Clara L. Soule, director of the Americanization program stands at the back of an Americanization class at the Woolson School, also known as the Chestnut Street School.

The students are, from left, George Wong, Dan Wong, Henry Wong, Philip Dong, Han Tong and Chee Wong. All were Chinese American waiters at the Oriental and Empire restaurants in Portland.

An article about this class was published in the Portland Sunday Telegram on January 25, 1925.

According to the article, this class was formed when Soule called the managers of the city's two Chinese restaurants in March of 1924 to see if the staff would be interested in English classes. Eleven students were in the first class, and by the following fall several had found work in other cities, including Bangor, Augusta, Boston, Syracuse, N.Y. and Rutland, V.T.