James H. Yoshihiro
board walk amusement and gift-shop keeper · active advertising on the Ocean City board walk in 1916
Proprietor of "Jimmy's Alleys" on the Ocean City board walk in 1916, advertising weekly in the county paper: "Play the Fascinating Japanese Ball Game. Keep Your Score and Get a Prize." He also sold hand-painted china, bric-a-brac, Japanese pictures and luncheon sets — "I also sell these goods for cash. It will pay you to see me." He is the earliest identifiably Japanese businessman in the campaign's Ocean City record.
In the record (1)
1916
A weekly "Patronize These Ocean City Advertisers" column gives the 1916 board walk a business census: Dolle's taffy, Schaefer the baker, Mead's Cafe, Conner's Restaurant, the Thoroughgood Co. in the new Perskie Building — and Jimmy's Alleys, kept by James H. Yoshihiro.
From the *Democratic Messenger*, running weekly through the summer of 1916. **Rudolph Dolle**, "BOARD WALK, OPPOSITE THE PIER": "Dolle's Original Salt Water Taffy — AND IT DOES NOT STICK TO THE TEETH. Guaranteed Under the Pure Food and Drugs Act. Made Fresh Every Hour at Ocean City, Md." **Joseph Schaefer, The Baker**: ice cream, plain and fancy cake, layer and pound cake, pies, rolls and buns — "Will ship you any quantity." **Mead's Cafe**, on the Board Walk opposite the Pier. **Conner's Restaurant**, on the Board Walk — "Sea Food Dinners Are Our Specialty." **The Thoroughgood Co.**, merchant tailoring and furnishing goods, "In the New Perskie Building ON THE BOARD WALK." **The Maryland Pharmacy**, Dr. Paul Jones proprietor, with a soda fountain, novelties, souvenirs and post cards. **Seaside Hotel**, Dashiell & Bounds props., "OPENED JUNE 19th ... Terms are Very Reasonable." **"Homewood,"** Mrs. H. E. Collins and Miss Blanch Riggin managers, at Baltimore Avenue and Caroline Street, with special rates for Summer School students and teachers. **Ross B. Geisbert**, auctioneer, Ocean City. And **"Visit Jimmy's Alleys — Play the Fascinating Japanese Ball Game. Keep Your Score and Get a Prize. Hand-painted China, Bric-a-Brac, Japanese Pictures, Luncheon Sets, etc. JAMES H. YOSHIHIRO."** Cambridge visitors that August are recorded at the Hotel Hamilton, the Hotel Belmont, the Tarry-a-While, the Plimhimmon and the Atlantic.
Two names on this list are still on the board walk a century later, and one of them — a Japanese proprietor running a Japanese ball game and selling hand-painted china in 1916 — is the first non-European merchant the campaign has found in Ocean City.
Ocean City BoardwalkDolle's CandylandPlimhimmon Hotel / Plim PlazaAtlantic HotelJoseph SchaeferRudolph Dolle
Source · checked 2026-08-06