Quon, Emma
Emma Quon (née Lee) was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec. Her father immigrated to Canada in 1898 and her mother in 1913. Emma had a busy social life in Montreal, taking part in many church and extra-curricular activities. She married Harry Quon in the late 1930s, and the young couple ran an inn in Port McNicoll, Ontario. After returning to Montreal, Emma became very active in community work as a founding member of the Canadian Chinese Cultural Society of Montreal, a member of the Credit Women’s Breakfast Club, and as part of a group committed to the re-location of the Chinese Hospital. In 1996, Emma moved to Alberta to be close to her daughter.
This photograph captures a scene from The Romance of the Willow Pattern, which was staged in 1948 for the International Cabaret, a fundraising event sponsored by the Student’s Association of Montreal. Emma (left) played the lead heroine Koong See, and also helped to source the elaborate Chinese costumes for the play through her connections in the Chinese Community. Also pictured are Victor Chang (middle), who played the character of Chang, Koong See’s lover, and Simon Toye (right) who played her father, a Mandarin.
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