Happy New Year!

The Chinese Lunar Year just celebrated the Year of the Sheep or Goat with wishes for peace and humility in 2015.  This Blog is in honour of the Chinese families who contributed to the social, cultural and economic growth of the Peace Country in the early 1900s right up to today.

Back in 2011, the Museum hosted a travelling exhibit from the Royal Alberta Museum titled CHOP SUEY ON THE PRAIRIES. At the time, we were all reminded of the Chinese Canadian proprietors of restaurants and cafes in the Peace. These families included, though not exclusively, Dan Soo Der with the Royal Café in Grismshaw; Joe Hong and Hong’s Restaurant in North Star, Whitelaw then Notikewan; Jimmy Darr out in Hines Creek with Darr’s Café; Kimlin Der with the Grand Café, the Queen’s Café and finally the Dragon Inn in Fairview.

 

In Peace River we remember the families of Der Ham Lock with the Sun Café then the New Sun Café, Frank Mah at the Golden Palace Café in the McNamara Hotel, Tom Der Guey at the Dog House and the New Sun Café, Benny and Janet Wing with the Gueys and other partners established the Mayflower Café. Most recently the Bob and Sereena Kwan family with partner Romeo Yu retired from the business TJ’s Restaurant which they established and operated in Peace River. TJ's Restaurant was well-known for the best Chinese cuisine in Peace River!

 

Happy New Year! 

 

Artifacts from the Sun Café, the Golden Palace and the Dog House.

An Afternoon of Chinese Tea event

Thank you to all who attended the Afternoon of Chinese Tea. It was a lovely event filled with a great variety of teas, not only from China, but from a few from Korea and Japan as well. Thank you also to Wend Wagner, of ZenSpa, for bringing her knowledge about the history and culture of tea and her tasty teas.
Here are some photographs from the event:

Wend Wagner, our hostess, demonstrating the proper way to sip tea.

Sonia Rosychuck tests dungulaecha, a Korean tea, which was served cold and used to refresh our palettes in between teas.

The tea table!

A few of our attendees learning about teas.



We also want to remind everyone that our feature exhibit "Chop Suey on the Prairies: A Reflection on Chinese Restaurants in Alberta" will only be up until May 28th! However, it will also be available to view at Lac Cardinal Pioneer Museum in Grimshaw for the month of June.



An Afternoon of Chinese Tea

In conjunction with our current exhibit, "Chop Suey on the Prairies: A Reflection of Chinese Restaurants in Alberta", we will be hosting An Afternoon of Chinese Tea. On Saturday, May 14th, from 3:30 to 5:30 pm, Wend Wagner, from ZenSpa, will be at the Peace River Museum, Archives and Mackenzie Centre to speak to the art of drinking and serving tea in China. She will offer taste testing of teas from China, as well as Korea and Japan.
The Chop Suey on the Prairies exhibit will run only until the end of May, but will be on display at Lac Cardinal Regional Pioneer Museum for the month of June.

Chop Suey Stories: The Peace Region Chinese Community memories

Our next group of posts will be featuring stories and snippets that have been gathered as a result of our current exhibit: Chop Suey on the Prairies.

From the Peace River Record Gazette, September 21, 1966:
"Funeral Service for the late Dan Soo Der, 73, of Grimshaw, was conducted at the Howard and McBride Funeral Chapel in Edmonton, September 17.
Mr. Soo, who died at his home in Grimshaw September 12, was a well-known resident of the Peace River District having operated restaurants in Grimshaw, Peace River and Dawson Creek.
He came to Grimshaw in 1928 and operated the Royal Cafe since that time except for a few years during World War Two when he operated his Dawson Creek cafe.
Born in Canton, China in 1893, Mr. Soo immigrated to Canada in 1910 and worked at Nelson, B.C. and other points in Western Canada. In 1916, he returned to China and married Miss Fong Kim Tai.
While in business in Grimshaw, he earned a reputation of being one who could always be relied upon to support all community projects...A service was held at the B.P.O. Elks Hall in Grimshaw September 14 and remains were forwarded to Edmonton for internment.
Officiating at the service in Grimshaw was Rev. W. Kranendonk. Nixon's Funeral Home of Peace River was in charge of arrangements."

Chop Suey Stories: The Peace Region Chinese Community memories

Our next group of posts will be featuring stories and snippets that have been gathered as a result of our current exhibit: Chop Suey on the Prairies.


From the Peace River Record Gazette, May 27, 1938:

Chong Had Birthday - and Celebrated

"Friday, May 20, was Chong's birthday. Although Chong was born in China a considerable number of years ago, he is certain he has folded back at least forty years of his sojurn on earth, half of which has been spent in Canada, and six years in Peace River.
Chong figured his age this year at forty, as that was the number of his friends, who as his guests, sat down to a very elaborately arranged and enticingly prepared birthday dinner at the Chong Café. Next year Chong expects to celebrate his fiftieth birthday, and plans on having fifty guests.
U. Adams as toastmaster very fittingly described the varied handicaps encountered by Chong since making Canada his home, and his method of overcoming those handicaps.
Radio station CFGP, the Voice of the Mighty Peace, made everyone assembled prick up their ears when felicitations for Chong came over the air. At this stage "Grandpa" who is plenty tough, expressed the hope that his friend Chong will continue for many years and not run out of birthdays. All assembled agreed that Chong is a jolly good fellow."

If you wish to contribute your own story to the growing narrative of the Chinese community in the Peace Region, you can comment here on our blog, come in and see the exhibit or contact the museum at museum@peaceriver or 780-624-4261.

EXHIBIT OPENING: Chop Suey on the Prairies

We are inviting everyone to visit the Museum tomorrow between 4 and 6:30 to attend the launch of our new exhibit: "Chop Suey on the Prairies".
Come view this neat exhibit celebrating the history of Chinese Restaurants and the contribution of Chinese Albertans.
TJ's Restaraunt will be catering the event and Jeff McCann will be giving a Tai Chi demonstration.

March 12 between 4 & 6:30 pm

at the

Peace River Museum, Archives and Mackenzie Centre
10302 99th Street

Please call 624-4261 for more information.

Chop Suey on the Prairies: A Travelling Exhibit from the Royal Alberta Museum

From the Royal Alberta Museum: "There are more Chinese restaurants in North America than there are fast food outlets combined. They range in size and grandeur from upscale banquet halls serving over 500 people to family-run, hole-in-the-wall cafés where the parents cook and serve while the children do homework or clean vegetables in the corner. Chinese restaurants have become so much a part of our landscape that it is hard to imagine a time when they were considered exotic.


All across the prairies, Chinese restaurants can be found in almost every town and hamlet. While the families that have run these restaurants may have changed over the years, the restaurants remain and have become indispensable centres of small town life."

The Peace River Museum, Archives and Mackenzie Centre's newest exhibit will be a travelling exhibit from the Royal Alberta Museum. From March to May 2011, we will be hosting "Chop Suey on the Prairies: A Reflection on Chinese Restaurants". This exhibit will feature stories and artifacts from restaurants across Alberta with a special focus on the restaurants in the Peace Region.

In conjunction with the exhibit, we at the Museum would like to gather the social and cultural history of our own local Chinese restaurants, grocery stores and laundries. Do you remember the Royal Café in Grimshaw, Geo. & Lucky’s in Berwyn, Joe Hong’s in Manning and Frank Lock with the Sun Cafe in Peace River; the Golden Palace, Chong’s Café and the Star Café? Do you remember the proprietors Jack Lock, Jimmie Darr, Tom Guey, Benny Wing, Dan Der and their families? Jot down your memories of going to eat the best ice cream, or the tastiest sweet and sour pork ribs, or was it the ginger beef? Maybe it was the exotic colours of the decor you remember.

There are many ways to submit your memories:

• by commenting on our blog,
• or to the Museum in person, or by email at museum@peaceriver.net or by phone at 780-624-4261
• or to the local libraries at Peace River and Grimshaw.

We look forward to reading and sharing your reminisces!