Yeh, Alice
Alice Yeh (née Yook-Lin Gee) was born in Victoria, British Columbia on October 10, 1919. Alice’s mother, Gee Wong Moey, was widowed in the early 1920s and rented rooms in her house to support the family. The house became a hub of activity in Victoria’s Chinese community. For instance, Alice and her friends used the house as a meeting place for a youth forum, which staged dramatic productions and conducted neighbourhood tours in Chinatown to combat negative stereotypes and raise funds for charitable causes. Alice was extremely active in both her community life and work life. She worked for the postal censorship department in Ottawa, Ontario during World War Two, served as a private secretary to the Taiwanese Ambassador to Japan in the early 1950s, and worked as a social worker for the Catholic Children’s Aid Society in Toronto until her retirement. She also led the Young Women’s Guild at the Chinese Presbyterian Church in Toronto, Ontario, and was an organizer for Canadian branches of the Kuomintang (Nationalist) party. At the time of the interview, Alice resided in Etobicoke, Ontario.
‘In the Chinese community they seem to be okay because of the families. Even if there is one family who is in need, another family will come and help them.’
Alice Yeh recalls working in her family store during the Depression in Victoria, British Columbia. Alice felt compassion for customers who were unable to pay, especially single mothers. Through family connections and church support, she remembers the Chinese community taking care of one another.
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