October 17, 2004 - United States Postal Service Diversity Festival

With the participation of CCSS, the Stockton postal service celebrated the ethnic diversity of their employees with a festival at Micke Grove Park on October 17 th . Organized by Colleen and Gordon Lee, the CCSS booth featured calligraphy demonstrations by Dr. Chen F. Liem and Dr. Jun Wang and Chinese confections---shrimp chips, haw flakes, and sesame gelatin rolls made by Gordon's mother. The event, attended by hundreds of post office employees and their families, featured the food and entertainment of a variety of cultures. Thanks to Colleen, Gordon, Dr. Liem, Jun, Ed Soon, Gladys Ikeda, Michellle Lee and Elizabeth Lee for representing the Chinese at the event.

August 21, 2004 - Hands Across Stockton

A cadre of members turned out to staff the Chinese Cultural Society of Stockton booth at the City of Stockton's Multicultural Diversity Celebration, HANDS ACROSS STOCKTON, held at Weber Point Events Center on a bright summer day, August 21 st . It was an event to acknowledge and get to know the many ethnic groups that make up the vibrant fabric of this community. Chinese cultural goods and books from the Ho Yeh Market found enthusiastic buyers among the festival crowd, who also enjoyed viewing the photographic exhibit of Chinese history in Stockton. The collection of photographs, first displayed four years ago during the Stockton's California Sesquicentennail Celebration, always generates a lot of interest in the contributions of the Chinese in the community. We partnered with Jene Wah Senior Service Agency, whose booth featured dim sum made by the seniors.

Many thanks to Ed Soon, Loreen Huey, Mabel Morodomi, Colleen and Gordon Lee and their daughters Elizabeth and Michelle, Verna Blaine, George & Fang Wang, and Jeri Wong for spending their day at the CCSS booth, and CCSS members Francis Lau, Bonnie Lew, Judy and Bevin Hong who helped out at the Jene Wah concession.

2004 STOCKTONSpeaks!

STOCKTONSpeaks! is an oral history project that showcases a collection of multi-cultural, multi-generational "coming-of-age" stories, from 54 individuals, in nine ethnic groups, from the city of Stockton.  STOCKTONSpeaks! is a collaborative effort between the City of Stockton, Jacoby Center at University of the Pacific and individuals representing a number of ethnic-based, non-profit community organizations, including the Chinese Cultural Society of Stockton. The project is made possible by a grant from the CALIFORNIA COUNCIL FOR THE   HUMANITIES as part of the Council's statewide California Stories Initiative. The COUNCIL is an independent non-profit organization and a state affiliate of the NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES.

Several CCSS members have been intimately involved with the project-Gladys Ikeda as assistant director; Vaughn Lee, Ray Tom, and Tonya Moreno as interviewers, and Loreen Huey as photographer and member one of the advisory committees. The Chinese families whose stories were collected are Violet Chan and her mother, Nancy Wong, and daughter, Debbie Nozuka; and John Wong and his daughter, Sandra Won and granddaughter, Kecia Won Jones.

For pictures and more information on the project, check out the website www.stocktonspeaks.org .

2004 Stockton Unified School District Culture Day

Stockton Unified School District Curriculum Specialist Linda Whittock invited CCSS to participate in the district's teacher-training workshop, Culture Day, on a spring day last March. Drawing a crowd, Dr. Jun Wang and Yu Ren Ma, plus Lucia Miao and John Miao, demonstrated the always popular calligraphy to teachers who assembled. Chinese cultural goods from the Ho Yeh Market were popular items from the booth staffed by Gladys Ikeda and Esther Fong.

Also part of the day's events was Debbie Leung Yamada, author of a book on the Chinese miners of the California gold which was presented to the teachers. Last year, Debbie was a guest of CCSS and the Haggin Museum in celebrating Asian American History Month, 2003 Through CCSS connections, Debbie also made presentations during that month to Elkhorn School in Lodi Unified, Hoover and Webster Schools in Stockton, and schools in Calaveras County.

2004 Chinese New Year Parade

Since the Chinese Benevolent Association-sponsored inaugural Stockton Chinese New Year Parade two years ago, the Chinese Cultural Society has been an active participant in the festive celebration of the event. Fortified by coffee against the cold and the promise of a hot pizza lunch, board members gather in the garage of the Ikeda home to decorate Ikeda's 1970 El Camino in a manner which reflects the zodiac animal of the year. With Loreen Huey as the decorating guru, they cut, paste, cut again, tape, and somehow manage to approximate the appearance of a Chinese dragon (2003) and monkey surroundings (2004). To make it all come together, Val Acoba's students from the Edison High School drama department don festive costumes appropriate to the year and ride in the back of the pick-up. Beating on drums and waving to bystanders, they help bring Chinese New Year joy to the crowd.

October 9, 2004 - CCSS BBQ

More than 100 members and guests congregated at the home or Dr. Henry and Sylvia Wong in Morada for the 3 rd annual CCSS Membership BBQ on October 9. The Wong's spacious grounds provided the perfect setting for the late afternoon-early evening event of camaraderie which featured Ed Soon's famous barbequed oysters and turkey, plus Gladys Ikeda's marinated tri-tip to go with Francis Lau's seasoned sticky rice. Members contributed hors d'oeuvres and dessert to complete the menu. Mooncakes served at the end of the meal were a fitting accompaniment to the glowing sunset as the event drew to a close. The low-key raffle, which included a cash prize and prize-wining wines donated by Tim Wong, raised more than $200 for CCSS activities. Many thanks to the attendees for supporting the raffle! CCSS is deeply grateful to Henry and Sylvia Wong for opening up their home and yard to CCSS for the bbq. We all had a great time!

August 14, 2004 - CCSS Auburn Trip

The weather gods smiled on the three vans that drove from Stockton to Auburn on Saturday, August 14 th , when nineteen CCSS members visited historic Chinese sites in the foothill city. Rather than a normal 100 degree mid-August day, the temperature barely the high 80s at its peak, which meant that our visit to the Joss House, Chinese Cemetery and Chinese Railroadworkers' Monument took place in pleasant weather.

The historic town of Auburn in Placer County, once the home of thousands of Chinese workers in the early 19 th century, was the destination of a CCSS tour to visit the Ling Ying Association House, also known as the Auburn Joss House. Set in the middle of what was once Auburn's Chinatown, the Ling Ying Association building was the center for the thriving Chinese community in the early 1900s. It now houses the altar saved from one of the original Chinese temples in Auburn. Remnants of the schoolroom, the kitchen and several sleeping rooms have also been preserved.

Tour members also visited the Auburn Chinese Cemetery, a 2-1/2 acre site on Highway which still contains the eleven burials. All other remains were removed, either returned to China for burial or moved to a local cemetery for reinterment.

The final stop in Auburn was the 70 ton concrete monument, placed by the Native Sons of the Golden West, to commemorate the work of the Chinese in building the country's cross-continental railroad. All of the tour members clustered at its base barely covered the wheelbarrow's wheel!

Arrangements for tours can be made by contacting Charles Allen, Auburn Joss House Museum, Po Box 9126, Auburn, CA 95604, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.