Tom Wing Collection, 1920-1950

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Summary

Title:
Tom Wing Collection
Dates:
1920-1950
Extent:
2.92 Linear Feet 2 bankers boxes, 1 box, and 2 loose items
Language:
English , Chinese .

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains materials owned by Dr. Tom Wing between the 1920s and 1980s, which were exhibited by the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California. It contains miscellaneous vintage tape recorders, acupuncture devices, a model car, a printed exhibit tour guide, posters on foam board, and cosmetology instruments. The collection may have previously been known as the Disaster Red Cross Radio Collection.

Biographical / historical:

Dr. Thomas W. Wing (1915-2010) was born in Lodi, California, on July 22, 1915, and grew up in the Central Valley. He graduated from Los Angeles College of Chiropractic with a focus on Chinese herbal medicine and diabetes. He opened practices in Los Angeles, Pomona, and San Bernardino. Wing designed and manufactured the first profitable and affordable personal radio paging system. He also created acupuncture and microcurrent muscle therapy machines with the Accu-O-Matic in 1976, and the My-O-Matic in 1980. In addition, Wing was a contributor to the magazine, Chiropractic Economics. In 1950, Wing and his wife, Kay Wing, became the first Chinese-American family to settle in Claremont, California, where they faced racial discrimination in the predominately white town. The Wings were initially barred from participating in social service clubs due to racial discrimination until the Pomona Uptown Lions chapter was chartered specifically to admit them in 1950. Tom Wing and the Lions Club organized popular weekend drag races at the Pomona Fairgrounds. Wing donated some pieces of his inventions to The Pomona Ebell Museum of History, including his handmade ham radio station, and the Ontario Museum of History and Art, which has one of his early electronic therapy devices on display.

About this collection guide

Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-06-27 23:13:19 +0000 .

Access and use

Location of this collection:
411 and 415 Bernard Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012, US
Contact:
(323) 222-0856
info@chssc.org
Website