37 min
Ethnic Life Stories Trail of Trees Episode 33 - Tong Trithara Ethnic Life Stories Trail of Trees
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- History
Tong Trithara was born in March 1952 in Ban Ban Province, Thailand. He was the fifth of seven children. Until the age of 7, Trithara lived and traveled with his grandmother, who raised him Buddhist. He later practiced Catholicism when he lived with his parents.
His fondest childhood memories are of fishing on the rivers in his hometown of Audhaya and riding on the backs of water buffalo. He started kindergarten at age 6 or 7 and started learning English that year.
Trithara’s father and older brother helped him gather and complete the necessary paperwork to live in America. He lived briefly with his brother, Seri, in Los Angeles before striking out on his own. He worked many odd jobs at restaurants, gas stations and hotels in LA while in school.
Through work connections, a boss invited Trithara in 1979 to come live and work in Springfield at Vantage House. Three years later, he and his wife at the time welcomed a daughter, Chantra, into the world. More than a decade later, he had a son, Dakota, with his third wife.
After traveling across the States and seeing much of the world through his work in the sport of kickboxing, and opening several restaurants around Missouri, Springfield remained Trithara’s favorite place to live. The city’s been perfect for him to pursue his hobbies, find ways to help the youth of the community, and serve authentic Thai food at his restaurant, Tong’s.
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Read all of Trithra's story and the rest of the Ethnic Life Stories Project stories by clicking here.
Follow Friends of the gardens on social media! We post park events, promos, and announcements of new ELSTOT releases on our Facebook and Instagram.
Find out more about Friends of the Garden by visiting our website, friendsofthegarden.org.
Interested in supporting the 501(c)3 nonprofit that maintains and enhances the gardens and trails at the Springfield Botanical Gardens? Find out more by clicking here.
Music is Bach Cello Suite no. 3 by Colin Carr from the Free Music Archive.
Episodes are edited, recorded, mixed, and published by Diana Dudenhoeffer.
Tong Trithara was born in March 1952 in Ban Ban Province, Thailand. He was the fifth of seven children. Until the age of 7, Trithara lived and traveled with his grandmother, who raised him Buddhist. He later practiced Catholicism when he lived with his parents.
His fondest childhood memories are of fishing on the rivers in his hometown of Audhaya and riding on the backs of water buffalo. He started kindergarten at age 6 or 7 and started learning English that year.
Trithara’s father and older brother helped him gather and complete the necessary paperwork to live in America. He lived briefly with his brother, Seri, in Los Angeles before striking out on his own. He worked many odd jobs at restaurants, gas stations and hotels in LA while in school.
Through work connections, a boss invited Trithara in 1979 to come live and work in Springfield at Vantage House. Three years later, he and his wife at the time welcomed a daughter, Chantra, into the world. More than a decade later, he had a son, Dakota, with his third wife.
After traveling across the States and seeing much of the world through his work in the sport of kickboxing, and opening several restaurants around Missouri, Springfield remained Trithara’s favorite place to live. The city’s been perfect for him to pursue his hobbies, find ways to help the youth of the community, and serve authentic Thai food at his restaurant, Tong’s.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Read all of Trithra's story and the rest of the Ethnic Life Stories Project stories by clicking here.
Follow Friends of the gardens on social media! We post park events, promos, and announcements of new ELSTOT releases on our Facebook and Instagram.
Find out more about Friends of the Garden by visiting our website, friendsofthegarden.org.
Interested in supporting the 501(c)3 nonprofit that maintains and enhances the gardens and trails at the Springfield Botanical Gardens? Find out more by clicking here.
Music is Bach Cello Suite no. 3 by Colin Carr from the Free Music Archive.
Episodes are edited, recorded, mixed, and published by Diana Dudenhoeffer.
37 min