More Connections with Family Doylestown History
May 7, 2010
My phone rang at 8:00AM. I wondered who it could be. "Good morning. This is Catherine." My usual strange-number answer.
"Good morning, Catherine. This is Harry C. returning your call."
Huge smile. My grandmother gave me Harry's phone number weeks ago, to call and invite to a reunion of sorts, of the people involved in sponsoring my family to Doylestown, PA, from Vietnam. In 21 minutes and 8 seconds, he gave me a quick and dirty of my family's first moments in the country.
"Your Grandfather was a very educated man. You could tell they all were. He spoke French and Vietnamese and English. It's a shame, really. The people at the church had such high expectations of the kind of jobs they could get for your family [with their educated background]."
He went on to speak about how the "kids" (the three young uncles and Di Sau) were in school, while Harry's mother taught Grandmother English, and Harry and Grandfather continued to look for jobs that suited his education and skill. However, this was often unsuccessful and he took small, manual jobs like sweeping the County Theater. Harry chalked it up to the fact that Grandfather's English wasn't perfect, and being a Colonel in the Vietnamese Army came with a skillset not entirely compatible with working in an American corporation as a new immigrant.
Meanwhile, the Graters and Carrolls, among others I am sure (the Kopps, our dear friends, and the Carrs, as I recently discovered) tried to help everyone of working age find housing and work. Di Khanh was helped greatly by the Graters. Her previous lab technician work landed her job at the Doylestown Hospital, where she still works today(!).
The Carrolls gave our family a house (Grandfather, Grandma, the 6 kids and 2 grandkids) to live in. They transitioned into Harry's apartments on Court Street and Clinton Street.
He stated that the Church had never sponsored any families before, so the employment expectations weren't the only thing that surprised the people trying to help us get on our feet - the commitment from the church was limited to six months.
He wasn't sure where Mom ended up working, but remembered Grandmom's sister watching Chi Trinh while Mom was at work. It was tough to narrow down which sister, as Grandma is one of 10, and I don't know the story of how many came or who came with our family in 1975. Maybe it was Ngoai Nam. It also made me wonder if it is the long-lost cousin Doris put me in touch with last year.
As to where Mom worked, I guessed "Mrs. Paul's fish sticks. . . ?"
"Yes, I believe that was it. It's not there anymore you know; there are condos there now."
Grandma and Mom will come in on the Sunday before graduation. Harry's kids will be leaving Philly that day, unfortunately, and won't be able to see them. However, we hope to meet Harry in town for breakfast, to catch up. Time to call Di Hai with an update. Hope she can come, too. I think Grandma will be delighted by this news.
P.S. I told Harry where I now work. Reassuringly, like most locals, he confirmed the firm's positive reputation in the community. At the end of our conversation: "One more thing - do Frank and Eric still work there?" They sure do! I have lunch with Frank almost daily. Small world! Harry's wife used to work for Bill Eastburn, and Harry used to be the Sheriff.
"Good morning, Catherine. This is Harry C. returning your call."
Huge smile. My grandmother gave me Harry's phone number weeks ago, to call and invite to a reunion of sorts, of the people involved in sponsoring my family to Doylestown, PA, from Vietnam. In 21 minutes and 8 seconds, he gave me a quick and dirty of my family's first moments in the country.
"Your Grandfather was a very educated man. You could tell they all were. He spoke French and Vietnamese and English. It's a shame, really. The people at the church had such high expectations of the kind of jobs they could get for your family [with their educated background]."
He went on to speak about how the "kids" (the three young uncles and Di Sau) were in school, while Harry's mother taught Grandmother English, and Harry and Grandfather continued to look for jobs that suited his education and skill. However, this was often unsuccessful and he took small, manual jobs like sweeping the County Theater. Harry chalked it up to the fact that Grandfather's English wasn't perfect, and being a Colonel in the Vietnamese Army came with a skillset not entirely compatible with working in an American corporation as a new immigrant.
Meanwhile, the Graters and Carrolls, among others I am sure (the Kopps, our dear friends, and the Carrs, as I recently discovered) tried to help everyone of working age find housing and work. Di Khanh was helped greatly by the Graters. Her previous lab technician work landed her job at the Doylestown Hospital, where she still works today(!).
The Carrolls gave our family a house (Grandfather, Grandma, the 6 kids and 2 grandkids) to live in. They transitioned into Harry's apartments on Court Street and Clinton Street.
He stated that the Church had never sponsored any families before, so the employment expectations weren't the only thing that surprised the people trying to help us get on our feet - the commitment from the church was limited to six months.
He wasn't sure where Mom ended up working, but remembered Grandmom's sister watching Chi Trinh while Mom was at work. It was tough to narrow down which sister, as Grandma is one of 10, and I don't know the story of how many came or who came with our family in 1975. Maybe it was Ngoai Nam. It also made me wonder if it is the long-lost cousin Doris put me in touch with last year.
As to where Mom worked, I guessed "Mrs. Paul's fish sticks. . . ?"
"Yes, I believe that was it. It's not there anymore you know; there are condos there now."
Grandma and Mom will come in on the Sunday before graduation. Harry's kids will be leaving Philly that day, unfortunately, and won't be able to see them. However, we hope to meet Harry in town for breakfast, to catch up. Time to call Di Hai with an update. Hope she can come, too. I think Grandma will be delighted by this news.
P.S. I told Harry where I now work. Reassuringly, like most locals, he confirmed the firm's positive reputation in the community. At the end of our conversation: "One more thing - do Frank and Eric still work there?" They sure do! I have lunch with Frank almost daily. Small world! Harry's wife used to work for Bill Eastburn, and Harry used to be the Sheriff.
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