CCS - Chock On Fong Fonds

Chock On, shortened from Wo Chock On Fong, was the name given to a house located at 359 East Pender Street, Vancouver, British Columbia after the Si Sing Company bought it in the late 1920s. The Wo Association in Vancouver formed the Si Sing Company for the purpose of raising funds to buy a house so that Wo Association members in Vancouver, who were mostly single men without families, would have a low-rent place to stay. In the 1930s, Chock On was also operated as a labour agency, mainly under the supervision of Wo Shou who was contracting Chinese labourers to various canneries along the B.C. coast. In 1980, Wo Chock On Fong raised funds among the Wo Association members in Vancouver and published a special commemorative book to celebrate the half-a-century history of Chock On. Chock On Fong Fonds consists of the incoming correspondence of Wo Shou, Wo Sai Jik and other members of the Wo Association. The letters were mainly concerned with cannery labour-related business and fundraising activities. The fonds also consists of records and printed material relating to the native place issues in Canton, China, the Wo Association in Canton and in B.C., Chock On business and other activities, and the local Chinese community. The digitized collection can be found in Open Collections, while the physical collection is housed in Rare Books and Special Collections library, UBC.