Item 21 - Interview of Mary Lee

46.7 MB (1 file) : mp3 ; 0 hr., 20 min., 24 sec.

Audio recording of interview with Mary Lee conducted by Vivienne Poy in Scarborough, ON. Interview conducted in Cantonese.

From Transcripts [Extended notes] compiled by Vivienne Poy:

Mary Lee, (dependent of son), 1968, interviewed in Toronto.

• Born in 1913 in Macao. The family moved to Hong Kong when she was 2. She was educated in Chinese schools until 3rd year of middle school.
• Married in 1935. She had 6 children. She has been a house wife all her life.
  When the Japanese invaded Hong Kong, the family went into China. Her husband was in the import-export business. After the war, the family went back to Hong Kong, and her husband went into real estate business and remained in it until he retired when they came to Canada in 1968.
• Her eldest son came to Canada in 1957 to study at McGill. He subsequently went to MIT to get a masters degree. He then returned to McGill to get his PhD.
• 1960, her second son went to McGill. Subsequently, the third son also came to McGill.
• In 1967, because of the riots in Hong Kong, she eldest son sponsored her, her husband and their youngest son to Canada in 1968.
• The daughters were both educated in Hong Kong, and worked there. The eldest’s husband is an architect in Hong Kong. They moved here in 1975. The second daughter taught at St. Mary’s in Hong Kong for 10 years, and moved here in 1968. She then studied Library Science and worked at IBM until her retirement.
• Mrs. Lee did work after she arrived in Canada, at Inn On the Park hotel, doing mending, because her hand work is very good. She worked until she was in her sixties, and retired. She said she was bored at home since the children were all grown up, she might as well go to work.
• In 1980, she and her husband moved into a senior apartment. Her husband died at the age of 92. He was 11 years her senior.
• When she first came here, she regretted coming. The most difficult thing for her was language. She had never had any interest in learning English, even in Hong Kong, so she found it difficult in Canada, and she never bothered to take lessons. Somehow, she is able to understand what is asked of her.
• She volunteered at the Gar Lan Centre for a few months. She was sent to visit old people, to see how they were, and to chat with them. She wasn’t happy with what she was asked to do, because she didn’t think it’s very helpful to the old people, unless she could clean their homes for them, which she couldn’t do. By then, she herself has already moved into the senior’s apartment. Besides, the travelling was not convenient for her.
• She used to drive in Hong Kong, from the end of the war to the time she came to Canada. Her sons knew that she would have no trouble getting her license, but she would have trouble in explaining herself if she gets into an accident. So she didn’t drive. Her husband never drove, even in Hong Kong.
• She’s a Catholic, but doesn’t have much to do with the church here. She thinks it’s partly because she’s not sociable, however, that’s only since her husband died.
• She compared the public security then to the present. It was so much better then, when people were more honest. Lost wallets would be returned, and parcels could be left in front of the door for days and no one would take them. Now, the world has changed.
• she gets a pension of $900.00. 1/3 goes to rent in the senior apartment. She appreciates the social security in Canada despite the high taxes her children are paying, because the young people get [subsidized] education and free health care, plus a lot of other benefits.