Chinatown as I Remember It, 1930s and 1940s, By William Kay

The Chinatown that I remember is not the same as the Chinatown of today. The original is mostly all gone, obliterated and put asunder by new developments and progress. The two whole blocks on 97th Street that was mainly Chinatown, as I knew it, was situated in the same footprint as the Pink monster, which today is called the Federal Building. Every building where I played, where my father went to play Mah Jong when the work day was done, and all of the great Chinese Chop Suey Parlours, as they were called, were located. The rest of Chinatown was sparsely spread out east along 101A Avenue, 102 avenue and along parts of 98 and 96 Street north of Jasper Avenue. Some of these building still exist but are rapidly making way for new buildings and businesses.


Many of the Chinese at the time were mainly in the food services industry such as café owners, waiters’ dishwashers and the like. They also owned and worked in hand laundries and grocery stores. Although there were Chop Suey establishments in the area, there were also a number of cafes that only served Western Fare. One such was the St. Louis Café, right next to the new Dreamland Theatre (built in 1938 or 1939) where I lived until 1945. Just east from us were two Chinese laundries and a rooming house next to the original Hope Mission at the point where Jasper Avenue bends North.


Edmonton was a major centre for many Chinese in Alberta. It was where many had relatives or friends from or near their home villages. Since most were men whose families were not allowed to join them in Canada (Until the laws changed in 1947). It could almost be “a place called home”. They had organizations such as the Chinese Benevolent Association, the Chinese Free Mason Society and the family associations such as the Wongs, Mahs and the Gees (Chee).


It was a place where the buildings were wooden structures, some with two stories. Some also had lean-to additions at the rear. Many had a room or two where the men would gather after the work day to play Dominoes, Mah Jong or Fan Tan an illegal gambling game played with a pile of buttons. There was also a small barber shop on the SW corner of 97 St and 102 Ave. Most of these places were herbal stores where Chinese herbs and remedies were sold. The owners of these establishment usually resided there also. These places really acted as recreation gathering places for the Chinese men who did not have wives or children in this country. News from back home through letters and from the Chinese newspaper, from Vancouver, was also relayed on to all concerned.


The food establishments like the Shak Han and the Hong Kong Chop Suey Parlours, the two I was familiar with, were on the second floor and each had a chicken coop where chickens geese and ducks were kept. Among these Herbal Stores and gathering places were a couple of laundries. Out behind these laundries were clothesline structures of wooden poles with cross braces on which lines were strung. It was quite the sight on a summers day to see all of the white shirts, sheets and pillow cases blowing in the breeze while drying. The drying was done inside in heated rooms strung with many wire clothes lines during cold and inclement weather…


Dim Sum as many have become familiar with today was seen very rarely as I can recall and they were very unlike that which we see today. Pork was the main protein ingredient then, while Shrimp is the main item today. The items were put together with many dried ingredients as this was the only way Chinese goods could be transported and kept. A meal at a Chinese Chop Suey Parlour then was a real treat. The noodles and bean sprouts were made in each establishment and in the summer many of the greens were grown by the local Chinese market gardeners. The stiff noodles dough was kneaded with a long pole and pressed out into a flat sheet using the weight of the noodle maker. The noodles were then The one single Chinese meal that I miss today is the noodle soup which was made from fresh chicken from those coops out back and the house made noodles sprinkled with green onion tops.


The character of China town began to change after the WW II as some of the older building were replaced with newer buildings and establishments. Most were new eateries. Many will be familiar with the New World where they had a very good “tea”. The Lingnan sprang up in place of the Shak Han and has since moved to 104 Street and 105 Avenue. The mildly opulent Mei Lai Gardens was the latest and lost out to the federal building shortly after its opening.


Today Chinatown has moved north and to the eastern part of downtown and is showing some of the character that we see in movies and TV of China towns in other places. No longer are there many of those old timers that gathered for the games of Mah Jong out of loneliness. Their families that were able to come to Canada after 1948 and their grandchildren now fill their lives as they have now dispersed throughout the Edmonton. New senior citizens residences have sprung up in the downtown area to house those who have raised their children and sent them off into the world. Somehow something of the character of Old Chinatown that I remember is lost but not forgotten.