Alaska, Blogs by JimLeave a comment

Waterfall Cannery Now and Then

jimchiao

Five years ago, after I retired from my professional work, I was interested to find out what happened to the first cannery I worked at. When I looked up Waterfall cannery online, I was surprised to find that the cannery was shut down after the 1970 season and the place was turned into a fishing resort in the 1980s. This discovery piqued my interest in canneries and the history of Chinese workers. In 1970, on my first trip to Alaska, my mind was filled with excitement, as we look down at this cannery from the floatplane. My first thought was: … Continue reading Waterfall Cannery Now and Then

Alaska, Blogs by JimLeave a comment

Chinese Workers and the Iron Chink

jimchiao

5 months ago, I first got an email from Mark, a reporter, asking me to do an interview for an article on Chinese cannery workers. He had recently visited Alaska and picked up our names there. We talked 2 or 3 times over the phone, and he went away. A few days ago, a friend read his article on South China Morning Post and send me the link. Besides the history of Chinese cannery workers and our more recent ventures in Alaska, he talked a lot about Iron Chink, which is a fish cleaning machine that eventually replaced the Chinese … Continue reading Chinese Workers and the Iron Chink

Alaska, APA, Blogs by Jim, California, history, Newspaper article, San Francisco4 Comments

A Tribute to Chinese Laborers from SF

jimchiao

About two month ago, one morning, one of my tennis friends said to me “I saw an article about your coming presentation on the newspaper today.” The next day, he brought me a clipping of the article from SF Chronicle. It was the first time I read the article, but it was only recently that I found it online. Carl Nolte, a renowned writer of a weekly column, Native Son, for SF Chronicle, contacted us in mid-March about the story of Chinese laborers from San Francisco. It was published on March 20th, just a week before our free MESS lecture … Continue reading A Tribute to Chinese Laborers from SF

Alaska, APA, Blogs by Kristin, California, San Francisco1 Comment

San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park- Star of Alaska (Balclutha)

Kristin Wong

There is a hidden gem in San Francisco that many people may not know about, tourists and locals alike. There is not a lot of information on their website. It is at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park and is part of the National Park System. This park is near Fisherman’s Wharf on the pier. At the Hyde Street Pier, there are historic steam and sailing vessels along with other maritime exhibits. San Francisco has been a major West Coast city since the 1800s, played a major part in maritime exploration, was a major port city at the time, … Continue reading San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park- Star of Alaska (Balclutha)

Alaska, Blogs by Jim, historyLeave a comment

Chinese History of Alaska’s Canning Industry

jimchiao

Katherine Ringsmuth, a historian and a professor at University of Alaska, first introduced me to Jeff Chen who is a video producer for Alaska Insight, a public affairs show on Alaska Public Media. Jeff was interested in doing a story on the contribution of Asian cannery workers in salmon canning industry, starting with the Chinese workers. Jeff called me about this project, and I suggested a number of people he could talk to. However, due to the time constraint of the video, Jeff had to limit the number of people in the interviews to three, which include Katherine, myself, and … Continue reading Chinese History of Alaska’s Canning Industry

Alaska, Blogs by Jim, Personal StoriesLeave a comment

Kristin Wong’s Story

jimchiao

While working on Fred Wong’s story, I learned that all of his three daughters also worked in Alaska canneries. Before we finished his story, I asked him to get his daughters to write about their own cannery experiences. After a few months of waiting, I finally received the script along with an email from his eldest daughter, Kristin, who had worked in Alaska for six summers. Here is an excerpt of her email: “I hope you are doing well in this new year along with your family. This past year and then the last several months have been quite hectic … Continue reading Kristin Wong’s Story

Blogs by Jim, California, history, San Francisco, Webinar/TalkLeave a comment

MESS lecture event 3/25/2021

jimchiao

It just happens that we were the speakers at the first MESS lecture series offered by the SF Maritime Research Center Library together with SF Maritime National Park Association. At first, one might not see the connection between SF Maritime Research Center and the cannery story. However, as it is well known in the Bay Area, Balclutha, the windjammer, is the crown jewel of Maritime National Historical Park’s collection of ships. Balclutha, also known as the Star of Alaska, was used as a cannery transport ship from 1902 to 1930. Each spring, it carried hundreds of fishermen and cannery workers … Continue reading MESS lecture event 3/25/2021

Announcements, APA, Blogs by Jim, California, San FranciscoLeave a comment

A MESS event on 3/25/2021

jimchiao

On March 25th 2021, Thursday at 11am, my brother and I will be giving a talk on the history of Chinese cannery workers in the salmon canning industry. This is part of an informal lecture series MESS offered by San Francisco Maritime National Park Association. What is MESS about? Here is a description about MESS from their website: The MESS (Maritime Education for Students of the Sea) are informal lunchtime lectures meant to showcase a wide array of maritime knowledge, research and skills. Subjects in the past have included shipwreck survival, Louise Boyd: Arctic explorer, rope walks and maritime fine arts. Lectures usually last around … Continue reading A MESS event on 3/25/2021

Alaska, Blogs by Jim, Oregon, Personal StoriesLeave a comment

Fred Wong’s Amazing Career

jimchiao

I first contacted Fred Wong in October 2020, when my brother Philip and I were preparing for a talk at Chinese Historical Society of America in San Francisco. The subject of the talk was “Chinese Workers and the Early History of Salmon Canneries”. After CHSA made its announcement, one member wrote to CHSA and kindly suggested me to contact his friend Fred in Oregon. I decided to follow up. Actually, that was not the first time I tried to contact Fred. In fact, I have read something about him and a brief summary his 50+ years career in Alaska canneries. … Continue reading Fred Wong’s Amazing Career

Blogs by Jim, Newspaper article, Personal Stories, WashingtonLeave a comment

The Last Chinaman

jimchiao

I just happened to run across this article during my Internet research of Chinese in salmon canning industry. The headline “The Last Chinaman” grabbed my attention, and it is a story of the a Chinese cannery worker in Point Roberts at the turn of the 20th century. It is quite rare to find a story about a Chinese cannery worker, with name and photo, depicting his life through the era of anti-Chinese movements. This photo from 1898 shows the salmon cannery where he worked, when the story took place. It turns out Point Roberts is situated at a very interesting … Continue reading The Last Chinaman