The Locke Oral History Project
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THE LOCKE ORAL HISTORY PROJECT A Project Presented to the faculty of the Department of History California State University, Sacramento Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in History (Public History) by Maya Beneli FALL 2012 THE LOCKE ORAL HISTORY PROJECT A Project by Maya Beneli Approved by: _____________________________, Committee Chair Patrick Ettinger, Ph.D. _____________________________, Second Reader Christopher Castaneda, Ph.D. _________________________ Date ii Student: Maya Beneli I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University format manual, and that this project is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to be awarded for the Project. ______________________, Department Chair _______________ Aaron Cohen, Ph.D. Date Department of History iii Abstract of THE LOCKE ORAL HISTORY PROJECT by Maya Beneli The town of Locke, California, located in Sacramento County, was built and occupied by Chinese laborers in the early twentieth century. This project describes my participation in the Locke Oral History Project. The Locke Oral History Project was commissioned by the California Department of Parks & Recreation (DPR) to be used in the restoration and adaptive reuse of the Locke Boarding House. Along with professors Dr. Ettinger and Dr. Castaneda, I gathered oral histories of current and former Locke residents and wove these histories into a report on the history of Locke. The compilation was later used by DRP in its presentation of the history of Locke at the interpretive center at the Locke Boarding House. A multitude of sources were used to complete this project, including published and unpublished secondary and primary source materials located at the Sacramento State University library and the North Central Information Center. Additionally, oral histories gathered from former and current Locke residents made up the primary sources for this project. iv By compiling, transcribing, and distributing oral histories of former and current Locke residents, the history of Locke became more accessible to the public. ___________________________, Committee Chair Dr. Patrick Ettinger, Ph.D. ____________________________ Date v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thank you to all the individuals in my professional and personal life who have made this thesis project, and all the coursework in the CSUS Public History graduate program possible. Thank you specifically to Dr. Patrick Ettinger, Dr. Chris Castaneda, Dr. Lee Simpson and the old Dr. Gregory Campbell, who once told me I wouldn’t always work for Macy’s. Thank you to my grandmother, safta Leah, who has always been an inspiration. And finally, thank you to the family and loved ones who pushed me to see this work to completion. vi PREFACE Built in 1915, the boarding house formerly known as “Sam’s Rooms” is one of the oldest structures in the rural town of Locke, California, located south of Sacramento on the Sacramento River. The significance of the boarding house is directly related to the history of Locke, “the only rural Chinese community to survive intact into the second half of the twentieth century.” Locke flourished between the 1920s and the early 1940s, despite difficult economic times during the Great Depression. The town experienced a gradual decline and loss of population in the 1940s that continued for the next several decades. By the 1960s, Locke’s unique heritage attracted the attention of historic preservationists, who were successful in establishing the Locke Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. In 1977, the developer Ng Tor Tai purchased the town, and in 2001, the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA) acquired the township. Today, Locke is a small residential community with art galleries, a museum, shops, restaurants and other sites of historic and cultural interest. 1 This thesis project describes my participation in the Locke Oral History Project. The Locke Oral History Project was commissioned by the California Department of Parks & Recreation (DPR) to be used in the restoration and adaptive reuse of the Locke boarding house. I, along with Sacramento State University historians Dr. Patrick Ettinger and Dr. Chris Castaneda, worked with guidance from DPR staff to complete the Locke Oral History Project. The project’s scope of work consisted of conducting oral history interviews and drafting an historical narrative report. With the assistance of DPR, Ettinger, Castaneda and I identified persons with knowledge of the early history of Locke and conducted oral history interviews with 1 United States Department of Interior, National Park Service, “National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form, (The Town of) Locke,” August, 1979. Revised March, 1987. vii them. A total of eight oral history interviews with former Locke residents were recorded. The recorded interviews were professionally transcribed, audited, edited, and proofread. After completion of the interviews, a narrative report, which draws on previously published material as well as the oral history interviews, was written. It focuses on the history of the Locke/ Delta region, the Locke Township, and the lifestyle of the town’s residents. I assisted in researching and drafting the narrative report, which was then completed by Dr. Castaneda and Dr. Ettinger. Five copies of the report, along with five copies of each transcribed interview and original audiotapes, were delivered to DPR. Although it was not required under the terms of the contract, in 2007 Dr. Ettinger and Dr. Castaneda also conducted one videotaped “walk through” interview of the boardinghouse with members of the Kuramoto family. All audiotapes and videotapes became the property of DPR. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................... v Preface ............................................................................................................................................ vi Chapter 1. Project origins .............................................................................................................................. 1 2. The historical development of cultural resources management in the united states .................... 6 3. The development of oral history and its application in cultural resources management ........... 14 4. Project narrative ....................................................................................................................... 19 Appendix I: Narrative report .......................................................................................................... 29 Appendix II: Scope of work ........................................................................................................... 66 Appendix III: Oral history questions ............................................................................................. 73 Appendix IV: Oral history interview agreement form. .................................................................. 76 Appendix V Transcribed oral history interviews Interview with Gene Chan ......................................................................................................... 77 Interview with Connie King ..................................................................................................... 152 Interview with Sam Kuramoto ................................................................................................. 234 Interview with Sam Kuramoto, Kikue Okomoto, and Matsue Tao ........................................ 321 Interview with Ping Lee ........................................................................................................... 406 Interview with Penny Lee Pederson......................................................................................... 508 Interview with Harry Sen ......................................................................................................... 563 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 632 ix 1 CHAPTER ONE: PROJECT ORIGINS The town of Locke, which is located south of Sacramento, California on the Sacramento River, began experiencing a shift in its population during the mid twentieth century. This shift and a growing awareness of the unique history of Locke brought forth an increasing interest in the town, which was the foundation for preservation efforts beginning in the 1960s. By the 1960s, Locke’s distinctive history received attention from historic preservationists, and by 1971, they succeeded in nominating the Locke Historic District to the National Register of Historic Places. In May 1971, the nomination received concurrence from the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), and Locke was designated as an historic district and listed in the NRHP. The nomination specifies the historic district is bound on the west by the Sacramento River, on the north by Locke Road, on the east by Alley Street, and on the south by Levee Street. The district included 54 contributing wood frame buildings including residences, commercial buildings, and major outbuildings, most of which were constructed in 1916. The newly designated historic district at Locke received attention from developers, and in 1977 developer Ng Tor Tai purchased Locke. Over the course of the next three decades, Tai did