I am a lover, collector and teller of stories. One of my favorite quotes comes from author Barry Lopez who said, “If stories come to you, care for them. And learn to give them away where they are needed.”
I have a story. An amazing, inspiring, true story. In caring for it, I share it now with you as it is a story I believe we all need to hear. It is a story that has and continues to impact all of us on the Palouse.
For me, the story began when I first came to Neill Public Library. As I went about my new job, I found myself opening book after book and noticed many of the books had the same bookplate which read, “Gift from George Wen in honor of his parents, Herbert and Rena Wen.” I was immediately grateful to this man I didn’t know, except through his obvious generosity. And I knew there had to be a story about this man and his parents. I had no way of knowing what an incredible story it was.
I began to learn about this family’s amazing story this past summer on a bright, beautiful Palouse morning. I stood with others in our community who came together to pay tribute to Herbert Wen. I was honored to be at his memorial service planned so beautifully by his son, George. It was here I heard how the story began many years ago in China where Herbert and Rena were born.
Herbert Hsiu-jui was the twenty-sixth-generation lineal descendant of the 12th century statesman/poet/patriot Wen Tianxiang. Rena Hsing-fang Sun came from a celebrated family of scholar-officials that included the Qing dynasty prime minister and first president of Beijing University Sun Jianai and the statesman Li Hongzhang; her family also founded the largest flour mill in China. Rena and Herbert met, married and then came to Seattle when Herbert was appointed the deputy consul for the Nationalist China government in 1946. When the Communists took over mainland China in 1949 Herbert was recalled to the new government in exile. But the Wens chose to seek political asylum in the U.S. as Rena had just given birth to their son George.
The young couple started from scratch with no family, few friends or resources. Herbert worked three jobs while attending the University of Washington and earned a degree in accounting. He then became an auditor for the First National Bank of Commerce in Seattle and traveled extensively across the state.
In 1963 the family moved to Pullman for Herbert to accept a job in the comptroller’s office at WSU. George graduated from Pullman High School, went east to college and then called Paris, then England and now, New York City home. Yet, George always came back to Pullman to spend time with his parents, who instilled in their son the importance of family, the need for kindness, the desire for life-long learning, the pleasure and power of the written word, and the value in doing what is right and good.
They lived their entire lives accordingly. And even though both of his parents have passed away, George continues to stay connected to Pullman, the cherished, chosen home of his beloved mother and father. Through my work at the library I have the pleasure of visiting with George on a regular basis. I continue to be moved by the quiet, purposeful and generous way he chooses to make a difference in this world. The very gifts he received from his parents - kindness, strength, gentleness, compassion, generosity, eloquence, and a disarming sense of humbleness – are the ones he shares with all of us. We are all the beneficiaries of this family’s legacy.
George’s gifts come on a very regular basis to Neill Public Library – the place his parents loved and frequented so often. The gifts we receive are boxes upon boxes of new, beautiful books. This is not something George has to do. Instead, he joyfully chooses to do it as a way to honor his parents. And he does it because it’s also a way to honor Pullman - the community of people that was so important to his family.
I hope each of us will take some time to absorb and appreciate this incredible story of generosity. There are boxes of books mailed from New York City to our library on a regular basis because of a story that started almost one hundred years ago in a country on the other side of the world. This story continues as we put the books on library shelves for all of us to enjoy. Amazing gifts from an amazing family. I’m sure Herbert and Rena would be immeasurably pleased and proud.
So the next time you open a book and find a bookplate, “Gift from George Wen in honor of his parents, Herbert and Rena Wen,” I hope you might be inclined to do what I do. I stop, I close my eyes and I say a heartfelt “thank you”. Thank you, Herbert and Rena Wen. Thank you, George. Thank you all. Thank you so very much.
by Kathleen Ahern
NPL Children's Librarian
published in Moscow-Pullman Daily News 12-23-09
No comments:
Post a Comment