Parkdale, OR — As a kid, Randy Kiyokawa dreamed of becoming either a police officer or a DJ, professions he knows couldn’t have been more different from one another.

But as Kiyokawa grew to learn, familial expectations have a way of steering one’s path in life. As his parents’ youngest child and only son, he knew deep down that his destiny likely would entail succeeding them in overseeing the family fruit farm, one of the few remaining Hood River Valley farms owned by Japanese American families who returned here following their internment during World War II.

Planted with 157 acres of fruit trees, including more varieties of apples than probably any other farm in the valley, Kiyokawa Family Orchards is a testament to perseverance and adaptation.

Thankfully, its legacy will continue now that Kiyokawa, on the brink of turning 64, is poised to turn the farm’s operations over to the fourth generation — his daughter.

Last month, I had a chance to visit the farm. Though it hadn’t yet opened to the public for the season, work was still happening, most notably on the small homes on site. He provides free housing to his 40 employees

Kiyokawa walked me around the property, where blossoms were just starting to appear on Bosc, Comice, and Anjou pear trees. He also grows peaches, plums, and baby kiwi. In a nod to his wife’s heritage, he also planted Persian plums and sour cherries.

It’s apples, though, for which his farm is best known — 125 varieties in all.