Phoebe Shou-Heng Yu was born in Changsha, China in 1917. During World War II, Phoebe left China at the age of 24 to pursue a master’s degree in English at Wellesley College and met her future husband Homer Chen while completing her PhD at the University of Chicago. While the Chens intended to return to China, they were stranded in the U.S. due to the Communist takeover of China in 1949. After completing their studies they faced deportation but the Chens received derivative immigrationstatus after the birth of their son allowing them to gain citizenship. While Phoebe never saw her mother again; it would be forty-some years before she reunited with her siblings.
The Chens formed a tightknit second family in Chicago with their Chinese expatriate friends before eventually settling in Skokie, Illinois, with their three children. Phoebe and Homer were active members of the Chinese American community, helping to found the Chinese American Educational Foundation and a Chinese language and culture school serving suburban North Chicago. Settling in the heartland of America to study, build a career, and start a family, Phoebe is both representative of many Chinese immigrants’ stories and contrasts the journeys bachelor immigrants like Shuck Wing Chin.
On her way to the U.S., Phoebe Chen made a stopover in Hong Kong, where she had approximately 60 qipaos hand-tailored for her while she waited to take a steamship to Massachusetts. The entirety of this unique wardrobe was graciously donated to MOCA by her daughter, Pamela Chen.
余叔恒（Phoebe）1917年出生于中国长沙。二战期间，24岁的Phoebe离开中国，前往卫斯理学院攻读英语硕士学位，并在芝加哥大学攻读博士学位时结识了她未来的丈夫Homer Chen。Chen氏夫妇原本打算返回中国，但由于1949年共产党接管中国，他们被困在了美国。在完成学业后，他们面临着被驱逐出境的命运，但在他们的儿子出生后，夫妇获得了衍生移民身份，从而允许他们获得了公民身份。Phoebe再也没有见过她的母亲，分别了四十多年，她才与兄弟姐妹团聚。
在带着三个孩子最终定居在伊利诺伊州的斯科基之前，Chen氏夫妇和他们的中国侨民朋友在芝加哥组成了紧密的第二家庭。Phoebe和Homer是活跃的美国华人社区成员，帮助建立了美国华人教育基金会和一所服务于芝加哥北部郊区的中国语言文化学校。Phoebe定居在美国的中心地带，学习、工作、成家，与甄灼荣（Shuck Wing Chin）等单身移民的经历形成了鲜明对比，他们都代表了许许多多中国移民的故事。
在去美国的路上，Phoebe在香港做了短暂停留，她在那里等着搭乘蒸汽渡船去马萨诸塞州，期间请人手工缝制了大约60件旗袍。这个独特的旗袍珍藏由她的女儿Pamela Chen毫无保留地慷慨捐赠给了MOCA。
Countdown to the TCS NYC Marathon on November 3, 2019: 216 Days.
2019年是美国第一条横贯大陆铁路建成150周年，为了纪念第一批华人来美建设这条铁路所做出的巨大贡献， MOCA将其2019 TCS NYC Marathon的活动命名为 MOCA Spike 150 – Running Forward With Our Stories！ 鼓励大家通过马拉松公益跑，全国线上接力，以及一天一个故事的方式讲述150个华人的历史故事，敬请大家持续关注， 讲出华人自己的故事，回顾过去，立足现在，展望未来，共同书写美国历史，使之更加充实完整。