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

CHCP Webinar 10/10/2020

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Last week, on 10/10/2020, on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, we participated as panelists in an one-hour webinar organized by CHCP (Chinese Historical & Cultural Project) in San Jose. The topic of discussion was “Chinese Cannery Workers in the 19th and 20th centuries”. There were three panelists including me, my brother Philip, and Gerry Low Sabado. After introducing ourselves, Philip and I presented the early history of the salmon canning industry and the Chinese workers in a 10 minutes video. After the video, we answered a few questions from the webinar moderator Erwin Wong. Because of the time limitation, we did … Continue reading CHCP Webinar 10/10/2020

Announcements, Blogs by Jim, California, Webinar/TalkLeave a comment

Our talk in L.A. on March 4th, 2020

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In early March of this year, I drove down to Los Angeles and met up with my brother Philip. I was debating whether to fly or to drive, but the need for social distancing made the decision easy. Philip had arranged with Chinese Historical Society of Southern California (CHSSC) to give a presentation at their month meeting about the history of the salmon canning industry and the Chinese workers. CHSSC hosts a monthly meeting, and it was fortunate that our talk was scheduled in early March before the SIP order. The meeting was held in Chinatown in the evening. My … Continue reading Our talk in L.A. on March 4th, 2020

Announcements, Blogs by Jim, California, Webinar/TalkLeave a comment

A presentation planned in L.A.

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I will be traveling next week to visit my brother Philip and Chinese Historical Society of Southern California (CHSSC) in Los Angeles. We will attend CHSSC’s monthly meeting and give a presentation on the topic of Chinese Workers and the Salmon Canning Industry on 3/4/2020. Philip will cover the history of the salmon canning industry and I will cover special topics and key events that affected Chinese workers. It would be the first time that we give a talk together and will be interesting to see the result. Here is the link to the newsletter article: https://chssc.org/wp-content/uploads/NNN202003.pdf Here is the … Continue reading A presentation planned in L.A.

Alaska, Blogs by Jim, Washington1 Comment

Almost 50 years ago…

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It was in early June 1970, that we had this photo taken at International Longshoremen and Warehousemen’s Union (ILWU) Local 37 in Seattle, Washington. From left, we have Michael, Philip, Jim, Allen, and Willie. It was a day of dispatching, and we were there awaiting eagerly for an opportunity to find employment in Alaska canneries. We were all college students and foreign students from Taiwan, in our late teens. My twin brother, Philip, and I, were freshmen from University of Washington. Michael and Allen are also brothers and college students, whom we had known for several years from our days … Continue reading Almost 50 years ago…

Blogs by JimLeave a comment

Introduction

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For the last 35 years, I worked in the high tech industry in Silicon Valley, and spent a lot of time in front of computers. A few years ago, after I retired from my professional work, I started looking into the history of the Alaska canneries. It was quite a surprise to learn that the Chinese laborers were the backbone of the salmon canning industries for close to half a century from 1870s to 1920s, as they worked on the production lines and filled the lower tier of cannery employment. Towards the end of the 19th century, thousands of Chinese … Continue reading Introduction