Arlene Chan - Spirit of the Dragon: The Story of Jean Lumb, a Proud Chinese-Canadian

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Copyright 1997 by Arlene Chan. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher.

Publisher:	Ken Pearson
Design:	Ron & Ron Design & Photography
Calligraphy:	Ma Shiu-Yu
Cover Photograph:	Cavouk
Artist:	Bill Kimber
Illustration of the Dragon:
Concept:	Frank Hsu
Designer:	Ian Leventhal

The Author and Publisher gratefully appreciate the kind assistance of all those who contributed to this publication.

Every reasonable effort has been made to trace ownership of copyright material. Information will be welcome which will enable the publisher to rectify any reference or credit in future printings.

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Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data

Chan, Arlene

Spirit of the dragon : the story of Jean Lumb, a proud Chinese Canadian

(True Value series)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 1-895642-31-0 (bound) ISBN 1-895642-24-8 (pbk)

1. Lumb, Jean. 2. Chinese Canadians - Biography. *

3. Women civic leaders - Canada - Biography. 4. Women social reformers - Canada - Biography. I. Title. II. Series.

FC106.C5Z7 1997 971.064'2'092 C97-930262-5 F1034.3.P74C53 1997

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Three Panes and a Star / A kennyp Publication

Manufactured in Canada

UMBRELLA PRESS

56 Rivercourt Blvd.

Toronto, ON. M4J 3A4

Tel: (416)696-6665

Fax: (416) 696-9189

E-mail: umbpress@interlog.com

www.interlog.com/~umpress

Contents

Introduction

The story of Jean Lumb is one among many that could be told about Chinese-Canadian women who were raised during the Great Depression and the Second World War. Despite the hardships of living in a Canada that did not welcome Chinese people, Jean grew and developed from being an outsider to being a leader not only within the Chinese-Canadian community but also in the whole of Canada. Like the mighty dragon in Chinese mythology, her spirit and determination have made her a symbol to be admired by all people. Through her leadership, Jean Lumb is a woman who has made a difference to life in Canada.

At right, Jean Lumbs name written in Chinese characters.

Ferry Boat Tragedy

Help me! Help me! cried out the woman, her eyes filled with terror.

Just a moment earlier, she had been sitting quietly in the front seat on the lower deck of the ferry boat. Suddenly, there was a crash as the ferry was rammed by a larger ship, the Princess Alice. Now, she was pinned under the sharp bow of the Princess Alice.

Help me! Help me! Those were her last dying words.

Ill never forget the screams of that woman, Jean Lumb says as she remembers the ferry boat tragedy of 1935. Fourteen-year-old Jean always sat in the same seat when she took the 7:30 A.M . ferry to work from Vancouver across the harbour to North Vancouver. She never failed to be the first in line at the dock for the ten-minute ride so that she could sit in the same seat the lady had taken that day. Although Jean was paid only two dollars a week for baby-sitting, her family relied on her earnings, and she had to go to her job every day.

However, by chance, she was not first in line that day. A woman, on her way to her grandsons birthday party, had missed the earlier ferry and so she was at the head of the line for the next one. She took the seat that Jean had always occupied and Jean had to sit farther back on the ferry.

Jean recalls years later, It was so foggy that morning. But when I saw that big ship, I knew we were going to be hit. Jean was thrown across the cabin with the impact of the crash. Sensing great danger, she grabbed a fellow passenger who was in a state of shock, climbed over the empty seats, and ran up the stairs to the main deck of the ferry. All the passengers were pulled to safety aboard the Princess Alice just in time. Seconds later, the ferry sank.

News of the accident spread quickly on the radio. When it was announced that a woman had been pinned by the collision and had drowned, Jeans mother thought the worst. She knew that Jean always sat in the lower deck at the front. To her relief, it was announced that the person who died was an older woman. Her mother then knew that it could not be Jean.

Jeans mother knew that her daughter was going to be someone special.

There is an old Chinese saying that if someone survives a disaster, that person will have good fortune.

Report of the accident,
appearing in the newspaper:

Vancouver

On Monday, February 4, 1935, at 8:47 A.M ., the worst fears became stark reality: West Vancouver 5 was rammed and sunk by the CPRS Princess Alice.

It is alleged. said the West Vancouver News on February 7, the ferry was on her right course and going slowly. She was struck on the side of the large cabin aft the sharp bow of the Alice striking at an acute angle and bringing up at the bulkhead on the side of the stairway. This allowed those in the cabin to escape up the stairway, but an elderly lady, believed to be Mrs. William E. Burritt, mother of Mrs. A. P. Croker, of 2869 Bellevue Avenue, was trapped between the bow of the Alice and the side of the cabin. Captain [Darius] Smith risked his life, as did Mate [George] Hayes and Lookout Arnold Garthone, who came to his assistance, in a gallant attempt to save her, the captain receiving a bad cut in the head, but the ferry sank More she could be extricated. The surviving passengers ... were taken on the Alice to the city ...

Growing Up in British Columbia

Jean Wong was born on July 30,1919, in Nanaimo, a small town on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. Her father had come to Canada from China in 1899 to work as a farm labourer for a landowner named Mr. Billy. With Mr. Billys help, Jean explains, my father was soon able to bring my mother and my eldest brother, who was six, from China to Canada. Later, her father left the farm and became a coal miner, again with the help of Mr. Billy. Eight more children, including Jean, were born to the family in Nanaimo. The family was very poor and struggled for a living, but no one complained. Her father knew that no matter how bad things were, life would have been worse if they still lived in China.

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