Don would be 65 today; You'll Never Walk Alone

 Yesterday, December 15 was Don's birthday.  He would have been 65.  Here's a photo of Don performing as Merlin  in a Stanford production of Camelot.

 

My brothers and I liked musicals with Ken, Sam, Don and me singing in our church choirs and school choruses.

Bob Dole just passed away last week and his comfort song was "You'll Never Walk Alone" from Carousel.  The Rodgers and Hammerstein play was a favorite of Sam's and mine.  While I liked many of the R & H plays, Carousel sticks out because West High School put in on the year before I started school there as a sophomore.  The lead (Billy Bigelow) was a sophomore from my junior high (Allison) and Bill Moss, also from Allison, I think played Jigger Craigin. I was impressed by the play, the music and the extensive work put in by high school students.

Teahouse of the August Moon ~1957

Teahouse of the August Moon About 1957, my brother Ken and I were asked to be in the Wichita University production of the Teahouse of the August Moon. That was my first time as an actor. I was asked to learn one line in Japanese but couldn't do it, so my role was to bring the live goat on stage by the jeep.  The women were Japanese or Japanese-Americans and they may have had lines in Japanese.  The older guy was Chinese and was asked to harangue the driver in Chinese.  No concern that the audience would have cared.

Ken and I worked several performances, maybe a week's worth of shows.  There was a woman who was our chaperone and we were well taken care of except we stayed extremely late one night; never knew the reason.

Early Morning Gatherings of Mom's Friends - or the Mar Clan

A childhood memory was waking up in the morning to see the door from the living room to the kitchen closed and finding a bunch of women who had been cooking  in the pre-dawn.  Usually it was Mom with Mumu (Oi Lick "Judy" Mar - Junior Mar's wife), Thliam Hu (Great Aunt Wong Shee Mar - Junior Mar's mother), and one or two others.  After Grandma Suzon, arrived in 57, she was part of the party.

They made a variety of dumplings - tee, bao, chueng fun (crepes), sesame balls, bamboo sticky rice and other things.  My favorite was the glutinous rolled up pancakes - white with specks of green onions and other ingredients.  

I didn't figure it out back then (in the 1950s), those were gatherings of my relatives.  There was no Chinatown experience for Midwestern Chinese living separately in houses across town.  Gatherings were at the city parks, each other's homes, or in one of the numerous Chinese restaurants.

Here's a photo I'll call the Mar Clan of Wichita in 1957, probably taken at the restaurant on east Central (I can't remember the name now).

For the record, here's who I can identify (family relations names are from my point of view):

1st row: Kenneth (brother #2), Grandma Suzon Mar holding Sam (brother #3), Great-grand mother Cheung Tsui Tai, 3rd Great Aunt (Thliam Hoo), Vincent Lem, Grandpa King Mar, Alice Lem, me (brother #1)

2nd row: Han S. Mar, Oi Lick "Judy" Mar (Mumu to me, or Ngee Mu), 4th Great Aunt (Thlee Hoo), Mom Yim Ngo Wee holding Don (brother #4), Maureen Lem (Thliam Seem - I think, wife of Keng), Keng Lem (was he Thliam Sok?  I can't remember how I addressed him or Maureen).

3rd row: don't know this guy, Junior Mar (Bakbak, or Ngee Bak, Mumu's husband), I think this guy was Cheung Gong (or Sok? can't remember the age distinction; he was married to a Japanese woman, the only one without family circle), Robert Mar (I think sone of Junior and Judy Mar), don't know this guy's name but he's many of the Junior Mar Family photos.

Ken, Vincent, Alice and Kim - can any one of you help? 

Make the connection: Great grandma Cheung Tsai Tai in 1957 above with the young
Great Grandpa Dune Toi Mar in the 1920s at the Pan American Cafe.

Extreme weather in 2021 - similar to 1936: F.L. Brown

Kim and Eva had to spend the night at a friend's house after power outage in Garland (TX).  Dee and I were more fortunate to be without power for only two and a half hours.  Hoping Texas problems improve soon, especially around Houston.  Well, in 1936 Wichita had extremely cold, then the dust storms.

Sam's Birthday; Wichita Olympic Track Club

Sam would have been 67 this Saturday.  I still remember the birthdays of all my brothers though occasionally I have to look up the dates.  My personal mnemonics to remember Sam's Jan 30th date is he was born the day after Kansas Day, Jan 29th.  For Kim, April Fools is April 1st; but Kim's not a May Fool, so he was born the day before - Apr 30.  Funky, but it was my way of remembering their dates.  My other two brothers?  Kenneth's Jan. 5th I had in my brain the longest since he's the oldest of the four and  Don's Dec. 15th I just had to learn and often looked up.

The last time I visited Sam, he reminded me I created the Wichita Olympic Track Club, our family and neighborhood track program for my brothers and John Foster, a neighborhood friend.   I coaxed Ken and Sam to run and jump the various track and field events we could do in the abandoned junior high school field just a block away from our house.  At the time Don was the youngest and I got him  recorded for a few runs.  Yes, I kept a record book of each brother's performances in the 50 yd, 100 yd dash, the 600 yd run, broad jump (it wasn't called the long jump back then) and high jump.

The 50 yard dash was in the one playground area behind the former Central Junior High.  The 600 yd run was once around the school block.  It was amazing no one got hit my a car as they ran along 2nd Street which cut across the alley between two tall buildings.  3rd Street was safe as you had a clear view of the alley and the street.

Sam doing the 50 yard dash

Sam on the takeoff on the broad jump

This may be Ken running the 50 yard dash; if not then it's me.

Later, in my woodworking shop class I made some pole vault stands.  And with money from my newspaper route, I bought a real steel pole for vaulting.  Before, we were using a bamboo pole which we eventually bent in two.  John Foster bought an 8 lb shot and a high school weight discus.  John and I spent a lot of evenings pole vaulting, high jumping, and throwing the shot and discus.  

John and I weren't built for weight events.  Photographs of our release on the shot put showed our head was looking down as the shot was just leaving the chin level, clearly the shot release wasn't keeping up with the rest of the body motion.  I'll have to look up that photo, but here's a photo of John working on a science project in 1965.

These aren't track & field photos of Don and Sam, but do show their jumping ability.  I was copying the style of Life Magazine photographer Philippe Halsman who made portraits of famous people jumping in the air.

My favorite shot of Sam is the one of him studying at his desk.  I used one of King Mar's floodlights from the side for the lighting.  This was from January 1966.

This fun photo was from January 1965 with Kim as the quarterback, Don and Sam the linemen.  This was in out backyard at 350 N. Topeka.

June 17, 1936 - George A Earl; Shanghai Cafe

George A. Earl wrote to King in June 1936 about how things were going at the Pan American Cafe and mentioned many of the waitresses and Henry Mar, who was filling in at the cash registers taking care of what King normally did.  There's the announcement of the opening of  the Shanghai Cafe, increasing the number of Chinese restaurants in Wichita.  The Shanghai Cafe no longer existed when I was a child in Wichita.

Interesting note about bonuses for soldiers - if King was supposed to get a bonus, did he serve in the U.S. Army.  I have no record of him in the military.

 

                                   Wichita, Kansas, June 17, 1936

Mr. Mar King,
c/o Mo Do Drug Store,
Baksha, Toysum,
Canton, China,

Dear King:--

           I was glad to get a letter from my good friend King, dated April 30th, 1936, thought that you had about forgotten me. And have often thought of you and whether you received my former letter written to you in answer to your letter quite sometime ago. So was very much pleased when the postman brought me your letter a few days ago.

           It is hot here again and the air conditioner has to be run at the Pan American every day now. Yes I go to the Pan and get coffee but donot drink so much as I did got too much and did not feel so good.  They have good business everyday – today when I was in to lunch I see Ima working you remember her she went over to Muellers and worked. Bernice, Gladys, Sammy, Peggy, Jean, Thelma and 2 other girls I don’t know and I forgot Dolly is still working there. Henry is well and seems to be working all the time. I see Murry on the street sometimes in the afternoon.

           Everything seems to be going good at the Pan and guess they are making some money – hope so.

           I am sending to you a clipping from this morning Eagle about Wah Mar, going to open the old Lincoln Cafe as the Shanghai Cafe you read the piece and you will know all about it. It is news and will interest you I am sure.

           Yes I suppose that it took you sometime to get used to the living there after being here so long and I am glad that you are feeling fine and are looking forward to your return to Wichita, And I will say that all of your friends will be glad to see you back again. Monday the 15^th. Of this month the soldiers bonus was paid and suppose that you have a bonus coming to you.  The man that delivers bread to you at the Pan told me that one of your friends at the Holly got his check for several hundred dollars Monday.

           Well my good friend I have told you all the news that I know and hope that you are enjoying fine health and having a good time and that your Mama and family are well and happy.

           Myself and all of my family send your our best wishes for your good health and happy return after your visit, Iam your Friend,

                                   George A. Earl

518 Butts Building
Wichita, Kansas,

 

The Newmans and The Lassen Hotel - March 1936

This is another letter from the Newmans.  The daughter Elva sent King a letter on Feb 16, 1936.   Here her mother Jessie mentions she played a piano recital and asks King for postage stamps and a nice silk shawl.  The Lassen Hotel renovation was mentioned and a newspaper clipping included.  The Lassen was right across from the Pan American Cafe.

The letter was copied as a jpeg file since it was so nicely typed which would make it harder to look up later in a word search. 

 

 

Elva Newman, 1936