Category Archives: Vancouver Heritage and History

Vancouver Sun: Non-profit leads fight to save Kogawa home

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Vancouver Sun: Non-profit leads fight to save Kogawa home

Check out this Vancouver Sun story by Kevin Griffin Vancouver Sun

Published: Saturday, December 31, 2005 

In fewer than 90 days, the south Vancouver home that writer Joy
Kogawa grew up in and wrote about in the novel Obasan faces being
demolished and lost forever as a physical reminder of the internment of
22,000 Japanese-Canadians in B.C. during the Second World War.

In
an effort to save the wood-frame house at 1450 W. 64th Ave., The Land
Conservancy of B.C. has decided to lead a campaign to raise $1.25
million to save the modest bungalow.

Bill Turner, TLC's executive director, said the Kogawa House is a very important part of the province's heritage.

“Joy
is a very well-respected Canadian writer — the house is important
because it was her childhood home,” Turner said. “It's also
historically important when you tie that together with her book Obasan
and with the internment of Japanese-Canadians during the Second World
War.

Kogawa lived in the house in the Marpole neighbourhood with
her family when she was a child. In 1942, at age six, she and her
family were removed from the house under the War Measures Act and
interned in a camp in the Slocan Valley. As with thousands of other
Canadians of Japanese ancestry, many of whom lived in the Marpole area,
Steveston and in what was called Japantown in the Downtown Eastside,
the Kogawas had their property auctioned off by the federal government
without their consent. After the war, Japanese-Canadians were
prohibited from moving back to Vancouver and other coastal areas and
instead were dispersed across the country.

Kogawa went on to
become one of the country's most celebrated writers. Obasan, described
as one of the 100 most important Canadian books ever written, reflects
Kogawa's internment experiences and includes many references to the
home she lost as a child. It tells the story of internment through the
eyes of Naomi Nakane who is protected by her aunt Obasan.

Obasan was selected by the Vancouver Public Library as the selection for One Book, One Vancouver in 2005.

In
November, Vancouver council delayed issuing a demotion permit for 120
days starting Nov. 30. The deadline expires Tuesday, March 30.

Turner
said the campaign to save the Kogawa house starts in earnest in
January. He said the $1.25 million fundraising goal includes $670,000
for the house and property, $170,000 for restoration, and $300,000 for
an endowment so that the Kogawa house can become a residence for
writers of conscience.

He said anyone wishing to donate to help
save the Kogawa house can go to TLC's website at www.conservancy.bc.ca
or call TLC at 604-733-2313. So far, the campaign has raised $35,000.

In
the first week of January, pledge forms will be distributed to
independent bookstores around Greater Vancouver such as Duthie's, Hagar
Books, Characters Books, Vancouver Kidsbooks, and 32 Books Co.

“I think the timeline is short but the people of Vancouver will be up to it,” Turner said. “We can pull this off.”

Usually
known as TLC, The Land Conservancy is a non-profit, charitable land
trust founded in 1997. Modelled after the National Trust of Great
Britain, TLC selects important cultural and natural landscapes for
protection. Properties saved by TLC include Victoria's Abkhazi Garden,
Sooke Potholes, and Burnaby's Baldwin House, the Arthur
Erickson-designed post-and-beam house by Deer Lake. The Kogawa house is
the TLC's first property in Vancouver.

Joy Kogawa said that the campaign to save her family home has caught her entirely by surprise.

“It's all too magic for words. I'm completely dumfounded by it all,” Kogawa said.

“Where does it come from? That concern, that love, that compassion?
I don't know whether it was because Obasan was chosen as the one book
for the city or that, somehow, some energy formed, just flew out of the
ground. People seem to care about it.

“It's more than gratifying — it's healing. I feel that my cup is absolutely overflowing.”

Kogawa
said with all public support for the campaign to save her childhood
home, it makes her feel as if people are standing by her and saying
that her story isn't being forgotten. She said that needs to happen for
other people all over the world who feel an internal hollowness when
their stories aren't acknowledged.

“There's a need for racism to
be understood and for us to see each other not as enemies but as
neighbours and to embrace one another. If this can serve that purpose,
it will be good for the city and for the country. That would be a
wonderful thing.”

Besides the Save Kogawa House Committee, groups
supporting the campaign include the Vancouver Heritage Foundation,
Heritage Vancouver, the Vancouver Alliance for Arts and Culture as well
as the Writers' Union of Canada and the Federation of BC Writers.

kevingriffin@png.canwest.com

© The Vancouver Sun 2005

The Land Cconservancy joins community efforts to save Joy Kogawa's childhood home

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TLC Joins Community Efforts to Save Joy Kogawa's Childhood Home

THE CAMPAIGN IS UNDERWAY: “118 DAYS, AND COUNTING”

December 2, 2005

VANCOUVER, BC – Community efforts to save Joy Kogawa’s
childhood home from the wrecking ball moved into a new phase today as
The Land Conservancy of British Columbia (TLC) has agreed to lead the
campaign to acquire the house and secure its protection.

“The Kogawa house is a very important part of British
Columbia’s heritage,” said TLC’s Executive Director Bill Turner, “and
we are determined to see it protected.  As of today, we have only 118
days to raise the funds needed to achieve this.  We will need to raise
$1.25 million to ensure the future of this site, and we’ll be getting
to work immediately.”

The Kogawa house is located in the Marpole neighbourhood of
Vancouver, and was the childhood home of noted Canadian author Joy
Kogawa.  She and her family were removed from the home in 1942 as part
of the Government’s policy of internment of Canadians of Japanese
ancestry during World War II.” Kogawa’s celebrated novel Obasan
is a powerful and heart-rending story of that internment and features
the house prominently as part of her childhood recollections.  It has
been listed by the Literary Review of Canada as one of the 100 most important Canadian books ever written.

Inspired by the Save Kogawa House Committee, many community
groups such as the Vancouver Heritage Foundation, Heritage Vancouver
and the Vancouver Alliance for Arts and Culture and other cultural
organizations like the Writers’ Union of Canada and the Federation of
BC Writers have come together to support the protection of Kogawa
House.  On November 3 they were able to convince the City of Vancouver
to delay a demolition permit on the house for 120 days (effective
November 30) to give the community time to raise the funds to buy it. 
This followed the symbolic planting at City Hall of a graft from the
cherry tree at Kogawa House, as Mayor Larry Campbell proclaimed Obasan Cherry Tree Day on November 1.

“I am so touched by the way the community has rallied to protect
this house that holds such symbolic importance for me – and for so many
others,” said Joy Kogawa.  “I just wonder when I'm going to wake up
from this dream of miracles.”

Committee spokesperson Ann-Marie Metten said “We are delighted
that The Land Conservancy is taking on this project.  As British
Columbia’s National Trust they have the expertise to know what needs to
be done and the ability to do it.  They have a great record of success
in similar projects around the Province and we all believe that by
working together we will be successful here too.”

TLC’s Turner said that the fundraising campaign is underway. 
“We are calling on everyone who has been moved by Joy Kogawa’s writing
to contribute to saving the house.  Your contribution will not only
recognize and honour Joy’s accomplishments but will also provide the
opportunity for a writers-in-residence program that will enable a new
generation of writers to be inspired by her work.  We are also calling
on everyone who has been touched by Canada’s past treatment of
communities such as the Japanese-Canadian community.  This house will
stand as a symbol of the wrongs that were committed in the past, but
also as a symbol of what a community can achieve when it pulls
together.”

Donations can be made to The Land Conservancy through our website at

www.conservancy.bc.ca, or by calling our Lower Mainland Office at (604) 733-2312 or our Head Office in Victoria at (250) 479-8053.

 

Contacts:   For TLC   Bill Turner   (250) 213-1090
  Tamsin Baker   (604) 722-2313
 
  For the Save Kogawa House Committee
  Anne-Marie Metten   (604) 263-6586
  Todd Wong   (604) 240-7090
  Anton Wagner   (416) 863-1209

Joy Kogawa is one of Almanc's 100 Greatest British Columbians

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Joy Kogawa is listed in

Almanac's 100 Greatest British Columbians

This past week CBC Radio host Mark Forsythe of BC Almanac, has been promoting his new book Almanac's  100 Greatest British Columbians.  This is a BC Version of CBC television's The Greatest Canadian.

The names are all listed by categories with no numerical value.
BC's top ten literary writers include Joy Kogawa, George Bowering, Wayson Choy, Dorothy Livesay.

Other prominent Asian Canadians include Roy Miki, David Suzuki, Milton Wong, Yip Sang, Tong Louie, Wong Foon Sien, David Lam

The book is published by Harbour Publishing.

Fundraising Drive Launched for Joy Kogawa House

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Fundraising Drive Launched for Joy Kogawa House

Organizers of the drive to preserve the childhood home of novelist and poet Joy Kogawa
were jubilant after Vancouver City Council voted unanimously on
November 3 to grant a 120-day demolition delay order to preserve the
home and to recognize its historical and cultural heritage. The four
month period will allow the Save Kogawa House
Committee to raise funds to purchase the property and convert it into a
major centre for Canadian and international writers.  

For Kogawa, the West 64th Avenue property became a symbol of lost hope
and happiness after Joy, then six years old, and her family were
removed from their home and interned in the Slocan Valley in 1942 as
part of the forced evacuations and internment of 21,000
Japanese-Canadians during World War II. Joy's family was never
compensated for the confiscation of their property. Their house and
personal belongings, like those of other internees, were auctioned off
at rock bottom prices by the government's “Custodian of Enemy Alien
Property” and the proceeds used to pay for the government's expenses in
running the internment camps.

The loss of the house and the dispersal of the Japanese Canadian
community until their civil rights were restored in 1949 inspired
Kogawa’s best-known novel, Obasan, winner of the Canadian Authors’
Association Book of the Year Award in 1981. Its adaptation for
children, Naomi’s Road, premiered as a Vancouver Opera
production on September 30th and visits more than 140 schools and
community centres from Vancouver Island to the Kootenays until May
2006. Roy Miki, 2003 Governor General's Award Winner for Poetry, has
called Obasan the most important literary work of the past 30 years for
understanding Canadian history.  In 2005 Obasan was selected by
the Vancouver Public Library for its One Book One Vancouver program, encouraging all Vancouverites to read this single book.

In her letter on behalf of the League of Canadian Poets, Mary Ellen
Csamer wrote Mayor Larry Campbell and the Vancouver City Councillors
that “The League of Canadian Poets, representing over 730 professional
poets across Canada, supports the effort to save Joy Kogawa's childhood
home on 1450 West 64th  Avenue in Vancouver from demolition, and
would like to encourage its conversion into a major writers centre for
Canadian and international writers. Just as Emily Carr’s home in
Victoria and Pierre Berton’s in the Yukon provide a unique sense of the
physical space that helped to define those artists, so this building
forms an important part of our collective cultural imagination. To
create a writers’ centre would be an appropriate and timely action,
which would draw national and international writers to the West Coast
for cultural stimulation and peaceful retreat.”

In addition to the League, the other writers’ organizations supporting
converting Kogawa House into a writers-in-residence centre include the
Writers Union of Canada, the Federation of BC Writers, the Playwrights
Guild of Canada, the Canadian Authors Association, the Periodical
Writers Association of Canada, PEN Canada, the Vancouver International
Writers and Readers Festival, the Canadian Society of Children’s
Authors, and the Asian Canadian Writers Workshop. The project has also
been endorsed by the Vancouver Public Library Board, Vancouver Opera,
the Alliance for Arts and Culture, Heritage Vancouver, the Land
Conservancy, the National Nikkei Museum and Heritage Centre, and the
National Association of Japanese Canadians.

The Save Kogawa House Committee is looking for one thousand individuals
to donate $100 each for the Joy Kogawa Writers-in Residence Centre but
would of course greatly welcome donations of all sizes. The Committee
is also targeting corporations, foundations and the federal government
for support.

Donations can be made through the Vancouver Heritage Foundation which
has established a Kogawa house rescue fund and will issue charitable
receipts. All donations to the rescue fund receive a tax receipt for
the full amount of the donation. Cheques should be made out to
“Vancouver Heritage Foundation” and mailed to the Vancouver Heritage
Foundation, 844 West Hastings St., Vancouver, B.C. V6C 1C8. Donors are
asked to indicate on the cheque memo line: “Save Kogawa House.” Donations can also be made on-line on the Vancouver Heritage Foundation’s website

Speaking at the Vancouver International Writers Festival on October 13,
Margaret Atwood declared, “The destruction of the Kogawa home would be
a great loss of cultural heritage for Vancouver, for British Columbia,
and for Canada. Although Canada scored high on the recent all-nations
report card, it scored low on culture, history and heritage. Why
destroy more of this precious asset?”

I meet city council candidate Collen Hardwick Nystedt in Vancouver's historic Chinatown

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I meet city council candidate Colleen Hardwick Nystedt in Vancouver's Historic Chinatown.

It is fitting that I bump into Colleen Hardwick Nystedt
in Chinatown at the veterans ceremony on Rememberance Day.  We
discover a mutural love of Vancouver history and heritage, and I invite
her to join us for lunch following the ceremony at the Chinese Canadian
Pioneer memorial at Keefer Triangle, at the corner of Columbia and
Keefer Streets.


Colleen Hardwick Nystedt is 3rd from
left in the front row with BC Lee on her right  – the only woman
in this photograph!  My Grand-Uncle Daniel Lee is 2nd from right
in the back row.  Family friend “Uncle” Bing Wong is 1st on the
left, and Ed Lee is on the far right in the front row.  Mayor
Larry Campbell and councillor Raymond Louie and candidate George Chow
on his right – photo Todd Wong

We all go to the traditional Rememberance Day luncheon at Foo’s Ho Ho
Restaurant following, where they still serve up Cantonese homestyle
cooking, like in the good old days of Chinatown.  The veterans all
socialize and are glad to see each other and their family members and
friends.  I  make sure some of the supporters are all
seated.  There are family members of one of the veterans, and the
NPA candidates that I encourage to join me at a table.  We make
introductions, and I interrelate the issues and connect them to the
veterans and Vancouver’s Chinatown history.

When I meet BC Lee, and explain that I am the creator of “Gung Haggis Fat Choy”,
his eyes light up, and he tells me he is very glad to meet me.  He
explains that he organized the Chinese New Year celebrations at Plaza
of Nations.  I tell him that we have some mutual friends who
always exclaim that they cannot believe I haven’t met BC Lee yet.

Seated beside me is Collen Hardwick Nystedt, whom I first saw at an
all-candidates meeting on Vancouver’s heritage and culture at the
Vancouver Museum.  Colleen tells me that her father, Walter Hardwick, had been a
city counselor under the TEAM banner in the mid-70’s and that she had
walked with him in the protest marches against the planned freeway that
would have bi-sected Chinatown and the Strathcona neighborhoods. 
Her grandmother had also been a city parksboard commissioner.  We
quickly develop an interest drawn on our family’s long 
multi-generational history in Vancouver.


Colleen Hardwick Nystedt sent me this
picture of her from 1970 when she walked in a protest for the
preservation of Gastown – photo courtesty of Colleen Hardwick Nystedt

Colleen shares that she had spent a lot of time in the old Ho Ho
Restaurant back in the 1980’s as a location manager in the film
industry.  She told us some of the stories while making the film
“Year of the Dragon” which starred Mickey Rourke and admitted that it
portrayed stereotypes of Chinese people and of Chinatown.

I tell her that I was very impressed with the way she introduced
herself to the audience at the Vancouver Museum all candidates meeting,
and tackled some of the issues.  While Colleen was not as up to
speed with some of the heritage issues as Vision Vancouver candidate Heather Deal,
who had the advantage of being a Parksboard commissioner who sat on the
Heritage commission, Colleen did not shy away and demonstrated that she
had the smarts and the will to be an assertive and effective
councilor.  Colleen also grew up inside politics, had planned on a
career in urban geography before becoming a leader in the BC film
industry, and will bring a
strong presence and sense of Vancouver history.

“It’s about connectedness,” says Colleen, when I tell her that I really
appreciated what she had to say about her family history, and how that
informs her about the decisions she makes for today.  When I ask
her about running for city council, she tells me “It was just a matter
of time.”

I tell Colleen about my involvement with the Save Kogawa House
committee, and she is very interested.  We are surprised to
discover that our social circles and interests cross over in different
places.  She innocently asks me if I was aware of the Freeway
protests and I rattle off some of the names that were involved, but
admit that I was quite young when it was happening.  She knows my
cousin architect Joe Wai, who has been a champion for both the
preservation and revitalization of Chinatown, who speaks enthusiastically of Colleen.  She later sends me a
picture of herself at the
Freeway protests and of her father as a member of City Council.

While checking out Colleen’s website
I discover that she has been recognized by the Financial Post as “One
of the 13 Most Important People in the B.C. Film Industry”, she
received a “40 Under 40” Award for entrepreneurship from Business in
Vancouver Magazine, as well as numerous other awards.

Colleen has just been selected as the lone NPA candidate for the Georgia Straight's “The Straight slate for a more livable region,”
highlighting her knowledge as an urban geographer – no doubt influenced
by her father Walter Hardwick, a professor of geography that the
Straight calls one of the greatest city councillors ever.

Check out my architect friend David Wong's choice of Hardwick for council.  David cites Walter Hardwick as one of his favorite UBC professors.


Colleen's father Walter Hardwick is
2nd from left in the back row standing beside Mike Harcourt. 
Seated in the front row from the left is Jack Volrich and Mayor Art
Philips in this picture of the 1972 TEAM city council – photo courtesy
of Colleen Hardwick Nystedt.


Coalition marks 120th anniversary of completion of Canada's first transcontinental railway

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Media   Advisory: November 7, 2005


Coalition marks 120th anniversary of completion of Canada's first transcontinental railway

TORONTO. The   Ontario Coalition of Chinese Head Tax Payers
and Families (Ontario Coalition)   will host a commemoration
of the 120th anniversary of the completion of the   Canadian
Pacific Railway at 12:30 pm EST today at the Monument to the Chinese
Railroad Workers in Canada in Toronto.

“November 7, 2005 is a significant date in the history of Canada,” Doug
Hum, Co-Vice Chair of the Ontario Coalition said today, “It’s the 120th
anniversary   of the driving of the last spike in 1885 on
November 7th at Craigellachie, British Columbia which completed the
final railway link that joined Canada from the Atlantic to the Pacific
Oceans.”

At this event, the   Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC)
will present the “Last Spike”, a “commemorative iron spike” received
from celebrated Canadian historian and author Pierre Berton before his
passing.  

Through this precious gift to   the CCNC, Mr. Berton
recognized the early Chinese contribution to the building  
of Canada. “We are pleased to have the support of the Teamsters Canada
Rail Conference,” Victor Wong, Executive Director of CCNC said today.
“The union shares a common history with
the Chinese men who helped Canada achieve its National Dream – a
railway linking the country from the Atlantic to the  
Pacific.”

To complete this final   link, the Government of Canada had to
recruit thousands of Chinese workers   mostly from Guangdong,
China when almost no one else could be found or were willing to do the
work. There was tremendous opposition to Chinese workers in British
Columbia at the time which prompted the first Prime Minister of Canada,
Sir John A. McDonald who being fearful that the completion of the
railway might be jeopardized,
to lash out at opposition to Chinese workers saying that, “either you must have this labour or you can't have this railway.”

“Immediately following   the last spike in 1885, the
Government of Canada in pandering to racist elements at the time,
slapped a head tax on all Chinese immigrants to Canada,” said Susan
Eng, Co-Chair of the Coalition.  “It began initially at $50, then
was raised to $100 in 1900 and finally to $500 in 1903.”  This
“Chinese Head Tax” failed to deter Chinese immigration which led the
Canadian Government to finally close the door on almost all Chinese
immigration by enacting the “Chinese Exclusion Act” in 1923 which was
not repealed until 1947.

To mark November 7th,   the Ontario Coalition of Chinese Head
Tax Payers and Families is hosting a   commemoration of
Chinese railroad workers in Canada and a press conference
to   outline its plans for redress of the Head Tax and
Chinese Exclusion Act.  In attendance will be direct descendents
of the builders of the railway that helped to build Canada.

The Ontario Coalition   of Chinese Head Tax Payers and
Families consists of head tax payers, their   surviving
spouses and descendants.  They are joined in the campaign
for   Head Tax redress by the Chinese Canadian National
Council, the Association of Chinese Canadians for Equality and
Solidarity Society, Metro Toronto Chinese   and South East
Asian Legal
Clinic, BC Coalition of Head Tax Payers Spouses and   Descendants, and other equality-seeking groups.

DATE:            Monday, November 7, 2005
TIME:             12:30 p.m. EST*
LOCATION:  The Monument to the Chinese Railroad
Workers in Canada at Blue Jays Way and Navy Wharf Ct. west of the dome stadium (Rogers Centre)

*The last spike was driven at 9:30 a.m. PST.

 -30-

For further   information and to arrange interviews, please contact:

Doug Hum, Chinese Head   Tax Payers and Families, Toronto, (416) 706-7886

Victor Wong, Chinese   Canadian National Council, Toronto, (416) 977-9871

Sid Tan, BC Coalition of Head Tax Payers Spouses and Descendants, Vancouver, (604)   433-6169

The Age of Opulence: Turning Point Ensemble + Heritage Vancouver create a musical afternoon of tea and heritage

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The Age of Opulence: Turning Point Ensemble + Heritage Vancouver create a musical afternoon of tea and heritage

Turning Point Ensemble
Heritage Vancouver

Sunday, November 6th, 2005
The Age of Opulence, Vancouver 1915-1930
Stanley Park Walking Tour, & Vancouver Historic Music w/ the Turning Point Ensemble
Location: Stanley Park Pavillion, The Rose Garden Tea Room
Time: 2pm to 4:30pm
Admission: By donation
2pm Walking tour with Heritage Vancouver President, Donald Luxton
3pm – 4:30pm Parlour performance by the Turning Point Ensemble

The idea was to “Take a journey back to Vancouver's age of opulence with Heritage
Vancouver and the Turning Point Ensemble. Imagine… the date is 1915,
the Stanley Park Pavilion is newly built, and you are joining us for
tea and an afternoon performance of music and song in the Stanley Park
Pavilion Rose Garden Tea Room.“

“Meet at the tea room for a walking tour of the pavilion and Malkin
Bowl, then relax to music featuring premiere arrangements of early BC
parlour songs and concert music composed by Vancouver's first
internationally trained composer, Jean Coulthard. Woven together with a
sparkling narrative, the concert will include music by Ravel,
Rachmaninoff, and Jelly Roll Morton – all featured guests in Vancouver
in the 1920's.”

So many people showed up for the tour that the guide kept saying “I
can't believe so many people showed up!”  Meanwhile inside the Stanley Park Pavillion, at the Rose Garden Tea Room,
the kitchen rushed to make up more sandwiches and the staff set up more
seats creating a new row, so that the reserved seats formerly in the
front row were now in the second row.

Guest performers Heather Pawsey and trumpeter/pianist Alan Matheson were all dressed in time period perfect costumes with the Turning Point Ensemble. 
Pawsey opened the show with “Here's a Ho, Vancouver” credited to B.C.
Hilliam and E. Pauline Johnson.  Her heel coquettishly raised,
Heather flirted with the audience and bequiled them to enjoy
themselves.  Her operatic soprano was perfect for the palour songs
presented from 1915 to 1930. 

Throughout the performance the Turning Point ensemble took turns
performing popular and classical arrangments in duos, trios and larger
ensembles.  Rachmaninov's Vocalise was performed by Ariel Barnes
on Cello and Jane Hayes on piano.  Narrator Alexander Browne spoke
into an old microphone that perfectly duplicated the old microphone
radio sound of the 1920's.  Looking around the Heritage Class “A”
building of the Rose Garden Tea House,
you could actually imagine that this was how high society used to enjoy
music in the afternoon salons of Vancouver.  Organizer Lindsay
McDonald and photographer Lindsey Donovan were both dressed up in period dresses, helping to create an atmosphere of glamour and fun.

The Turning Point Ensemble's mission is to increase the understanding
and appreciation of concert music composed during the past hundred
years, linking the music of earlier times to the music of today. 
I particularly enjoyed the three songs by Vancouver born, Jean
Coulthard, Spinning Song, Cradle Song and The of China's
Daughter.  Francis Poulenc's Sonata for Horn Trumpet, and Trombone
were beautiful, as Maurice Ravel's Chansons Madecasses were serious and
imposing.

The afternoon of team and salon music ended on very exhuberant notes,
as Pawsey and the full ensemble performed their encore numbers, S Nice
by William Eckstine and Sam Howard.  Again, Pawsey posed and
flirted with the audience proving what a dramatic performer she
is.  The audience was asked to join in for the “stuttering
song”K-K-K-Katy, and then the desserts came out.

Definitely a fun afternoon.  I will be that next year it will happen again, but maybe with advanced ticket sales.

120 days given to Kogawa House, as demolition timeline extended

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For immediate release

November 3, 2005

120 days given to Kogawa House, as demolition timeline extended

This afternoon Vancouver City Council voted unanimously to grant an
unprecedented 120-day delay of demolition for 1450 West 64th Avenue,
the childhood home of author Joy Kogawa.

The present home owner bought the house in 2003, unaware that the Save
Kogawa Homestead committee was trying to raise funds to turn the house
into a writers’ retreat. The owner has now decided to demolish and
rebuild on the site, prompting the now renamed Save Kogawa House
committee to action, soliciting support from writing and arts
organizations across the country.

Gerry McGeough, senior heritage planner in the Vancouver City Planning
Department, was instrumental in bringing the motion before city
council. He stated that the 1915 house could be registered as Class A
heritage because of its cultural value and local and national
prominence.

Todd Wong and Ann-Marie Metten led the committee’s presentation to
council, with additional presentations from Diane Switzer of the
Vancouver Heritage Foundation, Heather Redfern of the Alliance for Arts
and Culture, and Marion Quednau of the Writers’ Union of Canada,
demonstrating the wide local and national support across Canada to
preserve the house,

Kogawa, received the Order of Canada in 1986 and her novel Obasan is
school curriculum across Canada and studied around the world. The novel
was also chosen as the Vancouver Public Library’s One Book One
Vancouver selection for 2005. An operatic adaptation of the children’s
story, Naomi’s Road, is now touring BC schools with the Vancouver Opera
in the Schools program.

Joy Kogawa arrived via car and ferry from a performance of Naomi’s Road
in Ucuelet, BC, just in time to read from her novel Obasan. Kogawa had
only left City Hall on Tuesday, November 1st, which had been proclaimed
“Obasan Cherry Tree Day”, as a graft from the cherry tree from Kogawa’s
childhood home was planted at City Hall.

Council was so moved by the presentation that Councillor Raymond Louie
immediately challenged other councillors to pull out their wallets and
match his $100 donation. Councillor Ellen Woodsworth wrote an
equivalent cheque and said council would challenge other city councils
to match their donations as well. At the end of the meeting, the
committee walked out of council chambers $540 richer.

An estimated $750,000 is needed to purchase the house from the owner at
“fair market value.” McGeough has been mediating with the house owner
and the Save Kogawa House committee, and the 120-day delay will give
the committee time to fundraise this amount.

Charitable donations can be made online through the Vancouver Heritage Foundation website at http://www.vancouverheritagefoundation.org/Kogawa.html.

To celebrate this milestone in the Save Kogawa House campaign, a
performance of the opera Naomi’s Road by the Vancouver Opera Touring
Ensemble will be presented free to the public on November 12 at 2 pm.
It will take place in the Alice MacKay Room of the Vancouver Public
Library downtown. Special guest musician is Harry Aoki, who was
interned at age 20.

For further information contact:

www.kogawa.homestead.com

www.kogawahouse.com

www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com/blog/OneBookOneVancouverJoyKogawasObasan

Ann-Marie Metten, Save Kogawa House Committee Vancouver Coordinator
604-263-6586; ametten@telus.net

Todd Wong, Vancouver Committee spokesperson
604-240-7090; toddwcan@yahoo.com
 
Anton Wagner, Committee Chair
416-863-1209; awagner@yorku.ca

Gerry McGeough, Senior Heritage Planner, Planning
Department, City of Vancouver
604-873-7091; gerry.mcgeough@vancouver.ca

Diane Switzer, Executive Director, Vancouver Heritage Foundation
604-264-9642; diane@vancouverheritagefoundation.org

Vancouver Chinatown recieves two new “gates”: Jade Abacus and white marble gate

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Vancouver Chinatown recieves two new “gates”: Jade Abacus and white marble gate



Two new “Gates” were revealed in Vancouver's Chinatown on Oct 22 and Oct 29th.

The first was the gift from Vancouver's sister city of Guangzhou. 
White marble panels set on the original chinese gate from Expo 86, in
front of the Chinese Cultural Centre on Pender St.

The second is a public art commission by artist Gwen Boyle, a green
jade abacus, at the Keefer St. entrance to “historic” Shanghai Alley.

My friend Larry Wong was there and he took some pictures.  
It was a very good turnout.  Dr. Wally Chung and his wife Dr.
Madeline Chung (who delivered me!) were there as were city officials
involved in the project.

Larry writes:
For those who haven't been to Chinatown for awhile and those living outside of Vancouver, I wanted to show you two new gates.



Today I was at an unveiling of a
large jade abacus in a form of a sculptured gate by Gwen Boyle. 
Gwen's family lived in Chinatown, her father being Dong Jam Lung, a
jeweller and goldsmith.  The Gate is located at the end of
Shanghai Alley on Keefer Street as you can see in the photograph of
Gwen and her jade abacus.



At today's ceremony, Gwen mother,
Mrs.Daisy Dong, who is 104 years old unveiled the sculpture.  The
other gate was unveiled at a ceremony attended by representatives of
the cities of Vancouver and Guangzhou Saturday October 22 as a gift
from Vancouver's twin city.

Larry is President of the Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC.  Check out their website at www.cchsbc.ca
E-mail them at info@cchsbc.ca


Artist Gwen Boyle – photo Larry Wong

Gwen's mother did the unveiling of Suan Phan :Jade Abacus – photo Larry Wong

New white marble “gate” in front of Chinese Cultural Centre in
Vancouver.  The “gate” is a replacement for the original “Chinese
Gate” from Expo 86.  The concrete pillars were created to blend in
with the concrete design of the Chinese Cultural Centre, originally
designed by architect James Cheng – photo Larry Wong

Rev. Chan Legacy Project: Rev. Chan Yu Tan Family Highlights

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The Rev. Chan Legacy Project documents 7 generations of Chinese Canadian history.

The Rev. Chan Yu Tan family and descendants were featured in the museum show “Three Early Chinese Canadian Pioneer Families“, created by the Chinese Cultural Centre Museum and Archives.

 

Rev. Yu-Tan Chan and Mrs. Chan seated.  His daughter, my great-grandmother Kate Lee and her husband Ernest Lee (standing 2nd and 1st on the right.) New Westminster, BC, circa 1920

Rev. Chan Yu Tan Family Tree is 7 generations long, 14 pages long and includes over 370 names.

The Rev. Chan Legacy Project recognizes the importance of Canada’s early Chinese missionary pioneers and the way the Chan family descendants reflect the integration and assimilation into Canadian culture despite the challenges of extreme racial prejudice and discrimination. Legacy projects to share the Rev. Chan story with fellow Canadians include photographic archives, historical artifacts and stories have been
collected. A Family tree was created. Family Reunions were organized in 1999 and 2000, and are planned again for 2007. A website is underway.

This project began as a Family Reunion, and drew on several existing family tree attempts.  The 1999 Family Reunion included members from the Missionary Chan sister
who moved to Chicago.  The 2000 Reunion included many Rev. Chan Sing Kai descendants from Oregon and California.

The founding committee members are: Todd Wong co-chair; Gary Lee co-chair, Verna (Mar) Tak archivist and treasurer, Betty (Mar) Wong, Rhonda (Lee) Larrabee, Alvin Lee,
Sylvia (Mar) Chang, Gail Young.  Special advisors were Daniel Lee,
Gerald Chan, Mabel (Lee) Mar and Betty (Toy) Lee.

 

Chan Family first arrives in Canada in 1888.

 

Rev. Chan Sing Kai left Hong Kong in 1888, invited by the Methodist Church to serve as a missionary for the Chinese in British Columbia. He became the first Chinese minister ordained in Canada. In 1902 he went to minister in Oregon and then later in California.

His younger brother Rev. Chan Yu Tan followed him to Canada in 1896. Rev. Chan Yu Tan served with many churches in BC including the Chinese Methodist Church, and United Churches in Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo and New Westminster. Two
sisters were also missionaries in Canada and the United States.

 

Family descendants make contributions to Canada – doctor, lawyer, Indian Chief!  All in the family now…

The history of the Rev. Chan Yu Tan family very much reflects the integration of Chinese Canadian history in Canada. Inter-racial marriages first took place in the 1920’s with son Luke and grand son Henry. Today the 7th generation is only one-quarter Chinese.

Luke Chan
was the preacher’s son who went to Hollywood to become an actor and appeared in movies with Katherine Hepburn, Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, such as Marco Polo and The Good Earth.  He starred in The Mysterious Mr. Wong, with Bela Lugosi, as well as  Samurai, Secrets of Wu Sin and Charlie Chan and the Chinese Cat.

Daniel, Howard and Leonard Lee + cousin Victor Wong are the grandsons  who fought for Canada during World War II. Daniel Lee has been a tireless volunteer and leader for the Veterans of Pacific Unit 280. He is past-president and has received Awards of Appreciation, Service, and Merit – the only Chinese-Canadian to receive all three. He also helps to organize Remembrance Day ceremonies at the Victory Square Cenotaph in Vancouver.

Rhonda Larrabee is the great-grand-daughter who became an Indian Chief. She single-handedly rebuilt the Qayqayt (New Westminster) First Nations Band. She is the subject of award winning National Film Board documentary “A Tribe Of One.” which one best documentary at the American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco in 2005.

Janice Wong, daughter of Dennis Wong, son of Rose Chan became an internationally recognized visual artist www.janicewongstudio.com wtih shows in Europe, New York and across Canada. In 2005, she wrote a book titled Chow From China to Canada: Memories of Food and Family. It is a hybrid book of her father’s recipes from his Chinese restaurants in Prince Albert, Sasketchewan, and family stories of her ancestors in Canada. The book is well received and Janice does media interviews across Canada.

Joni Mar, daughter of Victor Mar, grandson of Kate Chan. This great-great- grand-daughter, Joni Mar is now an international leadership trainer, executive coach, and faculty member of the Coaches Training Institute.  In 2005, Joni Mar published her first book, The Inspired Business Approach. Joni Mar began her illustrious career as the the first Chinese Canadian daily television news jounrnalist in Western Canada.  While working for CBC Television News, Joni was awarded the top North American news story of the year in 1989.  She launched her own business and went on to win National awards as an interior designer and a nomination by the Bank of Montreal for Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year

Todd Wong, great-great-grand-son is a community organizer, co-organizer of the campaign to save the childhood home of author Joy Kogawa and create the Joy Kogawa House Society as a Writer-in-Residence program, community activist for Chinese Head Tax Redress, and director for the Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop in Vancouver.  He is well known as “Toddish McWong” –  the creator of Gung Haggis Fat Choy: Toddish McWong’s Robbie Burns Chinese New Year Dinner.  In 2004, CBC TV created a musical variety performance special inspired by Todd’s dinner and was also titled “Gung Haggis Fat Choy,” receiving 2 Leo Award nominations.  Todd was awarded Simon Fraser University’s 1993 Terry Fox Gold Medal for his efforts to create racial harmony and triumph over adversity in surviving cancer. In 2008, he was awarded the BC Community Achievement Award  for his community work, including efforts in the dragon boat race community.