The Longest Shot: How Larry Kwong Changed the Face of Hockey
Chad Soon and George Chiang LARRY'S HOMETOWN IN THE 1920s Nestled between three lakes at the head of the Okanagan Valley the Vernon of Larry Kwong's youth was a picturesque town of 5,000 people Orchards farms and pastures spread from the valley floor up the rolling hills and mountains Just south of the main-street shops was Chinatown where the Kwongs lived above their general store About 500 Chinese Canadians called the modest buildings on the neighborhood's three streets home Boarding houses were packed with Chinese farm workers Some ran small businesses like restaurants and laundries which attracted white customers to Chinatown Many other white resi- dents wanted the Chinese community gone 2 ANTI-ASIAN HATE The idea that Chinese were filthy diseased and drug-addicted was commonplace in North America at that time Racist stereotypes caused fear of and hate toward Chinese immigrants and their families People also accused them of stealing jobs from white workers In 1907 an anti-Asian rally in Vancouver drew thousands of people and turned into a riot The mob attacked Vancouver's Chinatown and Japantown smashing windows and terrorizing residents In Vernon the Kwongs hoped that their neighborhood would be spared a similar fate
KWONG HING LUNG Larry's father Ng Shu Kwong came to Canada from China in 1882 He opened his store in Vernon's Chinatown in 1895. Kwong Hing Lung which means abundant prosperity was a Canadian shop with something for everyone from tea and silks to macaroni macaroni and cowboy hats The store brought in a diverse crowd including Chinese Japanese white and Indigenous customers Around town people began to call Larry's father Kwong after the name of his store Our real family name is Eng said Larry but 3
4 Chad Soon and George Chiang CHINESE HEAD TAX As the Canadian Pacific Railway was nearing completion in 1885 thanks in large part to Chinese workers the prime minister John A. Macdonald turned around and slapped a hefty tax of $50 on any Chinese person entering the country The tax was later raised to $100 then to $500 as the store my dad had was called Kwong's we decided to adopt that as the family name TWO MOTHERS Business was good and in 1904 Ng Shu Kwong arranged to bring a second wife Loo Ying Tow to Canada He paid the Chinese head tax which by then had risen to $ 500 or about two years worth of wages for an immigrant worker Mr. Kwong already had two chil- dren with his wife Rose At that time it was considered accept- able in Chinese culture to have more than one wife As the second wife Loo Ying Tow was expected to take over most of the house- work Rose or First Mother would have six children in total Loo Ying Tow gave birth to nine more including Larry He was born in Vernon on June 17 1923 the 14th of 15 siblings and the youngest son Larry was given the Chinese name Eng Kai Geong
HUMILIATION DAY JULY 1 1923 When Larry was only two weeks old the Canadian government scrapped the head tax and passed a new Chinese Immigration Act No more Chinese people with very few exceptions would be allowed to come into the country at any price So while most Canadians celebrated the country's birthday on July 1 there was a day of mourning in Canada's Chinatowns There it became known as Humiliation Day Under this racist law also known as the Chinese Exclusion Act families like the Kwongs were separated separated Larry's sister-in-law Sue was deported To be with his wife Larry's oldest brother Harry had to move to China
