Exhibit: Santa Barbara Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage, 1870s-1970s
Shau Chan (1931- ) and Nancy Chan (1936- )
Hard-Working, Devoted to Family, and Giving People
By Holly Snyder
Shau Chan
Shau (Jack) Chan, born Lew, was born in 1931 in a village in Toisan County, Guangdong, China. He immigrated from Southern China to the Bay Area. His parents Soon Hay Lew (paper son name), or Lan Dot Lew (birth name), and Kiu Ying (Ng) Lew also came to the United States and settled in the Bay Area as well.
Shau's parents, 1958
Nancy Chan, ca. 1960
Nancy Chan nee Chan, was born in 1936 in a similar village about five miles away. Nancy’s sister Mary immigrated to the United States first and began working in a San Francisco sewing factory where her future husband’s mother (Kiu Ying) also worked. Wanting to join her sister, Nancy escaped from China to Macau by stowing away on a boat with four others, and then with the help of a childhood friend arrived in Hong Kong. She took night classes in Hong Kong and met Chin Lew, who later opened the Orient Laundry in Goleta with her husband King C Lew.
Due to restrictive immigration laws in the United States, it was easier to apply for entry to the United States from other countries. Nancy had a sponsor in Colombia so she was able to immigrate to Colombia to get into the United States. Jack was living in the Bay Area at the time and traveled to Colombia to meet and marry Nancy. They married in 1960 and then Jack brought his new bride to live in San Francisco.
Shau and Nancy Chan cutting the cake on their wedding day: February 16, 1960
Hong Kong Restaurant
Jack and Nancy had two sons while living in the Bay Area and then moved to Goleta around 1962. In 1963, they befriended local realtor Fran Finear who helped them open the first sit-down Chinese restaurant in Goleta called Hong Kong Restaurant located in Old Town Goleta. The first week they were open they had their third son, and Nancy was back to work the next week! Well known dietician Nathan Pritikin was a long-time faithful customer. Hong Kong Restaurant was open until 1978. This location later became the Red Pepper Restaurant.
In 1982, they opened their second restaurant, Golden Garden, in the Fairview Shopping Center that is now part of the Fairview Theater.
Golden Garden Restaurant
Nancy Chan and her children
Jack and Nancy had five children all together: John, Joseph, Michael, Sandy, and Donald. Most of the children went to Goleta Union School which is now the Goleta Community Center. They later moved to the Dos Pueblos High School area and the children finished their elementary school days at El Rancho Elementary and then attended Goleta Valley Junior High and Dos Pueblos High School.
Some favorite memories growing up in the Goleta area include playing mahjong with friends, including King C. Lew and the Ma family who owned Wings Restaurant on Modoc Road, celebrating Chinese New Year, and almost every gathering revolving around good traditional Chinese food.
Chan children with friends
Jack and Nancy shared their hard work ethic and living by their faith with their children. Their legacy continues as the children grew to be successful adults and continue to live by their faith and the values they were raised with. In addition, they are proud grandparents of seven grandchildren. Jack and Nancy are also thankful for their friends who helped them get started in the Santa Barbara area including the Lews of Orient Laundry and the Finear family who helped them get established into the community.
Acknowledgements
Donald Chan, son of Nancy and Jack Chan
Ancestry.com
FamilySearch.org
Newspapers.com