Page 103 - CCBA-LA-125th-2014
P. 103

125        Anniversary





                th  週年






                                        羅省中華會館福地會


                                   Chinese Cemetery of Los Angeles







                   1920-1930年間，美國排華頹風炙盛，                            箕活、財政關傑勳、李華秀等，將墳地修
                   所有西人墳場不予華人購地安葬。當年                                繕，並由黃國如、關傑勳、李華秀無利息
                   （1922年），幸有熱心人士黃鴻德、李秀                             借款購置華埠重慶路940號連土庫三層樓
                   卿等、籌資購買羅東一街夾東方街田地一                               為基業。
                   塊，闢建為華人歸葬地，其後撥交中華會                               In 1958, Chinatown community lead-
                   館管理，由會館每年選出5人為辦理歸葬                               ers spearheaded the effort to overhaul the
                   僅收30元，名為「福地組」，其後野草叢                              cemetery again. They formed the Manage-
                   生，非常荒蕪，後經劉石天先生挺身而出                               ment Committee of the Los Angeles Chi-
                   修理，但因經費及其他等問題而終止。                                nese Cemetery under the direction of then
                   At the height of anti-Chinese  zealotry in       Committee Chairman Poy Wong, Vice-chair
                   the U.S. during the 1920’s and 1930’s,           Kea Woo Gee, Treasurer Kit Fun Quon, and
                   Chinese were barred from purchasing              Wah Shau Lee, etc. In addition, Poy Wong,
                   burial plots in all American cemeteries.         Kit Fun Quon and Wah Shau Lee provided a
                   Fortunately,  in  1922,  through  the  efforts   loan, interest free, to purchase the three-
                   of good men like Mr. Hung Tak Wong and           story property, including basement, at 940
                   Shao Hing Lee, a piece of land at the cor-       Chungking  Road as  headquarter  for the
                   ner of First Street and Eastern Avenue in        Cemetery operation.
                   East Los Angeles was purchased for use as        二次大戰後，美國移民政策放寬，國內僑
                   burial ground for Los Angeles’ Chinese. It       胞家眷移民接踵而至，墳地需求擴大，為
                   was later placed under the management of         適應需要，因而由黃國如洽購墳地之南的
                   CCBA’s Cemetery Division, a group of five        舊屋四座，申請縣政街道、州府街道和建
                   persons elected annually by CCBA. The fee        築下水道工程等，耗資頗巨。幸得執事者
                   charged was only US$30. Sadly the ceme-          誠信，僑社與僑胞踴躍捐輸，至1965年期
                   tery deteriorated gradually to a weed-filled     間，經十餘年鍥而不捨的努力，終於達成
                   patch due to lack of maintenance. Although       目的。
                   Mr. Shet Tin Lau later assumed restorative       As the regulations governing immigration
                   responsibilities, his hard work was termi-       relaxed after WWII, waves of Chinese im-
                   nated by lack of funds and other problems.       migrants arrived on U.S. soil. To meet the
                                                                    need for the expansion of the Cemetery,
                   中華會館福地會簡介                                        Mr. Poy Wong led the negotiation for the
                   SUMMARY                                          purchase of four parcels adjacent to the
                                                                    Cemetery, and applied to County and State
                   至1958年期間，再度發起修理墳場，組織                             governments for the construction of streets
                   「中華福地保管委員會」，發動募捐，專                               and drainage systems. The completion of
                   案修繕。當年主任委員黃國如、副主任朱                               this expansion project that took a decade




                   104  |  轄下三大機構 The Three Sub-organizations
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