The following article was submitted by Kayla Chow, the 2020 winner of the Roy and Gim Oi Lim Memorial Scholarship Award as the top high school senior. Kayla, a graduate of Crescenta Valley High School, is the granddaughter of Hoy Yuen and Jean Wong, and the daughter of Bruce and Fernis Chow.
My paternal great great-grandfather is Sai An Wong, who lived in Gom Benn. My paternal great grandfather is Tung Deen Wong, who was born in Gom Benn on November 25, 1911. Tung D. Wong left Gom Benn at the age of 17 years old in 1929 to come to America for a better life. U.S. immigration documents show that it was his uncle Wong Nam who brought Tung Deen to America as his son. Because Wong Nam was an American-born citizen that made Tung Deen an American citizen. Citizenship was the key to a better life. They called America “Gum San,” the Golden Mountain, a land filled with opportunities for a good life. Toishan, where Gom Benn village is located was a very poor region in southeastern China, which is why many people left to come to America. At that time, parents were able to petition for their children to emigrate to America or buy a certificate to help others come to America. My paternal great grandfather’s uncle (great great grandfather’s brother, Wong Nam) was able to petition Tung D. Wong to come to America.
My family’s role in Gom Benn was significant because generations of family members were able to petition out all our immediate family so they could emigrate to America. My family was able to devote time to help others who stayed in Gom Benn with donations to help build the village gate, roads for vehicle access, and the village school. For those who chose to leave, the support provided by my relatives to help them emigrate to America was priceless.
After Tung Deen arrived in America, my great grandfather, taught himself English and studied to learn how to be a butcher. Coming to America was very difficult for him because he did not know anyone, did not know how to speak the language, and yet he had to earn a living. He was fortunate enough to find work at one of the first Chinese delis in Los Angeles Chinatown on Hill Street. Shortly after he arrived in America, the Great Depression swept across the country, putting many Americans out of work. Tung Deen had to work hard, and saved the money he earned.
It was many years before he saved enough money to return to China to marry my paternal great grandmother, Hop Li Wong, in 1940. My great grandmother was born September 17, 1917, in Toishan’s Deesui Village. Shortly after my great grandfather returned to America, the United States was attacked by Japan. Tung Deen joined the Army to fight in World War II for the United States. During his service, he earned the rank of Sergeant. After the war was over, he petitioned my paternal great grandmother to come to America in 1946; however their son, my maternal grandfather, Hoy Yuen Wong had to stay in China with his maternal grandmother. My great grandparents were able to finally petition my grandfather to come to America in 1951, in his early teens.
My great grandfather continued to work as a butcher and my great grandmother as a seamstress. They both worked very hard. My maternal grandfather, Hoy Y. Wong, attended trade school to learn to be a technician and was later able to find a job working at Rockwell International. In the mid 1970s, my grandfather was part of a team that helped test parts that were later used for the first space shuttle named Enterprise. He married my grandmother, Sausim Loi (Jean) Wong, in 1962.
From the 1950s until the late 1970s, China and the United States did not have a good foreign relationship, so the communication between families in America and their relatives in China was difficult. The immigrants from Gom Benn missed their homes and their families left in China, and that is why Gom Benn Association was established in 1970. The Association provided a place where immigrants from Gom Benn can gather, support one another, and have a way of communicating with family members in China. Any information that came out of China was funneled through the Gom Benn Association, and was published in the Gom Benn Voice newsletter. This is how news from our village was distributed to families here in Los Angeles. My great grandfather was able to help spread village news to those fortunate enough to be in America and was a contributor to the Gom Village Voice. The newsletter also provided information about the village’s traditions and culture to families here in America. In this manner, they were able to keep many of the traditions and culture practiced in Gom Benn and pass them on to their children and future generations.
My great grandfather Tung D. Wong died on September 12, 1997. My great grandmother died July 15, 1998. My family’s time in Gom Benn had a significant impact on my maternal side of the family because it showed all the tireless effort and sacrifices our ancestors made to make our lives easier. My ancestors’ diligence and dedication for a better life helped instill a profound respect for them. Their dedication to Gom Benn allowed me and my family to not take things for granted and to remember that a lot of opportunities our family have today were made possible by the hard work of our ancestors. My ancestors have also taken the time to pass down traditions and customs so that my maternal grandparents can teach me and show me cultural aspects of Gom Benn. Their time spent in Gom Benn has allowed me to stay connected with my Chinese background and remember where my family came from.
