In this photo, Ping Chow, kneeling, is shown with other members of Seattle's Chinese community as they rehearse for a performance of the traditional Lion and the Sword Dance. The other performers, left to right, are Steven Wong, Bob Chinn, and Stanley Goong.

Edward Shui “Ping” Chow (1916-2011) was born in Canton, China. Ping trained as a singer and became a Cantonese opera star. While traveling with his troupe, Ping met Ruby Mar in New York. After his discharge from the Army, Ping, Ruby and their children moved to Seattle, where the couple opened a successful restaurant called Ruby Chow's. The Chows were heavily involved in community and civic groups in Seattle. Ping performed with visiting opera troupes to raise money for such organizations such as the Seattle Chinese Community Girls Drill Team and the Wing Luke Museum, and he was the president of the Chong Wa Benevolent Association, an organization dedicated to the rights of Chinese immigrants. Ruby Chow was the first Asian American woman elected to the King County Council.

Caption information source: "Remembering Ping Chow," Northwest Asian Weekly, July 13, 2011, at http://nwasianweekly.com/2011/07/remembering-ping-chow
Caption information also derived from captions written by Post-Intelligencer staff and attached to the back of the photograph.

Date photograph was filed at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (date of photograph and file date may differ by a month or more): February 25, 1952