Born on August 26, 1899 in China, Twesing’s family had been destitute and they were forced to sell her. At a very young age, she became a mui tsai -- a servant girl -- to the Chong family and known as CHONG Toy Sing. The Chong’s promised that once Twesing came of age they would find her a husband and release her from servitude. The Chong family brought her to Canada with them in 1910 when Twesing was around 11 years old.

The father of the Chong house was kind, but the matriarch was difficult and treated the young servant poorly. It affected Tweswing in so many lasting ways. She would be haunted by a sense of longing and loneliness. She mourned the fact she could not remember her birth family, nor could she remember her birth surname. She also would suffer from shyness and sadness for much of her life.

In 1918, the Chong family married her to LING How who was almost 20 years her senior and who was living in Nova Scotia and operating a farm.

Ling How was a difficult man and the marriage was not happy. He owned and operated a vegetable farm and showed little interest or affection in his wife or children.

Despite having little to no formal education, Twesing was intelligent. She taught herself to read Chinese so she could cook tasty dishes. She was also generous; every Sunday she would cook a feast for all the Chinese bachelors who worked on the farm. She also became a fabulous baker.

Twesing also learned English, making her way on the bus many evenings to attend night school.

She would have, in total, seven children with Ling How.

She died on September 30, 1962.

Kang WONG was born on June 2, 1921. Family accounts say he was born in China, but his identification in Canada lists his birthplace as Vancouver, B.C.

Kang’s father was WONG Kim Sing, a prominent merchant in Vancouver’s Chinatown. WONG Kim Sing had three consecutive wives; Kang’s mother was WONG Kim Sing’s second wife, who the family believes died in China, possibly while on a return trip home.

Kang grew up in Vancouver with his brother, Joe; half-brothers Ken, George, Raymond, and Edmund; and his half-sisters May, Moy, Dorothy, Penny, and Burma.

During WWII, Kang joined the Canadian army and served in Myanmar. After the war, he trained to become a tailor, and opened a tailoring business in Vancouver on Victoria Avenue. He ran his tailoring business for many years.

Kang passed away on October 31, 2003, in Vancouver.

NG Yut Tang arrived in Vancouver, B.C. in 1921.

WONG Yue (WONG Goey) arrived in Victoria, B.C. in 1911 as a 35-year-old labourer.

NG Kwong Goon (Ng Kwong Yuen) arrived in Vancouver, B.C. in 1920.

NG Hung Jew arrived in Victoria, B.C. in 1911 hailing from Tai Sun, [廣東 Guangdong], China. By the time he received Canadian citizenship in 1953, he was living in Goldbridge, B.C., working as a laundryman, married, and known also as Dan Eng.

CHOW Shun was born in China on May 22, 1889, in 廣東 Guangdong province.

He arrived in Victoria, B.C. in September 1910 and settled in Victoria, where he lived for most of his life, although he also spent some time in Vancouver, B.C.

Shun was a businessman who provided for his family. He worked a variety of jobs in Canada: at gambling establishments in Victoria’s Chinatown, as a cook in a logging camp, and as a shingle mill worker. Later, he owned a shoe repair store in Victoria’s Chinatown as well as a grocery store a short distance outside of Chinatown.

He married in Vancouver on September 9, 1918. He had eight children: Virginia, Rose, Jon (also known as Pack Chung), Daisy, Bill, Pearl, Edward, and Thomas.

Through the years, he helped sponsor some of his relatives in China to Canada.

Shun’s granddaughter, Salina, recalls, “I was just seven years old, but I did hear him speak a few words of English. I liked hearing his laughter. My mom recalled Goong Goong [my maternal grandfather] enjoyed it whenever she chauffeured him to Chinatown from their house on Quadra Street, or to other places in town. He and Poh Poh [my maternal grandmother] warmly welcomed her [my mother] immediately upon arriving after Mom and Dad's wedding in Hong Kong. They introduced her to her new family and helped her assimilate in her new community and country.”

CHOW Shun passed away on November 21, 1967.

Jon JOE was born JOE Pack Chung on February 1, 1922 in Victoria, BC. He was the son of CHOW Shun, a businessman who had migrated from China to Canada in 1910. Jon grew up in Victoria with his parents and seven brothers and sisters.

Jon worked in his family’s shoe repair store in Chinatown, at gambling establishments in Chinatown, at a logging mill, at the Empress Hotel setting up mahjong tables for wealthy ladies, and at various restaurants. Later, he ran the family’s shoe repair store during the day and worked nights at the Don Mee Restaurant.

Jon was also one of the Chinese Canadian veterans who served in WWII.

He married Verna WONG in Victoria on December 5, 1946. They had four children together: Vanessa, Calvin, Sabrina, and Charlayne. He spent his entire life in Victoria.

According to his daughter, Charlayne, Jon “was a hard worker, a great storyteller and loved to cook for family! He loved playing golf and watching the Canucks play. He loved his family. He instilled a love for our Chinese history and culture.”

Jon passed away on May 4, 2019.

LUM Gow arrived in Victoria, B.C. in 1902 as a 32-year-old labourer.

NG Yong arrived in Vancouver, B.C. in 1907. By 1924, he had settled in Calgary, AB.

CHANG Chan Wah arrived in Victoria, B.C. in 1912 as a labourer.

LEE Wing (known in Canada also as James Lee) was born in the village of Lung Dow in the district of 開平 Hoiping / Kaiping in 1899. He arrived in Victoria, B.C. in 1916 at the age of 17.

Lee traveled across Canada and settled in Halifax, where he opened a laundromat called Charlie Wah Laundry with two other Chinese men from the same village in China. The laundromat was located on the corner of Barrington Street and Kent Street and functioned as a gathering place for local Chinese bachelors. The laundromat also contained a safe, which Lee’s children speculated may have been used as an informal bank for the Halifax Chinese community.

Around 1949 or 1950, Lee was finally able to bring over to Canada his wife, Hoi, and their 18-year-old son, Fred.

Fred did not know any English, but with the support of his family, he took classes at a local junior high school. A quick study, Fred eventually went to university, attended Yale University and graduated to become a civil engineer.

Lee did not tell his family much about where they came from, his experiences coming to Canada, or his life during the Chinese Exclusion era. Lee’s granddaughter, JJ Lee, only realized how rich her family history was when she discovered hundreds of items while clearing out her childhood home. JJ recalls "I found old photographs but also artifacts such as a laundry bag full of the paper that was used to wrap clean laundry."

JJ attributed her parents’ and grandparents’ silence to the intense discrimination they faced. “My parents didn't tell us too much about our history. And I think it's partly because it was pretty shameful the way Chinese people were treated."

Mark KO, also known as Mark BONG or Mark SIMON, was born on November 5, 1911, in Victoria, B.C. Mark was the second child of G.B. (Go Bong) Simon and his wife, Jew Fun Shee; the family had 10 children in total.

He attended George Jay Elementary School, where he earned a place on the honour roll for punctuality, and also attended Victoria High School.

Mark joined the army cadets, and was part of the 112th Cadet Battalion operating out of the Scottish Regiment Armoury in Victoria. He achieved the rank of Cadet Sergeant, and was an award-winning rifle marksman, winning a silver medal in June 1926, and a gold medal for the highest individual .22 score in June 1927.

He passed away from tuberculosis on June 2, 1928, at the age of 17 in Victoria. He was survived by his parents, his five brothers, and his four sisters. According to his obituary, his funeral was attended by officers and members of the 112th Battalion, who fired three volleys over his open grave.

Mabel KO was born KO Sue Wah on October 22, 1913, in Victoria, B.C. Her parents were G.B. (Go Bong) Simon and his wife, Jew Fun Shee; the family had 10 children in total.

She attended North Ward Elementary School, where she earned a place on the honour roll for attendance, as well as Victoria High School.

Mabel passed away from tuberculosis on November 6, 1935, in Victoria at the age of 22.

Garnet KO was born on October 6, 1923. She was the youngest child of G.B. (Go Bong) Simon and his wife, Jew Fun Shee; the family had 10 children in total.

Garnet passed away from tuberculosis on June 24, 1931, at the age of 7.

Luke KO was born KO Fook Hon in 1912 in Victoria, B.C. to G.B. (Go Bong) Simon and his wife, Jew Fun Shee; the family had 10 children in total.

He attended George Jay and North Ward Elementary Schools in Victoria. At North Ward, he was on the honour rolls for regularity and punctuality. He later attended Victoria High School.

With his elder brother, Mark, he became an army cadet, and was part of the 112th Cadet Battalion, part of the Scottish Regiment in Victoria. He achieved the rank of Cadet Lieutenant, and was an award-winning rifle marksman. On June 1, 1926, the Champion Marksmen Association listed him as one of the Champions of British Columbia. Later, in October 1926, he was awarded a medal for marksmanship, and in June 1927, he was awarded a trophy cup for rapid firing .22 rifles. Luke also participated on a marksmanship team that went to Ottawa in 1928, winning one Canadian championship and placing second in a team competition. He also placed second in a July 1928 R.C.M.P. trophy match.

In 1927, when he was 15, Luke also became a crew member of the Princess Alice steamship that sailed between Canadian and U.S. ports.

He passed away from tuberculosis on May 5, 1932, in Victoria at the age of 20.

PANG Oie Tin (also known in Canada as Victor Pang) was born in China on June 14, 1906, in the village of Leung Ho Han in the county of Zhongshan in Guangdong province. He was the son of PANG Mew Sai (father) and Shee Chay Chong (mother), and the second eldest of four children.

PANG Mew Sai had sailed for Canada from Hong Kong, arriving in Vancouver on January 5, 1913. Mew Sai paid the $500 head tax and found employment as a farmer in Central Saanich, B.C. in the Keating Road area, despite intentions to work as a merchant.

PANG Oie Tin arrived in Victoria in 1921 to join his father, paying the $500 head tax. For the next quarter of a century, father and son worked together as farmers in Central Saanich and grew produce.

Oie Tin visited China at least twice, returning in 1926 and again in 1928. On these trips, he married Gun Ya Lee and fathered a son, Yip Ping Pang. His wife and son remained in China.

In 1942, in the midst of the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) and WWII, the 廣東 Guangdong area was captured and Oie Tin lost track of his wife and son. It was presumed they were among the tens of millions of civilian casualties.

In 1946, Oie Tin Pang farmed a seven-acre parcel of land at 2272 Edgelow Road in Saanich. It is believed that he formally purchased the property in 1947 after the Chinese Immigration Act was repealed and restrictions to Chinese owning property were lifted.

On October 13, 1948, Oie Tin left Canada temporarily to meet his second wife, Sit Mui Lee, through an arranged marriage. Oie Tin met his fiancée at the San Francisco airport. Her travel documents had been pre-purchased to facilitate a smooth entry into Canada. She was 24-year-old, Gim Fuey Low, a Canadian-born Chinese who had left Canada for Hong Kong on June 26, 1928.

Oie Tin and Sit Mui (listed as Gim Fuey Low on the marriage certificate) were married in a civil ceremony in Vancouver.

On May 16, 1951, Oie Tin Pang became a Canadian citizen.

In 1957, he purchased a C.I.30 certificate from a man named LEE Wa Quon. The identification was used to help his wife's mother immigrate to Canada, posing as the wife of Lee Wa Quon.

Oie Tin Pang passed away on September 20, 1978, at the age of 78. He is interred at Royal Oak Burial Park in Victoria, B.C. He is survived by his spouse, Sit Mui, and seven children and four great-grand children.

JANG Dong Sang was born in China on December 13, 1906, in the village of Hong Min Choon in the 恩平 Yinping / Enping district of Guangdong province.

He arrived in Vancouver on November 28, 1921, just prior to his fifteenth birthday, and travelled to Lethbridge, Alberta to join other Jang relatives from China who had settled there.

He journeyed back to China twice, returning to Canada in 1926, and again in 1929.

On July 4, 1943, he married Rose Leong. Together, they had nine children between the years 1945 and 1960.

Sang had two children from a previous marriage in China. Jerry, his adopted son, came to Canada in 1952. His daughter, Yit Lin, was born in 1928, and immigrated to Canada with her husband and four children in 1973.

In Lethbridge, Sang was a partner in a confectionery store. In 1953, he moved to Prince George to open a restaurant named Golden Dragon. His family joined him in 1954.

He adored his children and was a kind and thoughtful husband and father who assisted his wife with everything from washing dishes to cooking meals. He also helped with washing diapers and bathing the children, which was unusual for a man at that time.

Sang enjoyed gambling at fan tan and other Chinese games. He also loved Chinese opera and music, and he enjoyed singing to and teaching his children some little ditties sung in his home village from when he was a child.

Sang became a Canadian citizen on May 31, 1951.

Fifteen years later, he passed away on May 12, 1966, following a heart attack. He was not yet 60. His second wife was now a widow at the age of 40 with six children still at home.

Dr. Jeannette Armstrong (b.1948) was born and grew up on the Penticton Indian Reserve. In 1978 she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Victoria in creative writing, and in 2009 she earned a Ph.D in Indigenous Environmental Ethics from the University of Greifswald in Germany. She is a Syilx elder, a fluent speaker of Nsyilxcn, as well as an author and professor of Indigenous Studies at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus. She is a member of the Board of Directors of En’owkin Centre.

WONG Dong Gee (Lee) (known in Canada as Jack Wong) was born in Namtoon, China in 1895.

He arrived in Canada in 1911 at age 16, sponsored by his cousin, WONG Sun. Initially, he worked and boarded in a laundry on Union Street in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia.

Jack attended school while working at the laundry, completing grade one. His status as a student for one year made him eligible for a refund of the $500 head tax.

In 1918, Jack and his cousin opened the Eric Café on Charlotte Street in Sydney, Nova Scotia. The cafe remained in operation until 1932.

Most Chinese migrants did not return to China until after they had been in Canada for at least 10 years. As luck would have it, Jack won the Chinese lottery in November 1921, and had enough money to make a return trip to China. While in China, he built a house, married, and started a family. He had a son who was named Kai Doai.

Jack’s family remained in China while he returned to Canada in order to earn money and support his new family. Chinese were permitted to take temporary leave of Canada for a maximum two years. Most men stayed a year and a half which was enough time to get married and sire a child.

Between 1928 and 1936, Jack worked in the Radio Café restaurant in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia.

He died in 1952 from cancer and is buried in Hardwood Hill cemetery in Sydney.

CHOW Shung was born in China ca. 1893.

His brother, JOE Ng Tuk, arrived in Canada in 1900 and helped bring Shung over in 1913.

Shung operated a hand laundry business in Ottawa. At some point, the family decided to use the surname JOE instead of the more common surname CHOW.

Shung travelled back to China to marry, returning to Canada in 1921. He managed to save enough money to bring his wife over in July 1923, just as the Exclusion Act began closing the door.

Shung died in 1955.

YEE Joe Mun (known in Canada as George Yee) arrived in Victoria, B.C. in 1923. Hailing from a poor peasant family, George was chosen by his village elders to go to Gold Mountain, find work, and help support his family back in China.

George had no formal education. He knew how to read and write Chinese but never went to school to learn English. In his early years in Canada, he was a labourer and found work in market gardens in Victoria and Vancouver. It took him 13 years to pay off the debt incurred from the $500 head tax.

Around 1937, George moved to Black Diamond, Alberta. With meagre savings, George bought three acres of land, started growing crops, and established the town’s first and only market garden business. Every day, for some 35 years, George drove his truck from town to town selling his produce. Eventually, his children would help run the farm.

During the 1930s, there was little to no communication with his family in China due to the Sino-Japanese War. In 1941, George would start his own family here in Canada. He married Yuen (Lorna) Lim, a Canadian-born Chinese woman from Cumberland, B.C. The couple tied the knot in Vancouver on November 15, 1941. They moved back to Black Diamond and would have eight children together. Lorna was born in Canada and had status as a British subject which she lost when she married George. At the time, when a woman married, she assumed the nationality of her husband who, in this case, was considered a Chinese national by the Canadian government.

George became a Canadian citizen in 1958. In 1960, after decades of silence, he received a letter from sister #6. She was planning to be in Vancouver for a short stay, and George travelled there to meet her. He never discussed this journey, nor what he learned about the fate of his family, with anyone.

Near the end of his life, in 1977, George went to Hong Kong to visit family. From there, he tried to enter China but did not have the visa requirements to do so. Adding to this disappointment was his contracting of gout. This last opportunity for George to finally see his family members in China after almost a half-century of separation slipped away. He died shortly after, on January 27, 1978.

Like so many early migrants who experienced separation and discrimination, George never spoke about his past to his children. Only after George died did his children realize he paid the Chinese head tax and that spurred them to learn more about his history.

Years later, his wife Lorna, as the surviving spouse of a head tax payer, became one of the few Chinese Canadians who was compensated when the federal government, in 2006, offered its official apology for the racist policy. More than 80,000 Chinese paid the tax. However, only a small fraction of people (i.e., less than 1,000) received compensation. Most head tax payers and their spouses had already passed away and compensation was not extended to their children.

YEE Chung Yin was also known as Harry Chung in Canada.

By 1924, he was living in Vancouver at 192 East Pender Street and working as a labourer. Around 1940, he was employed as a shingle mill worker.

At some point, Harry left the west coast and moved to Edmonton, Alberta where he became a farmer. Later in life, he wrote articles for a Chinese newspaper, likely The Chinese Times.

He had a first wife and son in China, but something tragic happened to them. Harry never spoke of this with May, his Canadian-born daughter from wife #2. The only hint that something terrible happened to Harry's family in China was his refusal to allow anything into the house that was made in Japan.

Harry passed away in 1974.

YEE Jun-Ho was born in China on March 8, 1906. She arrived in Vancouver aboard the S.S. Senator on August 16, 1918. She travelled with prominent Vancouver businessman, Yip Sang’s second wife, Wong Shee; Wong’s recently married son Yip Kew-Gin and his new wife; another Yip adult; and four children.

Jun-Ho may have been related to Wong Shee or Kew-Gin’s new bride. It’s theorized that Jun-Ho’s family fell on hard times and could no longer support her, so the Yips agreed to bring her to Canada. An identity certificate was purchased for her use; Jun-Ho travelled under the surname Wong, posing as a 9-year-old student from Mar Kow in Hang San. It is assumed that the Yip family, who were wealthy merchants, purchased the papers for her. Jun-Ho’s son, Ken Foo recalls, “I was with Mom when Mrs. Kew-Gin Yip introduced Mom to the actual certificate owner, a waitress at the BC Royal Cafe. They had a very friendly, good-natured visit before the waitress had to get back to work.” Ken also notes, “Mom always said she was a Yee from Dong Gwan. She was fluent in Sumyap, which I guess she learned when young, and not after she came to Canada. Mom was very fluent in both Sumyap and Seiyap and knew spoken English.”

In Vancouver, Jun-Ho lived in the Wing Sang building at 51 Pender Street and served as a governess to the Yip Kew-Gin children as well as other children in the Yip clan. She was popular with the Yip family, who treated her as a family member. Decades later, members of the Yip family would recall Jun-Ho with fondness. She remained very close friends with Kew-Gin and his wife for her entire life.

On September 27, 1927, Jun-Ho married MARR On-Foo (who had entered Canada as MAH Foo-Tong). The Yip family had planned to host a reception for Jun-Ho’s wedding, but the patriarch Yip Sang died that year and the celebration had to be cancelled. The couple had a quiet ceremony and moved to Bashaw, Alberta where On-Foo operated the Sincere Café.

In 1940, Jun-Ho, On-Foo, and their children moved to Edmonton, where they opened a grocery store. They worked long hours 7 days a week to support their growing family and send their children to good schools. She believed education was the path to success and expected all her children to attend university.

Jun-Ho’s son Ken Foo recalls,“Mom was loving, kind and gentle, with never a harsh word, always encouraging, and rarely critical. She was a tremendous cook who overfed us children, out of love.” Her grandchildren remember the vegetable garden she tended at her home in Edmonton and her delicious food and baking that were always a part of her visits to Vancouver.

Jun-Ho passed away on February 14, 1979, leaving behind six children: Edmund, Edwin, Kenden, Jeanmae, Edward (Eddy), and Edson, as well as 22 grandchildren. She is buried in the Edmonton Cemetery beside her husband Marr On-Foo.

WONG Chan Wai arrived in Victoria, B.C. in 1892. By 1914, he had settled in Edmonton, Alberta.

CHONG Kee Chong (known also in Canada as Henry CHONG) was born in China on May 27, 1907, in the district of [開平 Hoiping / Kaiping] in 廣東 Guangdong province.

He arrived in Canada at 13 years old, becoming the only member of his family to do so. He paid the $500 head tax upon landing in Vancouver, B.C., in 1920.

Kee Chong settled in Toronto’s Chinatown, where he shared a rooming house with other Chinese youth and an older gentleman who acted as their guardian.

He worked as a laundry operator, and eventually opened his own laundry service. He would drive around Toronto to pick up and deliver laundry. White Canadians would sometimes throw sand at him while he made his deliveries. He learned to speak English well and helped translate for other Chinese immigrants.

Kee Chong often socialized with his fellow countrymen in Chinatown’s shops, until Toronto’s original Chinatown was razed to build the new City Hall.

He made multiple return trips to China in the 1920s and early 1930s, to marry his wife, Yuk Sue Ho, and father three sons. His first son, CHONG Hong Fee, was born in 1927 after Kee Chong had returned to Canada. Kee Chong returned in 1932 to see his wife and son; on this trip, he had another two sons: Hong Theu (b. 1932) and Hong Wai (b. 1933). Kee Chong returned to Canada in late 1933.

Over this period of travel, he developed a lifelong friendship with a Canadian immigration officer, Mr. Fanning. Fanning and Kee Chong helped many Chinese immigrants with their visa applications and immigration interviews, as well as providing translation assistance.

In 1951, Kee Chong became a Canadian citizen and was able to sponsor his family to Canada. By the time his three sons joined him, he had retired and sold his laundry business due to illness.

Kee Chong passed away suddenly on July 23, 1955, after experiencing heat stroke and pneumonia. He was never able to reunite with his wife or meet his sons’ wives, as he had not yet had the chance to sponsor them to Canada. However, his friendship with Mr. Fanning was of a strength and nature that Mr. Fanning assisted the family in bringing them to Canada after Kee Chong’s passing and remained friends with the sons until Mr. Fanning’s own passing.

Kee Chong had 9 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, and 4 great-great-grandchildren, none of whom he met. To celebrate his life, bravery, and sacrifices as a young boy leaving his homeland on his own in search of a better opportunity in a foreign country, his entire family would gather every Easter at his gravesite and return to Kee Chong’s wife’s house to share a meal together.

SO Ying Yow arrived in Canada in 1907 at 29 years old, journeying with two other men with the same surname and hailing from the same village. They were all classified as labourers and paid the $500 head tax to enter the country.

Yow made a living working as a greenhouse caretaker in Victoria. He traveled home to China once in the mid-1920s, then again about a decade later.

Yow had a wife in China and three children: two sons and a daughter. His eldest son, SOO Kee Sum, arrived to join him in Canada in 1922 at the age of 12.

Sadly, Yow never reunited with his wife and two other children who remained in China. Yow died in Canada in 1945. He was 67 years old. His grave is at the Buddhist Cemetery located in Oak Bay on Vancouver Island.

KOO Hong Nim (known in Canada as Allen Koo) was born September 24, 1912 in the village of No Jow in the Han Sun district of China. He arrived in Canada in 1914 at age 21 months, joining his father, KOO Dock, who founded the Sing On import and general trading company in New Westminster, B.C., with his brother (KOO Kain) and another business partner (Ah Sing) in 1902. Hong Nim was the third child of five, and had two half-siblings. He adopted the anglicized name of Allen.

In 1936, Allen purchased J.B. Hoy Produce in Vancouver's Kerrisdale neighbourhood to embark upon his own business venture. Owned by the Jang family, patriarch JANG Bow Kee had passed away a few years earlier in 1931, leaving the store to his wife (JANG YEN Shee) and children who had put it up for sale. While learning the ropes of the business, Allen fell in love with one of the daughters, Girlie Jang, and they were married in 1938. The couple ran the store together and raised their four children in its upstairs: Theodore (Ted), Robert (Bob), Brian and Crystal. Allen was a strict but loving father who would bring home toys for the kids from the neighbourhood 5-and-10 cents store.

As a businessman, Allen maintained excellent accounts and took pride in sourcing the very best produce. J.B. Hoy Produce operated on the honour system, with families paying for their groceries on a monthly bill that was tallied in an account book. The store was known for having very special produce like white asparagus and truffles from France, avocados from Hawaii, and gem lettuce and strawberries in the winter before people could get them. Special orders were taken for Dover sole and lobsters once a year.

While Allen grew and maintained the store’s high standards behind the scenes, wife Girlie ran the front retail. Sons, Ted and Bob, joined their parents in working at the store; Ted after university in/around 1958 to do the purchasing, with Bob joining in 1989 after his retirement as a pharmacist. When Allen died in 2001, his wife and children closed the business the following year.

The following is transcribed from an interview of Girlie KOO (nee Jang) for the Kerrisdale Collective Memory project.

"I was born at 817 Keefer Street in 1921 [June 20th], the third child of six and the second child of the family born in Vancouver. My father named me Girlie after a little girl whose parents he delivered produce to on his truck.

My father [JANG Bow Kee] built a store at 2138 West 41st to start his produce business: J.B. Hoy Produce. I was four years old. My father felt his shop was on the wrong side of the street so he bought the building across the street, on the sunny side, 2171 West 41st, around 1930. It used to be Buckerfield’s Chicken Feed and Seed store and it smelled so bad that my father had to tear down all the plaster and re-plaster the whole inside. We all lived upstairs. I can remember the street had the streetcar running down the middle, and on the south side of the street would be wooden boards for the cars, and the north side of the street would be gravel for horses! I used to stand and watch the horses go by.

When my father passed away in 1931, my mother [JANG YEN Shee] and my older brother ran the store. I dropped out of school in grade 7 or 8 so I could help in the store full time. In 1936, my mother wanted to retire and go back to China, so she put the store up for sale. My brothers and sister and I would go with her and get her settled.

A fellow named Allen Koo ended up buying J.B. Hoy Produce and I helped him out for the month of October showing him the ropes. We fell in love… and my mother approved! We were engaged on the 5th of December and I left for China on the 12th of December! When the Japanese war started and it became unsafe in China, all of us, including my mother, came back to Vancouver in September 1937.

I got married in 1938, and I moved back upstairs where I raised my own family, while Allen took care of the store. Everything was the honour system right until the day I retired. People would pay for their groceries on a monthly bill. We kept a tally for each family in their own account book. Our son, Ted, eventually worked with my husband and my son Bob came to work with us in 1989. We became known for having very special produce like white asparagus and truffles from France and avocados from Hawaii. Customers had to ask for avocados from the back since we didn’t want anyone bruising them! We had gem lettuce and strawberries in winter before people could get them. We took special orders for Dover sole and lobsters once a year as well. We took pride in sourcing the very best and tried new produce at home.

When my husband passed away in December 2001, we decided to retire in September 2002. What I miss most about the store besides all the delicious special produce that I can’t seem to find anywhere, it would be all our friends that we would see everyday!"

Described as a wee sparrow of a woman, Girlie passed away in 2020 at the age of 99, as sharp, charming and kind as she ever was running J.B. Hoy Produce. She had the ability to do math in her head faster than the cash till, and had her customers’ monthly accounts at the tip of her tongue. Girlie was the heart and soul of the family and business.

Gale MAH POY was born July 28, 1923. He was the son of restaurant owner, Mah Poy Sing (also known as James Mah Poy) who ran the Union Café in Ponoka, Alberta. Gale was one of six children born to James and his wife Liang Shi.

When WWII broke out, Gale tried to enlist in the Navy. However, he received a letter stating "at this time we don't allow Chinese to serve alongside white men on His Majesty's Canadian Ships. We thank you for your patriotism and hope you'll contribute to the war effort in other ways." He would go on to be an Army Reservist.

Over his lifetime, Gale worked across many different sectors. He had jobs in the restaurant industry, a car dealership, he drove a school bus, and worked in retail. He once was also a projectionist in a movie theatre in Rocky Mountain House.

After meeting his wife Evelyn (nee Stenback), Gale took a job with BC Ferries and stayed there for 20 years working his way up to second steward.

Gale loved to fish and take trips to the casino and to Hawaii. Even as a senior citizen, he continued to chop wood to heat his home. He was proud of his piles of firewood.

His relatives recall that "Gale was very proud to have performed a speedboat ramp jump which he loved to talk about. He was presented a trophy from the Coronation Fire Brigade for performing the first boat ramp jump in Alberta (possibly in Canada) in 1956, in Coronation, AB. He was president of the Coronation boating club at the time."

Gale passed away April 11, 2020 in Nanaimo, B.C.

George Cho was born CHO Min Ching in Vancouver on February 20, 1913 in the family home at 65 East 6th Avenue. He was the fourth of seven children. His father CHO Mew was a merchant who arrived in Canada in 1884, one year before the Chinese Immigration Act came into effect. The family is said to have owned market garden land near Burnaby Park, in Kerrisdale, and at the present location of Vancouver General Hospital.

In 1925 at the age of 12, George was sent by his parents to his family’s village of “Ah Who” in the [番禺 Punyu / Panyu] district of China to learn the culture and language. He returned to Vancouver in 1931 at the age of 18 and eventually moved east to Montreal seeking employment.

With business partners, George opened a grocery store named Young’s Market, located on Sherbrooke Street in Montreal’s Notre Dame de Grace (NDG) neighbourhood. The partners eventually purchased a second and third store. George met Susie Woo (Woo Yuet Sue), his future wife, when she applied to work at the Young’s grocery chain. Around 1939, George bought his own grocery store (Young Brothers) on Bernard Avenue in Montreal’s Outremont neighbourhood and eventually invited Susie to work with him there.

He tried to enlist in the army during WWII but was refused because he was deemed too short at 5’2”. George and Susie held off getting married until after the war because Susie’s brother (Harry Woo) had enlisted and she needed to take care and help provide for her family.

George Cho and Susie Woo married on October 13, 1947. They bought a triplex in Outremont just around the corner from the Young Brothers grocery store for their family to live. They had nine children in quick succession, eight of whom survived into adulthood.

George was known to be a quiet man who worked hard to support his family. He’d wake up before sunrise to be at Montreal’s Marché Centrale by 4:30 a.m. to get the best pick of the produce for his store. He worked closely with the other businesses in his neighbourhood where he’d provide the fruit for the local florist’s gift baskets or work out bartering systems with the local Jewish butcher to trade the best produce for best cuts of kosher meat. Every Christmas he would send a huge box of fresh and dried fruit to each of his children's teachers at Guy Drummond Elementary School.

George worked six days a week and only took time off on Sundays, when the store was closed, to go fishing with his family. He sometimes headed down to Chinatown to partake in mahjong; if he was lucky, he would reward his family with boxes of Chinese pastries and baked goods. George himself was a talented home chef and would make 8-10 dishes per meal. From ginger lobster to minced pork with duck eggs, tomato sauce chicken wings to asparagus with bean curd, it was said that he could cook any dish found in Chinatown.

George enjoyed simple pleasures like his La-Z-Boy chair that no one else was allowed to sit in. From this plush throne, he’d watch boxing on Friday nights with an Irish friend named Patty who worked part-time at Young Brothers as a clerk. He also loved to watch hockey and root for the Montreal Canadians.

George sold the business in 1974 after he suffered a heart attack at work. In September 1978, just months before the birth of his first grandchild, he had a second heart attack which would be fatal. He was just 65 years old.

Young Brother’s grocery store can still be found on Van Horne street in Outremont to this day.

KO Bong arrived in Canada in 1896 at the age of 16. He spent his first 25 years in the country living in Victoria. He later moved to Vancouver’s Chinatown where he owned and operated an unusual store – a combination jewelry and sporting goods store located at 528 Main Street.

Ko Bong was well known for his involvement in China’s politics. He was a personal friend of the revolutionary Chinese leader Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, who visited Vancouver at least twice in the early 1900s. In 1911, Ko Bong became heavily involved in generating local support for overseas efforts to overthrow the Manchu dynasty.

Ko Bong applied for and became a naturalized British subject in 1909. By 1923/1924, he was living at 569 Johnson Street in Victoria and working as a merchant. He was married to JEW Fun Shee (Chow Shee) and had six sons and four daughters.

In the 1930s and 1940s, during the war, Ko Bong learned how to fly in case he was needed by China for their fledgling air force. Four of his Canadian-born children enlisted for the war effort: John, Peter, Andrew and Mary. There exists a famous Yucho Chow photo in the City of Vancouver Archives showing Ko Bong sitting proudly with his four children dressed in their uniforms.

Ko Bong founded The New Republic newspaper in Victoria. He was also a founder of the Kong Chow Benevolent Association in Victoria, and later became president of the organization's Vancouver branch.

Ko Bong died in 1957 at age 77.

TSO Kwong arrived in Victoria, B.C. in 1912 with exception from paying the head tax to enter Canada.

However, by 1924, the 37-year-old was considered a labourer. He was residing c/o Law Yuen Sang Co. on Cormorant Street and had a wife, three sons and a daughter in China.

LEW Sear Foo was born in 1894 in China and arrived in Canada in 1913 a year before WWI. He was the first of his family to come to Canada and paid the $500 head tax.

He travelled to Toronto to join LOW Ching Quong and Quong’s father, who had helped sponsor both young men. Foo worked in the hand laundry business and eventually opened his own hand laundry operation in Toronto.

In the early 1920s, Foo returned to China to find a bride. He arrived back in Canada on July 30, 1923, shortly after the Chinese Exclusion Act became law. The couple would not live together in Canada until after the repeal of the Act, almost a quarter-century later. Foo, however, travelled back to China twice in the 1930s. The couple would have one child together, a son named Chak Fee Lew.

His grandchildren remember that Foo was an avid smoker of cigarettes, pipe tobacco, and cigars. He would show his gratitude by handing out cigars at Christmas to his best customers who were mainly bachelors.

The grandchildren also remember that whenever steamed chicken was on the menu at home, Foo’s favourite piece was the “pope’s nose” (i.e., the small, fleshy area where the tail feathers were attached.) He relished eating that part of the bird: simply steamed with some salt and ginger.

Foo passed away in the early 1970s.

DANG Hong Sing arrived in Canada with his brother in 1912. He was 23 years old and had left behind a wife and three daughters in China.

Hong became a potato farmer and the brothers owned some farmland in Delta. He would dutifully send money home to China and even saved enough that he was able to return home for a visit every few years. Those visits resulted in the birth of three more children, all boys.

Unfortunately, during the 1930s, his brother lost the farm due to gambling debts.

Ever industrious, Hong recovered and purchased a hotel, ensuring his family in China lived a prosperous life. However, the war between China and Japan resulted in turmoil and tragedy: he lost his wife and one of his daughters.

After the war, Hong brought his three sons to Canada. He switched careers and became a labour contractor, supplying berry pickers and planters to the May and McKay farming families.

Hong changed his surname from Dang to Dong because it sounded phonetically closer to the Cantonese pronunciation. One of Hong’s sons used the surname Tang, while the two other brothers kept the name Dang. The result was that in one family, there was a Dong, a Tang and two Dangs!

In his later years, Hong would look after his eldest male grandson, Derek Dang. Derek recalls a funny memory: “Grandfather had upset my parents by giving me coffee with lots of sugar when I was a toddler. He drove me down to Chinatown to hang out with his cronies. I was hopped up on caffeine at a young age.”

Hong was well loved and respected.

He died in Richmond in 1966.

Kathleen Jung (better known as Kay) was born JUNG Moi Chow in 1915 in Victoria, B.C.

She was daughter #4 among the eleven children of Leong Shee and her husband and businessman, CHONG Hing Young (also spelled JUNG Hing Young). Her father was a community leader in Victoria and served as English secretary for the Chinese Freemasons and later President of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association in Victoria.

Kay's niece, author Denise Chong, would write about Chong Hing Young in her 1994 novel, My Concubine's Children: Portrait of a Family Divided. “During the time of the head tax imposed on Chinese immigrants, his house and grocery store in Victoria was a depot for new arrivals: he was banker, postman, hotelier and friend. When he died, prematurely, a horse-drawn carriage carryinghis coffin, draped with the Nationalist flag and surrounded by an honour guard of Chinese Benevolent Association officials from across Canada, wound its way through Victoria's Chinatown to the cemetery, on the western most point of land in Victoria that looked towards China." 

Although Kay was a girl, her son Allan Sing recalls: “My grandfather also wanted one of the children to have a Chinese education. He would encourage my mom to go to school in China. He must have seen my mother's interest in political events and higher education. She would eventually end up at Lingnan University in 廣州 Guangzhou. As the war was getting dangerously close in 1937, my mother luckily left Hong Kong by steamer back to Canada."

Kay worked for a time in an administrative capacity at Smithrite in Vancouver. Once she married Ed Sing, she stayed at home to raise their two children.

When Kay and her siblings were young and living in Victoria, Ging (her younger brother) was selected to learn Gung Fu (i.e. Kung Fu). At that time, he was told to keep the training a secret and not talk nor show anyone what he was learning. Despite this warning, Ging secretly taught the moves to some of his siblings; Kay was one who wanted to learn the martial art. It is said that until her death, Kay would practice the movements she had learned as a youth.

Kay passed away in 2006.

Jenny PON was born on January 8, 1923 in Killam, Alberta.

Her grandfather, PON Git Cheng, arrived in Canada in the 1870s to work on the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway and is named in Pierre Berton’s book, The Last Spike. He returned to China.

Jenny's father, PON Soong Lung settled in Alberta. In 1922, his wife, WONG Kim Sing, and their son Jim joined him in Killam, leaving their daughter in China. Jenny and her brothers (Jim and George) and sister (Daisy) grew up in Chauvin where the family ran a restaurant. The children attended a one-room school in town. Jennie went to high school in Wainwright and then trained to be a teacher at Edmonton Normal School.

In 1944, after her father’s passing, Jim arranged for the family to move to Toronto. He supported his mother and his siblings through their studies at the University of Toronto through to graduation in the 1940s. George went on to earn a Masters’ degree at MIT and a PhD at U of T. He later became a Vice President at Atomic Energy of Canada. Jenny graduated with a BA and earned her teaching certificate at Ontario College of Education, going on to teach at Forest Hill Collegiate.

In 1949, Jenny married Roy Lee and they moved to Gander, Newfoundland. Roy was assigned by the federal government to work at the Gander Airport.

Jenny gave birth to Newfoundland’s first Chinese baby: a boy named Gordon in 1950. Altogether, she had 3 children, all boys: Gordon, David, and Peter. When Peter was in high school, Jenny went back to teaching mathematics full-time at Eastern High School of Commerce. During this time, she earned a Master's of Education degree from the University of Toronto.

Jenny passed away on May 3, 1999.

Jenny's brother, Jim, represented their family among surviving Chinese head tax payers who received Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s apology from the Government of Canada in 2006.

JANG Teong Quin arrived in Canada in 1919. He made the ocean crossing on the Arabia Maru, transferring to the Princess Alice for the last leg of his journey to Vancouver.

He entered the country as what is believed to be a "paper son," using the identity of LOUIE Bing Chen, a 20-year-old student. By 1924, Quin was working as a labourer under the name. He lived in Vancouver at 255 East Georgia Street, just across from a grocery business that was the company headquarters of the H.Y. Louie family.

Quin was active in Vancouver's Chinese community. At one point, he was elected Chairman of the Shon Yee Benevolent Association, an association for people hailing from the 中山 Zhongshan area of 廣東 Guangdong province. He was remembered as gregarious and well-liked by his contemporaries.

His last known job was in a shingle mill.

He did journey back to China once, during the exclusion years. He would not have any children until after the repeal of the Exclusion Act when he was finally able to bring to Canada his wife who was by then approximately 40 years old. The couple had only one child together, a son named Donald Jang, born in Canada.

Sadly, a mere four years after Quin was finally reunited with his wife, he would die from acute encephalitis on January 21, 1954 in New Westminster.

His son was only three years old and would never have the opportunity to know his father.

LIM Koon Ying was born in China on October 14, 1903, in the district of [開平 Hoiping / Kaiping]. In an arranged marriage, she became engaged to WONG Yick Wah who had been living in Canada since 1903 and known in the country as Sam Wong.

In 1921, Ying made the long journey to join her fiancé in Victoria, but was detained upon arrival. Once released, she married Sam.

Ying brought with her from China a collection of coins from the 18th-century reign of the Qianlong Emperor, including a sword made of coins sewed together with red thread. She also brought silk embroidery, each embroidered with a Chinese couplet. She kept these prized possessions in a trunk in her home for her entire life, as a reminder of where she came from.

The newly wedded couple settled in Brandon, Manitoba. Together, they ran the Carlton Cafe and raised five children: Westley, Charles, Walker, May, and Irene.

There were very few Chinese women in Canada and in the small town of Brandon that Ying could befriend. She spent the first few decades of her new life raising her children or making beautiful clothes. She was an accomplished, prolific knitter, crocheter, and embroiderer.

Her daughter, Irene Lea, recalled that her most vivid memory of her mother was the many hours she spent knitting and crocheting with her mother. “She taught me everything I know. I don’t know where she learned her crafts but I assume she was self-taught. She knit mittens, socks and toques for us kids. She crocheted a beautiful tablecloth that my daughter, Sharon, has now and also a bedspread. I must say that all of her handiwork was done without the benefit of printed patterns. Memories never to forget.”

Both Ying and Sam became Canadian citizens in 1952, after the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act. By the 1960s and 1970s, more Chinese women had arrived in Brandon and Ying became more outgoing in this period. She developed a strong friendship with a local woman, Mrs. Frank, with whom she frequented the local seniors’ centre.

Ying passed away in 1993.

Known for its pinot noirs, chardonnays, and ice wines, Quails’ Gate Vineyards Estate Winery is located in West Kelowna, British Columbia. The land on which the winery stands today, was first owned by the Allison family, one of the Okanagan’s first European settler families. In 1956, the property was purchased by Richard “Dick” Stewart Jr. and his wife Rosemary, along with three other business partners. While the farm originally grew table grapes, in 1961, wine grapes were first introduced. In 1970, Dick Stewart bought his partners’ shares of the farm and expanded the property by purchasing neighbouring lands. In 1978, Dick’s son, Ben, and his wife Ruth, created plans to turn the vineyards into a winery, which led to the official founding of Quails’ Gate Vineyards in 1989.

In 1993, BACAS Holdings Ltd. acquired a portion of Quails’ Gate Vineyards, and later, in 2001, acquired the remaining shares, making BACAS the sole parent company of Quails’ Gate. However, although Quails’ Gate Vineyards Estate Winery is owned by BACAS, Ben Stewart remains the owner of Quails’ Gate Vineyards which is a separate entity. In 2004, Ben Stewart, who had been CEO and proprietor of Quails’ Gate from its founding, stepped down from the role, and was succeeded by his brother Tony Stewart.

Over the years, Quails’ Gate has expanded its vineyards by acquiring more lands. Having had planted various imported vines, the winery produces several award-winning wines. Today, Quails’ Gate farms over 425 acres of land, while the property and business has expanded to include a storefront, restaurants, rental accommodations, and three member-exclusive wine clubs.

Max Jacquiard was born in Manitoba. He has been painting steam trains since 1980. The Coquitlam resident is one of the most respected artists in Canada and North America in his specialized field of portraying steam locomotives. He is a member of the Society of Steam Era Artists of America and the Canadian Railway Hall of Fame.

Minoru Kudo was born on December 2, 1886 in Ariho-mura, Takada-gun, Hiroshima-ken, Japan as the second son of Ryonosuke Kudo and Utano Kudo (nee Nomura). In December 1906, Kudo left Japan for the Americas, arriving in Vancouver in 1907. Kudo worked as an office clerk for the local Japanese press, the Tairiku Nippo, and spent much of his early years in Canada studying English.

In 1911, Kudo purchased land to farm in Mission City, B.C. He was only the third Japanese immigrant to do so. In 1916, Kudo co-founded the Mission Japanese Farmers’ Association and was elected the association’s first chairman.

Toward the end of 1918, Kudo temporarily returned to Japan and married Hatsune Kudo (nee Kawamura). Hatsune was born in 1895 to Yasu Kawamura and Toyonosuke Kanaya and was a primary school teacher.

In addition to the family’s farming work in Mission, the couple worked as teachers at the community’ Japanese language schools, and Minoru Kudo served as principal between 1930 and 1942. They had 6 children: Joyce Harumi (later Miyagawa) [1920-1969], Roland Kho [1921-2003], Margaret Makiko [1923-1945], Alice Chie [1924 – 2018], Jack Sadamu [192- - after 2003] ,and Kathleen Chisato (later Merken) [1937- ].
Due to his command of the English language and leadership positions within the Mission Japanese Canadian community, Minoru Kudo volunteered as a daishonin (scrivener), helping community members to navigate disputes, complete paperwork, and compose communication (often in English). This role is something that he continued to fill during the forced displacement of Japanese Canadians from British Columbia in 1942. During this period, Kudo communicated with the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) as well as with land ‘custodians’ and farm managers to coordinate where Japanese Canadian families could find work in Alberta and to advocate for their better treatment and compensation.
Around 1947, the Minoru, Hatsune, and Kathleen moved to Chatham, Ontario and worked at the general hospital there. In 1952, they moved to London, Ontario, where Minoru Kudo worked for Wonder Bakeries as a nightwatchman.
Alice Chie Kudo was born in 1924 in Mission City, B.C. She enrolled at UBC in 1942 before her education was disrupted due to the forced displacement of Japanese Canadians from B.C. She was one of 76 students at UBC who were forcibly removed. Kudo ultimately graduated from Queen’s University in 1950 with a B.A. in mathematics and physics. She continued on to get a MA in library science from the University of Montreal. Kudo worked for the Canadian National Railway from 1953 to 1962 and then for the Financial Times of Canada from 1962 to 1972. From 1975 to 1989, she worked as an editorial researcher for Reader’s Digest.
Kathleen Chisato Merken (nee Kudo) is the youngest child of Minoru and Hatsune Kudo. She was 4 years old when the family was forcibly displaced from B.C. Kathleen graduated from the University of Toronto with a B.A. in Honours Modern Languages and Literatures in 1959, an M.A. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1961, a PhD in Romance Languages and Literatures from the University of California at Berkeley in 1966. Following her graduation from Berkeley, Merken worked as a freelance translator for advertising agencies in Japan. She then held an appointment as a visiting assistant processor in the Department of French at UBC from 1971-1972, after which she enrolled in a doctoral program with the Asian studies department. Merken completed this doctorate in 1979 and served as a visiting professor in the Asian Studies department for a year. She then served as a visiting professor at the University of Montreal (82082), as a lecturer at McGill and a charge de cours at the University of Montreal (1983-1984), and finally as an assistant professor and later faculty lecturer in the Department of East Asian Studies at McGill (1986-200-). She retired in the early 2000s but continued to work as a translator both professionally and personally.