91大黄鸭

Questions about celebrating the Lunar New Year soon draw Salmon Arm dentist, Gerry Chu, to speak of his much-admired father, Frederick.

Gerry, who grew up in Vancouver, does, however, take a few minutes to talk about the excitement as a child of receiving little red envelopes 鈥� lai see 鈥� that were often filled with silver dollars from aunts and uncles, grandmas and grandpas. He manages to dig out three red packets adorned with Chinese figures and symbols that he鈥檚 kept all these years.

He talks about the fun of going to Chinatown to see the dancing dragons and having a big banquet-style dinner with extended family at a favourite restaurant. He talks about the strings of small firecrackers 鈥� lady fingers 鈥� thrown around the parade of dragons as they danced down the street.

鈥淚t was a big thing for kids 鈥� really kind of neat.鈥�

And he talks about a favourite vegetarian meal called Buddha鈥檚 Feast with rice noodles, Chinese mushrooms and all kinds of vegetables that his wife Rita still cooks for their family on Chinese New Year 鈥� this year on Feb. 12.

However, it鈥檚 not long before his father鈥檚 life story begins to unfold, filled with accomplishments that opened doors for others of Asian descent.

Gerry鈥檚 father, who died in 2011 at 98 years, was born in Vancouver in 1913; Gerry鈥檚 mom, Lavender, in 1920.

Frederick was one of eight or nine kids. Their family was very poor and lived in Vancouver鈥檚 Chinatown.

When he went to school the first time, school officials turned him back.

鈥淭here was so much malnutrition, he didn鈥檛 weigh as much as a sack of rice,鈥� Gerry recounts.

When he was nearly nine, his parents sent him again to the Caucasian school.

鈥淜ids had to be tough then, parents didn鈥檛 even bring them to school.鈥�

Gerry鈥檚 dad was asked by the teacher, 鈥榃hat鈥檚 your name?鈥�

His parents did not speak English, so he stood, looking blank. A couple of neighbours behind him told the teacher he didn鈥檛 have an English name.

The teachers said, 鈥榃e鈥檒l call him Fred.鈥�

鈥楩rederick鈥� progressed well, graduating when he was just 16.

Back then, Chinese-Canadians weren鈥檛 allowed to vote or have professions, Gerry pointed out. Not until 1947.

Nonetheless, Frederick went to the University of British Columbia, where he started playing tennis. He was good and ended up on the tennis team.

He graduated from UBC when he was just 20.

With support from a couple of UBC professors, Frederick was accepted by McGill Medical School in Montreal.

He told his dad he was going to be a doctor and his dad laughed, asking how he was going to do that. Montreal may as well have been on the other side of the world. Frederick said he鈥檇 take the five-day trip on the train.

He took a blanket, a few personal belongings, his tennis racket and a few pork sandwiches that friends with caf茅s had given him. The sandwiches went bad as the trip drew on, so at train stops in small towns Fred would run to find a Chinese restaurant, ask for a cup of coffee, tell them he was on his way to become a doctor, and they would feed him.

For his five years of medical school, Frederick stayed in the equivalent of the YMCA where he paid five dollars a month for a room, a light bulb and a hotplate. He knew his brothers and sisters in Vancouver would be suffering, as his dad would send everything he could to help pay for the hefty tuition.

Fred had no money or food at one point and it was so cold, he rolled himself up in a blanket to die. However, a minister friend noticed his absence, went begging for some cabbage and rice, and heated it up for him.

They would become best friends.

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Frederick graduated from McGill but, unlike all the other students, he couldn鈥檛 get an internship in a hospital because he was Chinese. Without an internship, his ability to practice medicine was very limited. Some Chinese medical students would return to China because they couldn鈥檛 access a hospital.

However, Frederick鈥檚 tennis skills paid off.

At a tennis tournament at McGill, he had beaten a player who would later become head of the intern program at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Montreal. That man let Fred in.

鈥淗e said, 鈥楩red Chu, he鈥檚 not a Chinaman, he鈥檚 a tennis player,鈥欌�� Gerry explained.

With this, Frederick became the first Chinese intern in Canada.

Gerry also recalls the story of how his dad and a female student 鈥� another minority 鈥� decided to go to a hospital dance together. The music stopped when the pair walked in, but did eventually restart.

Frederick opened an office in Vancouver鈥檚 Chinatown, where, working seven days a week, he became well-known for his knowledge and abilities. Due to his many connections, he was one of the first doctors to use an antibiotic and later to become trained in anesthesia. He became chief of staff at Mount Saint Joseph Hospital in Vancouver where obstetrics 鈥� delivering babies 鈥� became a large part of his practice.

Frederick took up golf after tennis.

He was asked by a doctor friend why he didn鈥檛 join the Shaughnessy Golf Club where they played. He told them that he was not permitted because he鈥檚 Chinese. The year was 1964.

The doctor and a lawyer friend sponsored him, but there was still a lengthy voting procedure. He was approved and became the first Chinese person to get into a private golf club in Vancouver.

Asked what his father thought about all the prejudice, Gerry said Frederick felt positive and privileged because, despite the problems, he was still able to become a doctor.

Gerry wrote a short book about him.

A quote from its epilogue reads: 鈥淒uring the sixties and onward, many Asian students chose to pursue careers in medicine 鈥� some of these students were brought into this world and inspired by Frederick.

鈥淣o longer are they viewed as a minority in this profession and certainly they will not have to rely on their tennis skills to gain an internship. Dr. Frederick S. Chu has already opened that door for them.鈥�

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