Name/Title
Janet Chang Oral History InterviewEntry/Object ID
RLG_111Scope and Content
This interview is part of the Represent Los Gatos Oral History Project series. Janet Chang was born in San Francisco. In 1959, after the fifth grade, she moved to the Ming Quong Home in Los Gatos and remained there until 1961. Listen to Janet's story as she details the circumstances that brought her to Ming Quong, and her life beyond the two years she spent in Los Gatos. Janet's story paints an accurate picture of what life at Ming Quong was like, and how her time there shaped the rest of her life. After a successful career in public health, she finds herself volunteering at the Butter Paddle in Los Gatos, which benefits Uplift Family Services, the organization that took over Eastfield Ming Quong. Listen to her story and see some pictures from her life that are shared at the end. Janet also participated in the Los Gatos Library's Digital Storytelling program in 2018. Here is the link to her video: https://archive.org/details/cabesc_000270. Read a complete transcript of the interview below. Janet Chang: [00:00:00] The Ming Quong Home. My reflect reflections living in the charming town of Los Gatos from 1959 to 1961 and later as an adult with my family and career. Daniel Keough: [00:00:14] Thank you so much for being here. Do you want to just say your name and where and when you were born? Janet Chang: [00:00:20] Oh, OK, Janet Patricia Chang, my Chinese name is Jang Sui Tow, which is Jang is our last name. We're really Jangs and Sui Tow is what they tell me means Smiling Peach. OK, whatever that is. The historical context is the 1940s World War II the Japanese internment and discrimination in housing, employment and schools. I was born in 1947 at a Chinese hospital in San Francisco. We lived with my maternal grandmother and Chinatown public housing. They were four adults and three children in a one bedroom, one bath apartment. Our family lived in a closet with one bed on each side of the narrow closet. On one bed, my sister, brother and I slept horizontally and on the other my parents slept. Janet Chang: [00:01:14] My father was a merchant marine, and we only saw him every two years as his ship would circle the world. He was quite alarmed over the internment of the Japanese citizens. So in 1947, he made the bold move to move our family out of Chinatown to the one and only area that Chinese could purchase a home, the Bayview Hunters Point District. The move was a major shock to our family. In Chinatown we could shop for groceries two blocks away on Stockton Street and our church was on the next block. We were surrounded by our families, relatives. My mother and father spoke Chinese and English, but all of the children, including me, only spoke Chinese. When we started kindergarten, each of us had to learn English very quickly, the Bayview district was very different than Chinatown. The residents in the 1950s included Italians, other whites, Chinese, Filipinos and blacks. My mother and our family could no longer walk two blocks for groceries, but had to walk further or take the bus for groceries or to the doctor's or back to Chinatown to visit our grandmother and relatives. Chinatown was a small, tight community. And for our family, it was safe and familiar. The Bayview Hunters Point was one of the poorest areas in San Francisco. It was the only area the Chinese could afford a home buy a home. Janet Chang: [00:02:44] Our new neighborhood was not only different. In many ways, it was hostile. Moving from Chinatown to the Bayview district was a major adjustment for our entire family. When I came to Ming Quong Home in the summer of the fifth, after my fifth grade, my mother packed what few personal items I had in a brown Chiquita banana cardboard box. We took a long ride with a family friend, but no one told me where we were going. I was confused but stayed silent. I wanted to cry. I recall driving through the tall wooden gate Ming Quong Home and I said to myself, This is not camp. We walked around the grounds and stopped at one of the cottages. I recall the guide directing me to go outside and meet the other girls. I went outside, introduced myself, but the initial meeting did not go well. I returned to the cottage and was shocked that my mother had left without saying goodbye. I was further confused then at one end of a long hallway and at the other end reemerged a large woman with her hands behind her back, shaking something. She did not say a word as she approached me, but I could see a brush that she then revealed, revealed. I stood up to her and I said, You are not going to hit or spank me. Janet Chang: [00:04:12] If you do, I will kick and slap you back twice as hard. I will go to my room. I will miss dinner. I will not come out till tomorrow morning and then turned away and walked into my room. Decades later, I would later learn that I was the only one who was never spanked. Janet Chang: [00:04:32] No one, not my mother nor the health mother or the directors of the home. No one ever told me why I was sent there. What was I doing here? And when was I going home? During therapy sessions, I learned piece by piece why I was sent to the Ming Quong Home, my mother was exasperated and embarrassed with my behavior at school. She was called twice to school due to my fighting. In Chinese families, to be called to school was the ultimate embarrassment to the family. She sought help with a social worker from Cameron House, and then I was sent to the Ming Quong Home. No one asked me why I fought. I fought because I was being bullied. I was shoved, kicked, called ugly, skinny, bucktooth, four eyes and a chink, I knew I had to do something. I really only had to fight once. I just had to make it a good one so no one would challenge me again. I learned to yell really loud and smack the bully hard between the eyes. My bully would be stunned in great pain and with a bloody nose. Later I would say to others who wanted to take me on, I do not want to get suspended. Janet Chang: [00:05:50] So when you walk home, look on all three corners, I will be there and chase your ugly ass down. Soon no one challenged me. Janet Chang: [00:06:02] How long was I there? I arrived in the summer of 1959 and in 1961 I returned to my family in San Francisco. I attended Louise Van Meter Elementary School for sixth grade and then to University Avenue for seventh and eighth. In 1961, my house mother told me not to go to school that day, but without an explanation. Later, after breakfast, I was told to pack my belongings and that I was going back to my family in San Francisco. I did not have time to prepare leaving Ming Quong. I did not have the opportunity to say goodbye to the other residents or the staff or my school friends or teachers. My arrival to the Ming Quong Home and my departure was equally abrupt. Well, what was my experience like? Each resident, at the Ming Quong Home, was there due to a wide range of reasons and circumstances. We later learned that some were orphans, some were children of single parents without the financial capacity to care for young children while faced with working the often extreme work hours associated with Chinese immigrant labor at that time. Other parents may have had mental or physical conditions that impacted their ability to care for their children. In 2008, I reunited with the Ming Quong residents and learned of the ledger, the date, their given name in English parents occupation, birthplace, reason for being replaced and whom they were released to upon leaving the home was included. For some unknown reason, my name was not listed in spite of seeing other names who came after me and their names were recorded. For these children, the social services of the county did not accept Chinese children for their care. Ming Quong and the Presbyterian Mission provided a safe place for Chinese children during a time of overwhelming anti Chinese sentiment in California and across the United States. Janet Chang: [00:08:15] My daily life in Ming Quong: Everyone attended public schools, Louise Van Meter Elementary and University Avenue Junior High. There were two exceptions a boy and a girl who were limited in their capacity to function in the mainstream school. And they had private teachers come to the school, come to the home for their schooling. We attended Sunday services at the Los Gatos Presbyterian Church on Shannon Road and even went to overnight church camp at Mount Hermon. We picked fruit in the summer, visited the Los Gatos Movie Theater, stores and parks. We shared common experiences with other Los Gatos children. But everybody knew we were from the home because we were the only Chinese American children in Los Gatos visibly not the middle class middle class dressed. And we were living in a regimented Presbyterian mission home. During our time in Los Gatos, some of the girls experienced discrimination and intolerance, so it was not a prevailing factor in our daily lives. We had routine after breakfast. We had our household chores before leaving for school. Prayers were an integral part of our evening activities following dinner. Sometimes we sang hymns or took turns reading a Bible story. Then the older girls, including me, would return to complete the kitchen cleanup duties and setting the table for breakfast the next day. Janet Chang: [00:09:40] The younger girls had free time to study their homework, play outside, write letters or socialize until eight o'clock. Summers in Los Gatos were divine. We had art classes, tennis and swimming lessons and even baton lessons and going to the movies were a treat. We would go camping at New Brighton Beach and day trips to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Activities that if I had stayed in San Francisco, I never would have had. Sundays and holidays were memorable. Every Sunday we would walk to church on Shannon Road and we also participated in church youth groups. Parents and families of some of the children. Some of the girls would visit the home. My mother, brothers and sisters never visited me. Once my father came to visit me and he brought me a pink transistor radio and apologized that he did not know what happened and asked, Was I OK? I said I was fine. Other groups would take some of the girls out for lunch trips or picnics. I was never invited. Easter and Christmas were both celebratory times at the home. Candy filled Easter baskets were given to the girls, and Miss Rieber would prepare a special meal for dinner after Easter church service. During Christmas, those girls who did not spend the holiday with family would go caroling through the neighborhood, helped decorate a large tree in the main building, living room and open presents on Christmas morning. Many of the gifts and special events were financed by local churches, friends of the church and local university, fraternities and sororities. Janet Chang: [00:11:24] I usually went home during those holidays and only heard about the activities. Living in Los Gatos: on the first day of school we lined up at the gate on the top of Loma Alta. When Miss Rieber saw the yellow bus, she would ring her big school bell and everybody who was not in line came running from the cottages. I started in sixth grade at Louise Van Meter Elementary School. I did not know anyone. I wore secondhand clothes and brown shoes. I was awkward and scared. The teacher asked me to stand up and read a packet passage. I stood up, took a breath and then went so fast that the kids thought I was speaking Chinese. After reading, I just sat down. The next day I was assigned to a different room. I learned later it was a special education room. It was quite fun. No formal teaching, arts and crafts, a little music and games. After a bit, I was sent back to the sixth grade. At recess, a freckle faced girl asked if I wanted to play tetherball. It was fun and we became friends. In middle school I was on the basketball and track team and sports. I found a reason for attending school. In sports I had teammates and developed skills and began to have confidence. So how did I feel about my Chinese heritage? The social and cultural context of racial and ethnic pride and diversity has shifted dramatically from the 1950s to today. Our family was immersed in the Chinese culture. We had Chinese food at home. Janet Chang: [00:13:11] In fact, my mother would pack Chinese tidbits in a cookie tin for my school lunch. We ate out only at Chinese restaurants and having a slice of pizza, 49 cents at the downtown Woolworth store was my first taste of Italian food. There are probably two reasons we did not go to other restaurants. For one, we were very poor and number two, for many restaurants, Chinese and other groups were not welcomed. We celebrated holidays like Easter, Christmas, but the biggest celebration with traditions was Chinese New Year. We would wash our hair and thoroughly clean the house the day before New Year's, the evening meal before New Year's was a vegetarian meal to show sympathy to the animals. On New Year's Day. We had our best behavior and we could not say a cross word or argue. That evening we would meet family at a restaurant for traditional New Year's Day dinner. At the end of the meeting meal, the children or anyone else who was not married would sit still and the adults would stand next to each child and the child would wish them a prosperous new year in Chinese. Gong hei fat choy. We would bow our heads and shake our class hands three times, the adult would hand us a red envelope with paper money in it. Lai see. No one ever miss those dinners. San Francisco has neighborhoods, Chinatown, North Beach, some marina. In the 1950s, it was generally known that Chinese would stay in Chinatown except for the Bayview Hunters Point District. The district was quite diverse in the 1950s, and as the post war World War II economic boom was exploding, the change came. Janet Chang: [00:15:07] There were whites, blacks and Asians. But soon before the mid 60s, many whites moved out to other areas of San Francisco. Los Gatos in the 50s and 60s, the residents were overwhelmingly white, upper middle class. All the residents of the home stood out because we were virtually the only nonwhites, obviously poor as most of us wore second hand clothes and shoes. I never experienced direct racism in this cute little town. I was invited to friends homes and birthday parties. Back in San Francisco when I attended Pelton Junior High, the student population was few whites, mainly blacks and Asians, of different ethnicities. For me, I did not think twice about my Chinese heritage. It was just part of our family. Attending Lowell High School became the slow awakening process of my personal identity as an Asian. Janet Chang: [00:16:04] Though Lowell's population did not reflect the diversity of San Francisco, it was at least 85% white. One morning when I walked into school, the courtyard was almost empty. Oops. Did I get the time right? Is it a holiday? Where is everybody? It was Yom Kippur. This was my first experience with a Jewish holiday and I learned that 20 to 30% of the students were Jewish. I recall an incident in high school at a high school reunion. I was in conversation with Lani Silver, probably the most well-connected graduate of our class. Through her work in developing and documenting stories from the Holocaust, she inspired Steven Spielberg to make the movie Schindler's List. Lani and I had communicated over the years regarding our nonprofit work and raising the awareness of discrimination. During this particular conversation, a woman stepped up to me, tapped my arm and stated, did I know you in high school. I resented her tone. However, I replied politely. Well, we attended the same high school and we were in the same class. She repeated her question, this time in an annoying tone. I took a breath and said, in the social and cultural context of 1965, individually, we did not make a conscious effort of who to socialize with as Catholics had their CYO, while the Protestants had their YMCA, the YWCA. Many of the Jews had their temples, the Japanese had their basketball teams, etc. She did not like my history lesson and repeated her question even louder. I then answered her even louder than her question. Well, for your 16th birthday, many of the girls, especially the Jewish ones, had big lavish parties, though I was never invited. I asked her how many blacks or Asians did you invite to your 16th birthday party? She scoffed. Everyone around was quiet. Lani swiftly took my arm and we turned her back on the woman and we calmly walked away. And Lani commented, Yes, Janet, you were so correct. I never viewed our high school days in that context. When a reporter asked Lani for a photo, she said only if Janet Chang could be included. Lani was the epitome of inclusive. I miss her heart and her passion. Janet Chang: [00:18:46] The 60s propelled me into activism, and overnight I became a hippie. Marched for the war, smoke marched against the war, smoked weed, made and sold candles on the street, etc.. Janet Chang: [00:18:59] Moving forward, I sought out my family and continued our Chinese tradition, including when my children were born. We had a celebration. The red egg and ginger party. As getting married in the Chinese culture is a big deal, having a baby is a big deal too. The celebration focuses on wishing long life and prosperity for the child. Today, we continue the traditions like gathering at our ancestors grave to pay our respects, family reunion of our grandmothers family and celebrating the Chinese New Year with dinner gatherings and passing out red envelopes to our children. Janet Chang: [00:19:35] So where did I go after Ming Quong? In 1961, I returned to San Francisco to start the ninth grade at Pelton Junior High. One of the first days there were four girls sitting at the small table in home economics class. This black girl said to me, I don't want any chinks at my table. After class, she followed me out the hall and stepped on my heels and repeatedly called me a chink. Well, I was provoked again and I had to take a stand. I put down my books, grabbed the girl by her dress, threw her against the lockers, pulled back her dress and the back buttons went flying. I picked up my books. And said, I'll meet you down at the principal's office. Darn, my mom was going to get called again. Also, the high school that I was my next stop had a reputation for being really tough. Gangs, knives and guns. Oh, no, I can't go there. My sister attended Lowell High School, an all district academic college preparatory public school, so I applied. My grades were a solid D average. I was rejected. Janet Chang: [00:20:59] I recalled my sessions with Mrs. Johnson at the Ming Quong Home. We played games and puzzles on our last session, she said, Janet. It seems your grades are not what they could be. Do you know you are very bright? You have an IQ of 147. Not many people in that category. Wow. I did not recall anyone giving me a compliment, let alone telling me that I was smart. I requested Ming Quong and Los Gatos school district to send my records to Lowell. I then wrote a letter, Dear Lowell High School. My daughter has emotional problems. Please give her a chance. Signed Mrs. Helen Chang. Thank you. I was accepted into Lowell High School. Lowell, compared to the previous high school was like Lowell compared Los Gatos Lowell compared to the my previous school was like Los Gatos compared to my neighborhood. Lowell's culture was polite and civilized. There were no fights or profanity. As Los Gatos was small town USA. My neighborhood was a battleground. Janet Chang: [00:22:11] Adult life: my big sister, Deanna, or DeeDee, was my best friend and served as my role model in life. I have two children, Janine and Tyler. My sister enjoyed being loved being an elementary school teacher, especially in kindergarten. She had a curious mind as well. We were always exploring and she inspired me to be open to new experiences. My big sister passed away at 43. She left two children, Roxanne, 15, and Peter, 11. Her death devastated our family and me. I could not imagine my family without DeeDee. My world changed and I had to become a different person in order to keep the family together. I gathered the kids together as often as possible, and the cousins became even closer. We spent all the school holidays, summers and vacations together. Today, my children are 41 and 51 and my niece and nephew are 48 and 46. I have two grandchildren and my niece has two sons and they call me Yee-Paw, which means second mother of the mother, which means a grandmother. So I have a little poem. Grief is a reminder that love was present. And that even though it's no longer in its original form, that love still exists. [00:23:46] My education and career: After Lowell High School, I followed my big sister DeeDee and attended San Francisco City College as college tuition was free in 1965. Later, I earned a baccalaureate from nursing in nursing from San Jose State University and then in 1999, a master's in public health. In the 1980s, our family moved to Saratoga. And while my kids in school, I focused on activities in their school, the PTA, community service, fundraising and initiated an after school program partnering with the YMCA. After twenty five years out of being the work force, I went to work part time as a school nurse. My supervisor, M. Thomas, called me to her office and reviewed the protocols with me. Janet Chang: [00:24:34] I started to sweat. I thought I was getting fired. She said that I had a unique perspective for developing solutions for access to health, and she smiled and said that hiring me was one of the best decisions that she had ever made. In 1998, I received the National Award, the Robert Wood Johnson Community Leadership Award for providing access to health for better health outcomes. The recognition focused on the following programs, developing the family support program. Family Support Center, twenty two programs to streamline the enrollment and for students. Networking for removing tattoos, gang tattoos called the Slate Clean Slate Program, the first take your daughter to work day and activities for home school for the boys and. My my favorite, the first McKinley Act Homeless Assistance Program in California, linking shelters, schools and social services. For this award, I was invited to Washington, D.C. to receive the award. I had lunch with Senator Barbara Boxer, Senator Dianne Feinstein and Representative Tom Campbell. Reflecting on the development and success of the programs, it was a collaborative team effort. I was immensely proud of my award and was grateful to my supervisor, M. Thomas and the team for their enthusiastic support. In 1991, when I completed my public health, I was accepted as a director of health services at San Jose City College. My responsibility was a clinic and meeting the health needs, and I developed a program to meet those needs. We had we had many, many programs for the homeless, STI and reproductive needs, tobacco, education and and cessation programs. Janet Chang: [00:26:34] The health services team, including a family physician, registered nurses, medical assistance, licensed psychologists and health educators. The San Jose City College Health Services Program became a model for service for health services for the one hundred and seventeen California community colleges as a director of the Health Services, San Jose City College and tenured professor. The position was immensely rewarding as I worked with a dedicated team and the responsibilities were congruent with my personal values of equity and access. I retired from that position in 2018. Believing in community colleges as the access for all, and with my experience at San Jose City College, I decided to run for Board of Trustees of the West Valley Mission College Community College District. My intention was to bring to the board a perspective of the direct workings of the college and of student needs. I was a novice in politics and I had a dream and with many people, my campaign manager, a close knit of family and friends, all supporting me along the way. It was a learning experience. I lost by a narrow margin to a third term candidate, but was immensely proud of my endorsements from the Santa Clara County Democratic Party, the faculty of the West Valley Community Colleges and the Democratic Activist for Women Now (DAWN), an organization fund founded by Barbara Boxer to support women candidates for their office for running for office. Janet Chang: [00:28:14] On 2018, when I retired. And now I now have the opportunity to choose where to spend my energy and expertise. In retirement I carefully chose purposeful, purposeful activities that reflected my personal values and philosophy. My volunteer activities include tutoring emergent readers in the national program called Reading Partners. Activities, including supporting female candidates, including increasing access for women for success, including financial and leadership workshops through the American Association of University Women, facility, facilitating and tutoring students for US citizenship, under the Santa Clara County Public Health Department I do contact tracing for covid-19 and I am also membership of the Butter Paddle Auxillary, the nonprofit which the proceeds assist needy families and children of the Santa Clara Valley. Ming Quong is one of the components of Uplift, which is the umbrella national organization. As a member of the Butter Paddle organization, I have come full circle from being a resident at the Ming Quong Home to a volunteer contributing to the next generation. My life story could probably have turned out very differently if I had not lived on Loma Alta Avenue Ming Quong Home in Los Gatos for those critical years. Due to my lack of social skills and resulting behavior, the other choice could have been juvenile hall. It is my belief that if I had been sent to the hall, I have no doubt that I would be dead or still in jail. Janet Chang: [00:30:08] From my time at the home, I learned many things about the world and about myself. I expanded my toolbox of reacting not with anger, but with social civility. The Los, the Los Gatos community seemed nice and even kind. I learned to listen, say hello, please. Thank you and excuse me. I also learned that in spite of my poor grades and poor organizational skills, I was bright. It was an awakening moment when Mrs. Johnson said, Janet, you're very bright. It was the first time I could recall that anyone provided a positive comment to me. Wow. Mrs Johnson, thank you so much. In addition, during those years at the home, I learned to set a table, make a bed, swim, twirl a baton and play tennis. As a as a teenager, tennis was my first sport I became competent in and the that feeling began to give me confidence. In fact, tennis is my lifelong sport. I'm proud to have 520 USTA matches under my belt. And at the age of 73, I'm still playing tennis three, four times a week. Janet Chang: [00:31:19] The skills gained from my time at the home provided me the confidence and hope. And propelled me towards a college preparatory public high school and college. Attending that particular high school was another critical stepping stone. I earned a baccalaureate in nursing and later a master's degree in public health and retired as a college professor. I want to thank you to Daniel Keough and Grace Song and the Los Gatos History Project. Everyone has a story. Thank you very much for listening to mine. I hope you found my story valuable and relevant. Thank you. Daniel Keough: [00:32:07] Thank you, Janet. Grace Song: [00:32:08] Thank you so much for sharing. That was wonderful. Daniel Keough: [00:32:13] So. I guess when we had talked a couple of weeks ago, you mentioned that your family is mentioned in a book, um. Chinese Gold? Janet Chang: [00:32:22] Oh my family? Daniel Keough: [00:32:26] Yeah. Janet Chang: [00:32:27] Ok, my family is in this book called Chinese Gold. And we are one of the first families that were documented that everybody in the family was born in the United States. Janet Chang: [00:32:42] Yeah, it's. Yes, this picture, this picture right there. Yeah, yeah, I'll I'll I'll take a picture and send it to you. And in those days, the caption says, you know, it tells that this, Kwock family that they were all born here and they named the men, OK, something Kwock, something Kwock, something Kwock, and then on the right hand side, which was my grandmother, female Kwock, female Kwock. So there's there's no mention of the female name, only of the male name. So so we're in this book and 1960. That's the date of our family was 1960. They were that we were born here. Daniel Keough: [00:33:29] And where was your father. He was born in China. Correct. Janet Chang: [00:33:34] But my father was born in China but he left China. He what they did was he jumped on a ship and he landed in Hawaii. And I remember seeing pictures of him in Hawaii and it really looked primitive. But he didn't have a birth certificate. So he said he said, OK, he just stated I was I'm I'm Hawaiian. OK, so when he applied for a job, he just wrote, I was born in Hawaii and that was it. And that was before obviously before Hawaii was a state. But so that's how he went around the world and got his first job. But he he he was born in China, really. Janet Chang: [00:34:15] And and my mother was born in San Francisco. Daniel Keough: [00:34:18] Gotcha. OK. And I did have a question. And you mentioned your family farm maybe of your grandfather. A family farm, maybe in Monterey? Janet Chang: [00:34:34] Oh, yes, yes. So what happened was in those days, if somebody wanted your property, they would just burn it down. So my grandmother and grandfather moved from... [truncated due to length]Collection
Represent Los Gatos Oral History ProjectOral History Details
Interviewee
Chang, JanetInterview Date
Oct 23, 2020Primary Language
EnglishRecording Media
MP4Oral History Notes
Creator: Los Gatos Library
Publisher: Los Gatos Library
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