INSTITUTE OF TEXAH CULTURES
ORAL HISTORY PROGRAM
INTERVIEW WITH: MAURY MAVERICK HUEY
INTERVIEWER: Dorothy Jacobson
DATE: April 29 , 1982
PLACE: Hung Fong Restaurant
DJ: The first tape we recorded was erased by mistake so we
are here hopefully, to pick up the information that we
talked about the first time.
So, Mr. Huey, thank you so much for making this effort.
MH: You are welcome.
DJ: I wanted to ask you what province in China did your
people come from?
MH : Canton·, China ; the south part of China. Close to Hong
Kong.
DJ: When did your ancestors first come into this country?
!m : My father come into this country since 1916.
DJ: How did he come here?
~H: Well, at this time my grandfather was here first ; then
he tried to get him in.
DJ: Your grandfather came first?
MH: Yes, mam.
DJ: How did he come?
~H: I don't know. That's too far ........ .
DJ: You don't have any family history of how he got here?
MH : No, mam .
Huey
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DJ: Do you think by
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ship?
MH: I think so, yes.
DJ: When your grandfather came, where did he settle?
MH: I only know that he was in San Francisco; then the
other things I do not know. Way before I was born.
DJ : What did he do when he first came into the country?
Did he work in San Francisco? What did he do?
MH: He worked in San Francisco in the laundry. Maybe
some time he do something in the r e staurant.
DJ: Right. Good. He lived in San Francisco all his
life? Your grandfather.
MH: I think so, yes.
DJ: When he came into this country , did he learn English?
MH: I don't know much about my grandfather . My father
when he come to this country, he learned something
but he hasn't got much chance to do English in school.
DJ: Right . But he did speak some English. He probably
just learned it because he had to, right?
MH : Yes mam .
DJ: He didn't go to school to study English.
MH: No. At this time they changed to Christian religion.
DJ: Exactly. And they didn't get bilingual education,
did they?
MH: Right.
DJ : Your father was born in China ...... .
MH: Yes mam. I think that he was born in Hong Kong .
2 •
Huey
DJ: So he was no t really a Chinese subject?
MH: No , he was Chinese.
DJ: O.K. But Hong Kong is a British Crown Colony . But
he was a Chinese citizen?
MH : Yes, mam.
DJ: O.K. So when your father came , he went to San
Francisco first?
MH: Right , he went to San Francisco first. Then later
he traveled to New York and Chicago.
DJ: Was he working?
MH : He was.
DJ : What was he doing?
MH: He 's working in the restaurant busine ss.
DJ: And he worked in Chicago?
MH : New York , Chicago and Philadelphia.
DJ : I see.
MH :
DJ: I see . He traveled a great deal. Wonderful. So
when did he start working in San Antonio?
MH : When he come to visit one of the relatives, he
found the climate here is much similar to the orig­inal
..... where he lived in China . He said he l iked
this place better than the other places . He didn't
like New York or Chicago ... too much snow sometime s.
DJ: Yes, difficult . So, he came to San Antonio be­cause
he had relatives here?
MH: Right.
3.
Huey
DJ: So he had help settling into San Antonio.
MH: Yes, mam.
DJ: Your father was married in Hong Kong or .... ?
MH: He was married in China.
DJ: In China. He went back to Canton to be married.
MH: Yes. He went back to China twice. One time was
in 1921 and came back to the United States in
1926. Again he went back in 1927. Then I was born
in 1928 in China.
DJ: In China. Canton?
MH: Right.
DJ: What city?
MH : In K-u-n-g-y-i-c City.
DJ : So, you were born in Kungyic?
MH: Right. I was born in Kungyic City.
DJ: Then you went to Hong Kong for a time.
MH: I was in Kungyic City then .... up to 1950. Right after
the second World War, then my father invited me to
come to this country. I was waiting for my visa for
three years be fore I come here .
DJ: Waiting in Hong Kong or Kyngyic City?
MH: In Hong Kong. At that time Kungyic has no Consulate.
DJ: Then you came over here in .....
MH: 1953.
DJ: 19 53 ? That's not so long ago.
MH: Well, twenty-nine years ago. It's now 1982.
DJ: Then you came over in ' 53 and came directly to
.4 •
Huey
DJ: San Antonio?
MH: Right. Then I went from Hong Kong, then go to Wake
Island, then Los Angeles, then to San Antonio.
DJ: You were flying?
MH: Yes. Then I married.
DJ: I guess Pan American was the only plane flying that
far.
MH: Yes mam.
DJ: Clipper flights, weren't they? So, you've been in
San Antonio since 1953 ....
MH: Then in 1962, I went to Los Angeles. Then I applied
for my family to come from Hong Kong. My familY
came in 1964.
DJ: Your wife?
MH: My wife , my two sons and my daughter ...
DJ: I thought your daughter was born here .
MH: One, here . Then three born in China. One here .
DJ: Your sons were born in Canton?
MH: Yeah, Canton, China.
DJ: And your wife came from the same province?
MH: Right.
DJ: Same city?
MH: Well, she was born in a village ... close to ... n ear by.
DJ: I see. When the three other children came, they had
to become naturalized citizens ... is that it?
MH: Not quite. They come just as children of a citizen.
When they come here, Maury Maverick, Jr., helped them
5.
Huey
MH: to obtain their citizenship.
DJ: That is one of my questions . How did you happen to
meet Maury Maverick?
MH: Maury Maverick Sr ., was my father ' s good friend. When
my father talked with him this time that I was .... He
said that he had children in China and asked him to put
an application to get me here. He was our lawyer.
DJ: He was your sponsor?
MH : Sponsor. Yes mam.
DJ: Well, that's really wonderful. So Maury Maverick became
interested in your father ' s family because of their
friendship and he helped to bring in the rest of the
family?
MH: Right. And after I come in here in San Antonio and
later on he helped me obtain my citizenship. He give
me his full name, he called me Maury Maverick and my
last Huey ........ Maury Maverick Huey.
DJ: Marvelous. Part of two f amilies. Then you were Chi­nese
and American.
DJ: What was your name before it was Maury Maverick?
MH: My name was Kokgon Johng. When I come here the first
time , they call me John. John sound close to Johng.
Later on, they call me John. Even now somebody still
call me Johnny before my legal name.
DJ: How did your father happen to meet Mr. Maverick?
MH: I don't know. Maybe they meet in the restaurant or .....
somewhere, I don't know .
6.
Huey
OJ: Anyway, they became good friends . Your sons are both
named Maury Maverick, also?
MH: My son, Junior ..... when Maury Maverick, Junior, helped
him to get his citizenship, he liked to give his name,
too, so he became Maury Maverick, Junior. The other
one is named Maurice. My daughter is Helen. She is
the youngest one; b orn here in San Antonio. And Judy.
When they come here, they also go to school. All are
good students. Go to the Univers ity of Texas, Austin.
OJ: Did they?
MH: Junior got a business administration degree; Maurice
got accounting degree; Helen, fashion & Interior de-sign.
Junior, after he graduated, he married. His
wife was also a University of Texas student. His wife
I
got a Sociology degree. They both come to San Antonio;
they make a business . So Maurice, also, with his wife
in Austin .... but his wife was graduated from the South-west
University of Texas. She got also a business de-gree
.
OJ: I see. And these are both Chinese girls?
MH: They are all Chinese girls. Junior now has three
daughters. Maurice has two sons. Helen has two boys.
They graduate from high school; Helen's husband was
also from the Un iversity of Texas in Austin. And
they've got their degrees.
OJ: What
7 .
Huey
MH: Electrical engineer. Get a master's degree .
DJ: You have the beginning of a Dynasty.
MH: No.
DJ: Wonderful.
MH: Maurice manages now a !o!exican restaurant ... Casa
!o!auricio. You know it's on San Pedro.
DJ:
!o!H: And Helen also has a restaurant in Austin. Junior
has one here; it's the Hung Fong restaurant. Maurice
has Casa !o!auricio; Helen in Austin.
DJ: Terrific and you're expanding here .
MH: We're expanding and remodeling.
DJ: A whole n ew addition. Opening when?
!o!H: I hope it will be a couple more months. To finish
everything.
DJ: !o!any Chinese people, when they first carne into this
country, worked on the rail roads. Your people never
did that?
!o!H: No mam. I think that maybe in my grandfather's time.
DJ: Exactly. But he never did.
!o!H: I don't know ... I don't remember that.
DJ: All our people, when they first came to this country,
they went through very hard times ... all of them. The
Chinese people, the Irish people, they worked on the
railroads. Very d ifficult, hard times.
DJ: Can I ask you about Oriental cooking?
8.
Huey
MH: Yes mam.
DJ: O.K. In Oriental cooking, the preparation is the im­portant
part , right?
MH: Right. You have to be patient and cut the things
fine. This is a matter of variety.
DJ: Infinite variety. Which is why it's so much fun to
eat . In this country, what about the ingredients;
where do you get the ingredients?
MH: Partly local; then partly sent in from out of state
or San Antonio.
DJ: New York or . . . .. .
MH : New York or San Francisco, Los Angeles.
DJ: You have to import.
MH: And then those ingredients are imported, from Hong
Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan.
DJ: What is it that you have to import? Shark ' s fin?
MH: Shark's fin, bird nests, mushrooms , ... black mushrooms,
bamboo shoots, water che stnuts, lots of things ... dry
bean curd .
DJ: Oh, dried bean curd.
MH : Yes. Sea weeds.
DJ : I didn't know that you had dry bean curd.
MH: Yeah. It ' s not tofu but it 's a different ... no t quite,
but similar. If you want to see some l ater on maybe
I show you some .
DJ: All right , Thank you. Yes , I ' d like to. When I lived
in Taiwan, I took Chinese cooking l essons . Though I
9.
Huey
OJ :
MJ:
cannot cook now because---- . I'm crazy about it.
In the beginning , yes, but after you do it much, it gets
a little more easy .
OJ: Another thing, as you said, is the preparation crucial?
Cook it briefly. Crucial to the----. And the ingredi­ents.
You have to have the right ingredients . The av­erage
person in this country cannot find the right ingre­dients.
You have your sources; you have your suppliers
or whatever and you bring in the right things. The am­ateur
cannot make the same dishes.
MH: No.
OJ: Because you can ' t get the same ingredients. What about
training the cooks; how do you manage this?
MH : We train our own cooks here. My father was one of the
master chefs and he was a real good cook in this country
and in this city, too. Before, he learned to cook in the
south China province. See then he taught me and I taught
my children. I learned some cooking from somebody else
and also my chi l dren l earned f rom somebody else, too.
So they did not l earn from just one .
OJ: All kinds. That's why people like your cook ing so much.
This is what everybody appreciates about Chinese food be-cause
there are so many, many kinds ........ .
MH: There is a lot of variety.
OJ: What about soy sauce? Do you bring in soy sauce from some
place else or ........ ?
10.
Huey
MH: To tell you the truth, some of the soy sauce, we make
our own ; then some we import it; so many di fferent
kinds of soy sauce.
DJ : The average person of this country t hinks there are
j ust t wo kinds: Chinese and Japanese. Very dif­ferent,
right?
MH: Yes .
DJ: Yes.
MH: Chinese and Japanese ....... .
DJ: Completely different , yes?
MH: ..... but the writing is similar, the characters you
know?
DJ : Yes.
MH : Some similar. But the people much dif ferent .
DJ: Yes. There is something that is very popular in Hong
Kong.
MH: Oh yeah, Dim Sum.
DJ: Do we do that here?
MH: Well, i n this city , San Antonio, not yet. But San
Francisco , New Yo r k or Los Angeles, they do. They
only fix some for their own families.
DJ : I see.
MH: In Houston,
DJ : I just came back from Houston.
MH: There a r e a few p l aces .
DJ : Dim Sum .... do I say it right? This is a kind of ...
MH: pastry.
11.
Huey
DJ: Yes, pastry .... it's delicious; they corne through with
cart; from table to table and you say, "I'll have one
of these and one of these and" ..... like pastry carts,
only it isn't the kind of pastry we're familiar with.
MH:
(This is where distortion begins)
DJ: Dumplings .
MH: I do not know this
You know ?
DJ: It's a kind of dumpling that
MH:
DJ:
MH: like a bun with a little
pork inside .
DJ: Yes. Thank you. Wonderful.
MH:
OJ:
MH:
MH: My father opened (?) and now my children.
voice: 1,2,3, testing checking to see if noise occurs on
part of the cartridge . This is the same tape to see if
this recording of my voice now shows noise.
END OF TAPE I. About 30 minutes.
12.
Maury Maverick Huey , continued.
DJ: We're meeting for the Institute of Texan Cultures.
This is Dorothy Jacobson. We're meeting with Mr.
Huey, Maury Maverick Huey, of the Hung Fong Res­taurant
on Broadway. This is the completion of the
tape recording that we made several weeks ago.
This is the finish of the interview; the comple­tion
of the interview with Mr. Huey.
This is Hr. Maury Maverick Huey:
MH: Yes mam. What would you like me to say; I don't
know.
DJ: Thank you. We don't have a lot of time; Mr. Huey
is very, very busy. They do a lively business in the
Hung Fong Re staurant, daily. And he's very busy.
But we did want to ask him several questions to com­plete
the story, really of the Chinese people in
San Antonio and specifically, his restaurant, the
Hung Fong Restaurant.
We want to ask first of all, Mr. Huey .... eve rybody
is interested in the flags up on the top of the
ceiling.
MH: The flags up there since this place opened around
1940, the time.
DJ: Is that right?
MH: Yes mam.
DJ: How did you happen to put them in the ceiling?
MH: During that time neon-lights were coming into many
establishments you know the neon, and we designed
13.
Huey
MH: two flags and had them placed. One is the American
flag; the other one is the Chinese flag. This is a
free China because at that time, the Communists not
here yet.
DJ: Right. We didn't have any relationship with the----.
MH: Yes.
DJ: And so this flag is the Tawainese flag; is that cor­rect?
MH: Is not Tawainese; is real Chinese. You know , don't
have a Tawainese flag or Mainland China, or Communists;
only one China at the time. A long time ago.
DJ: Right. Great. O.K. thank you, because everybody is
interested in these; everybody looks up and talks
about the f lags.
Then we wanted to ask you, too, ..... your full name is
~aury Maverick Huey. Right?
MH: Yes mam.
DJ: How did you happen to .......... ?
MH: Well, Maury Maverick, formerly San Antonio city mayor
and a congressman, also. He was my father's good
friend. During that time he helped my father and
sponsored to get me here from China, or Hong Kong,
e ither way. And after, he helped me obtain my cit­izenship,
then he give me his full name. Add my last
name to it and it became Maury Maverick Huey.
14.
Huey
DJ: Right. That's wonderful; And your sons also carry the
same name?
MH: Yes mam. Later, when my boy come , and my familY alto­gether
come from Hong Kong, then Maury Maverick , Jr.,
helped my children ~ to get their citizenship.
DJ: I see.
MH: So then Junior get Maury Maverick Jr.'s name.
DJ: That's wonderful; that 's really delightful. A wonderful
heritage.
MH: Thank you very much .
DJ: We talked on the first tape about the churches in San
Antonio but I don't think we got that; we lost part of
that recording. I wanted to ask you, most of the Chinese
people , when they come into this country, are Buddhist.
Right?
MH: Right.
DJ: So there are some Buddhist people presently. Is that
right?
MH: Right . But we are ..... we don ' t have a temple here in
San Antonio . But we have one church, it's a Baptist
church, on B Avenue.
DJ: Exactly. The First Chinese Baptist Church. Right.
Very pretty little chur ch . O.K. Thank you .
MH: You're welcome.
DJ: I wanted to ask you ..... we got from you, the last time
I was here, you gave us a photograph of your father
15.
Huey
DJ: and one of yourself. We're very happy to have those.
We're going to reproduce them, put them in the file
at The Institute. Thank you very much. We'll be
very, very careful of them and return them to you
when we finish the reproduction.
MH : Thank you.
DJ: I wanted to ask you: in some places in this country,
when the Chinese people have developed", what do
you call it? ... we call it China towns. O.K. There
are Societies in the China towns. These are called,
what? Tongs?
MH: Tongs.
DJ: Is that right; I wasn't sure . How does t his work?
Are there any in San Antonio?
MH: No. So far we don't have Chinatown in San Antonio .
We have a few stores by the expressway and we rent
a restaurant right here and then they tore it down.
Buena Vista you know by the Market Square? What's
the name? Buena vista and the expressway. It's
not really a Chinatown, a little Chinatown .
DJ: We don't have enough Chinese people, yet.
I1H: No. I think only a couple of thousand here now.
Used to count more but the young generation moved
to Houston, late ly . .. in a few years, you know.
DJ: Ri ght. And there is a China town in Houston, I
think.
lfi.
Huey
HH: Yah, a China town in Houston and I hear they got an­other
new one in the Southwest Houston. They have
two China towns there. But not in San Antonio. Not
yet .
here .
I don't think it ' s got enough Chi nese peopl e
DJ: Not yet . Not yet .
I wanted to ask you, too , and we congratulate you ,
because of the expansion of your restaurant.
HH : Thank you .
DJ: What is happening?
HH : Well, s ince our business is booming , the people most­ly
got to wait in line so as you see, several times
you come here and every time the people stay in line
so we ' re thinking about expansion. See? We add on
another dining room.
DJ: Wonderful, wonderful. Now , would be just .......... .
MH: Before we add on another dining room , we fix up more
parking space . And new k itchens to ma ke facilities;
do the best for our customers .
DJ : You really do , or you woul dn't have t he whopping
business that you have . I was here one day , a week
or so ago, thinking to come early so I would be ahead
of the rush and they were lined up clear a round the
block, waiting to get in at 11:30 . So whatever you're
doing , you 're doing something r i ght.
HH : Thank you . We try our best. The very best for the
17.
Huey
MH: customers.
OJ: It's really delightful.
Now the new addition ..... will that be separate or
just a part of the whole?
MH: A part of the whole.
OJ: O.K.
Just the added facilities.
Well, that's wonderful. We really appreciate your
time; you're so busy, I am really grateful to you.
MH: Thank you.
OJ: Thank you so much and good luck!
ENO OF TAPE, side 1, about 10 minutes.
18.
INSTITUTE OF TEXAN CULTURES
ORAL HISTORY PROGRAM
INTERVIEWER AGRE EMENT
I , , 1, 4',/1'- _ ( / , ( f\" ,-< (, oJ '-' ........ , in view of =- fT __ i.. __ .• .! .. _ ._ / _,_ ...... _ ....... ~ ... .,.\
the historical and scholarly value of the statement gained during
my interview(s) with /YV); ,/'!'/~ .>?<I. /sId-1--R-41
voluntarily permit the Institute of Texan Cultures Oral History
Program to make full use of this interview. I hereby grant and
assign all my rights of every kind pertaining to this interview
whether or not such r1ghts are now known, to the Institute of
Texan Cultures Oral History Program for its use during my life-time
and after my death.
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INSTITUTE OF TEXAN CULTURES
ORAL HISTORY PROGRAM
Interviewee Agreement
I hereby give and grant permission to the Institute of Texan Cul-tures
Oral History Program, as a donation for such scholarly and
educational purposes as the Program shall determine, to make full
use of this interview. I hereby assign all my rights of every
kind whatever pertaining to this interview, both during my life­time
and after my death, whether or not such rights are now
known to the Institute of Texan Cultures Oral History Program.
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INSTITUTE OF TEXAN CULTURES
ORAL HISTORY PROGRAM
RELEASE FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIAL
I grant permission for my photograph (photographic materials) to be
used by individuals (in books, magazines, television, movies, newsp~pers,
etc.) without notification from me. (Public)
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HUEY,MAURY MAVERICK
Biographical, 1-8, 15,16
Hung Fong Restaurant, 8-1 4 ,17, 18
Chinese cooking
INDEX
Maveric k , Maury , Sr. ,Jr.,
6,7,14,15
Mr . Maury Mave r ick Huey ' s name has always been a matter o f
great curiosity and here we find out how he came by it.
San Ant onio has , for many years, had a fondness for Mr.
Huey 's Hung Fong restaurant on Broadway. It probably was o ne of
the first Chinese restaurants in SAn Antonio, if not t he f i rst.
This gives the founding family hist ory and discusses t he
restaurant .