Abstract This combined interview includes conversations with Alice Young, Joseph Eng Young, Tom Wong, and Helen Wong. The topics covered include their immigration story coming to the United States from China, family life, their education, and careers. Joseph and Tom provide insights into the Chinese restaurant industry in New York Chinatown during the 1920s and 30s. Helen describes the types of discrimination she and her family faced as Chinese living and working in the United States. Alice shares...

Abstract Mr. Tam, a Toisan (Taishan) native, has worked in the laundry industry from the time he immigrated to the U.S. in 1951 to the time of the interview in 1980. Forced to flee after the communist victory in China, he was sponsored by his older brother, with whom he worked at Zhongshan Wet Wash before being able to strike out on his own in 1964. Due to U.S. immigration policy, he was initially unable to sponsor his wife and family and found being separated from them very stressful. Mr. Tam’s...