Media

At the end of WWII, returning Chinese American veterans formed Cathay Post #186 because discrimination prevented them from joining existing Posts. Cathay Post provided an outlet for community and community service. Over the years, the Post has assisted needy veterans, marched in parades, and still conducts the annual Hing Hay Memorial Day ceremony. It has supported Kin On, The Wing Luke Museum, the Asian Resource Center, Chong Wa Benevolent Association, the Chinese Community Girls Drill Team, Children Christmas Party, Moon Festival, the New Year’s dinner and dance, and other community events and organizations. “Cathay Post wasn’t just a group for veterans,” said Sue Mar, whose late father Dan Mar served as past commander of Cathay Post #186. “It really supported family, community, and youth. For me the future is continuing Cathay Post as a service for veterans because we really do have a lot of veterans coming from wars. There’s still a lot of military action going on now in the world. There are still a lot of wars going on now. There are probably a lot of veterans of Chinese decent who might want to continue a program like Cathay Post. And one of the benefits that I see is that it could be another source to helping them to identify services that they might need as veterans like the GI bill or the VA programs, or retirement programs.”

History Café: Stories from Ron Chew’s My Unforgotten Seattle Program date: September 16, 2020 Location: Online Third-generation Seattleite, historian, journalist, and museum visionary Ron Chew spent more than five decades fighting for Asian American and social justice causes in Seattle. In this virtual History Café, Chew is joined by PeiPei Sung, a former student intern, turned oral history interviewer, turned exhibit developer under the wings of the Wing Luke Asian Museum family. Sung is currently a designer at MOHAI. Join us in this conversation and hear stories about immigration, activism, community work, and hopes for the future through Chew’s upcoming memoir My Unforgotten Seattle. Photo: “In 1986, I participated in a march commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Chinese expulsion from Seattle. Maria Batayola holds a picket sign. I’m wearing a jacket my mother made in the sewing factory.” [Location: Hing Hay Park, Seattle Chinatown International District] History Café is produced as a partnership between HistoryLink and MOHAI.

Full interview here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrnclw6j_Mi8JKFlDg7iOBDI4Q0QkMMLK Born in Seattle's Chinatown, Ron Chew attended the University of Washington in the early 1970s, establishing there his interest in journalism. As writer and editor he helped turn the International Examiner into the respected voice of the International District. From 1991-2008 he served as Executive Director of the Wing Luke Asian Museum. Childhood in the International District - Ron Chew

Presented by Town Hall Seattle and Wing Luke Museum. Please make a donation online by clicking the link, by texting TOWN HALL to 44321, or by joining Town Hall as a member. https://townhallseattle.org/support/ Having trouble with registration? Our Patron Services line is open a half an hour before each event to provide livestream tech support. Shoot us an email at patronservices@townhallseattle.org, or give us a call at 206.504.2857

Seattle’s Wing Luke Museum is nationally recognized for its work in creating dynamic, community-driven exhibitions and programs that explore the history, culture, and art of all Asian Pacific Islanders. The Museum is seen by many not as a collection of relics, but as a living institution, connected to and sustained by the personal stories, memories, artifacts, and art of the immigrant community. Much of this is due to the work of Ron Chew, a Seattle native and the son of Chinese immigrants, who served as the Museum's third Executive Director. Now Chew is at the helm of Chew Communications, which specializes in helping cultural organizations to collect stories and oral histories that contribute to a more tolerant and just world. Ron Chew speaks to the City Club about his work in cultivating social justice through the arts.

Faculty Commons and APISA event.

Ron Chew, Director of International Community Health Services (ICHS), explains what InterIm CDA does in the Seattle International District. Thank you Ron!

Rainier Valley Historical Society's 130th Annual Meeting guest speaker Ron Chew discusses his new book My Unforgotten Seattle.