Aurora and Edwin K. Len – Museum of Chinese in America

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996.047.002 Sepia-toned group photo of the Chinese Church and Academy of Havana (Iglesia y Academia China de la Habana, or Zhonghua xuexiao/Zhonghua jidu jiaohui). Aurora Len (née Aurora Tang) sits in the front row, first from left. Spanish text on the photo reads: “Felices pascuas y prospero año nuevo, les desea, Iglesia y Academia China de la Habana.” Courtesy of Edwin K. Len, Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) Collection.哈瓦那华人教会和学院（Iglesia y Academia China de la Habana，或中华学校/中华基督教会）的棕褐色调的合影。 Aurora Len (née Aurora Tang) 坐在前排，左起第一位。照片上的西班牙文写道：“祝您复活节快乐，新年快乐，哈瓦那华人教会和学院。”由Edwin K. Len 捐赠，美国华人博物馆 (MOCA) 馆藏。

In this Easter and Chinese New Year group photo of the First Presbyterian Chinese Church and Academy of Havana (Iglesia y Academia China de la Habana), Aurora Len (née Tang) sits in the front row, first from left. Facilitated by American occupation, Protestant denominations grew in Cuba (long Roman Catholic under Spain), and by 1906, missionaries built the First Presbyterian Church of Havana at Calle Salud No. 40 (40 Salud Street). A Chinese Presbyterian Church was formally established in 1923 under the ministry of Pedro Tam, and a Chung Wah School created in 1936 to provide religious and academic instruction to the Chinese Cuban community concentrated in Havana. This education eventually brought Aurora to the U.S. and the religiously-affiliated Ohio Northern University, during which period she met her lifelong partner, Edwin K. Len.

In the second photograph below, Edwin, a toddler held in his father’s arms, is the youngest of the family with four sisters. The Lens lived in and operated a laundry in Stratford, CT. They were then the town’s only Chinese American family. Edwin’s father died when he was still young, and his mother eventually moved the family to 47 Mott Street in New York Chinatown after Edwin graduated from high school in 1941. While attending Parks Air College in St. Louis, Edwin was drafted into World War II. He was selected to join the Air Force and trained as an airplane engine mechanic. At the conclusion of training, he was deployed to the China-Burma-India front as part of the 555th Air Service Squadron of the 14th Air Force, a unit entirely comprised of soldiers of Chinese heritage. By that time, Edwin and Aurora had married and she was traveling to see him at army training bases when she could. Throughout the war, Edwin remembers writing Aurora letters every other day.

After the war, finding little demand for his skills, the couple moved in with Edwin’s mother while he went back to school for accounting on the G.I. Bill and worked part-time at a Chinese-owned liquor store on Canal Street. After graduating, he landed a job at NBC, where he worked for the next 35 years. In 1960, as their two sons grew older, Aurora began working for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in New York, retiring in 1985 after 25 years. The couple eventually moved out of Chinatown and first settled in South Ozone Park, Queens, and then New Providence, NJ.

The third photograph shows Aurora and Edwin celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and Edwin’s 70th birthday in 1994 surrounded by his sisters. A tuxedoed Edwin stands behind Aurora, dressed in pink, sitting third from left.

Aurora reestablished contact with her late brother’s family who had remained in Cuba, and in 1999, the pair visited her niece, nephews, and sister-in-law and the barrio chino (Havana’s Chinatown) briefly, though the country was still largely closed to American visitors.

Aurora passed away in her home in 2007 at age 84, and Edwin in 2016 at age 92.

1996.047.001 Len family portrait taken in Stratford, Connecticut, 1925. From left to right: Lucy, Lee Hop, Thuey Fong, June, David, Edwin, Ruth. Edwin was eighteen months old at the time. The family lived and operated a power laundry in Stratford, Connecticut for about twenty-five years. Courtesy of Edwin K. Len, Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) Collection. 1925 年在康涅狄格州斯特拉特福拍摄的 Len 全家福。从左到右：Lucy、Lee Hop、Thuey Fong、June、David、Edwin、Ruth。埃德温当时十八个月大。这家人在康涅狄格州的斯特拉特福生活并经营一家洗衣店大约 25 年。由Edwin K. Len 捐赠，美国华人博物馆 (MOCA) 馆藏。

1996.047.004 50th wedding anniversary of Edwin K. and Aurora Len, and 70th birthday of Edwin, March 10, 1994. From left to right are (Edwin's sisters) June and Ruth, Edwin and Aurora, (Edwin's sisters) Thuey Fong and Lucy, and Helen Len. Courtesy of Edwin K. Len, Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) Collection. Edwin和Aurora 的 50 周年结婚纪念日和 Edwin 的 70 岁生日。从左到右: (Edwin的姐姐) June 和 Ruth, Edwin 和 Aurora, (Edwin的姐姐) Thuey Fong 和 Lucy, 跟 Helen Len。由Edwin K. Len 捐赠，美国华人博物馆 (MOCA) 馆藏。

1996.047.003 Edwin K. and Aurora Len of New Providence, NJ in 1991. Courtesy of Edwin K. Len, Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) Collection. 1991年新泽西州的新普罗维登斯的Edwin K.和Aurora Len。由Edwin K. Len 捐赠，美国华人博物馆 (MOCA) 馆藏。