Death at the Harbourview Cafe: A True Crime Story

by Fred Humber

Botwood, Newfoundland and Labrador, 1958

In the midnight blackness of a cold November night mixed with rain in snow, three RCMP officers entered a restaurant by way of an upstairs window. Rumours around town had been rampant. The owner’s son had been missing for days. Father and son hated each other. He had been stabbed, or shot, and had been dumped somewhere, or he had been cut into pieces and put into a freezer to be secretly disposed of later. This unfolded as a German ship, the Alstertal, was scheduled to return to port, whereupon crew members intended to kill both father and son, feeling quite justified in doing so.

No one was paying attention to the many warning signs of impending disaster. As the police officers cautiously made their way toward the living quarters door, a terrible chapter in the history of Newfoundland and the RCMP was about to be written.

This is a true story.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction

230 pages, Paperback

Published October 6, 2017

Reviews

[Ammar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nov 1958

Botwood Newfoundland

A town in central Newfoundland

A tragedy struck ... none like ever before in that community

Was it due to
Pressure
Life
Disrespect
Culture
Or mental illness

Read the book for the shocking twist that I didn’t see coming

[Harold Walters · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dominion of Newfoundland — the Gold Mountain.
Ping Yew. Jim Ling. Jim the Chinaman.
Toss these bits and bobs into the Bingo Barrel along with the town of Botwood and the deaths of a rookie Mountie and two Chinese immigrants. Crank the handle a dozen times, then open the barrel, withdraw the scraps and attempt to sort out their proper connection.
Some job, eh b’ys?
Nevertheless, in Death at the Harbourview Cafe [Flanker Press] Fred Humber has done a gem-dandy job of doing just that — sorted out the details, organized the specifics and disclosed the underlying tragedy.
In 1931, faced with poverty in China, Ping Yew decided to leave his home in search of the Promised Land. In this case, the Land of Milk and Honey — the Gold Mountain — was the Dominion of Newfoundland on the opposite side of the planet.
More specifically, Ping Yew’s Gold Mountain was the seaport town of Botwood. As Botwood’s first Chinese immigrant, Ping Yew became Jim Ling — Jim the Chinaman.
Jim established himself as a businessman, became the owner of the Harbourview Cafe, and the milk and honey flowed … in a manner of speaking.
Back in China, Jim’s wife became ill and died. At age twenty-two, his son died at the hands of communist rebels. Consequently, Jim’s dream of bringing them to Newfoundland also died.
Through the rigs and the jigs, the rigors and tragedy, Jim Ling changed from a likeable, humorous businessman to a melancholy man with a very short fuse and a feeling of persecution …
… not without reason, says Fred Humber: “He (Jim) became particularly overwrought, with justification, when bothered by juveniles agitating and harassing him.”
The little shits, eh b’ys? Little shits with rat-tail combs sticking out of their arse pockets.
Hoping to rebuild his family, Jim decided to adopt a grown son — Wah Kent Tom/Ken Ling — from China and bring him to Botwood.
B’ys oh b’ys, Jim and Ken never got along, right from the shuff-off. Oftentimes, be it serious or mere niggling disagreements, each openly accused the other of being crazy.
Listen, I’m doing too much summarizing, so …
… years passed and by and by, a Young Mountie named Terry Hoey was stationed in Botwood …
Aha.
And the German ship the Alstertal sailed into port.
And a racket broke out at the Harbourview — a racket that ended with Ken heaving a pan of hot fat into a young German’s face.
If you were watching the TV movie rather than reading the book (You will read the book, right?) here would be a likely spot for a commercial break, eh b’ys?
Fade out. Fade in.
When we come back … as if in present time, Ken seems to have disappeared and Jim — apparently gone over the edge — has barred himself inside the Harbourview and refuses to talk to friends, even to his devoted employee Hearsey Canning.
After days of worry regarding Ken’s whereabouts and Jim’s stubborn behaviour, folks call in the Mounties.
An aside: Since opening the business, Jim has lived upstairs at the Harbourview and everyone in Botwood knows he has a habit — a hobby? — of pot-shotting gulls with a .22 rifle from the windows.
Keep that in mind, because …
… well, because there are people — Hearsey, in particular — who know that in addition to his .22 Jim has a shotgun inside the Harbourview.
Unfortunately, when the Mounties arrive on the scene and enter the building, and Constable Terry Hoey raps on an upstairs door, there is a gunshot.
Listen, in this day and age, thanks in part to often visible, gratuitous violence in the media, to a certain extent we have become inured to homegrown violence. But don’t forget, Death at the Harbourview is a true story. At age thirteen, author Fred Hudson witnessed some of the events firsthand. Understandably, as with other witnesses, trauma from the affair has lingered his lifetime.
Tragically, real people died at the Harbourview Café on November 6-7, 1958.
And another thing.
The results of an inquiry into the Harbourview catastrophe collected dust for nearly sixty years.
For frig sake, eh b’ys?
A shame, writes Fred Hudson: “The shame is on those who could have and should have released the report.”
In Death at the Harbourview, Hudson has collated not only the contents of the dusty report but also the results of interviews, media coverage, photos, etc... His objective is to bring understanding about this time of tarnish on the Gold Mountain.
Good for you, Fred,

[Amber Stark · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was captivating. It's obvious that the author put in a lot of time doing research to capture the entire story.
I found some of the writing a bit disjointed and distracting, but otherwise, I was hooked, and read most of it in one sitting on the flight home from Newfoundland. Very sad story of how someone's mental state can slowly decline into despair when left untreated. I had no idea what to expect at every turn in this book. Very interesting read.

[TomG · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started out strong but lost me earlier than half way through when the author couldn't connect me to the story. I was disappointed. The story could have been better told. Things didn't make sense and didn't do justice to what really happened. I am a fan of true crime but not a fan of this story.

[Leanna Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable read although the writing could be better. It includes many first-hand pieces of history to back up the events of that tragic night. If you’re familiar with the town of Botwood or live there/nearby I’d recommend this read as it is an important part of the town’s history.

[Samantha Pomroy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting story about the town my mom was born in less than a year after the events took place. A bit hard to follow initially as the timeline jumped around a bit from chapter to chapter (and sometimes within chapters), but otherwise a relatively easy, albeit tragic, read.

[Ida Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't think true crime is my genre.

[Susan Jarvis · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a great book but for me it took to long to get into the story of what happened and was a lot of unnecessary information.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate the pictures throughout that show you the places as well as the people involved, the book was direct and to the point most of the time which I appreciate in a true telling.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

True crime from Botwood Newfoundland Canada.

[Jason Saunders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story. The writing and editing weren't terrible, but could've been better. Excellent choice of cover picture, it complements the story and tone nicely.

[Hela · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very intriguing story. Only the book started out strong and gradually got more and more boring. The writing felt off.
I think the story could have been told in a much much better way!

[Deity World · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very spooky