Thomas Foon Chew, born in 1889, entered the canning industry at age 17 and soon built Bayside Canning Company into the third largest cannery in the world. He had a reputation for treating his workers fairly and kindly. Workers lived for free on lands around the cannery, pay was usually good, and Thomas personally made sure his workers had enough to eat, even in the canning off seasons. He died in 1931 from pneumonia. His funeral attracted 25,000 people and was said to be the largest funeral in Chinatown. He was remembered as a keen businessman and a caring person.