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Angel Island history
Former Angel
How you can
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Beck H. Gee
Stories and Photographs by LYDIA LUM, copyright 1998
At age 9, Beck H. Gee immigrated in 1931 with an older relative to the United
States. Gee was detained about a month at Angel Island. His relative was
already a U.S. citizen and was not detained. Gee eventually joined his
grandparents in New Orleans. He moved to Houston as an adult. Now 76, he is a
retired illustrator.
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"I actually had a really good time at Angel Island, maybe because I was too young to understand the hardship." "I made friends at the playground. The swing was broken but somebody had tried to replace it by tying a knot in a rope so we could slip our feet into the loophole and swing anyway." "The inspectors' questions took me away from playtime. I was kind of mad at them for that."
"I bought apricots at the little store on the island every afternoon. For 10 cents, I got a lunch-sized paper bag of them. They were so juicy! So golden! I had never eaten anything like it. I haven't found such juicy apricots in the U.S. since then, either." --- Beck H. Gee
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"One day we were playing tag. I ran into a bunk and hit my head. I felt the
blood. I cried. The men must have finally realized I was alone because no one
claimed me. An older man came forward and helped me clean up. He kept a close
eye on me the rest of the time. We had meals together and I slept in a bunk
close to him."