He was not your average Joe.
But he was one of the nicest men to ever grace the City of Vernon.
It's National Joe Day, Thursday, March 27, a day nationalcalendarday.com says, "encourages everyone to enjoy a cup of joe with all your friends named Joe, Jo, Joey, Joseph, and Josephine."
We choose, with our cup of joe, to look at Walter Joe, born in Canada in 1916.
Joe was the son of a man born in China in 1867 鈥� the year Canada became a country 鈥� but who immigrated to B.C. in 1883 to work on the railway. Joe is one of 13 children who, along with his family, moved to Vernon. Most of the kids would move on to Vancouver but Joe stayed in the North Okanagan.
While he was born in Canada, Joe had no citizenship rights under Canadian law, and when the Second World War broke out in 1939, Joe fought hard to be recognized as a Canadian.
He wanted to join the Royal Canadian Air Force at the start of the war, but was turned away because he was Chinese. Joe's late son, Brian, told the Multicultural History Society of Ontario in an interview that one of his dad's arguments for joining the battle was, "If I'm a tail-gunner of a plane, and I shoot the enemy down, does he know who shot him?"
Eventually, the rules changed and Joe was able to fight for the country he was born in. The Facebook page Vintage Vernon BC, in a Remembrance Day salute in 2020, paid tribute to Joe with the following reference:
"A celebrated representative of the Chinese community in Vernon, Walter Joe also served his country as a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War Two. Like many Asian Canadians, Walter鈥檚 enlistment in the RCAF was initially refused with the explanation that there were 鈥淣o Chinese in the Air Force.鈥� Frustrated, Walter wrote a letter to Minister of Justice Ernest LaPointe, explaining that not only was he born in Canada, but his mother was also born in B.C., and that he should have the right to defend the country of his birth. Finally, in 1942, the RCAF鈥檚 race policies were changed, and Walter was taken on strength as a wireless operator. It was the brave contributions of men like Walter Joe during World War Two that finally led to the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1947."
The post garnered 275 reactions and 40 comments:
"He was so kind; he knew everyone's name;"
"He was such a nice man, remember his well;"
"I remember that smile;"
"Very friendly and cheerful:'
"I remember him well. He was a good friend of our family."
Post-war, Joe would operate a vegetable and fruit stand 鈥� Joe's Happy Acres 鈥� and a longtime taxi service in the city.
One man wrote that after his father passed, and his family was struggling financially, Joe would free rides home to the kids from whatever event in his taxi.
"He had a kind heart, a generous demeanour, and a great love of his hometown and country," wrote the man.
One woman shared the tale of how her father owned the Kalamalka Hotel from 1956-58, and how he and Joe were great friends.
"I remember going to their home and having diner several times," she said. "He used to take me to Kalamalka Lake in the summer and other places. He was very kind, loving, thoughtful, and very generous. He was always there when ever I needed help."
The Museum and Archives of Vernon writes on its website that in 1985, a traditional Chinese lion head was donated by the Chinese Free Masons. It is rarely put on display at the museum because of its fragile condition and rarity.
The head is believed to be more than 120 years old, and was the first to be used in Vernon. It was used at local Chinese New Year celebrations.
Vernon's lion costume was usually operated by two members of the local Chinese community, John Wong and Joe.
Walter Joe died in Vernon in 2005.
