CHARLIE WOO FAMILY

I was born in Canton Province in China and my father brought me to Canada in 1918 when I was only fourteen. We were at sea, half way between Hong Kong and Victoria when the first war ended. At that time it cost every Chinese man a $500.00 'Head Tax' to enter Canada. I still think the Canadian Government owes me that $500.00 and sixty years of compound interest too.

We went from Victoria directly to Belmont, Manitoba where my father expected me to go to work in his laundry. However after several visits from the Mounties, he was persuaded to let me go to school. I knew no English and had very little schooling in China so I found school very hard.

In 1921 I went to Winnipeg to work in my Uncle's laundry. That was hard work; washing all those clothes by hand and ironing with big cast irons heated on the stove. By 1923 I had enough money to go back to China to be married. At that time we could stay only one year and could not bring our wives back to Canada because no Chinese women were allowed into Canada then. The law was changed later and we were allowed to spend two years away from here.

In 1926 I went to Strathmore where I learned to be a cook and I stayed there until 1936 when I came to Black Diamond. There was a big fire in the forest west of town when I got there and grey ashes fell on the streets of Black Diamond and the sun was just a big red ball in the sky. I went right away to fight fire. After that I settled down to learn the shoe repair business from my brother. I bought the little building, where the Candy man had once been, from Mrs. Butler in 1936 and stayed in the shoe shop until 1947 when I sold to a War Veteran and went to cooking at the Royal Cafe in Turner Valley. By that time we no longer rented the rooms over the restaurant.

I had many friends among the boys in Black Diamond. They used to come and visit me when they were playing hookey from school, but one Halloween my toilet met the same fate as all the others in our alley. In the morning I was very happy when Owen Danforth and Harvey Allen set it up for me. By that time I was in no condition to help them.

1947 was a very important year for the Chinese because a law was passed that we could become Canadian Citizens and also bring our wives and any children under 21 to Canada. I made my fourth trip back to China that year.

In 1952 my son Carl came to Canada when he was 21. He attended school here for a while. We bought our present building in 1955 (what is now Terra Cota Dudes - then Woo's General Store), which was my old shoe repair shop. We moved the little old shop to the back for living quarters and built a new cement block store. We later bought the adjoining building from Bill Herman. His daughter, Aura Hollyoak, had been using it for a Ladies Wear Shop. Ed Beniot had a Pool Hall there during the War and then Jack Webber used it as a Dry Goods Store. In 1966 Howard Harris used it as two building together to make a nice big store. He also remodeled the back of the Herman building to make a comfortable home. Carl went to Hong Kong that year and brought my wife, his wife Janet and sons, David and Roy, to Black Diamond.

After Carl took the business over in 1965, I was complaining about having nothing to do so Joe Gratton took me fishing. My wife and I will soon be moving into our own home on the north side of town.

From, "IN THE LIGHT OF THE FLARES," pg 740
1979 published by The Sheep River Historical Society