For decades, a small family farm stood next to Disneyland in Anaheim, California.
asserted
farm → stand → Anaheim
While the theme park expanded around it, the Fujishige family continued to grow strawberries, vegetables and herbs on their land.
asserted
family → expand → land
The farm had become an unusual sight in an area increasingly shaped by Disney and tourism.
asserted
farm → become → Disney
According to SF Gate,By the 1990s, the family’s produce stand was still selling fresh strawberries and vegetables to locals and visitors, even as the value of the land rose sharply.
uncertain
value → accord → land
The Fujishige family had repeatedly rejected offers to sell the property.
asserted
family → reject → property
Disney executives wanted the land as the company planned further development around Disneyland.
asserted
company → want → Disneyland
But Hiroshi Fujishige remained firm about keeping the farm.
asserted
Fujishige → remain → farm
“This land means quite a bit to me.
asserted
land → mean → me
My brother died for it.”
asserted
brother → die → it
Fujishige told the Los Angeles Times in 1991.
asserted
Fujishige → tell → 1991
Hiroshi and his brother Masao were born in Los Angeles in the 1920s to Japanese parents.
asserted
Hiroshi → bear → parents
According to PBS SoCal, their family faced restrictions under California’s Alien Land Laws, which prevented Japanese immigrants from owning land.
uncertain
which → accord → land
When the US military forced Japanese Americans to leave the West Coast in 1942, the Fujishige family moved to Utah.
asserted
family → force → Utah
Hiroshi was later drafted into the US Army.
asserted
Hiroshi → draft → Army
Before he was sent to Europe, he became seriously ill.
asserted
he → send → Europe
By the time Fujishige recovered, the war had ended.
asserted
war → recover → time
“He saved my life,” Fujishige later told the Post.
asserted
Fujishige → save → Post
Living next to Disneyland
After the war, the family returned to California.
asserted
family → live → California
In 1953, Hiroshi and Masao bought a 58-acre berry farm in Anaheim for $3,500.
asserted
Hiroshi → buy → 3,500
They began growing strawberries, vegetables and herbs on the property.
asserted
They → begin → property
At the time, Walt Disney was developing his plans for a theme park in Anaheim.
asserted
Disney → develop → Anaheim
The Fujishiges watched the area around their farm change as Disneyland took shape nearby.
asserted
Disneyland → watch → shape
Disneyland opened in July 1955.
asserted
Disneyland → open → July
The contrast became more striking as Anaheim developed.
asserted
Anaheim → become → ?
High-rise hotels and other businesses appeared around the farm, while the Fujishiges continued farming.
asserted
Fujishiges → appear → farm
Their roadside stand sold produce from the property, including strawberries and corn.
asserted
stand → sell → strawberries
As Disneyland grew, so did interest in the Fujishige land.
asserted
interest → grow → land
The property was in an increasingly valuable location, and developers began approaching the family with offers.
asserted
developers → begin → offers
Fujishige did not appear impressed by the attention.
asserted
Fujishige → appear → attention
In 1991, he told the Los Angeles Times that one man had offered $2 million per acre.
asserted
man → tell → acre
He rejected the offer and said, “I didn’t even get his name.”
asserted
I → reject → name
A few years later, Disney chairman Michael Eisner invited Fujishige to meet at a Disneyland restaurant and tried to persuade him to sell.
asserted
Eisner → invite → him
Fujishige remained unconvinced.
asserted
Fujishige → remain → ?
Picture: Los Angeles Times
City tried to seize land
In 1985, Anaheim announced that it would use eminent domain on behalf of a private business for the first time in the city’s history.
asserted
it → try → history
A Hong Kong developer was planning a $200 million hotel and condominium project near the Anaheim Convention Center.
asserted
developer → plan → Center
The project was expected to increase traffic, and two roads were proposed through the Fujishige farm.
asserted
roads → expect → farm
The family refused to sell again.
asserted
family → refuse → ?
The city then moved to seize the land so the project could go ahead.
uncertain
project → move → land
The following year, after a day working in the fields, Masao Fujishige died by suicide.
asserted
Fujishige → work → suicide
Family members said he had been deeply distressed over the fight with the city and that his health had also suffered after a stroke three years earlier.
asserted
health → say → stroke
…and 22 more, not listed.
The Aporia
