Louie-Byne, Alice
Alice Louie-Byne (née Quon) was born in 1916 to Quon Liang and Ng Shee. When Ng Shee first arrived in Victoria, British Columbia in 1914, women were minorities in the gender-imbalanced Chinese ‘bachelor’ community. Alice says that her mother found a friend in her sister-in-law. The two women attended meetings at the Oriental Home and School, established by the Methodist Church as a refuge for young Asian women, where they learned Canadian domestic skills like crocheting and knitting.
Alice and her family moved to Calgary, Alberta, where her parents opened a restaurant. At the age of 12, she left school to work in the family’s restaurant, an industry she would remain in for many years. As a young adult, she encountered barriers to job opportunities outside of family-run businesses. While raising her children, Alice worked alongside her husband at the White Star Café and later, the family’s convenience store. She became a secretary for the Calgary school board in 1964, and later worked for the provincial government in various roles. Outside of work and family life, Alice played an instrumental role in the organization of the annual ‘Chow Mein Tea,’ a Chinese United Church fundraising event. Alice continues to reside in Calgary.
In part five of a six-part interview, Alice Louie-Byne talks about the Dandee Confectionary and Grocery that she and her husband opened in 1946, and her work selling paper supplies to supplement her income. She also describes the chow mein tea fundraisers organized by the Chinese United Church Women’s Auxiliary.
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