Member Profile: Kaz Ikeda

Kaz Ikeda was named Kazuo ("first boy") because he was the first boy born of Japanese ancestry in King City, California. His family eventually moved to the Arroyo Grande Valley, where they started a farm on 30 acres.

During WWII, as Japanese-Americans the Ikedas were "evacuated" to relocation camps, where Kaz'z father died in 1943. Returning to Arroyo Grande, the family was able to hold onto their land due to the actions of Kaz's friend and local businessman Vard Loomis. Kaz and his brothers continued the farming business, appropriately named Ikeda Brothers Farming Company. Kaz named one of his sons Vard, in appreciation for the friendship shown by the Loomis family during difficult times.