Two Letters from the Newmans

Here are two letters written to King - one from the young girl Elva and the other from her mother Jessie later in the year.  Stamp collecting was a big thing in the 1930s. President Roosevelt was a serious stamp collector.

 

Elva J. Newman, Feb 16, 1936

February 16, 1936

Dear Mr. King,

I was glad to hear from you.  Marjorie Haffman, who goes out to Mount Carmel, told me she got a letter from you.

It must be interesting to cross the ocean on a big ship.  Did it rock, and was it fun? I didn’t think it would take so long to cross the ocean.

At school we had to take trips, and I went to Egypt, Arabia, and India.  I thought of you as I pretended to fly in a private plane over China. I would like very much to go to China.

I would like very much to go to China.  I have read a lot about China.

In geography we have finished studying about Japan, and we are going to take up China.  It showed the Great Wall of China, and I read “Uncle Ben in China,” and he walked on it.  Did you ever see it?

At school there is a little girl, and she is very sweet.  She is like this>


She was real cute and so I learned to draw her.

I certainly will be glad when you come back to America.  I never thought you would have to put U.S.A. on the letters you sent hear.

Those stamps were sure pretty (I mean the colors) and we don’t have those colors of stamps.

I don’t know of anything I can write so I am going to close.

Yours very truly,
       Elva J. Newman

P.S. This writing is terrible, but I tried my best.

[Notes: Elva used the stationary from the Hotel Lassen. The Lassen was directly across the street from the Pan American Cafe.  Mount Carmel was a private Catholic girls school. She pictured on the right.]

Jessie Newman, July 9, 1936 - talk of Landon

1936 - King Returns to China

What was happening in 1936?  Around the world, there was the Olympic Games in Berlin where Jesse Owens was the star.  King Edward abdicated from the throne. Margaret Mitchell wrote Gone with the Wind.  Japan and China were at war. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was reelected over Kansan Alf Landon.  It was the year after the dust storms and Kansans faced Black Sundays.

Still it was a good time for King Mar who had been in Wichita for several years to go back China to begin the new year.   

He lived in the tenement above the Pan American Cafe.  It was one room with a bath and faucet, but his restroom was shared with others on his second floor.  You could look up to the third floor which had a balcony that overlooked the second floor.

In the movie "Sand Pebbles" with Steve McQueen, Frenchy (played by a young Richard Attenborough) was seeing his girl friend in a tenement that always reminded me of King's tenement.  I was born in 1948 and lived there for about a year or two before we moved to his house on 350 N. Topeka - basically a four block walk to work. 

Both photos from the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum most likely contributed by King.  The first photo looks to the southeast corner of the room; there are photos of Chin and Yim on the top of the dresser.  The sink and bathtub were at the north end.

This self-portrait King took in 1950 looking to the southwest corner of the room.  He created the photo using just the room lamps and no flood lights.  









He returned to a new house to be with his mother and his wife Suzon.  His son Chin Wee married Yim Ngo Wong that year, they were respectively age 17 and 18).  King stayed in touch with his friends in Kansas.   You will see in other letters that Wichitans had a keen interest in the presidential candidate Alf Landon.

King arrives in China

This is one of the few letters sent by King I found, the first of many back to friends in Wichita.

                                                                                                January 14 – 1936
                                                                                                Canton, China

Dear

I am writing you to let you know I am arrived here okay.  My boat docked Dec 27.  I stay at Hong Kong two day and went to Canton City one day and I arrived home Dec 31 just in time to celebrate 1936 New Year.

The trip was quite pleasant but very tiresome and I was glad when it was over.

I am feeling fine at present and am hoping this letter will find you in the best of health.

The weather here is quite nice at present. I don’t have to wear my overcoat since back here.

Let me hear from you and hoping it won’t be so long before I am back there again.

                                                                                        Your friend
                                                                                                King Mar

My address
Mar King
c/o Mo Do Drug Store
Bakska Toysun
   Canton China

Mat Leem, Baksha, Toisan

Where did King Mar come from?  

First: the language and spelling:
The majority of Chinese who came to North America (U.S. and Canada) came primarily from the Toisan region, southwest of Guangdong (Canton).  The nearest city was Baksha and the actual village according to my Dad was Mat Leem.  There are many ways to spell these location names as immigrants did their best to translate into English.  So, if you come across other writings, if the name seems close in spelling, it's probably what you're looking for. 

Kim has visited the home village and so had my friend Eddie Wong.  And from others, they all had the same impression.  They agreed it's a tough place to visit as there's pressure that you owe the people in the village to support (financial) them.



King Mar's home:

1: King went back to Baksha in 1936 after working several years managing the Pan American Cafe. 
This is what he came home to - fairly new in 1936.

  

I always wondered what the back of the house was like and this angled side view shows a nice looking park-garden area behind.  Maybe a cemetery?  On the left is the scaffolding around Junior Mar's house (to Ken and Kim: our Ngee Bok).  This photo was a small print (2x3) in a folder and I've never seen it in any album.

Dad (Chin Wee) drew this map for me of the area around King's house from memory in 1995.

King was an avid amateur photographer and he was already at in 1936.  Compare this shot with Dad's map.

 And another shot probably from the same day, or certainly in 1936:

 Kim visited Baksha in 1985 and took this picture.

As I comment on these old photos, I welcome any comments or corrections.

Tyler, Texas Connections

I just read a book Kim gave me years ago, signed by the author, Julian MarDock.  The book "The First of Many" - the story of his Dad, Sam MarDock, and their family.  And a connection to the Mar/Wees of Wichita.  On the cover is a family tree created by King Mar (in Chinese, but notice the English names).  Three generations before King and Sam have a common ancestor.  It's a good read to learn more about our extended family and Chinese-American life in Texas.

China Motor Corporation, 1947

In the folder of King Mar's letters was a 1946 pamphlet for the China Motor Corporation (CMC) which was located in Linden, New Jersey. Don't know how much interest King had in the company. 

The pamphlet is mostly in Chinese with the English text at the "back" of the booklet.  Chinese books  open with the spine on the right, so to English readers the first page they saw was China Motor Corporation - Its Purpose and Function.

CMC was the first Chinese machinery manufacturing and sales organization in the U.S. One purpose was to adapt American war surplus equipment for use in China, and another was to serve as an overseas base for the development of Chinese industries.  China was an ally during the Second World War in the fight against Japan.  In my parents house hung a portrait of Chang Kai-shek, the leader of the pro-US Nationalist China was symbolic of their support for a non Communist China.  When Mao Tse-tung won the battle for control of China, U.S. relations with China changed.

Cheung Tsui Tai Comes to America -1957

Today I'm deviating from my project to publish the correspondences between Granddad (King Mar) and Wichita friends in 1936 and reprinting the 1957 story of King bringing his mother to Wichita from China. The home village of Baksha is reported as Paksha, the Toisan region is spelled Toy shun in the article. Today Baksha, Toisan is translated as Baisha, Taishan.

May 1, 1936 C B Edwards letter to King

I've been meaning to reprint letters and memorabilia from a folder that my grandfather King Mar had.  It has a lot of interesting items mostly from 1936.  This is the first offering - a letter from C B Edwards (4th national Bank) to King while he was back in China and gives us a glimpse of life in Wichita in 1936.  King was a respected businessman in Wichita and was one of the owners of the Pan American Cafe in downtown Wichita.  His accounts were with the 4th National Bank.  I will have another installment within a week.

                                                                                                          May 1, 1936

Mar King,

Canton, China

Hello King – hope you are OK. I was glad to hear from you and it was nice for you to send me the 10¢ and 20¢ bills they are very interesting and pretty.  Thanks very much.

Things are about the same here.   Business is fairly good but we need some rain.  I have been going to picture shows here on Thursday nights – the(y) run what you call Bank Night – you know – someone gets 75.00 if their name is drawn.  If they are not there the money is held over till next Thursday.  It is now 300.00 and on one has got it yet.  Guess I’ll win so you can get new Plymouth Automobile.
Mr. Droll of Drolls Eating House in Miller Bldg. is very sick – think you know him.  The Street Car Company has torn up all tracks and use only busses.   They bring in more money so If you were here you half to wait longer for your change.
There is a lot of talk of Gov. Landon of Kansas running against Roosevelt for Prest. Of U.S.A.  I don’t think they can beat Roosevelt this time.  The Rep. Party did not do enough when they had a chance.

Well King there is not much news  -  things are about the same.

Your friend

                                                                                                  C B Edwards
                                                                                                          4^th Nat’l Bank
                                                                                                          Wichita
                                                                                                              Kans