Tag: Max Stern

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 Jim, WashingtonLeave a comment

My Trip to Seattle, Nov. 2024

jimchiao

Wa left Union Station in Portland early in the morning, and arrived at King St. Station in Seattle some three and half hours later. We stepped out of the station, and arrived at a city that was so familiar and yet strange to me. It was familiar because I spent four years at University of Washington in Seattle from 1969 to 1973. It was strange because the city landscape has changed so much over the past 50+ years. Before the 3-day trip, I have set a goal to visit the following three places in Seattle: 1. University of Washington, 2. … Continue reading My Trip to Seattle, Nov. 2024

Alaska, Blogs by Kristin, California, San FranciscoLeave a comment

“Illness among Chinese recently returned from Salmon Canneries of Alaska” -October 30, 1900

Kristin Wong

The journalist Max Stern, of the book “The Price of Salmon” edited by James and Philip Chiao, may have given the readers of the San Francisco Daily News in 1922 his own first hand accounts of the horrible living conditions aboard the Emily F. Whitney as it travelled from Pier 29 in San Francisco to the salmon cannery in Bristol Bay that summer. He went on to describe the the unsanitary conditions, segregation by ethnicities, and the awful food that they were given. It seems like things did not change by the time he boarded that ship because 22 years … Continue reading “Illness among Chinese recently returned from Salmon Canneries of Alaska” -October 30, 1900

Alaska, Blogs by Kristin, San Francisco, Webinar/TalkLeave a comment

San Francisco Maritime Museum “The Price of Salmon” Book Presentation

Kristin Wong

On June 2nd, 2024, James, Philip, and I were invited by the San Francisco Maritime National Park Association and the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park to participate in their Labor History Talks Series, which focuses on the nuances of … Continue reading San Francisco Maritime Museum “The Price of Salmon” Book Presentation

Blogs by Jim, San FranciscoLeave a comment

Grant Ave. SF, now and 100 years ago

jimchiao

Two weeks ago, on Nov. 15th, I visited San Francisco downtown. It was my first visit to downtown area since the start of the pandemic, and it just happens to be during the week of Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). I decided to trace the route on Grant Ave as described in Max Stern’s 1922 articles The Price of Salmon, which my brother & I re-published as a book last year. Stern was an investigative newspaper reporter who was assigned to join a Chinese gang and sailed to Bristol Bay to work in Wood River salmon cannery — in an effort … Continue reading Grant Ave. SF, now and 100 years ago

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

Blogs by Jim, Webinar/TalkLeave a comment

A Virtual Talk on The Price of Salmon

jimchiao

This last weekend, on June 17th, 2023, we participated in a virtual talk on the book The Price of Salmon. The event was organized by Chinese Historical Society of America in San Francisco. We were all excited about this event since San Francisco was the center of the salmon canning trade in the late 19th century and early 20th century. It was the financial center on the West Coast, home of many salmon canning companies such as Alaska Packers Association, Italian and Scandinavian fishermen, Chinese contractors and workers, as well as workers of many other colors and nationalities. It was … Continue reading A Virtual Talk on The Price of Salmon

Alaska, Blogs by Philip, Chinese Contract System, history, San FranciscoLeave a comment

The Price of Salmon

Philip Chiao

I hope you will judge this book by its cover and content. Jim and l are publishing “The Price of Salmon” this summer. We designed the book cover ourselves. However, our principal roles are editors. We compiled, in digital and book format, a series of newspaper articles that were first published on the San Francisco Daily 100 years ago. The writer was Max Stern, a reporter best known for his exposé of the Alaskan salmon canning industry. The original articles are available online only in facsimiles that are difficult to read and almost impossible to enjoy. The articles are valuable … Continue reading The Price of Salmon