Thanks to Arthur Mah, I recently got two photos from his father's (Mah Q Gar) photo albums. Arthur grew up in Wichita like me, a year behind graduating from Wichita West 1967. This blog was started as a tribute to my grandfather King Mar, who I adored very much growing up. The blog got going when I started to reprint a batch of his letters from around 1936 when he made a return visit to his home village in China. Most of the correspondences were from his friends, coworkers and business associates as the owner of the Pan American Cafe. Over time and from the letters, I've touched on a lot of Wichita history and my family's history and a discovery of the I had more connections with people who are more related than I ever knew. It's nice to make contact with other Wichita ABCs (American born Chinese) as we begin to connect and share our family and clan histories.
The first photo Arthur and think came from the 1930s. Chinese men of Wichita. The two I recognize right away are the middle two in the back row: Junior Mar and King Mar. On the far left is Q Gar Mah (also known as Karl Mah), not sure who this is, Junior Mar, King Mar, unknown, and Wah Fong Mah (Arthur's uncle). Seated: unknown but a wild guess could be Sam Mar. I've never seen photos of these guys so young (except grandpa King).
Three of these guys are in uniform. Arthur's Dad, Q Gar, is in the middle, the one with the sergeant's stripes.
They are at the Lorelei/Heinrich Heine fountain in the Bronx, NY. Thanks to my nephew Thomas for identifying the location. That's my Dad, Chin Wee, with the big smile. These guys all look pretty dapper. I don't know the guy in the far left. Next to Q Gar is Robert Mar and on the right is Ning Mar. Ning I knew as the manager of the night shift at the Pan American Cafe.
Dad enlisted and was inducted to the US Army at Ft. Leavenworth Feb 9, 1942 (just a few weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor Dec 7) and was discharged Jan 20, 1944. Since he's not in uniform this photo may have been taken after Jan 1944. Or did he opt to be in civilian clothes that day? So, at least four of these men were in the military service for the U.S. Still trying to find if Ning served.
I identified Robert from his wedding pictures I've posted before.
That was quite the wedding feast in 1940. To the left of Robert Mar (the groom) is Sam Mar. In the lower left of the photo I recognize Junior Mar and Keung Lem.
