Auburn native Annie Yue dies at 93

On Thursday, May 12, Auburn laid to rest one of its own: Annie Yue passed away at the age of 93. Ms. Yue needs no eloquent eulogies - the life she spent in her beloved hometown speaks for itself.One of six children, Yue was born in 1912 of parents of Chinese descent. Her grandparents had come to the area as gold miners and ranchers in the 1870s. Although her household was comfortably off by the standards of the day, life never came to Yue on a silver platter. She started her working career tending the farm animals on her father's ranch. Later she helped at the Shanghai Restaurant, an establishment that has been in the Yue family since 1896. "Everyone pitched in to help in those days," said Herb Yue, Ms. Yue's nephew and current co-proprietor of the restaurant. "In fruit season, she filled in her time between her school classes picking and packing fruit on the surrounding ranches." As if this wasn't enough, Yue used to clean houses at 15 cents per hour for extra money. "Everyone worked in those days. That was the Depression and that's what you did. There were no computer games and no television. The young had no time to goof off," Herb Yue said.Ms. Yue graduated from Placer High School in 1932 and in those hard years managed to secure a job with the Placer Herald as a paper folder, graduating to a linotype setter and bookkeeper. Later she took a job as postmistress of the historic Old Auburn Post Office, but managed to work part-time at the Placer County Courthouse as a filing clerk in the Tax Collections office. She later secured a full-time job in the Recorder's office, where she remained for the next 30 years, retiring on April 4, 1977.Aileen Gage, a colleague of Yue's at the Recorder's office, recalls her as being an outgoing person who loved friends. "She was a really enthusiastic person who loved everything, especially people," Gage said. "Annie often invited friends to share a Chinese lunch with her at the Shanghai Restaurant. ... I was fortunate enough to be with her at her last birthday party at the Shanghai on April 11. She was a well-loved person in the community."Not surprising for a person with such deep roots in Auburn, Ms. Yue was always interested in the city's history and culture. She was an active member of the Placer County Museum since it beginning, often lending her own family artifacts for display. She was a member of the Native Daughters of the Golden West and of Joss House.But retiring never meant a life of idleness for Yue. She derived a particular pleasure in helping others. She often took her many friends around to their appointments in her car. A special interest of Yue's was cuisine. "She was a real gourmet food critic but, unfortunately, never got to publishing her wide knowledge. She especially liked to try out the new food establishments in town," Herb Yue said.Ms. Yue is survived by a brother, Harry, of Auburn; a sister, Ida Hing in Arizona; sisters-in-law Ruth and May of Auburn; and nephews Richard and Herb, both of Auburn. The Journal's Tom Coghlan can be reached at tomc@goldcountrymedia.com.