Li keng wong's story
My father came to the United States in 1912 to search for a better life. There were no jobs in our small village of Goon Do Hung in southern China. My father needed money to take care of his new family and his widowed mother. When he first arrived in the United States, he did any kind of job he could get. After a while, he became an apprentice in a friend's herbal store.
He sent money home several times a year, and once in a while, he came for a short visit. After one of these visits, I was born in 1926. When I was young, I lived with my mother, older sister Li Hong, and younger sister Lai Wah.
As a child, I was a tomboy. I climbed trees, explored the forest behind the village, played hide-and-go-seek, hunted for bamboo shoots, and waded in the lake in front of village. Life was peaceful in our sleepy village. Villagers got along well and helped one another during the rice harvest twice a year.
Father came home once or twice that I could remember. He could never stay long because he had to go back to the United States to work. He never mentioned that someday that he wanted to take us to the United States, but he was thinking about it.
On his last visit home, he was sad at how poor the villagers were. They made a living by planting rice crops. People were so poor that no one had milk to drink or had much meat to eat. Almost no one had ever learned to read or write. So my father decided that his family must immigrate to the United States to have a better life.
When we decided to leave, it was 1933. I was only seven years old.
Click the button below to read more about Li Keng Wong.
He sent money home several times a year, and once in a while, he came for a short visit. After one of these visits, I was born in 1926. When I was young, I lived with my mother, older sister Li Hong, and younger sister Lai Wah.
As a child, I was a tomboy. I climbed trees, explored the forest behind the village, played hide-and-go-seek, hunted for bamboo shoots, and waded in the lake in front of village. Life was peaceful in our sleepy village. Villagers got along well and helped one another during the rice harvest twice a year.
Father came home once or twice that I could remember. He could never stay long because he had to go back to the United States to work. He never mentioned that someday that he wanted to take us to the United States, but he was thinking about it.
On his last visit home, he was sad at how poor the villagers were. They made a living by planting rice crops. People were so poor that no one had milk to drink or had much meat to eat. Almost no one had ever learned to read or write. So my father decided that his family must immigrate to the United States to have a better life.
When we decided to leave, it was 1933. I was only seven years old.
Click the button below to read more about Li Keng Wong.
Beck H. gee's story
At age 9, Beck H. Gee immigrated in 1931 with an older relative to the United States. Gee was detained about a month at Angel Island. His relative was already a U.S. citizen and was not detained. Gee eventually joined his grandparents in New Orleans. He moved to Houston as an adult. Now 76, he is a retired illustrator.
"I actually had a really good time at Angel Island, maybe because I was too young to understand the hardship."
"I made friends at the playground. The swing was broken but somebody had tried to replace it by tying a knot in a rope so we could slip our feet into the loophole and swing anyway."
"The inspectors' questions took me away from playtime. I was kind of mad at them for that."
"One day we were playing tag. I ran into a bunk and hit my head. I felt the blood. I cried. The men must have finally realized I was alone because no one claimed me. An older man came forward and helped me clean up. He kept a close eye on me the rest of the time. We had meals together and I slept in a bunk close to him."
"I bought apricots at the little store on the island every afternoon. For 10 cents, I got a lunch-sized paper bag of them. They were so juicy! So golden! I had never eaten anything like it. I haven't found such juicy apricots in the U.S. since then, either."
--- Beck H. Gee
"I actually had a really good time at Angel Island, maybe because I was too young to understand the hardship."
"I made friends at the playground. The swing was broken but somebody had tried to replace it by tying a knot in a rope so we could slip our feet into the loophole and swing anyway."
"The inspectors' questions took me away from playtime. I was kind of mad at them for that."
"One day we were playing tag. I ran into a bunk and hit my head. I felt the blood. I cried. The men must have finally realized I was alone because no one claimed me. An older man came forward and helped me clean up. He kept a close eye on me the rest of the time. We had meals together and I slept in a bunk close to him."
"I bought apricots at the little store on the island every afternoon. For 10 cents, I got a lunch-sized paper bag of them. They were so juicy! So golden! I had never eaten anything like it. I haven't found such juicy apricots in the U.S. since then, either."
--- Beck H. Gee
To read more stories about Immigrants at Angel island click the button below.