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SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — A historic neon sign is glowing again in San Francisco’s Chinatown, bringing renewed attention to the couple who pioneered what’s believed to be the first Chinese-language radio program in North America.
Tommy and May Chin Tong launched the Golden Star Radio Company and began producing “The Chinese Hour” from their basement studio in 1939. The couple purchased airtime on San Francisco radio station KSAN, broadcasting news, music and entertainment to Cantonese-speaking listeners across the Bay Area.
“The new immigrants feel wanted and comfortable to hear stories and news in their own language when nobody else was doing it,” said Steve Kushman of the California Historical Radio Society.
May Tong prepared and delivered the news, while her husband managed the technical side of the broadcast.
“I hear it every day,” their son, Ron Tong, said while recalling his childhood. “My mom is preparing the news, and my father is the technician.”
For immigrants adjusting to life in the United States, the program offered both practical information and a cultural connection.
“I think it was important for people coming to a new land, not being able to speak the language or starting to assimilate, but still wanting a tie to the homeland,” Ron Tong said.
The Chinese Hour continued for 40 years, from 1939 until 1979. Researchers examining the Tongs’ broadcasting legacy last year discovered photographs showing the Golden Star Radio sign, which remained attached to the company’s building at 846 Clay Street.
“We’re looking at the pictures, I scratch my head and go, ‘Look at that sign. Why don’t we restore that sign?'” Kushman recalled.
The California Historical Radio Society launched a campaign that raised approximately $65,000 for the project. Restoration crews repaired the once-rusted and deteriorating sign piece by piece, applying customized paint that matched its original colors and installing new neon lights.
The restored sign was recently relit after remaining dark for decades.
Many people who pass the building may not notice the sign or know the history behind it. Ron Tong said he did not fully understand the significance of his parents’ work when he was young.
“As a kid growing up, you don’t realize the significance until you’re older,” he said. “You start to appreciate history and culture more and realize the impact it actually had.”
Few, if any, recordings of The Chinese Hour are known to have survived. But the restored sign now provides a visible reminder of the Tongs’ contributions to broadcasting and San Francisco’s Chinese American community.
The Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame inducted Tommy and May Tong as broadcasting pioneers in 2025.
For their family, seeing the Golden Star Radio sign shining once again carries a simple but powerful meaning.
“It puts a smile on our face,” Ron Tong said.
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