Joe You Chew

Joe You Chew (born Joe Chew; December 23, 1921) is a pioneer of Chinese American Chinatown History, author, athlete, and investor. He died on June 1, 2021.... He received a Congressional Gold Medal of Honor for his service in World War II. In 1965, Joe Chew married Helen Mable Yee, originally from Phoenix. They met at a wedding in Sacramento, where Helen had been residing and working for several years at the State Printing Office. After they were married, Helen transferred her job and worked as a secretary for the Northern District Office, California Department of Water Resources, in Red Bluff until she retired.
The Chew family is known as one of the original 19th Century Chinese Pioneers and first Chinese American Families in Red Bluff, Tehama County, California. With the passing of Joe , the Chew family closed their chapter in Red Bluff with an ancient Chinese traditional 'Old Country' funeral service. This included a Chinese funeral procession to the gravesite. The procession starts by first taking Joe to visit all of his favorite places in Red Bluff including the Old Chinatown, the house where Joe was born, the former Ming Terrace Restaurant, the old depot stop where the California Café restaurant once was founded by his father Chew You, and Joe's final stop is his home where his granddaughter bowed three time and tossed spirit money into the air, and then the procession concluded at Oak Hill Cemetery as his final visit for the burial. Throughout the funeral procession, Ancient Chinese folk music is played to inform the Chinese Ancestors that Joe Chew is arriving.
Although, many Chinese people resided in Red Bluff as early as 1852 for the Gold Rush, the extended Chew Family claimed the longest Chinatown operators of any Chinese-American family in Tehama County.
== Early Life ==
Joe's father was Chew Suey Lum (Chew You or Chew Siu Lim) who was born on September 23, 1868 one of five boys. He left Fou Shek Village in Toisan District, Guangdong Province, China in 1881 to visit the United States of America when he was only 13 years old. He married Ng Shee Chew who was born in China on May 20, 1881. Their first child was son, Chew Pack Lan (Dick You Chew) who was born in Fou Shek Village in Toisan District, Guangdong Province, China in 1902. 
On December 23, 1921, Ng Shee wearily dragged herself upstairs to give birth. Family friend and local Doctor Owen recorded on a notepad in both English and Chinese, the remarkable Joe You Chew’s birth on the second floor of the Chew Yuen Co. No. 202. Before Joe, Ng Shee gave birth to Violet (1917), and Nettie (1919) at the Chew Yuen’s residence and in similar fashion. 
He was a beautiful sweet boy. He attended Red Bluff Public School where he was not the most studious student; in fact Joe struggled with his grades particularly in arithmetic, drawing, reading and writing. But Joe worked smarter not harder and he had a persistent goal of finishing school. 
When Joe was in fourth grade he wrote “A Fairy Flower”:
"Once long ago there was a fairy flower. This fairy flower could change herself into anything. One day a man was trying to pick this flower and she changed herself into some grass. When the man went away she changed herself again into a flower. The next day the man came again. Again the fairy flower changed into some grass. Then the man knew it was a fairy flower and went away."
Ng Shee was a very proud mom, she saved every single report card, newspaper clipping, certificate and award that Joe received. When Joe was 9 years old, he began to help his mom in the kitchen making American cuisines at the California Restaurant located on 619 Walnut Street, Red Bluff CA. In 1933, the California State Automobile Associated awarded Joe with 1st place in the Tehama County Flower Show. But, Joe made his mother even prouder when he attended Red Bluff Union High School and joined both the Basketball and Tennis team where he became a star athlete. The Red Bluff Daily Newspaper would frequently report undefeated outcomes of the star athlete. When he graduated from Red Bluff Union High School on June 6, 1941, Joe’s family had saved enough money for him to attend the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) as an Engineering major. The Chew family savings was enough to pay for his expenses including sharing a room on Shattuck and Channing Way, where his granddaughter would later live 73 years later. Joe lived in a multi-family house with several dwellings rented out to other Asian male students. Joe said he selected UCB because “that's where the Chinese boys went to school”. On the weekends, Joe would take the train from UCB to Red Bluff, CA where there was a depot stop right in front of the California Café and Joe helped his brother Dick with the restaurant any chance he got. Joe would only attended UCB for one year because shortly thereafter, he was drafted into the Army.
World War II
On July 3, 2021, Joe You Chew officially received his Congressional Gold Medal of Honor for his service in the 1908th Army Service Unit, Camp Beale, California. During World War II, seven young men from Chinese American families in Red Bluff were either enlisted or drafted to serve their country: Fish Yuen, Cahoone Yuen, Louis On, Danny On, Sammie Foey, Herbert Foey, and Joe Chew. When Joe first join the Army, he was a Typist Clerk but because of Joe’s business and accounting experience at the family restaurant it earned him a position into the U.S. Army’s Finance Department, mostly at Camp Beale. Being a very charismatic and funny guy, he made a lot of lifelong friends in the service including his best friend, Henry Chin. Joe remained friends with everyone he met until their deaths. 
In 1939, all of the Chinese-American women in Red Bluff gathered together and organized a benefit Tea Banquet to raise money for medical aid to China, which was involved in the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). The event was held at the Chew Yuen Building on the corner of Rio and Walnut Street, like many times before when the building was the Bo Do Hong hall. There is a photograph on the Helen and Joe Chew Foundations website which shows the eleven women involved including: Hazel, Julie, Nettie, and Violet Chew plus four Yuens, two Foeys, and Mabel On. Madame Chiang Kai-shek, the U.S. educated wife of the Nationalist Chinese President and honorary chair of the American Bureau for Medical Aid to China, had encourage such local efforts.
After the war, Joe returned to college but transferred to California State University, Chico because it was closer to Red Bluff and he could help with the restaurant. 
Ming Terrace
In 1947, Nettie, Joe and Ng Shee took their savings from the pinball machine of California Café for a down payment on a second restaurant located at 860 Main Street and Hickory, which would become popular restaurant Ming Terrace. Although, Dick continued to run California Café until 1948. By 1949, the Chew family opened the Ming Terrace Restaurant (followed by the Peking restaurant, Kin Sing Restaurant, and today is the Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant) on Main Street. The Red Bluff Daily News noted that “dishes of ancient China as well as American dishes will be served in a modern setting to progressive Red Bluff”. After three months of remodeling and redecorating, Dick, Joe and Ed Chew “opened their doors at 860 Main Street, and another business joined the commercial ranks... The restaurant has paneled booths with chrome finish on tables and chairs, special embroidered painting imported from China and Ming trees made by Chinese craftsman in San Francisco... Joe Chew, a junior at Chico State College and his nephew Ed, grew up in Red Bluff. His brother Dick operates the California Café.” Red Bluff Daily News circa August 30, 1949
Joe and Nettie recalled that a friend, Harry On from Yreka, helped them buy a cash registered and later a car. Nettie and Julia reminisce fondly that at the grand opening of Ming Terrace they wore their colorful Chinese “cheongsam” dresses to greet and welcome the customers to the new restaurant. 
However during this time, Joe realized that he really wasn't very good at science, physics or engineering and decided that he would change his major while attending CSU Chico to Accounting. By 1950, Joe had made the Chico State Varsity Tennis team and was again, a star athlete with newspapers reporting the undefeated Spartans. By June 8, 1951, Joe graduated from California State University, Chico with a Bachelors of Arts degree in accounting and eventually earning his CPA as a Tax Accountant. After he graduated helped operate his family’s restaurant in the California Café and Ming Terrace Café full time. During this short time, he maintained the business records, balanced the books, typed menus, and prepared payroll. With a new and larger business to develop, all members of the family worked long hours daily and then only had to climb upstairs from the restaurant to enter their living and sleeping quarters. Business grew strong into the 1950s through the 1970’s
A memorable occasion took placed on November 16, 1954 when Dick passed his naturalization test and received his U.S. citizenship status. This momentous time was celebrated when Grace Yuen (wife of Owen Yuen) baked and decorated a large cake to share with the family. Jane recalls sitting on a stool in the corner of the kitchen helping her dad with some of the naturalization or citizenship vocabulary and reciting the preamble. 
The Chew family continued to work at the Ming Terrace achieving a notable place in the business life of Red Bluff. 
In 1973, the Chew family sold the Ming Terrace to Hap Chow who enlarged and remodeled the restaurant, incorporating the former Montgomery-Ward store next door, and changed the name to the Peking Restaurant. Mr. Chow received a Daily News architectural award for his striking remodeling job. The Peking Restaurant continued the long tradition of making fine Chinese cuisines in Red Bluff, a tradition started by the Chew family. Today, two red bricks can be found at the Cone & Kimball Plaza Clock Tower where Joe had a dedication made in memory of the Chew Family restaurants
Author
In 2005, Joe authored “The Chew Family” section of the 2005 edition of the Tehama County Memories by the Tehama County Genealogical & Historical Society. Joe was featured in the April 26, 2005 Red Bluff Daily Newspaper for his contribution to the book.
Funeral
On July 31, 2021 a traditional Cantonese Funeral Service and procession was held at the Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers, located at 816 Walnut St, Red Bluff, CA 96080. 
Living beyond 80 years old in Chinese culture is considered a feat worth celebrating and mourners celebrated Joe’s longevity rather than mourned.. Chinese belief is that Joe lived his life to the fullest, and had no desires left to be fulfilled. Guests wore white to the funeral ceremony, as it is considered a longevity milestone, and people were encouraged to celebrate rather than mourn; the color red is never worn for funerals, as it symbolizes happiness and good fortune in Chinese culture
After Joe’s passing, a white cloth with a wreath had been hung above the entrance door of Joe’s home and white flowers on the left side of the doorway with a Gong so that Joe knew his way home in the afterlife. Additionally, Joe’s home had an altar where two white candles were lit with three incenses.
Mourning Prayer
Leading up to the Service, the family burned incense, 香 (xiāng) and joss paper or ghost money, 香紙 (xiāng zhǐ). This tradition helped ensure that Joe had the things he needed to be comfortable in the afterlife such as fake paper money and miniature items such as a cellphone, car, house, television, guard and money. Lighting the incense with a bow facilitated Joe’s spirit and ease of travel between the realm of the living and the otherworld. The incense fragrance is for mourners to follow to the cemetery.
Ceremony
During the funeral ceremony, the casket stayed open. This was considered respectful to the elders and the loved one who had died. Since Joe lived to be 99, lantern flowers were chosen. Tradition included large sprays of flowers 花圈 (huāquān). Joe’s family wore armband colors depending on the relation to the loved one:
Beige armband in White clothes–女儿 Daughter
Green armband in Blue clothes–孙女 Granddaughter
Black with Red armband in a Barong - 女婿 Son-in-Law
Black with Beige armband in a Barong –孙子 Grandson-in-Law
The armbands worn on their left arms symbolize white for death and green for fertility and perpetuity. Since both of Joe’s son-in-laws are of Filipino descent, they are wore a Barong to represent their family’s heritage. The Chinese consider the son-in-laws as outsiders in which is represented by the beige Barong.
Joe’s daughter and granddaughter initiated the service by holding three incense, bowing three times in unison, as a sign of showing their respect and gratitude for all that he had done for them. The first bow represented the past, the second bow is the present, and the final bow is the otherworld. The guests were seated. The incense, white candles, and ashes of the joss prayer money were placed at the foot of Joe’s coffin which represents a smooth passage for Joe’s soul into heaven. 
Pei 皮(Blanket) Service
Once the casket was ready to be sealed, the white cloth from Joe’s front door was placed on top of Joe’s legs and his granddaughter placed the door wreath inside his casket. The white blanket is considered the last act of caring for Joe by his daughter as he descended into heaven. The red blanket indicated the happiness of his long life by his granddaughter. The family members and guests were now instructed to turn their backs because it is believed that the souls of the people who see a casket being closed will be trapped in the coffin. Likewise, at the gravesite, family and friends turned their backs on the casket as it was lowered into the grave. Before leaving, guests went forward to visit Joe and pay their respects.
Funeral Procession
After the funeral service, there is a procession to the gravesite by first taking Joe to visit all of his favorite places in Red Bluff. Old Chinese folk music is played throughout this time. The ancient funeral procession process was headed by drumming of a gong to let the ancestors know that Joe Chew had arrived. 
The procession stops started on Hoyt-Cole Chapel of the Flowers on 816 Walnut St, Red Bluff, CA 96080, followed by a stop at Chew families first restaurant, California Café of 625 Walnut St, Red Bluff, CA 96080, Joe's last commercial sale at 423 Walnut Street, Red Bluff, CA 96080, then The Cone & Kimball Tower where Joe dedicated two honorary bricks to the Chew family located at 301-315 Walnut St, Red Bluff, CA 96080, the former Ming Terrace location which became the Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant on 860 Main St, Red Bluff, CA 96080, the last Chinatown stop where Joe was born at the Chew Yuen Company Building 204 Walnut Street, Red Bluff, CA 96080, then his home on Reeds Creek Road and back down to his place of rest at Oak Hill Cemetery, Cemetery Lane, Red Bluff, CA 96080.
The ritual closes the Chew families chapter in Tehama County, as Joe Chew was the last resident linked to the old Toisan, Canton China.
Graveside Service
The gravesite was first blessed. At the gravesite, tradition called for the loved one's grandson-in-law to lead, carrying a large portrait and his son-in-law with the incense holder. Joe’s daughter and granddaughter follow the leader. The pallbearers followed by carrying the casket. Family, friends and other guests walked behind the casket. At the grave, family and friends turn their backs on the casket as it was lowered into the grave. Once Joe's casket had been lowered into the ground, the pallbearers and the family tossed their armbands into the grave and replace their armbands with Blue for his daughter and Red for his granddaughter. The new armbands symbolize blue for mourning and red for life and good luck. Guests and family will toss a clump of dirt into the grave and the service ends after the last act of an ancient Chinese rhyme; since Joe enjoy the best that life has to offer: 
"To be born in Suzhou 
To eat in Guangzhou 
To live in Hangzhou 
To die in Liuzhou" 
A tray with the incense and food offering was left at the graveside as an offering to the Chew ancestors. For the last act, Joe's granddaughter placed the joss and ghost paper ashes inside an ancient Chinese ancestor worship Joss House in Vina, CA.
Chinese Celebration Meal
A “going away party” for Joe was held at his home because "all must be happy" for his longevity and celebrate his life through a Chinese meal. At the home, firecrackers and loud music warded off evil spirits that might be around the house. The family distributed to guests red envelopes with a coin in the same amount as Joe’s childhood memories inside it, this symbolizes the end of the mourning period and the beginning of a new start and for everyone to return home safely. The family also gave guests a white envelope with a coin and lucky candy which should not be taken home because it is believed to invite bad luck. You eat the candy to add sweetness to a bitter occasion and you spend the quarter before returning home, to ward off bad spirits and pass good fortune onto others. One final item is a piece of red thread which should be taken home and tied to the front door knobs of the guests’ homes to ward off evil spirits. Leaving the bad luck at the funeral, and bringing good luck home. In Chinese culture, red is the color of good luck, and the coin represents fortune.
Category:American people
Category:Chinese people
Category:American authors