Category: Blogs by Philip

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Bark and/or Full Rigger, Two Lives of Emily F. Whitney

Philip Chiao

Picture source: Emily F. Whitney, Digital Commonwealth In his articles in 1922, titled The Price of Salmon, journalist Max Stern recorded his adventure aboard what was called The Hell Ship to work in Alaskan canneries. At the beginning, he was hoping to board one of the APA’s (Alaska Peckers’ Association) famed Star Fleet, something liked Star of Alaska. Star of Alaska is a steel-hulled full-rigged ship that was built in 1886. “It is 301 ft in length, 38.6 beam, draught 20.3 ft, depth of hold 22.7 ft. 145 in height. It is a three mast ship. The sail plan is … Continue reading Bark and/or Full Rigger, Two Lives of Emily F. Whitney

Blogs by Philip, San FranciscoLeave a comment

Emily F. Whitney: The Untold Stories of a Downeaster Ship

Philip Chiao

The wooden full rigger, Emily F. Whitney, an American downeaster, had a long and interesting history: The clipper ship was built in East Boston by Abiel Grove in 1880 for J. H. Flitmer of Boston & Leonard Whitney of Watertown Massachusetts, & L. A. Roby of Nashua New Hampshire. Her first commander was Captain Henry B. Rollins. It was 1207 net tonnage and 193 feet in length, with a 37.8 ft breadth and 23 ft depth. For her first 17 years, she was managed by J. H. Flitner & Co. of Boston and was in trade to San Francisco and … Continue reading Emily F. Whitney: The Untold Stories of a Downeaster Ship

Blogs by Philip, WashingtonLeave a comment

Wing Luke Museum

Philip Chiao

It must be a twin brothers’ magical connection, I and James, without coordination, booked our trips to Seattle independently, only to find out we were to be there the same week and our schedule overlapped for a few days. We took advantage of the shared time to visit our alma mater, University of Washington together, and had dinner with our niece and her husband, both are currently working at the University Hospital in the last leg of their medical fellowship program. Due to schedule conflict, I and James visited the Luke Museum separately. I and my wife went on a … Continue reading Wing Luke Museum

APA, Blogs by Philip, CaliforniaLeave a comment

Star of India

Philip Chiao

On your recent trip to San Diego, our hotel happens to be located on the waterfront facing the ocean and N. Harbor Drive. From the hotel window, we can see a collection of historical ships on display at the dock including the Star of India — one of the last two remaining ships from the famed Star Fleet owned by the Alaska Packer’s Association back in the early 20th century. The ocean was calm, and the wind mild; it reminded me of Max Stern , his ship stuck on the high sea during his 1922 voyage to Alaska, when he … Continue reading Star of India

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Windjammer vs. Steamer

Philip Chiao

One of the dark secrets of the west coast salmon canning trade in the early 20th century was the notorious life aboard the Hell Ships, made infamously known by Max Stern’s detail expose in 1922. Gambling, bootlegging, profiteering, exploitation, disease, even death marked the voyage that Stern took aboard the wooden clipper Emily F. Whitney. It took one month to reach Bristle Bay, Alaska. However, the drama allowed Stern to fill pages of San Francisco Daily with his month-long adventures on the high sea. But just imagine how the story would turn out if the mode of transportation were different … Continue reading Windjammer vs. Steamer

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Chinese Laborers or Coolies?

Philip Chiao

We have just returned from a tour of Machupicchu and other cities and sights in Peru in South America. Machupicchu is certainly one magnificent human creation that is worth of our admiration. Along the way, we also learned from our tour guide many fascinating facts about the history and geography of Peru. One interesting fact was the popularity of Chinese restaurants. They are identified as “Chifa” not restaurants. Chifa means “eat rice” or “have meal,” in Chinese – a most direct invitation to woo customers. Our guide made mention of the historical import of Chinese laborers in the 19th century. … Continue reading Chinese Laborers or Coolies?

Blogs by Philip, California, San Francisco, Webinar/TalkLeave a comment

Stern’s Morality

Philip Chiao

We have given a webinar recently at the invitation of the Bristol Bay Historical Society. The subject of our talk was the book “The Price of Salmon,” by Max Stern. It is a collection of 37 articles penned by Stern and published by the San Francisco Daily in 1922. It was an expose of the west coast salmon canning industry, and according to San Francisco Daily News, “Gambling, bootlegging, profiteering, exploitation, disease, even death, marked the voyage that Stern took for the readers of the Daily…”and “…work in the Alaska salmon canneries under conditions as near to slavery as anything … Continue reading Stern’s Morality

Alaska, Blogs by PhilipLeave a comment

Coolies & Retorts

Philip Chiao

 I am very familiar with this steam cooking machine or retort in the picture. It is made of steel, cylindrical in form, about 4′ in diameter and 10′-12′ in length. It looks like a locomotive, and on the ground there is actually a section of steel railroad for use by dolleys. In 1972, my job was to stack trays of the canned salmon onto a dolley, and then the dolley was pushed into the retort for cooking. I remember very clearly that the foreman told me that my position that summer was that of a coolie. Many Chinese foreign students … Continue reading Coolies & Retorts

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Chinese Contractors

Philip Chiao

We just released Ah King’s story on our website this month. Under the sub-category of Contractors, you will now find three new independent pages we added recently for Ah King, Chin Gee Hee, and Gong Dip. It happens that they all were successful Chinese merchants and probably knew each other working in Seattle at the turn of the twentith century. These stories of Chinese contractors from the northwest will greatly complement and argument the other stories of Chinese contractors and workers in California that we have compiled. In addition, there is a new page on Chinese Contractors under the tab of Canning … Continue reading Chinese Contractors