"Lee, Kathy" found 2 records | Heritage Burnaby

Scope and Content: Photograph of members of the Lee family gathered together during Christmas at the Dragon Inn. People are identified from left to right: Pat Lee, Kathy Lee, Larry Lee, Jack Leung, Marilyn Leung. The group is gathered around a table, there is a rack of coats behind them.

1 image

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Larry Lee family fonds

Description Level: Item

Physical Description: 1 photograph : col. ; 9 x 9 cm

Scope and Content: Photograph of members of the Lee family gathered together during Christmas at the Dragon Inn. People are identified from left to right: Pat Lee, Kathy Lee, Larry Lee, Jack Leung, Marilyn Leung. The group is gathered around a table, there is a rack of coats behind them.

Subjects: Persons - Chinese Canadians; Buildings - Commercial - Restaurants

Names: Lee, Git Nung "Kathy"; Lee, Larry; Leung, Jack; Leung, Marilyn; Lee, Pat; Dragon Inn

Accession Code: BV022.19.7

Access Restriction: No restrictions

Reproduction Restriction: No known restrictions

Date: [196-]

Media Type: Photograph

Scan Resolution: 600

Notes: Title based on contents of photograph

Images

Christmas at Dragon Inn, [196-] thumbnail

Larry Lee family fonds

https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription19071

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Larry Lee family fonds

Description Level: Fonds

Physical Description: 14 photographs + 3 p. of texutal records

Scope and Content: Fonds consists of photographs of the Dragon Inn restaurant in Burnaby, Lee family photographs and certificates awarded to Larry Lee.

Repository: Burnaby Village Museum

Collection/Fonds: Larry Lee family fonds

Description Level: Fonds

Physical Description: 14 photographs + 3 p. of texutal records

Scope and Content: Fonds consists of photographs of the Dragon Inn restaurant in Burnaby, Lee family photographs and certificates awarded to Larry Lee.

History: Larry Lee was born in Dawan village, Kaiping, Guangdong, China in 1932. As a child, he attended school at the Dawan village primary school, and later the Kaiqiao middle school. During the Second World War, the Japanese army took over parts of Guangdong. Due the circumstances at the time, Larry quit school and returned to the village. He arrived in Vancouver, Canada in 1949 at the age of 16 by plane, which stopped in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, Guam, Hawaii, and Seattle before reaching its final destination in Vancouver. With no English language skills upon arrival, he attended Sir William Dawson School in Vancouver and was placed in grade five surrounded by mostly white children. His father Lee Soon was already in Canada many years before Larry arrived, and paid the Chinese head tax to come to Canada. Lee Soon operated the Puss and Boots coffee shop located on Robson Street and Richards Street and was one of the restaurant’s cooks. As a teenager, Larry's first job in Canada was working at the Puss and Boots as a restaurant helper. Later on, he took a full time job working at the Bamboo Terrace restaurant in Chinatown, and was eventually promoted to become a buyer for the restaurant. He met his wife Git Nung Lee "Kathy" who came from Xinhui county, Guangdong, in the 1950s while she was working for the produce wholesaler Tom Yee, which was located on Keefer Street between Gore and Main Street in Chinatown. Kathy's grandfather originally operated a fireworks factory in Vancouver. After an accident which involved an explosion at the factory, her father closed down the company and opened the Fong Lee BBQ Meatshop in Chinatown. Kathy and Larry married in 1958. Larry and Kathy lived in Burnaby where they raised their eight children. In the late 1950s, Larry and Kathy opened the first Dragon Inn restaurant on Slocan Road and Kingsway area along with seven other partners who mostly originated from Larry's hometown in Kaiping. The business partners eventually parted ways, and a second Dragon Inn restaurant opened in the Willingdon and Kingsway area. The third restaurant, named the Park Inn, opened up at Welwyn Street and Kingsway. A fourth restaurant, also named the Dragon Inn, was established on Willingdon and Hastings Street. Finally, a fifth Dragon Inn restaurant was opened in New Westminster on Columbia Street. Larry retained ownership of the Willingdon and Kingsway location, and sold the remaining businesses. Over the years, he purchased property around the block of his restaurant, and sold the land to developers who constructed the Crystal Mall. Larry and Kathy operated the Grand Buffet restaurant on Kingsway in the late 1990s for five years before they sold the business and retired. The Dragon Inn was known for its exterior neon sign which was removed in 1997. Larry Lee was a member of the International Association of Lions Club and a duly elected member of the Lions Club of Vancouver Champlain Heights. Larry Lee died in 2019 and his wife Kathy died in 2022.

Responsibility: Lee, Larry

Accession Code: BV017.37; BV022.19

Media Type: Photograph; Textual Record

Notes: Title based on contents of fonds

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Larry Lee family fonds