Katheryn and Edmond Fong, February 22, 2023

Travis Jeffres conducted this remote interview on February 22, 2023, with Katheryn and Edmond Fong as part of the Documenting Chinese History in Greater Boise through Oral History project. Katheryn and Edmond Fong, children of Harry Fong, offer their memories of Boise’s Chinese population, Boise’s Chinatown, and growing up in Boise as Chinese Americans. Their father, Harry Fong, arrived in Boise from China in 1911 and quickly became an indispensable figure in the community. He worked as an interpreter for the Idaho Statesman, a local newspaper, and served as a translator in the Boise court systems. Harry Fong was also the owner of the Bamboo Gardens, a Chinatown restaurant where his children also worked alongside him. Katheryn and Edmond explain the “tong war”, a rivalry between the Hip Sing Tong and Hop Sing Tong associations. These associations provided a social hub for Chinese residents to organize community events, offer mutual aid, and foster close ties with fellow Chinese immigrants. Additionally, Katheryn Fong recalls how although there was a small Asian population and as each of their sibling progressed through school they excelled in academics and athletics. Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 resulted in most of Boise’s Chinese population being comprised of men who were there by themselves. As a result, the few intact Chinese families that were in Boise during these times formed a closely knit community.