grains of truth for future generations
Feb 25th, 2010 by Steve Sue
So here’s the famous Sue brothers, now both landed in Hawaii. We all enjoyed a really nice time at the Waiole Tea House in Manoa Valley and look forward to more fun times together in the islands soon… aloha!
Left to Right: Ed, Amy, Linda, Karen, Steve & John
Feb 8th, 2010 by Steve Sue
Congratulations to Kristi Owyoung for making it to the Miss Chinatown USA Pageant 2010! Wow, great vid, great pics! As of this writing, Kristina is running second in the online voting so if you see this before Feb 18, 2010, make sure to vote for Kristina!
Jan 7th, 2010 by Steve Sue
A story by Helen Owyoung…
Recently, I talked to Aunt Pauline, who lives in Elk Grove. She likes to talk about the good old days in Fairfield at the ranch. Pauline told me that Dad (Henry Sue) stayed with her family when they were little. She thinks that Dad was very smart and you all inherited those smart genes.
Apparently, Dad once took an old tractor apart and put it together again. He taught Tom (Pauline’s brother) how every part should go together and also taught him how to drive the tractor.
Pauline said that no one taught Dad, but that he could figure out things out all by himself. She also said that he knew how to sew, cook and cut their hair. He used to sew and make skirts and dresses for Pauline and her sister, Mary. I was very surprised to hear that Dad used to sew clothes for them.
As of this writing, Pauline is age 94 and is still very alert.
Dec 31st, 2009 by Steve Sue
We just uploaded some really cool old stuff on our ancestor Henry Sue and his in-laws, the Lums. Seems that Darlene Sue did a lot of genealogy stuff during her life. Then Linda Sue picked up the torch and passed it to me to share with you. I was amazed at the richness of the life stories and am truly thankful for all the sacrifices and strife our ancestors endured to get us to this fat and happy place.
The Henry Lum Family
The Lum Family Story. An epic about a world traveler who pawns his eligible 18 year old daughter on his way back to China to a strapping and worldly young man. He had a life full of travel and adventure yet managed to raise a family across the globe.
Alice & Henry Sue
The Henry & Alice Sue Story. A tale about a 15 year old who leaves China for the Golden Mountain of America only to return to China to receive a bride. He learned to speak, read and write English, fought in Germany during WWI and survived the Great Depression only to lose his life at 46 leaving behind a very tough wife and 5 children.
Both of these stories reside in a new section entitled Ancient History which you can find in the top navigation bar on any NiceyRicey page.
BTW, we all owe a debt of gratitude to Julie Phuong over at the Angel Island Immigration Foundation for kicking us in the butt to get this content together. The AIISF was interested in publishing these stories on their website as examples of early Chinese experiences at Angel Island. If you’d like to see other stories like our family’s, check out www.aiisf.org.
Dec 23rd, 2009 by Steve Sue
John Sue, Linda Sue, Henry Owyoung, Helen Owyoung, Ed Sue, Amy Sue and Jon Sue. 4/18/09
So here’s the family cemetery out in Colma. That stone marks the location of Henry and Alice Sues’ final resting place. They earned their place here as this cemetery is for all those who came from our village in China, most of whom braved a dangerous and uncertain passage to the Golden Mountain.
To think that so many of them left the homeland with just the shirts on their backs and risked life in a place where they’d be third-class citizens is mind boggling. What did they have to look forward to? Dynamiting tunnels in the mountains? Folding laundry? Dirty, hard labor? Life must have truly sucked in China for them to leave everything behind.
Henry Owyoung contemplates a greasy pork lunch.
So if you’re ever feeling sorry for yourself, try imagining leaving all that you know, sneaking across the Mexican border (of course spending a pre-border-jumping slumber party and round of golf at Aunty Glady and Uncle Murrays’ in San Diego), stowing away in a banana ship across the Pacific, then working your way back into China to earn a meager existence as an illegal alien.
Ed Sue at Lum Tom's (Uncle Tom) grave.
And if you find that you don’t like being in their shoes, never fear, just click your heals three times and say, “there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home” over and over, and soon you’ll find yourself back atop the Golden Mountain.
Then, the next time you have the chance to go to Ching Ming, make sure to bow three times at every stone. Pray for their peace and comfort. And thank them for setting us up for a life of prosperity, tranquility and utopian happiness… then go elbow your way through the crowd and get yourself one of them greasy roast pork lunches…
