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Chinese Canadian women
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Myrna [pseudonym] interview

RECORDED: Victoria (B.C.), 1985-08-30 SUMMARY: Came from Hong Kong in 1984; was working in a bank and a school as a secretary; meeting husband; marriage; immigration to Canada; feelings about coming to Canada; speaking English, learning English; c;lasses concentrate on grammar, not conversation; changes in life upon coming here; difficulty in finding work because she can't speak English; what she does with her time; shopping; friends; the Inter;cultural Association; feelings about living in Canada; financial situation; life in Canada and Hong Kong; language problems; becoming more Canadian; Chinese and Canadian customs; life in Hong Kong.;

Jan [pseudonym] interview

RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1984-02-23 SUMMARY: Born 1921. Early family genealogy -- Vancouver. Early childhood and work -- helping mother in home, and early wage labour on farms and in factory. Brief discussion of Exclusion Act. Family laundry business; explanation of work in laundry, including male/female responsibilities. General discussion of women's work in B.C., including mother's work as seamstress. Children and child bearing. Chinese women and marriage. Husband's occupation. Occupation after marriage in family business. Church activities. Childhood friends and activities. Shopping. Kitchen and utensils -- changes in technology.

Nancy [pseudonym] interview

RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1984-03-13 SUMMARY: Born 1921. Family history, from China to Canada. Work in home as a child. Mother's work in home. Growing up in Victoria's Chinatown on Fisgard and Cormorant Streets. Shopping for food daily in Chinatown. Kindergarten at Oriental [?] Home. Education at Chinese school and public school. Chinese women working in stores as clerks; their chores and responsibilities. Farm work in Saanich. Tea room women in restaurants. Nancy as an adult. Foot binding -- mother. Kitchen technology. Nancy's experience as a domestic. The discrimination she experiences as a Chinese woman.

Ming Tam [pseudonym] interview

PERIOD COVERED: 1920-1979 RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1979 [summer] SUMMARY: Compares living conditions between Hong Kong and Canada, with special emphasis of welfare and education for children; wishes to thank the government for helping the aged; talks of her life in Lascow, China, where she lived for thirty years; she supported her family in Lascow by being a labourer, i.e. washing clothes; considers Canada a haven for old people and list many examples; remembers the war; in China and especially the bombings and the evacuation of people; she felt luck she and her children lived through that period; talks of government sponsor programs for senior citizens; when she fir;st came to Canada she lived with her son and his family and helped to look after the children; her son and the children moved to Calgary, so she lives alone; a friend introduced her to the social clubs and organizations in Chinatown which she belongs; if she was younger, she would learn how to sew and earn her living that way rather than doing hard labour as in the past; talks of her grandchildren; talks of the government and wishes to thank the government for providing the services.

Lee Ng [pseudonym] interview

RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1979 [summer] SUMMARY: Came to Canada in September 1950; Chinatown was dilapidated and run-down; some of the houses were tiny. Worked for a fish wholesaler for eight years and also as a farm labourer and shrimp peeler; husb;and was out of work in the shingle mill; didn't speak English but surprised people by being able to go out alone; people thought her very brave; bought a sewing machine on credit and learned to alter ;and sew clothes to earn money; when she first came to Canada she thought people in Chinatown were old-fashioned; they wanted women hidden away; if a woman were to look out a window in her home, she wa;s considered shameless and men would stare at them when they were out; there were not many native Indians in the Chinatown area twenty years ago; there are also more prostitutes in the area now; twent;y years ago she was very naïve and didn't know what these women did for a living; now a Canadian citizen and votes in every election; husband came to Canada at the age of fifteen; during the Sino-Japa;nese war, he was able to send money via San Francisco to support her; talks about the positive aspects of government social assistance to senior citizens; gives the wages she was earning in the fish c;annery; talks about the purchase of a rooming house by herself and her husband.;

Shee Wong [pseudonym] interview

RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1979 [summer] SUMMARY: Came to Canada from Hong Kong in 1967 sponsored by her daughter; discusses her initial loneliness, language problems and cold climate when she first arrived; discusses improvement in Vancouver's Chinatown restaurants for the past ten years; belongs to senior citizen clubs in Chinatown and is active in these organisations; differences in social attitudes towards females in Canada and Hong Kong; talks of experiences of the Sino-Japanese war in China; talks of the inequalities in China towards females, i.e. treatment of females at village wedding banquets in China; living conditions and the hardships as a refugee in Hong Kong during the Japanese invasion; discusses the Communist takeover in China and how it affected her family and the confiscation of land and property; description of Vancouver's east side and of the residents; not able to speak English makes it difficult to mix with Caucasians; speaks of freedom of meeting people and enjoying herself now that she lives on her own in Chinatown, and not in the suburbs with her daughter.

Mary Woon Lee [pseudonym] interview

PERIOD COVERED: ;1930;-;1979 RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1979 [summer] SUMMARY: Immigrated to Canada in 1973; received "Min Com" social assistance shortly after her arrival in Canada; thankful for the different levels of government assistance in Canada for Old people; presently baby-sits grandchildren while her daughter works; worked as a farm labourer in China; compares China and Canada's social welfare system; during the Communist revolution in China, she was classified as ;a middle-class labourer, so survived the purge; speaks of her life experiences during the Sino-Japanese war; her philosophy of life; not active in community affairs; the Chinatown district is unsafe for her at night; discusses women's rights in China before 1949.

Jessie Lam Ross interview : [Low, 1980]

CALL NUMBER: T3719:0001 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Jessie Lam Ross : Chinese at work in B.C. : The Hong Wo Store and the Richmond Gardens Farm PERIOD COVERED: 1890-1930 RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1980-07-17 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Family arrived in B.C. in the 1890s. Her father, Ling Lam, arrived and worked first in Victoria then settled in Steveston. Hong Wo Store started in Steveston, 1895. Ling Lam died 1939. By 1939 he owned a mixed farm, general store and operated a fish contracting business to hire labour for the canneries. Jessie and her brother John bought-out other family members in the business after 1939. The company had contracts with vegetable/fruit canneries such as Empress Factories, Grower's Canneries (Royal City Brand), and to some wholesalers in Vancouver Chinatown. The farm hired full-time Chinese workers who lived on the farm and Japanese women and their families as day labourers. Description of Chinese farm workers' living and working conditions on the farm. Details of father and mother's family background prior to immigration to Canada. Description of second store after the first store burnt in 1904. Store built on stilts over water, and warehouse on wharf over deep waters for boats/fishermen to shop and pick-up supplies. Location of farm. Description of father as a "gentleman farmer" wearing three-piece serge blue suit. TRACK 2: Discusses veg/cannery contract with Empress Factories. Description of their farm's Chinese foreman and his sons who worked on the farm all their lives. Ling Lam did not permit swearing or gambling on the farm, or by any family members. Details of Ling Lam's children's education. Description of farm workers' meals. Ling Lam's invention of cucumber grader and his introduction of the Utah green celery to the area. Ling Lam was head of the Chinese Growers' Association, the group against B.C. Coast Marketing Board. Making boxes for farm produce.

CALL NUMBER: T3719:0002 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Jessie Lam Ross : Chinese at work in B.C. : The Hong Wo Store and the Richmond Gardens Farm PERIOD COVERED: 1900s-1960s RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1980-07-17 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Farm produce on consignment to wholesalers up until the 1960s. Ling Lam supplied all Occidental and Oriental labourers to the Phoenix Cannery (ABC) until the 1930s; then just Oriental labourers. Ling Lam was active with the clan organization the Lum Association. Jessie Lam comments on the difficulties of her contemporaries in finding professional jobs after receiving post-secondary education. Describes some neighbouring farms. The credit/accounting system with farm workers on wages. Jessie Lam's summer vacation work experience on the farm. Shipping/transportation of pickles by railway to Eastern Canada. Chinese women day labourers working on the farm in the 1950s. The end of the fish contracts with B.C. Packers (Phoenix) in 1968. Sugar rationing during WW II. [TRACK 2: blank.]

CALL NUMBER: T3719:0003 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Jessie Lam Ross : Chinese at work in B.C. : The Hong Wo Store and the Richmond Gardens Farm PERIOD COVERED: 1920-1973 RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1980-07-17 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mother had Caucasian cleaning ladies to help with the household. Jessie Lam went to chaperoned parties/social functions during her teens. Talks of the soup kitchens in Vancouver Chinatown during the 1930s Depression. Marriage of brother John and sister Mary. Talks of the family motorcar holiday trip to Oregon in 1928. Recalls mother's prized baking, and father's vegetable competition at the PNE. An anecdote of father's temperament. Refers to the community of Eburne on Sea Island. Attending church on Sundays at the Methodist Chinese Church in Vancouver Chinatown. Describes her typical Sunday activities with her family. Going to Chinese language school after regular school day. Jessie Ross was "Miss China" during WW II as part of the Allied countries effort to raise money for the troops. Helped sell government bonds during the war. Involved with the Chinese community's effort to raise funds for the "Rice Bowl" campaign. Chinese professionals in B.C. could only attract Chinese clientele in the 1920s-50s. TRACK 2: Chinese vegetable and fish peddlers in Jessie Lam's neighbourhood (as a child) and Jewish junkmen. Milk delivered by horse and carriage until WW II. Speaks of various prominent Chinese families in Vancouver during her youth. Refers to Chung Chuck, Delta farmer who fought with her father against the B.C. Coast Marketing Board (to the Privy Council). Problems farmers, especially the Chinese, had with the Board. The closure of the farm and store in 1971 and liquidation of the property and business in 1973. Lists of goods sold at the store. Anecdote of Jessie Ross and brother John rowing out to Steveston Island.

CALL NUMBER: T3719:0004 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Jessie Lam Ross : Chinese at work in B.C. : The Hong Wo Store and the Richmond Gardens Farm RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1980-07-17 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: [No content summary available for this tape.] TRACK 2: blank.

Other times, other places : My great-granny was a boy

SUMMARY: "Canadian School Broadcasts" was a series of educational radio programs designed to supplement existing school curriculum. The majority of broadcasts were organized and administered at the provincial ;level by the Departments of Education and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. However, many programs were produced by national organizations. The series went on the air in March 1938 as a twice-w;eekly broadcast; then it was expanded to daily broadcasts. "Other Times, Other Places" was a six-part series featuring Canadian families in different provinces throughout time. This episode is a play; about a Chinese-Canadian family in Vancouver. A grandmother explains to her granddaughter how her great-grandmother came to Canada. With Rae Brown and Shannon Shepherd.;

Norma [pseudonym] interview

RECORDED: Victoria (B.C.), 1985-08-30 SUMMARY: What the Intercultural Association is, what they do; programs they have; ways they reach groups of immigrants; agencies that refer immigrants; staff; funding and staffing problems; getting worse since; 1983; 50% is through own fundraising; numbers of people served in community; learning what Canadian life is like; survival English classes; social orientation; priority needs of immigrants; employmen;t needs and goal setting; suggestions for SWAG to interact with ICA and/or immigrant women.;

Dana [pseudonym] interview

RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1985-08-21 SUMMARY: Came from China [big city near Hong Kong] in December 1980; was an accountant in China; why she came - her children were here; difficulty in coming to Canada; what she knew about Canada; differences here; language barrier; how she felt on coming here; family problems; language problems; job problems; dependency; had a job, but her son wanted her to quit; sons supporting parent; older women working; different living conditions here and in China; economic conditions, jobs, etc. in China; how she spends her time here; English lessons, learning English; she is active, independent; feeling of inferiority about language difference; Chinese/Canadian culture; wants more programs to integrate better; harder for older people.

Chinese women and work in B.C. collection

  • PR-1754
  • Collection
  • 1984

The collection consists of oral history interviews with Chinese women about their experiences working in British Columbia from the 1920s to the 1950s. The interviews, with nine first-, second- or third-generation Chinese-Canadian women, were recorded in Vancouver, Victoria and New Westminster during the first half of 1984. The project focused on "women's work" (whether paid or unpaid), including work in the home and in family businesses. The interviews discuss the kind of work these women did; what they experienced; how they perceived their roles in the family and the Chinese community; and the legislative policies which affected their work and their lives. The interviewees are to remain anonymous, and should be referred to only by the assigned pseudonyms. In addition, two of the interviews are closed to public access.

Adilman, Tamara

Joy Bing [pseudonym] interview

PERIOD COVERED: ;1920;-;1979 RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1979 [summer] SUMMARY: Visited Canada and United States in 1972, and liked Canada's excellent living conditions and open spaces, so she applied for landed immigrant status. Canada is a haven for senior citizens; the government looks after their senior citizens so that they can be independent of their children; there are many organisations set up for senior citizens in Vancouver. She is learning English so that she can better express herself; "without English is like being a blind person"; educated in China in a Christian missionary school; was in Hong Kong during the Sino-Japanese war; supported her five children and; sick husband as a farm labourer during this period. After her husband's death, she found work in a factory at the end of the Sino-Japanese war. An old friend found her a job in the Hong Kong orphanage and gave her a start with a gift of $200. Since immigration to Canada, has been back to Hong Kong once.

Mary Lee Chan and Shirley Chan interview

CALL NUMBER: T3170:0001 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Strathcona neighbourhood : the Chinese community RECORDED: [location unknown], 1977-12-23 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Mrs. Chan discusses: her family background; life of her grandfather; 1907 Vancouver Chinatown riots as experienced by her mother; grandfather's desire to be part of the gold rush; life of her father, various jobs he held including wood cutter, gardener, farm work; being born on Slocan Street; memories of Chinatown in the 1920s; role of women in Chinese society. Mrs. Chan then discusses her family's return to China in 1922-23 because they were so poor: family's dissatisfaction with return to China and difficulties adjusting to it; Mrs. Chan went to a co-ed school in China, rare at the time; medical services in China were limited, but all of Mrs. Chan's siblings were straightforward deliveries. TRACK 2: More about Mrs. Chan's memories in China: burglar anecdote; becoming a teacher for a government school; marriage. In 1947, Mrs. Chan returns to Canada due to help from money sent over by her sisters. Discusses: changes in Vancouver Chinatown; arrival of her husband to Canada in 1949 (daughter Shirley is 1 year old at this point); being a Chinese teacher in New Westminster; family store; growth of Chinese community; other neighbours in Strathcona area. Mrs. Chan starts to discuss her interest in stopping the urban renewal campaign of City Hall. Shirley not involved until she was a university student. More discussion about the campaign to stop the city from demolishing Strathcona community.; CALL NUMBER: T3170:0002 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Strathcona neighbourhood : the Chinese community RECORDED: [location unknown], 1977-12-23 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: More discussion about SPOTA and the campaign to stop urban renewal. Role of Mary's husband in SPOTA: failing health, but still chaired first meeting. Mrs. Chan is only founding member of SPOTA still on board. Mrs. Chan's plans to build Cultural Centre, another united Chinese community effort. Discusses how SPOTA achieved success. (End of interview);

Grace Lo [pseudonym] interview

PERIOD COVERED: ;1900;-;1979 RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1979 [summer] SUMMARY: Born in Victoria in 1913; father reported her birth to immigration and vital statistics as a boy; her marriage was an arranged match; speaks of her husband as a good person, but he gambles; was converted to Christianity and became happy; talks of her superstitious mother who predicted a short life for her, based on a fortune teller's prediction; returned to Canada from China in 1924 and lived in Vancouver Chinatown's Shanghai Alley; speaks of her children and their part-time work when they were young; speaks of the positive aspects of the Canadian government; refers again to her wishes of education for her children; talks of her involvement with community recreation activities since her retirement.

Yuk Mei Lee [pseudonym] interview

PERIOD COVERED: ;1920s;-;1979 RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1979 [summer] SUMMARY: Came to Canada in 1965; lived in Hong Kong most of her life; was born in China; fathers was a businessman and she traveled all over the world with him when she was three or four years old; lived in a boarding school most of her youth because her mother died; studied geography and history because she wished to understand her country better because of the colonization and subjection by other countries on China; speaks of her progressive thinking father who believed the need for education over the importance of marriage; married at 28, her husband died three years later during the Japanese bombings; her father's older brother also died with him and left her with two of his children; raised all four children alone; returned after the Sino-Japanese war to reclaim her husband's property; was forced to flee because the relatives were going to sell her; women had no rights then; she and her children egged on the street because as an educated woman, she could not make a living. After the 1949 ;civil war, she returned to Hong Kong with her children; she sent her children to Canada as students, later they received their citizenship and they sent for her; people in Vancouver's Chinatown have old-fashioned country/farm attitudes, i.e. dress "proper" and well, and they have even accused her of being a prostitute; some people accuse her of being a Communist spy because she purchased a Communist newspaper; talks of Canada's democracy and social assistant programs; discusses unionism and the below minimum wages workers in Chinatown still receive; discusses her views on current provincial and federal politics as it relates to social services. Talks of the polarities of the Nationalist KMT government and Communist government in China and that both sides did not give women rights; avoids ;organized groups in Chinatown because of the gossip; talks of other current world affairs; and firmly believes that if one has children, one must look after them.

Nellie Chu [pseudonym] interview

CALL NUMBER: T3706:0001 PERIOD COVERED: 1910-1979 RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1979 [summer] SUMMARY: Born n Vancouver; father came during the gold rush; lived in Kamloops until the fire; family moved to Vancouver/New Westminster area; went to school in Vancouver's East End; talks about family members; after her father died, Lillian and sister Ruth were boarded in a home in Victoria; describes experience in Victoria; returned to Vancouver and babysat to earn money; apprenticed to a hat maker; worked in a Chinese restaurant to help support family. Married at the age of 20, didn't last; adoption of two nephews, talks of the deaths of her natural and adopted daughters; description of her house.

CALL NUMBER: T3706:0002 PERIOD COVERED: 1895-1979 RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1979 [summer] SUMMARY: Helped other Chinese ladies as an interpreter; active in many social organizations and activities since retirement; spends most days in Chinatown, and evenings at home; speaks of poor eyesight; born in 1895.

April [pseudonym] interview

RECORDED: New Westminster (B.C.), 1984-02-24 SUMMARY: Born 1920. Early genealogy. Childhood experience -- not much participation in home duties. Little discussion of Exclusion Act. No wage work as child. Mother's work in vegetable gardens, factory work. Pay. Teenage years -- worked in grocery store as clerk. Marriage. Children and childbirth expectations. Discussion of Chinese women she knew. Church activities. Work in family restaurant after marriage. Shopping and utensils. Cooking.

Ying [pseudonym] interview

RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1984-03-13 SUMMARY: Born 1924. Family history from 1800s, from China to Canada. Growing up in Vancouver's Chinatown and working in family store on Pender Street. Father died -- mother owned and ran store. Discussion about store. Food preparation. Women working on farms, picking beans. Ying's experience working in a factory. Chinese women's work in general. Discussion of tea room women and domestics. Chinese women working as store clerks. Women not going out of doors -- remaining inside. Ying's life as an adult and a married woman. Cooking. Ends with short discussion of foot binding.

Waiking Lee [pseudonym] interview

RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1984-04-01 SUMMARY: Born 1909. Early family history; parents' arranged marriage. Father's business in Ladysmith, early 1900s; poverty. Mother's work in home, from morning until evening; arduous labour. Household chores. All the children participated in home work. 12 Chinese women in Ladysmith while she was growing up. Women had gardens, sold produce. Move to Nanaimo. Mother's labour -- sewed for tailors, ran store and laundry. Waiking Lee worked for her family -- did everything for the store. Marriage: she eloped, family upheaval -- very unacceptable thing to do. Marriage. Went into a wholesale business. Hotel business. Thoughts on her life as "a life of hardship".

Eileen [pseudonym] interview

RECORDED: Vancouver (B.C.), 1985-08-21 SUMMARY: Came from Taiwan to Vancouver in 1983; came to Canada because her children are here; what surprises she found here; working; marriage; differences here and in Taiwan; living conditions Taiwan, better here; husband was a teacher, but is now retired; she is happy here; easy to immigrate here; what she does here; languages problems; diet changes; wants to learn about Canadian culture; Chinese and English speaking agencies working together, using body language, games and activities; citizenship; women and work in Taiwan; day care; childrearing in Canada and Taiwan; shopping; swimming; encouraging senior Chinese to get out and about; misconception of Chinese isolation; desire to integrate.

Koo Shee Chan interview

SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Koo Shee Chan : Chinese pioneer woman PERIOD COVERED: 1888-1980 RECORDED: Victoria (B.C.), 1980-06-19 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Discusses background: immigrated to Canada as a "picture" bride in 1911; voyage on the Empress of India (CPR ships); recalls voyage, shipmates, living conditions on board; her wedding in Victoria; her late husband and his restaurant; having 12 children all born in Victoria. Talks of life as a housewife in Victoria and raising her children there. Speaks of her female contemporaries in Victoria and especially her female friends at the Christian Chinese Church. Talks of Chinese women being "hidden" at home and not going into Chinatown to shop alone. TRACK 2: Talks of her work and involvement with the Chinese Presbyterian Church. Briefly mentions the indentured waitresses in restaurants in Chinatown and the intervention by the Oriental Girls' Mission. Donation of clothes by the church for China. Talks of her Caucasian friends in the church. Speaks of how women did not leave home for fear of being branded 'not good'. Idea that Christian women only met on Sundays at church. Women were kept busy inside their homes with their children and some women did sewing for tailor shops on consignment. The segregation of Chinese and white people in different churches was due to the language barrier. The church sent contribution to China during the Sino-Japan war, not to aid in the war effort but to help the destitute. Speaks of her health and poor eyesight that plagued her throughout her life. Talks of her 12 children. (End of interview).

Ruth [pseudonym] interview

RECORDED: Victoria (B.C.), 1984-02-28 SUMMARY: Born 1913. Genealogy of family and early childhood in Vancouver. Growing up near Chinatown. Family participation in tailor business. Work in home and school. Poverty of family life. Marriage and life after. Work in in-laws' home and family responsibilities. Children and child care. Church activities. Shopping in Chinatown. Cooking, cleaning and washing clothes experience. Technological change in the kitchen.