YOUNG Yuen Sim was born in China on February 17, 1899. He was 19 years old when he arrived in Canada to begin a new life. He found work as a labourer for the railroad.

By 1924, he was working as a farmhand and living in Vancouver at 545 Carrall Street.

A story passed down in the family is that, at some point, Yuen Sim was offered the opportunity to serve someone else’s jail time in exchange for cash. Yuen Sim accepted the offer. Once the prison sentence was served and he was released, he used the funds to purchase farmland, growing produce and likely supplying the local Chinatown markets.

Yuen Sim travelled to China twice in the early/mid-1920s. He was married and had three sons there, but his first wife passed away too soon. He found love again in Canada, marrying a widow who herself had a young son. With his second wife, Yuen Sim had two more sons and a daughter.

On May 6, 1969 he passed away at the age of 70.

Walter Young was born in 1933. He received a BA in Honours History and English at UBC in 1955. He went to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. He gained a further BA in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics in 1957 and an MA in 1962. On his return to Canada, Young taught political science in Manitoba and Toronto. He then returned to UBC in 1962 as an instructor in political science. Young received a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in 1965; his thesis was titled The National CCF: Political Party and Political Movement. Young remained at UBC until 1973 when he moved to the University of Victoria as Chairman of the Department of Political Science. While at UBC, Young was very active in faculty and administrative affairs. He worked with several committees, was co-chairman of the new Arts I programme and was deeply involved in collecting materials for the Angus MacInnis Memorial Collection for the UBC Library Special Collections Division. He continued his writing career during this period, completing two books and many articles and book reviews. His primary scholarly interest was Canadian socialism. Young wrote books and papers on M.J. Coldwell, the CCF, the NDP, and socialism as a whole. He was also a founding member of the NDP, worked actively for the Ontario NDP while living in Toronto, and was vice-president of British Columbia's NDP in the mid-1960s. He was involved primarily in research, advertising, and policy-making. Young was also founder and co-editor of BC Studies and founded and directed the BC Legislative Internship Programme. He died in 1984.

Rodney Young was born in England and came to Canada in 1926. He joined the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation in 1934 and became a spokesman for the left wing of that party. During his years in the CCF, he served as national vice-president of the Cooperative Commonwealth Youth Movement and second vice-president of the British Columbia CCF. During World War II, he served in the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals. From 1948-1949, he was MP for Vancouver Centre. He later opposed the CCF's "drift to the right" and resigned from the party.

Norman Woon-Won Young was born in 1913 in Sek Kung Hang village, near the city of Canton, Guangdong province. In the 1890s, his father, Ying-Woon Young had journeyed to Canada and established a produce farm in Steveston, BC. He returned to China in 1911/1912, hoping to bring his wife to Canada. However, due to the civil unrest in China at that time, he was unable to obtain an exit visa for her. His wife died shortly after giving birth to Norman in 1913 and Ying-Woon decided to leave the infant in the care of relatives until he was old enough to travel.

In the meantime, Ying-Woon had to return to Canada, lest his property be deemed by the government to be abandoned if left for over a year and subsequently confiscated. Ying-woon worked 10 years to send money for Norman’s care in China, raise funds for his passage, and pay for the head tax which had been increased to $500.

In July 1923, at the age of 10, Norman travelled alone in steerage to Canada. The journey took two months and he was quarantined in Victoria for a month before finally meeting his father for the first time.

As Norman was still too young to help with the farm work, Ying-Woon left him in the care of relatives in Duncan, BC. He attended elementary school in Duncan, learned English, and finally joined his father in Steveston in 1929. From 1929-1938, he worked for his father harvesting and transporting produce to various Chinese restaurants in Vancouver. Through his deliveries, he became acquainted with the Lim brothers, Harold and Wilbert, who had purchased the original W.K. Gardens built in 1920, and had renovated and expanded the restaurant into a two-storey establishment. By 1938, the W.K. Gardens was considered the premier restaurant for hosting dignitaries, Hollywood movie stars, and celebrities.

Through his friendship with the Lim brothers, Norman was introduced to their younger sister, Elsie. Norman and Elsie were married in 1942 and had four children, Marjorie, Wayne, Wallace, and Howard. They lived in Vancouver where Norman managed to buy several properties: a home for the family and two rental properties for additional income.

Through his connections with local produce and food suppliers and the Lim family, he became the supply manager at W.K. Gardens from 1940-1965. From 1965-67, he registered as an able seaman with the Department of Transport and worked at BC Ferries, and from 1968-79, he was a cook and food services manager at CN Rail. His work took him away from family for weeks at a time. When he was home, his favourite relaxation was watching the TV show, “Bonanza”, because he loved the “Hop Sin” character.

Norman passed away in 1980 due to cardiac issues and a life-long smoking habit.

J. Haydn Young, of Wales, purchased several mineral claims in British Columbia in the 1950s, and had a stay in Vancouver during that time. His cousin, chemist and Vancouver resident Gilbert Spears, aided him in making these acquisitions.

The Yorkshire Trust Company was established in the 1880s and existed until 1988.

YONG Jack Sang was born around 1900 in China. Arriving in Canada in 1918, he settled in Vancouver and worked for various lumber companies. He would be shipped out to a location and work five straight days, then be sent back home for the weekend.

By 1923/24, Jack Sang was 25 years old, living in a rooming house at 545 Carrall Street, and working as a labourer. Jack Sang's hands were very calloused from years of hard work. It was noted that he could grab a hornet with his bare hands and not worry about being stung while crushing it.

He was married but it appears he only visited China twice, returning to Canada in 1926 and again in 1935. The first time he travelled back to China was to marry his first wife who would pre-decease Jack Sang. In 1935, at 36, he went back to marry his second wife, Lin Chow.

Later in life, Jack Sang’s wife came to Canada. They lived in a room in Chinatown that was so small that their double bed and dresser took up all the available space.

Jack was renowned for having quite the temper and therefore wasn’t always a popular man. However, his grandchildren recall he was a doting grandfather. Jack promised to buy his granddaughter, Elaine, a car when she got older so that she could drive him around.

Jack Sang passed away in April, 1972.

Chack Nam Yipp (also known as Jack Nam Yipp) was born in Victoria on October 13, 1899. He was the only child of Yip Wing (also known as Ah Wing and Yip Wing Foo) and his third wife, Thom Shee.

Jack was described as a sickly and fussy child. But what he lacked in good health he made up for in intelligence. He did well in public school and often made honour roll (i.e., Proficiency in 1914 and 1915, and Punctuality and Attendance in 1915).

Aspiring to be a mining engineer, Jack attended the University of British Columbia and obtained his Junior Matriculation Certificate. However, realizing there was little opportunity for someone Chinese to practice engineering in Canada, in 1918, Jack applied for an “educational sabbatical” and left for New York to attend Columbia University. It appears he ran low on money so worked for a time at a Chinese newspaper all the while battling stomach problems. He also spent some time job hunting in Chicago.

Jack kept a diary. It was from these pages that his family gleaned what his life was like in those early years. They summarized it as follows: “He had kidney trouble but it gets better; doesn’t sleep well at night; sleeps late into the morning; likes to play dice; ...likes to go to movies, circus; photography where he often developed his own pictures; got a job selling washing machines in Newark; travelled to Montreal, Toronto, the Thousand Islands, Kingston, Niagara Falls, back to Toronto, Montreal and Staten Island (went to Central Park and went to a baseball game).”

Jack was back in Canada by the early 1920s. He did a variety of jobs including opening a grocery store called The Wong Bros. with his partner, Liam Lowe. By the late 1930s, he was running Central Produce on Fort Street which sold flowers, fruit and some curios. Jack also served for many years as a court interpreter for the Victoria Police.

He married Eva Lowe (Oi Lowe) in what was likely a Chinese wedding that was not registered with the Province of British Columbia. Together they would have eight children with the first one arriving in 1921: May Fong (b. 1921), Margaret Ngai Louie (b. 1922), Mildred Keen (b. 1923), Fred (b. 1926), Betty Ying (b. 1927), Florence Chan (b. 1929), Cynthia Sam (b. 1931), and Vivian Yipp (b. 1932).

Sadly, Eva would pass away in 1944 at only 42 years old.

Later in life, and on his own again, Jack travelled extensively through Europe and Asia.

As daughter, Florence Yipp Chan, recalls of her childhood: “They were typical Chinese parents. Very little touching, never, except when I was taken to the hospital and dentist for an abscessed tooth by father. There were floats and I remember wearing a Chinese cheongsam and sitting on one. He brought home food cooked from restaurants in metal-tiered containers.”

Jack passed away April 28, 1976.

YIP Wing Yen was born in 1922 in Vancouver, BC. His English name was Yen Yip.

His father was a bookkeeper for the Wing Sang company; he also worked as a ‘doorman’ for one of the Chinese gambling halls in Vancouver’s Chinatown.

During WWII, Yen attended UBC and graduated in 1945 with a degree in Agriculture. The family believes that, at some point while in university, he did some army training with the Reserves.

As an adult, Yen found work as a supervisor for a fruit and vegetable wholesaler.

He married Effie Fung Ming WOO and they had three sons.

One of his sons recalls, “Dad would always take us over to Victoria to stay at Uncle Allen’s ‘Fork Lake’ cabin during every school holiday break, something that we will always remember!”

Yen passed away in Vancouver in December 1999.

Mickey Yip was born YIP May Woo in 1924 in Vancouver to YIP Sing and LEE Shee. Mickey was the youngest of nine children. Her father was a nephew of Chinatown pioneer Yip Sang.

Mickey grew up in a big house in East Vancouver with her siblings and later with some of her in-laws and nieces and nephews as well. They all shared one bathroom. She excelled in athletics at a young age, becoming a midget champion.

After WWII, Mickey married Henry Soone who had returned from serving in the US Navy. When Henry found a job in California, Mickey and Henry settled in Oakland. They had three children: Wendy, Greg, and Lisa.

Though the couple was able to buy a house, their housing choices were often more limited in those early years due to discrimination. Mickey recalled being treated badly by a hospital nurse when Lisa was born because the nurse mistook Mickey for a Korean in the aftermath of the Korean War.

Mickey did not work when her children were younger. After they matured, she worked in retail sales and in a series of clerical positions.

Upon retirement, Mickey and Henry lived in Oakland for a number of years before moving back to Vancouver in their final years.

Her only son, Greg, shares a memory of Mickey. “Mom was infamous for never divulging her age. In fact, she even got mad when I revealed my age. Anyone who tried to guess her age was usually way off the mark due to her ageless beauty.”

Mickey passed away in 2016.

Lilyanne was born YIP May Yim in 1917, the fifth of nine children born to YIP Sing, a nephew of the well-known Vancouver Chinatown businessman Yip Sang.

Lilyanne was raised in Vancouver and spent her earliest years growing up in the Wing Sang building with the extended Yip Sang family members. She had favorite memories of the many weddings, Chinese New Year celebrations, and any other occasions for a party, where everyone gathered in the great room of the building. She was the youngest of the five siblings born at the Wing Sang. As her family grew larger, they eventually moved to their own home at Turner Street and Victoria Drive.

As a teenager, Lilyanne enjoyed working as a companion for a woman who lived in Shaughnessy. Like many of the Chinese Canadian women during the 1940s, as an adult, Lilyanne worked in produce stores, but mainly at the family-owned Rose Coffee Shop at Richards and Dunsmuir Street in Vancouver.

Lilyanne had one daughter, Gwen, from a previous marriage. She later married Peter Barbanoff, a Russian Canadian, whom she met at the Rose Coffee Shop. They worked happily together, running several cafes and were married for over 60 years.

Lilyanne was blessed with two grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. She lived a long and healthy life to 101 years.

Lucille (Lucy) May YIP was born YIP Mee/May Gawn on March 14, 1914 in the Wing Sang building at 53 East Pender Street in Vancouver’s Chinatown. Her grandfather was prominent community leader, Yip Sang, the proprietor of the Wing Sang Company which provided labour contracting and import-export services to the Far East. Lucy’s father, YIP Kew Yow, was the eldest of YIP Sang’s nineteen sons. He worked for the Royal Bank of Canada.

Lucy left Vancouver for Hong Kong in 1933 with an older sister and younger brother. There, she met and married Yan Kwok, an employee of the French Bank. The couple had one daughter—Gladys Patricia Kwok—in 1937.

The Japanese invasion of Hong Kong brought additional difficulties for the family; their home would be occupied by Japanese forces for three months. Once the war ended, Lucy returned to Vancouver in 1948 and worked for the H.Y. Louie Co. Ltd. until her retirement. In 1950, she had another daughter, Christina Fyffe, with a former Hong Kong Police Inspector in Kamloops, B.C.

Life in Canada was not always easy; according to her daughter, Christina, Lucy remembered visiting a butcher shop and “being ignored by a butcher and left standing while he handled requests from the Caucasian customers.”

Lucy passed away in 1988 in Oliver, BC.