Windsor Chinese
Benevolent Association
In
1918 the Overseas Chinese Association, located at 151 Sandwich
Rd. E., was co-founded by King Lee, Ping Lee and Huizhen Jin primarily
to maintain social contacts among the local Chinese. In 1922 a
dispute between laundry stores arose and the Overseas Chinese
Association was called in to help resolve the conflict. However
the Association had no guidelines
for mediating disputes. A meeting was held and the Overseas Chinese Association
was renamed the Windsor Chinese Benevolent Association. The association’s
by-laws were modeled after those from the New York Chinese Benevolent Association.
Aware
of the importance of education and with the large number of locally
born children and youths from China, the Association established
a tuition-free public night school for Chinese, in 1925. The school
was supported by the generous donations of the Chinese community. In
1944 the association purchased it’s first club house
from the municipality for $750.00. Since then the Association
has moved to Seminole Street, and then,
in 2001, they moved into their current facility on Wyandotte Street West.
Since
the Chinese Benevolent Association was founded, it has worked
for the welfare of the Chinese community, settled disputes among
Chinese and raised funds to take care of the funerals for those
with no relatives in Canada. The Windsor Chinese Benevolent Association
has contributed tremendously to the harmony between the Chinese
and mainstream society.
Essex County Canadian Chinese
Association
In 1976, responding
to the needs of the Chinese community in Windsor, the Essex County
Chinese Canadian Association was founded to promote Chinese culture
and to help integrate Chinese into mainstream society. Dr. Chosen
Lau was one of the founders and the first president of the association.
One of the first steps of integration was the introduction of the celebration
of Chinese New Year in the oriental tradition. In 1976 the first Annual New Year
Banquet was held at the Cleary International Center. Dr. Edward Ng was instrumental
in organizing the successful Chinese cabaret in 1980, to promote cultural exchange
between the East and West.
In
January 1982, the first association centre at Church St. was opened
by Mayor
Bert Weeks. Before that, the executive members would meet in various
places – members’ homes or restaurants - to conduct
the activities of the association. Subsequently, the centre moved
to the Red Cross Building at 1226 Ouellette Ave. and then to the
renovated building at 665 Ouellette Ave. Finally in 1990 the current
facility at 1420 Tecumseh Rd. East was purchased. Besides the
annual Chinese New Year Fundraising Gala, the Essex County Chinese
Canadian
Association also organizes the annual New Year Party for seniors
as
a gesture of respect.
Every year since
it was established, the association has participated in the Canada
Day Parade and the annual Carrousel of the Nations organized by
the Multicultural Council of Windsor. The association has contributed
tremendously to the promotion of Chinese culture in Windsor. The
association also provides many other activities such as Chinese
literature classes, mandarin classes and tai chi classes and publishes
the annual Chinese Business and Professional Directory.
VIDEO CLIPS
Click
here to see the Essex County Canadian
Chinese Association Band at
Carousel
Click
here to see the Essex
County Canadian Chinese Association Sword
Dance at
Carousel
Chinese Association of Greater
Windsor
Since
1991 Windsor has been a preferred destination for many Chinese
immigrants from mainland China. Because this group of Chinese
immigrants speaks mainly mandarin while members of the Chinese
Benevolent Association and the Essex County Chinese Association
speak primarily Cantonese, the Chinese Association of Greater Windsor
was established in 1997 as a result of the language difference.
CAGW
has organized many seminars and social functions. In recent
years the three Chinese Associations in Windsor have co-operated
in
many functions and activities bringing together all the Chinese
in Windsor.
VIDEO
CLIPS
Click
here to see people celebrating the
Mid Autumn Festival
Click
here to see a fan dance at the Mid Autumn Festival
Click
here to see various fashions at the Mid Autumn Festival
Click here to
see a musical duo at the Mid Autumn Festival
Click
here to see an opera singer at the Mid Autumn Festival
Click here to
see a solo dancer at the Mid Autumn Festival
Click here
to see teenagers singing at the Mid Autumn Festival
Click here
to see Tiesen Mountain at the Mid Autumn Festival
Windsor Chinese Presbyterian
Church
Early
on, many of Windsor’s Chinese community attended St. Andrews
Presbyterian Church. The church played an important role in helping
Chinese
immigrants to integrate into Canadian society. The women’s
group of St. Andrews welcomed the Chinese with open arms. In 1903
they started Sunday school classes, following that they introduced
English
as a second language class.
In 1986 ‘The
Presbyterian Church in Canada’ recognized the Chinese
congregation as a separated entity. Today, they still operate
out of St. Andrews
Presbyterian Church on Victoria Avenue.
Windsor Chinese Baptist Church
In
1975 the leaders of the Toronto Chinese Baptist Church became
aware of the growing Chinese population in Windsor and decided
to do church planning in Windsor. The first Sunday worship was
held on October 5th 1975 at Temple Baptist Church downtown. In
July 1992 the congregation moved into the current church building
on University Avenue. During the late 1970s and early 1980s many
Chinese students from Hong Kong came to Windsor for high school
and university education and church membership grew
to 130 people with up to 80% being students.
From 1984 onward
the population of foreign student declined due to the increase
in tuition and church membership dropped below 100 people. As
a community service, the Church operates a Chinese school every
weekend. In recent years mandarin and English services were added
in addition to Cantonese
to minister to the mandarin speaking students from mainland China and the next
generation of Chinese born in Canada that speak primarily English.
Windsor Chinese Alliance Church
Founded
in 1975, the Windsor Chinese Alliance Church is a part of the
denomination of the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada.
The church was located at the corner of Wyandotte and Glengarry
before moving to the present location on Seminole in 2003.
The
Chinese Alliance Church has the largest membership in Windsor,
with many
Chinese students enrolled in Chinese classes every Saturday.
The Alliance Church has contributed tremendously to the continuation
of the Chinese culture.
Linh Son Buddhist Association
of Windsor
Among
the many Vietnamese immigrants in Windsor there are some with
Chinese descent and most of them are Buddhist. Located at 706
Goyeau Street, the Linh son Buddhist Association of Windsor officially
opened in 2005. Monks from different parts of the country gathered
in Windsor to celebrate the opening.
