***this section of the website is currently undergoing review and will be updated soon***
After the death of his business partner, Lung On, in 1940, Ing Hay’s nephew, Bob Wah and his wife Rose, relocated in John Day to apprentice with Ing Hay. At this point, Ing Hay was mostly blind and the Wahs also took care of Hay. As his apprentice, Bob Wah was able to continue to provide medical services to the residents of John Day for many more Bob Wah ran an office across the street and did not manage the business.
In 1955 Bob Wah donated the Kam Wah Chung building and surrounding land to the city of John Day with the stipulation that it be used to tell the story of Chinese Americans in Oregon. In 1968 the city wanted to develop a park on the land and city councilman and John Day Historical Society president Gordon Glass unlocked and entered the building accompanied by some local youth. What they saw amazed them and started the long process to preserve and document the Kam Wah Chung. To help raise funds for renovations, the city sold the property to the State of Oregon D. A lease agreement was signed between the state and the City of John Day, allowing the city to operate and maintain the building. After several years of renovations, the building was opened as a public heritage site in 1976. Carolyn Micnhimer was the first museum curator, holding the job until 2005 when was turned over to the state. The Kam Wah Chung and Company building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2005. The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department began formal management of the Kam Wah Chung in 2005 as the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site. In YEAR, the Friends were the recipients of a $8000 grant from OPRD – Oregon Museum Grant to fund translation and digitization efforts.