However, once the final destination had been reached, all those unhappy moments were replaced by the wonder of the journey’s completion. What remained were memories of happy moments and pictures of smiling faces taken during those years.
Hwa-Wei understood deeply that hardly anything could be done in a bureaucratic organization without fighting, when necessary, some of its rules and regulations. Indeed, much of the work he completed at the Asian Division had required great skill and patience in persuasive negotiations with powerful labor unions and offices responsible for legal matters. In order to get things done quickly within his timetable, Hwa-Wei had challenged some of the policies and rules that could have delayed or postponed the implementation of many good plans and programs.
For all of these reasons, this day was a very special day for Hwa-Wei—a splendid finish to a vast movement. Hwa-Wei concluded his professional life right at the summit of his career. What an impeccable decision.
Walking along the extremely quiet hallway of the Jefferson Building, his figure reflected on the marble floor, Hwa-Wei hated to say goodbye to his Asian Division colleagues with whom he had worked together for five years. Even more difficult for him was departing from the library and librarianship to which he had devoted the last fifty years. Nevertheless, he had no choice but to leave everything behind. It was time for him to get back to his personal life, to take care of his health, and to face the reality of aging.
Mary was happy about Hwa-Wei’s retirement. Like many other American women, Mary, despite her graduate degrees, had worked as a homemaker ever since she married Hwa-Wei. Her family, husband, and children had been foremost in her life. She had always dreamed about an earlier retirement for Hwa-Wei, one that would allow them to fully enjoy their later years together. She had been excited about Hwa-Wei’s first retirement in 1999 from his former position as the dean of Ohio University Libraries. The excitement didn’t last, however: Hwa-Wei spent the next three years as a visiting distinguished scholar for the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC), traveling from Athens, Ohio, to Columbus, Ohio, three times a week. During those three years, he had also served as a consultant for the OCLC Asian Pacific Services, traveling frequently to many countries in Asia. Then Hwa-Wei was offered the position as the chief of the Asian Division at LC, which turned out to be the busiest job of Hwa-Wei’s career.
For several weeks, in anticipation of Hwa-Wei’s second retirement, Mary had had everything packed. All their household items were already on a moving company’s truck to be hauled to Florida. The only things left in the apartment were a few pieces of carry-on luggage. The couple would take an early morning train to Florida the next day. The auto-train arrangement Mary had made included one private onboard sleeping room for Hwa-Wei and herself and the shipping of their 2003 Chevrolet minivan in a special car at the end of the same train.
Mary’s thoughtful arrangements for Hwa-Wei’s retirement had been made three years ago during a visit with their eldest daughter, Shirley, in Jacksonville, Florida. Shirley had taken Mary to several nearby retirement communities in the hope that her parents could settle in one of them after her father retired from the Library of Congress.
Nestled in the northeast of Florida, in a tropical zone adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean with all-year-round warm and moist weather, Jacksonville is a popular destination for the elderly and thus home to numerous retirement communities. Cypress Village was the community that Mary liked most. Luckily, she and Hwa-Wei were able to purchase a duplex in that area before his second retirement.
On the Lees’ weekend trips from Washington once every few months to check on the duplex, Hwa-Wei would breathe a sigh of relief. Unlike Washington’s endless traffic, very few cars were on the highway during the afternoon driving from the airport into Jacksonville. The sky was usually clear blue and cloudless. The sun was always shining. There were flowers everywhere. Even at Cypress Village, six miles from the Atlantic Ocean, he could feel an ocean breeze. With not much industry in the area, the air was fresh. It seemed like a tropical paradise. Here, Hwa-Wei felt, he would be able to feel relaxed and tranquil.
On April 9, a few days after his retirement from LC, Hwa-Wei received a phone call from Congressman Honda. He told Hwa-Wei, “Your retirement party at LC was very impressive. What you’ve accomplished during your tenure there is absolutely amazing. I’ve prepared a speech (about you) for tomorrow’s congressional meeting . . .”
On the next day, Congressman Honda delivered the following speech to Congress, heaping praise on Hwa-Wei’s outstanding contributions at LC. The text of the speech has been included in the Congressional Record of April 10, 2008.
Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the many contributions and achievements of Dr. Hwa-Wei Lee. After an esteemed five years as the chief of the Asian Division at the Library of Congress—a bookend to his dedicated fifty years in the library profession, Dr. Lee is retiring . . .
During his short tenure at the Library of Congress, Dr. Lee focused his energy on completely rejuvenating and reorganizing the Asian Division. He introduced innovative programs designed to improve and expand the division’s resources, collections, services, and outreach. As chair of the Congressional Asian-Pacific American Caucus, it has been my privilege to have collaborated with Dr. Lee and his dedicated staff at the Asian Division. Our shared pursuit to tell the complete Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) story and dispel the cloak of invisibility and mischaracterization upon the community has given life to a new AAPI Collection at the Library of Congress. This is another milestone of Dr. Lee’s storied career.
Dr. Lee and his lovely wife Mary will soon move to Florida to bask in the sunny rays of retirement. But I suspect that he will not slow down, and will continue his many pursuits. As anyone who has met Dr. Lee can attest, his boundless, enthusiastic spirit will not allow him to stay idle . . .
Madam Speaker, I commend Dr. Hwa-Wei Lee for his dedication and many contributions to the library profession and am especially grateful for his nurturing leadership of the Asian Division and of the establishment of the AAPI Collection at the Library of Congress . . .3
Notes
1. Mao-Feng Yu, “Library of Congress Saying Farewell to Hwa-Wei Lee”, World Journal (North American Edition), February 19, 2008.
2. Ibid.
3. “Honoring Dr. Hwa-Wei Lee—Extensions of Remarks—April 10, 2008” (speech given by the Hon. Michael M. Honda of California in the House of Representatives, Thursday, April 10, 2008), E577–578, http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/.
CHAPTER 1
The War Years in His Youth
One ship drives east, and another drives west,
With the self-same winds that blow;
’Tis the set of the sails, and not the gales,
Which tells us the way to go.
Like the winds of the sea are the ways of fate,
As we voyage along through life;
’Tis the set of the soul that decides its goal,
And not the calm or the strife.
—Ella Wheeler-Wilcox, “The Wind of Fate”
1
HWA-WEI’S ANCESTRAL home is Fuzhou, Fujian Province; however, he was born in Guangzhou on January 25, 1931. His father, Kan-Chun Lee, was then the governor
