The third Monday in February is known as Family Day in most Canadian provinces, but it is also called Louis Riel Day in Manitoba, Islander Day on Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia Heritage Day in Nova Scotia. Regardless of the names, today is the perfect time to celebrate with your loved ones and spend quality time with your family.
In celebration of this special day, we are sharing some family images and stories from our collections in this post. Enjoy!
Chinese Canadian Stories collection
Ron Bick Lee Fonds
This collection consists of records of the Lee family, including those of Ron Bick Lee and Foo Hung Co. The collection includes financial records; mainly account books, business letters and receipts. Other documents included are correspondence, certificates, newspaper clippings, Lee family photographs and published materials kept by Mr. Ron Bick Lee (1892-1994).
Ron Bick Lee (Ronald Bick Lee) was a successful entrepreneur and leader in the Chinese-Canadian community. Apart from running the Grandview Greenhouses business and the Foo Hung business, Ron Bick Lee contributed to the community by serving as a chairman of Vancouver Chinese Public School and was actively involved with associations such as the Chinese Merchants’ Association, Toi San Benevolent Society and Chinese Social Development Society.
Ron Bick Lee and his wife Zhen Qiongchun (Gin King Choon) took the following photograph with their five children – Maye, Bob, Jack, Mary, and Vera (from left to right). Although Ron Bick Lee worked 14-hour days, six days a week to support his family, he always made time for his family every Sunday.
[Photograph of Ron Bick Lee and his family]
Ron Bick Lee went to Canada in 1911 and married Zhen Qiongchun in China in 1914. Nevertheless, due to the Canadian immigration restrictions, Mrs. Lee was reunited with Mr. Lee in Canada 14 years after they were married. Mr. and Mrs. Lee took this photograph at the Wand Studio (Vancouver, B.C.).
[Photograph of Ron Bick Lee and Zhen Qiongchun]
Ron Bick Lee attended a banquet with his family members, at the age of 103.
[Photo of Ron Bick Lee and his family], 1993-10-10
INSTRCC (Initiative for Student Teaching and Research in Chinese Canadian studies)
This is another sub-collection of the Chinese Canadian Stories collection. The INSTRCC collection contains 54 videos that tell the stories and histories of Asian Canadians. One of the videos is an evening interview with Robert H. Lee (Bob Lee), one of Ron Bick Lee’s children and a UBC alumnus. In the interview, Bob talked about the influence of his father on his real estate career as well as his influence on giving back. Bob also spoke about his experience in the real estate business and his family life.
[Interview with Robert H. Lee], 2011-09-08
Japanese Canadian Photograph Collection
This collection documents a wide range of the experiences of Canadians of Japanese descent in British Columbia. The first two photographs are given by the Wakayama Group Vancouver and the last photograph is from Kantaro Kadota. We believe we can tell “Marriage is a journey, not a destination” from these photos of Mr. and Mrs. Kantaro Kadota’s wedding anniversaries. Here are the memorable moments of their marriage journey.
Mr. and Mrs. Kantaro Kadota on wedding day, Hashizu Village, Tottori-ken, Japan, 1912
Mr. and Mrs. Kantaro Kadota, 25th wedding anniversary, New Westminster, B.C., 1937
Mr. and Mrs. Kantaro Kadota at their golden wedding anniversary, 1962-02-01
Uno Langmann Family Collection of British Columbia Photographs
This collection consists of more than 7,900 images from 77 albums. It includes extensive coverage of B.C. from the 1850s to the 1950s and includes photographs in a wide variety of formats and genres including albums, diaries, portraits, landscapes, and city/townscapes. Here are some postcards that feature indigenous families.
Indian travois, [between 1903 and 1934]
Shotanna and family, Roosville Indians, B.C., [between 1895 and 1925?]
We wish you a happy family day and we hope you enjoy this post. If you would like to learn how to handle and preserve family photographs and documents, you can check our previous blog.
References
Robert H. Lee, Vancouver real estate magnate and philanthropist, dead at 86
