Tag: history

Blogs by Jim, WashingtonLeave a comment

Ah Fat – The Last Chinaman

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I first came across a story about Ah Fat over two years ago. An article with the headline “The Last Chinaman” grabbed my attention, and it was a story of the a Chinese cannery worker in Point Roberts at the turn of the 20th century. It was 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, taken between 1911 and 1913, is the only photo that shows Ah Fat sitting in front of his house at Point Roberts, Whatcom County, Washington, and he … Continue reading Ah Fat – The Last Chinaman

Alaska, Blogs by Jim, history, Newspaper articleLeave a comment

An Article about Chinese Cannery Workers & Iron Chink

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It was May 2021, when Jeff Chen, Alaska Public Media, did a story on the history of Chinese workers in Alaska salmon canneries. His 5 minutes video was shown on Alaska public TV station in May, 2021 as part of the programs to celebrate Asian Pacific Islander Month. Through Jeff Chen, another reporter from South China Post, Mark Magnier, contacted me for an interview on a written story. Mark talked to me, my brother Philip, and others over a period of 3-4 months. Eventually, he put together a pretty comprehensive story on the history of Chinese cannery workers with a … Continue reading An Article about Chinese Cannery Workers & Iron Chink

Blogs by Jim, WashingtonLeave a comment

Boat Races in Lower Puget Sound

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The canning industry developed in the Columbia River in the 1870s, and soon spread north to Puget Sound. What was it like working in the first Puget Sound cannery? Boat racing? Can you imagine evening boat races between Chinese and native Americans? You have to read the Mukilteo cannery story and the apparent tradition of boat racing between Chinese and the native American crews: In his report, Herbert Hunt wrote about Mukilteo Cannery and its workers: “Jackson, Myers & Company operated one of these plants at Rainier, on the Oregon side, and when the 1877 season opened, had made preparations … Continue reading Boat Races in Lower Puget Sound

Blogs by Jim, California, ContractorLeave a comment

Contractor Lem Sen’s Story

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It was exactly a year ago when we gave a talk at CHSA (Chinese Historical Society of America) in San Francisco. The talk was originally planned in early 2020 as an in-person event; however, it became a virtual event because of the pandemic. Because it was a virtual event, we were able to reach out to a wider audience. After the talk, I received an email from Deborah Lem, telling me that her grandfather was a labor contractor and she has some of Lem Sen’s documents in her possession. I was overjoyed to hear that because Lem Sen was one … Continue reading Contractor Lem Sen’s Story

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

A Tribute to Chinese Laborers from SF

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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, Blogs by Jim, historyLeave a comment

Chinese History of Alaska’s Canning Industry

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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

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