Susie Jeu Tonymon

Susie Tonymon was born as a “child of the Depression” on August 27, 1928 in Arkansas City, Arkansas. Identifying as “American-Born Chinese,” Susie recounts her parents’ struggles to immigrate to the United States, their hard work running a grocery store for decades, and their success in fostering community and friendship with the locals in Arkansas City, as well as fellow Chinese American immigrant families throughout the state.

Susie’s father, Jeu Wah Chong (nicknamed “Chum”) first immigrated to America in 1913 at only fifteen years old. The Chinese Exclusion Act meant that the only way for Chinese immigrants to enter the United States was to be blood-related to an established Chinese immigrant. Chum entered as a so-called “paper son,” using documents that claimed he was closely related to another Chinese immigrant living in Mississippi. Susie’s mother, Ng Gum Toy, also had difficulty immigrating. After their wedding in China in 1918, Chum returned to America, but Toy had to wait in China for six years before she could move to Arkansas legally. This was due to the Page Act of 1875, which enforced strict limits on the immigration of Chinese women.

Once established in Arkansas, Susie recalls the hard work her parents put into running their grocery store, which was named Jeu Jim Lee and Company, and given to Chum by relatives who had moved back to China. In addition to running the store, Chum bought beaver furs from locals and shipped them to fur coat companies up north for a profit. Susie’s mother Ng Gum Toy also had an important role in running the store. Susie says, “She knew how to make a book, and she would buy low and sell high.” Susie and her brothers worked at the store, which was open as early as five in the morning, to as late as ten at night. She remembers being so tired from working that she fell asleep on top of wheat sacks, only to wake up in the night with leg cramps.

Through the efforts of Susie’s parents, the store became an important gathering place in Arkansas City. On Saturday nights, Black sharecroppers would come into the store to drink beer and socialize together after buying groceries. “It was so packed with people,” she remembers, “If I tried to get from one side to the other, I could hardly get through the crowd.” Chum also made a point to make friends with white residents of Arkansas City, such as the town sheriff and doctor. He even managed to purchase land and build a second store in town, despite a legal framework that made it difficult for Chinese immigrants to own property. 

In addition to finding friendship in Arkansas City, Susie recalls how her father forged connections with other Chinese immigrants who ran grocery stores across the state. Chum served as the first president of the Arkansas Chinese Merchants Association (later known as the Chinese Association of Arkansas), whose members would support each other in difficult times, including when facing discrimination for being Chinese immigrants. This support network extended to political organizing. In 1943, the Association invited the Chinese Consul General to speak at a meeting concerning an effort to revive the Alien Land Act, which would bar Chinese immigrants from buying or owning land in Arkansas. Susie remembers how Association members used the meeting to strategize on how they could prevent such legislation from passing. Susie also remembers how the Association held Chinese-language classes: “…our folks decided that we were getting too Americanized, and we needed to learn Chinese. So, they started on Sunday afternoon, we’d meet in McGehee, and we’d have a little class that tried to teach us Chinese.”

Susie emphasizes the importance of preserving the story of her parents and their relevance for future generations, especially as they disperse across Arkansas and other states. She says she is proud to have been born in America, and that thanks to her parents’ efforts she was able to successfully assimilate. She hopes that through her story, her descendants know their roots, and how their ancestors worked to create a new life in America. 

Story by Kaylee Guthrie

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