4 feb 1968 & lunar year celebration
#OTD Sunday 4 February 1968 The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (803 H Street, NW) held its annual Lunar Year Celebration between 5th and 9th on H streets, NW. It was the Year of the Monkey (the 4,666th new year) and it officially started on Tuesday 29 January at midnight.
More than 4,000 Washingtonians lined H Street, NW to see the parade of masked figures and dragon lions. Those in front of the On Leong Chinese Merchants Association (618-620 H Street, NW) had the clearest—and loudest—view of the lighting of a “10-foot string of fireworks.” Here, members of the Chinese Youth Club (CYC) were either preparing for or just finishing the Lion Dance.
Wally Lee joined the CYC in 1964. He was a member of the lion dance team, and the volleyball and basketball teams. Lee shared that the gentleman in the long coat and hat is Mr. Eng. The person in the white sweatshirt is Daniel Lim. The person to Lim's right, in the foreground in black high tops, is Wei Hong Lee. Lim and Lee were best friends.
Please comment below. Did you attend the lunar new year parade? Did you know Mr. Eng, Lim or Lee? Were you a member of the CYC? Were you part of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association or the On Leong Chinese Merchants Association? You may comment privately here.
Photo source: Chinese New Year's Parade, in front of 740 H Street, NW, 1968. Alexander Lmanian, photographer. Courtesy of Beinecke Library, Yale University.
I thank Ted Gong, director of the 1882 Foundation, Wally Lee and Tom Fong for sharing their insights and memories.
