Story 01, Mr. Kong, interviewed at Juniper House

September 17, 2026

Biographical information about the participant and how his family came to Saskatoon:

 

Hermes: How did you come to Saskatoon? When and how?

 

Mr. Kong: In 1992… I immigrated to Canada. My parents and all the family, initially, all came to Saskatoon many years [before]. So I’m the last one to come over here… I came from Singapore.

 

Mr. Kong: I think initially it was because of the war, during the Japanese war. So my mother sent my eldest brother… to Toronto… After the war… they [found] that maybe they [could] have a better life here. So they came over here… probably in 1968… So they start[ed] bringing everybody in, sponsor[ing] them.

 

Mr. Kong: My mother came over here, and then she started working, you know, as a dishwasher with a restaurant… So they work[ed] their way up here, and then they start[ed] bringing family members on… They live[d] quite near Riversdale, about Avenue H there.

 

Mr. Kong: I lived with my younger sister for almost two years, then I bought a house on the east side. Then later I moved into this building, [Juniper House]… I live[d] here for about six years… Then… I applied for River Landing… so I move[d] over there now.

 

On 20th Street and its restaurants:

 

Hermes: How often do you go out and… hang out in that area? In 20th Street?

 

Mr. Kong: Yeah, 20th Street… even when we live [in] other places, we still come back here, because there were so many… Chinese restaurants. So food is one of our thing[s]… so we go to a different Chinese restaurant. But then all the restaurants are now gone…

 

Mr. Kong: … here is always [where] we eat, you know, 20th Street. There were… almost ten old restaurant[s]. Right now, maybe… about two or three.

 

Mr. Kong: … they also tried to build a Chinatown for us. But Chinatown to us is just one Chinese grocery shop, and then the restaurant.

 

On starting the Wellness Society:

 

Mr. Kong: … one of the director[s]… moved to… Toronto. Then he requested us to… form a group… That’s why I started the Wellness Society… our Wellness Society is to, you know, bring the Chinese people together, because most of them, they spend their home watching TV… So our main objective is to bring them out.

 

Mr. Kong: … the initial group… they speak Toishan wa, then they speak Cantonese… And then later the Hong Kong group came in. And now… all the Chinese group[s] are coming in. So there are three languages… And then when I came in, because I speak English, and I’m from Singapore… we speak Mandarin, Cantonese, so I become the interpreter… So my job is usually to gather and do the planning, [the] computer side.Anthony: … right now we are on… WeChat… But not all of them, because most of them, they don’t use [a] computer… I will deliver them on paper… to the door… [to] encourage them to join us.

 

Mr. Kong: … every year now we go [to] Watrous… [We] rented a big bus, a school bus… and then we bring everybody out.

 

First impressions of Riversdale:

 

Hermes: … your first impression of Riversdale, of 20th Street. What are your first impressions?

 

Mr. Kong: First impression is a place where, you know… people always end up in the restaurant. And then when you meet friends, we just talk to them… Happy to see them alive, you know. You don’t know who’s gone. So we just gather at a restaurant. But now, because [there are] fewer restaurant[s], it’s harder to meet.

 

On how the community gathers now:

 

Mr. Kong: … every Saturday, we have tai chi… summertime, we practice outside… after… COVID… we practice outside, in the… river area. And then… because of the weather, it’s colder, we do online now.

 

Mr. Kong: Nowadays, because the price of food is so high, hardly anybody… go[es to] eat [at a] restaurant individually… Even if you go to Superstore… you hardly see any [of] your old friend[s]… You don’t even meet anybody nowadays, unless we have a big function, potluck or dinner for everybody… Like, you go to 20th Street now, you hardly see anything… for Chinese.

 

On remembering the people who built Riversdale:

 

Mr. Kong: … a lot of people, we don’t really know… this guy, last time [he ran] a restaurant. We didn’t know… But it should have a place… like a Chinese place where you can have a lot of pictures, of stories telling, you know, all the past of people who immigrated to this area.

 

Mr. Kong: But senior people cannot speak English. They can read Chinese, but… that’s why they are quiet… Like… I know, oh, this guy, they own a few restaurant[s]… here on the Riversdale area. So… once they’re gone, nobody knows about that anymore… Most of the children are all over Canada. They’re not here.

 

Hermes: That’s one of the objectives of recording the stories.

 

Mr. Kong: Recording the story, and have a common place, you know. Actually this Juniper is a good place to… put up like pictures… or that they have a video, oh, this guy, I know this guy… somebody’s telling the story of… all the changes in Riversdale…

 

On roots and what to pass on:

 

Hermes: Is there one teaching from your parents… that you want to share?

 

Mr. Kong: I mean, it’s our culture, our roots. But, you know, even though most of us, we don’t regret coming over here, we also regret that we cannot go back, you know… to a place where we came from… 

 

Mr. Kong: … another 20, 30 years, most of us will be gone. So it’s good for them to… bring them memories, you know, make them feel that they… made the right choice of coming to Canada, but not losing the roots.

 

Mr. Kong: They still have the roots, you know, but they feel sad that… most of our children… cannot speak the language anymore. But my children, they cannot speak our languages also. They only can speak English. So it’s quite a transformation. But, you know, we cannot avoid it, but we hope for the best. That’s all.