If anyone has a better picture of Kam Lum Chung, please forward me a copy at [email protected].
Kam Lum Chung and wife, Lin Tai TomKam Lum Chung (Left) |
Kam Lum Chung
Born: 07/11/1904 Kona, Oahu, Hawaii Died: 02/13/1976, Honolulu, Oahu Hawaii Cause of Death: Complications from Head Injury (fall) Kam Lum Chung was the fifth-born child of See Hin Chung and Kam Lan Tom. Kam Lum attended McKinley High School, but after the 10th grade, his father told him that he needed to quit school and start to make money to support the family. He became a carpenter's apprentice to a distant relative. Kam Lan's father, See Hin Chung, allowed this distant relative to keep Kam Lum's whole first year of salary, as payment for providing his son with this training. When Kam Lum was finally able to earn and save money, he eventually saved enough money to build his parents' house on Gulick Avenue. It was a three bedroom house with a screened in veranda in the front and a garage. Kam Lum used this garage as a workshop, where he would make furniture such as tables, and chairs and food savers (A screened in cabinet for left-over food that did not need refrigeration. It had a space for round cans of oil at the bottom, so ants would not get to the food.). Kam Lum was a hard-worker and a generous man. He he paid for his younger brother John to go to medical school, even though he, himself, was never given that opportunity. One of Kam Lum's first jobs was working at the Schofield Barracks in the Office of the Quartermaster, as a cabinet-maker. At about this same time, Kam Lum was introduced to his future wife, Lin Tai Tom. Their marriage was arranged by their families. Lin Tai Tom grew up in Moana Lua Gardens where her family had run a grocery store. After the couple married, they moved in with Kam Lum's parents in the house that he built on Gulick Avenue. This house was also occupied by Kam Lum's brother Francis and his wife, as well as his younger brothers and sister. After a short time, Kam Lum and Lin Tai moved in with Lin Tai's parents because the Gulick Avenue house was too crowded. A couple years after marrying, Kam Lum and Lin Tai had their first child, Albert. They would have five children in all, including: Albert, Bernard, Cynthia, David and Evelyn. Sadly, Albert passed away at the tender age of 5 years old, succumbing to Diphtheria while staying with his Aunt Irene on the island of Kauai. Kam Lum would later work at Pearl Harbor, where his office was on Ford Island. At Pearl Harbor, Kam Lum acted as supervisor in charge of carpenters. The night before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Kam Lum had attended a luau and contracted food poisoning. He was terribly sick the morning that Pearl Harbor was bombed. All employees were summoned to Pearl Harbor to help with the emergency, but Kam Lum was unable to report for several days because he was so ill. When he finally was healthy enough to go to Pearl Harbor, the family did not see him again for 3-4 days. Kam Lum continued to work as a civilian at Pearl Harbor for the next five years. After working at Pearl Harbor, Kam Lum opened up his own business, the Chung Carpenter Shop that was located on Kalihi Street. Eventually, with the help of his mother-in-law, Kam Lum moved his shop to Umi Street in what was, at that time, an abandoned railroad property. While Kam Lum was working in his first carpentry shop, his wife purchased the grocery store in Moanalua Gardens with the help of her parents. The family moved into the back of that store. Later, when Kam Lum opened the second shop on Umi Street, the family moved closer to that location. Kam Lum was a charter member of the See Dai Doo Chinese Carpenter Society. After he retired, he traveled around the world twice on Taiwanese freighters. These freighters carried mostly Taiwanese workers and only a few American passengers. Kam Lum enjoyed traveling this way because these freighters served American food, but Kam Lum could choose to eat with his fellow American passengers, or eat with the crew, who spoke Chinese. Kam Lum spoke Cantonese and a little bit of Hawaiian. When the Taiwanese freighter would come into different ports, Kam Lum would arrange excursions for the American passengers. It was while he was on one of these trips that Kam Lum went to China and attempted to find relatives that still lived in the family's ancestral village. While there, he found his father's grand nephew. This relative was living in the house that his mother (Kam Lan Tom) had purchased in 1924. The house was very primitive... a grass hut with dirt floors. During this visit, Kam Lum went to the village temple and tried to find the family records - but none could be found. Kam Lum is described by his children as being very intelligent. He was a man who carefully thought through things before taking action. He loved babies and was close with all of his children. Kam Lum succumbed to complications from a head injury on February 13, 1976. |