Louie Hong’s Life on the Canadian Pacific Railway
Early Life:
Think of having to walk or ride a horse several miles to a place that you want to go to. Think of how tired you would be, well that’s what happened before they built the railway. It would take weeks or even months to get about 500 miles and that what some people had to do. Louie Hong had been married and had an amazing 9 children. In 1910 he joined the Southern Alberta Outfit of the notable millionaire, Pat Burns, and cooked as a CPR cook. Then in 1913 he opened a small store/restaurant at *Cluny*, east of Calgary. At the time Cluny had just a few residents, and a grain elevator.
Middle of Life:
In 1914 he opened a laundry there too, but soon hired two men to run it. Louie Hong arrived from China at the age of 25. The Chinese people lived in tents and when they were done they took down their tents and carried them to their next point. Imagine how heavy that would be, including the supplies that were in the tent!
Death:
Louie Hong was born in 1884 and died in 1969. Lots of people mourned when he passed away and he was a really good and a thoughtful life that just went away. He sounded like a good man to me. He was at an age of 85 when he passed away.
Change:
Louie Hong was a change maker because he opened his own stores and he always kept his prices low. So if somebody didn’t have very much money they could come to his store and buy some stuff. When he opened his store, it got bigger and bigger until his store had a store, restaurant, and a laundry and it got bigger and bigger until it was about three of the size that he started out with. A change that all the CPR people did was building the railway because they made transportation so people could get around quicker. Even though they didn’t have very much supply’s they still got the job done. They had the hardest job because it was the easiest job to get injured or killed! What really sucked was the Chinese got paid $1.00 a day and the British got between $1.50 to $2.50 per day but it depends on how much work they do. Some other change makers of the CPR were Wong Yet; Dong Yee; Prime Minister John. A. Macdonald; William Van Horne; and the Railway Workers!
Alberta at the Time:
At the time 1871 British Columbia became the sixth province in Canada. The Prime Minister John. A. MacDonald promised British Columbia there would be a railway by 1881 and so everybody can get around quicker. But it would be the longest and the most expensive railway in the whole world at that time. Then a company came along, they were called the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) was formed to build the new railway. William Van Horne was hired to manage the whole idea of the railway. He was determined to complete the railway. They worked long days to get the railway done faster and so many people thought it would be impossible to finish it but they still worked hard. The CPR needed huge amounts of money so they could finish building the railway. When the railway was finished the workers would be given lots of money as a reward. They could lay the tracks very fast on the prairies. The men could lay up to eight kilometres per day. But the mountains and a swamp were more difficult because it was slow, it was dangerous, and it was expensive. The railway was started in 1881 and it was finished in 1885.
Values:
He valued hard work because he cooked on the railway for the workers and he always gave it a 100% even if he was not feeling well. He also valued friends because he had lots of friends and he didn’t do anything bad to them. Another thing that he valued was generosity because his friends and he shared all the time and if somebody that needed something somebody would give it to them. He also valued humor because he loved to laugh with his friends. Another value was respect because everybody respected him and he respected everybody. The second last value is commitment because he committed to cook for the workers. The last value is hard work because he always worked hard when he was cooking in his restaurant or at the railway; he worked hard from morning to night even if he did not feel good.
*Cluny is a small town on the east of Calgary*
References’
Book: Ordinary People PG’s 50-52
Website: Adventurous Albertans