The CAMROSE BOOSTER June 21, 2011
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Celebration of Chinese pioneers
Sing Mah as a young businessman.
In loving memory of
Ruth Dewald 1930 – 2006 This day is remembered and quietly kept No words are needed, we shall never forget, For those we love don’t go away, They walk beside us every day. Unseen and unheard, but always near, So loved, so missed, and so very dear Love ya. Mom. Always remembered and sadly missed by your children and their families
CAMROSE & DAYSLAND In loving memory of
Rudolf Undin 1927 – 2010 No one knows the heartaches Only those who have lost can tell Of the grief that we bear in silence For the one we loved so well. Lovingly remembered, Louisa and family Our dedicated team of funeral directors and colleagues: (Front L-R): Rod Madison, Karla Kerr, Leeann Zellweger, Alver Person (Back L-R): Robert Lyslo, Cam Parker, Jim Gillespie, Bob Hanrahan, Barrie Fenby, John Person
John E. (Jack) Vikse John E. (Jack) Vikse of Tacoma, Washington, passed away on May 18, 2011. Remembered, loved and cherished by his family and friends.
In loving memory of
George Rood February 8, 1941 – June 25, 2010 When a loved one becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure. George, we treasure all the memories. Love from your family and friends
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A Memorial Service will be held for the late
Hilmer Olsen of Holden, Alberta, who passed away on December 20, 2010. It will be held on June 25, 2011, at 2:00 p.m. at Holden Community Hall. Memorials may be made to Holden Museum, Holden Municipal Library, or a charity of one’s choice in care of the Village of Holden.
For information on The Camrose Booster Obituary Page, contact your funeral director or The Camrose Booster
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The Camrose Railway Station will be celebrating the contribution of Chinese pioneers to the area on June 25. "We have a special Chinese menu planned for the Station cafe and will be having a Tai Chi demonstration at 11:00 a.m.," said Railway Station spokesperson Janine Carrol. "We're also going to see if we can get a demonstration for Chinese writing." The Camrose Railway Station is currently hosting a Royal Alberta Museum travelling exhibition by Linda Tseng entitled Chop Suey on the Prairies, a reflection on Chinese restaurants in Alberta. "There are more Chinese restaurants in North America than there are fast food outlets combined," states the exhibition's promotional poster. "They range in size and grandeur from upscale banquet halls serving more than 500 people to family-run, hole-inthe-wall cafes where the parents cook and serve while the children do homework or clean vegetables in the corner. Chinese restaurants have become so much a part of our landscape that it is hard to imagine a time when they were considered exotic." Two of the Chinese restaurant operators in Camrose were York Mah and Ling Ma. York Mah arrived in Camrose in 1945 after working on the railway. He was attracted to Camrose by a friend, and built a restaurant around the corner from it, calling it the York Cafe, which at the time was the fourth restaurant on Main Street, joining the Blue Room, Bill's Cafe, and the Royal Cafe. The latter was another Chinese restaurant run by Shorty Mah. In 1952, York's adopted son, Sing Mah, age 20, arrived in Camrose to help his father with the business. Sing had been a barber in Hong Kong, and when he arrived in Canada he knew no English. Sing remembers that in those early days he didn't like looking after customers because of his lack of English and his inability to communicate. Instead, he cleaned tables after the customers were gone. Along with the Chinese food, the York Cafe had a large selection of western menu items. In 1952, a coffee and donut cost 10 cents, and a T-bone steak dinner just 65 cents. The restaurant employed 12 waitresses, three dishwashers, six busboys and four cooks. Since prepackaged and convenience foods had not yet arrived, the Mahs and their staff peeled huge mounds of potatoes
and they prepared real gravy from scratch. They specialized in cream pies and deep dish apple pies. Sing still makes pies for his family, who claims that his pie crusts are of a quality that they have never seen matched. In 1958 York and Sing allowed partners Sam and Quong Mah to purchase the York Cafe and started another restaurant, located where Skyway Family Restaurant is now. The name was first the Rose Grill and Bakery, and later just the Rose Grill. York worked hard all his life to create a better life for his family. He passed away in 1958 after receiving just one pension cheque, and is buried in the Valleyview cemetery. Sing's son, Joe, along with his brother and silent partner, Ken, took over the restaurant in 1989, and ran it until 1992, when he became a paramedic. In 1990 they supplied the food for the athletes during the Alberta Winter Games. Sing still resides in Camrose with his wife, Gee. Joe, a member of the Camrose Fire Department and his wife, Pat, have three children, while Ken and his wife, Leann, are owners of the two Camrose Tim Horton's. Ling Ma
Ling Ma, father of the Lucky Dragon owner Norman Ma, immigrated to Canada in 1960, but had to wait ten years for the rest of his family to join him. Following in the footsteps of his father, who served meals for 25 cents in Edmonton's China Town, he opened a Chinese restaurant in Calgary, but soured on doing business there after he was robbed three times in one month. In 1976, after operating for a few years in Red Deer, he came to Camrose to start The Lucky Restaurant. Knowing only the Chinese language when he arrived, Norman faced many challenges, including the challenge of finishing school. He helped his father in the restaurant after class and whenever he could, and eventually took the restaurant over in the mid 1980s. In the early 1990s he purchased the York Cafe and moved the restaurant into the new main street building, renaming it the Silver Dragon. In 2001, after many years of working 12 to 14 hour days seven days a week, he moved his restaurant again to a bright new building on 48 Avenue. Even though the building is new, Norman still serves many of the traditional family recipes, such as rice and custard pudding.