?

26:40 Oh my goodness. Okay, if that's awesome. Okay. Can you tell me about what it was like when we lost yet?

26:50 In that high school, there was a gentleman who wanted to go in the military and he got his way and there was another summon another classmate and he wanted to

27:07 The Gardener so

27:15 I'm getting out of context but sequence but the boy the Abbey Silva.

27:25 Basketball player he got into the military by

27:34 Attempted suicide and the other guy

27:39 Got his job with a Golden Gate Park and he in his life and experience.

27:51 One thing was very very important to a night with his car and he got a car affect on a on a Gardener's paycheck. He actually bought a Cadillac of all things and as restaurant in this I got a little older than I got into college I come back at a gynecologist near USC football. My home is always in San Francisco always and so I got back yet. So my folks of from Momo every two months maybe and then have you seen Danny he's been around the neighborhood and

28:43 Josh to see them and so I found them he was

28:51 At the time it says yeah, they let him is at 48th.

28:57 By the ocean 40th Avenue, that's what usually starts with San Francisco 40th Avenue. So I drove out there and I'm done. I found him and he was

29:11 Drinking and trying to help a lot and so I got him a job that didn't work out very well. But we tried and next thing. I know he was a number 500 jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge and he drove his car into the bridge left a note to take care of his car and then following that he jumped interesting enough. He jumped inside the bridge instead of outside the bridge and very important people that committed suicide in Golden Gate and and San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. They always jump inside.

29:59 Yeah, I know. It's like some psychology and studies and drama around that. So tell me about let's go to Yosemite firefall's was like an important cuz you'll never see it again and they had with a Coal Fire Falls Firefall at night. I think it was 9:00 at night and they would prepare all day long up in a region where they had

30:39 Burning logs

30:42 On fire at all time so they were access logs and then at night time in

30:50 Yosemite with no lights on and all the lights intentionally ignore llege off.

31:00 The people deserve a bulldozer brought the debris of fire and chard and coming off the mountain as a waterfall of unbelievable Yosemite head don't know lights and then a waterfall of real real fire.

31:38 Ranger with y'all to the other Ranger from the bottom to the top. Are you ready camp in mountains and nude you hello Camp Perry. We are you ready?

31:57 Let it begin and I'll send these these bullers put this white flaming.

32:06 Charred debris over the ledge and down to the valley and you could see it as a white.

32:17 Glowing waterfall free special cuz I don't have any more dangerous. Okay. Can you tell me what it was like when you were at USC and you were the manager is looking events at the Coliseum. I got to go very lucky. I got a new his friend to a friend who was a graduate student and they said would you like a job?

32:50 Both things at the Coliseum and you will be in charge of the Coliseum.

32:58 Awesome job. And what it was is to book all events to the Coliseum USC and or other pack 10 a.m. Pac-10 schools occurred. So they would they want to see for bowl games. They wanted football soccer and concerts back then and then pretty soon. It wasn't USC at the Rose Bowl. It was Washington state so they called me, and they called me. Can you handle?

33:40 For the people at the Rose Bowl, I could transfer my job and my responsibilities to the Rose Bowl. And so I did the Rose Bowl twice and totally equipped total of Staff everything I had was unbelievable. I was Tony. I was just doing the time and I can pay me $500 for one event.

34:19 That was Rose Bowl following event was another $500 and that was the Wisconsin somebody else. So I had that responsibility very good reporter in a very good secretary and she had everything listed and I said, I want 60000 here and a list of priorities and that I got the first 60,000 and if I wanted to have 80000 event come back and see I want $0.20 more for the ushers in the parking and the security is pretty cool or Markle and

35:06 Awesome that you had a job. Can you tell me about what it was? Like when you were in the Army and Marine Corps girl you went to school and you got deferment which meant you didn't go to the military until you completed your school. So I could pretty my school and sure enough like about my job board called me and said it's your turn into the army and it was two years and because I already graduated from

35:47 Undergraduate I was up against people that were.

35:52 1 2 or 3 years behind me who had their graduated and so getting those people assigned being getting listed red one one guy that way. I wish I was assigned to a guy named Idaho and Idaho. I had a problem. He had no teeth. No no. Yes, no toothbrush and he never had a toothbrush until I go to the Army and he had dentures and the only thing I remember about him was when it was time to pull out at 4 in the morning for an expection. He was there and he wasn't there because he couldn't find his Dentures you could find his dentures because they were always in his in his shoes. You put them in the shoes and kept them there all night and then get the morning they put him in the mouth and we go out and do the inspection or whatever it was.

36:52 We're basically didn't show up. So you had to go help me find my phone has teeth, but I had a good Adventure a good experience cuz I was assigned with sociology and psychology as male undergraduate. I got assigned to a mental hygiene clinic. I didn't have to go shoot guns anymore. I just get my basic training and then I did my my two years at a mental hygiene clinic attached to a hospital in one thing on from ho for Sam Houston to Fort Bliss and it's about six hundred miles and it was

37:50 It was 19.

37:54 59 and he said, okay you're in charge. Here's your four or four orders or four people get them from here to there. I just know and and so I did and it's so doing I realized that in Texas the

38:18 So I got a script for the for the military and we went to go to a restaurant. You know, my father. I've already told the owner, you know, my father from San Francisco. Oh, yeah. Yeah. How's your father? And then he said I said I got these four people. I'm in charge of feed him. So he just can't do that because the windows

39:06 That's what we talked about and everything is very liberal and modern Texas to Forest and he's a GU Bill break the windows in the Chamber of Commerce. And I saw that you would not come across the floor in for something in the in the meantime, and we got fed by some pool hall somewhere to tens and pain blocks away. And then we got on the bus and went through all the way on the way because couple of the guys in your groups were African American in very much but

39:58 When I got to the halfway mark, it was time for lunch for 2 miles.

40:07 I get off the bus and had we got it we had to wrap it up because we said there were signs instead.

40:19 White customers

40:22 Other customers and so we had to move and move around that and be always right and be white and and and and whatever do the right thing at the right time and around other.

40:41 Way of thinking in Texas was not something that you would come across as you guys up.

40:56 As a professional I was an attorney I had 50.

41:02 5 years as a licensed attorney in California, and I just got tons and tons of experience lots of Clan Fostoria. Oh, yeah, he go on for hours, but we're at a time. So thank you for thank you for doing this with me today and thanks for being a good sport and sharing your stories to make this happen. Every bottom. You would be better. I am grateful. I'm grateful for the living United States. I'm grateful living California. I'm grateful for having a wonderful family and

41:51 Hello, I hate my dad always aired on.

41:57 Be honest, and in the experience, I found that be honest actually always helped me and it now it was never take advantage of being dishonest discovered last night as we were talking about this recording experience today that there is nothing I want to see through your stories as we were recalling and recounting story. Well, thank you for coming with me today. I love you.