About Uncle Blakes
Before World War I, my great grandfather (pictured right with my father), Masakichi Ueki, came from Japan to America to farm in the San Joaquin Valley of California. In 1921, he sent for his young son, Tsukasa, to join him. Together, through many seasons of hard work and determination, they became successful farmers.
My grandfather ( pictured above ), Tsukasa (Vic) Ueki, married and began his family and continued farming until the onset of World War II. During this time, all Japanese Americans in California were relocated to internment camps. During internment, the banks foreclosed on my family’s farm and it seemed all was lost. After being released from camp however, the young family started over again. This is when my father, William (Bill) Ueki (pictured below right), became an integral part of rebuilding all that was lost in farming for our family during those years. Then in 1951, my father was called to duty to serve in the Korean War. While he was gone, Vic Ueki maintained the farms alone with his wife and five daughters.
Upon my father’s return from military service with honorable discharge, he married and started a family. As a result, my sister and I began spending many seasons in the fields learning the same lessons and rewards of hard work as our ancestors.
I now have two children and a lovely wife of my own. We are honored and proud to carry on the fourth generation of Ueki’s farming in the San Joaquin Valley of California, and it is our goal and honor to provide you with the freshest pecans possible.
From the beautiful foothills of the Sierra Nevadas, Uncle Blake calls on his four generations of growing experience to produce the best pecans in the world. Uncle Blake and his family work hard all year to bring you California’s wonderful, world famous sunshine all wrapped up in a delicious, healthful pecan.
Blake Ueki has grown pecans for the Lagomarsino Group for many years. But, as urban expansion consumed the original grove and “Pecan Store”, the Lagomarsino Group chose Uncle Blake to carry on the time-honored tradition of growing and marketing pecans in their name. They knew he was capable of producing the finest pecans in the San Joaquin Valley and that the LAGO brand would continue to represent the finest quality in pecans.
