Remembering Chinese Pioneers

Remembering Chinese Pioneers. . , Remembering Chinese Pioneers , The Santa Cruz Chinese community buried over 80 people at Evergreen Cemetery. It was customary for specialized 'bone pickers' to later exhume bones and send them home to China. Some Chinese remain buried here., Most Chinese burials at Evergreen are on the steep slope past this sign, to your left. Over time, nature and people destroyed the wooden grave markers. A bronze replica of the last remaining wooden marker stands in the center of the monument to your right. , Traditional Chinese funerals were elaborate ceremonies. Funeral processions included firecrackers to frighten away evil spirits, marching bands, and wagons. Community members burned the belongings of the deceased for use in the spirit world. The restored burner to your left is an original structure. , The Chinese community believed in the need to care for their graves. If ignored, the deceased would become hungry ghosts, causing mischief and mayhem. Each April, the traditional festival of Qing Ming (Tomb-Sweeping Day) is celebrated. Descendants honor their ancestors and take care of gravesites. Here, it is our role as "Santa Cruz descendants" to feed the hungry ghosts by paying our respects. , Captions: Chinese laundryman, Felton, 1875 , A brick inscribed with the person’s name, village, and district in China was buried with the deceased. This brick was found in 2012. , “Santa Cruz Evergreen Chinese Cemetery” , Inscriptions on the Chinese Cemetery Monument, “Chinese Pioneers” , “Striving for self-improvement” , “Chong Lee (or Lue Chong Sing); Origin Unknown; Date of Death: April 15, 1921” , “Yee Lam: Origin Unknown; Date of Death: March 26, 1919” , “Chin Lai (or Mook Lai Bok, or Chen Wenli); Origin Canton; Date of Death: March 25, 1949” , “Lou Sing; Origin Unknown; Buried September 12, 1884" , Blank marker: This marker commemorates all the Chinese buried at Evergreen and in unmarked graves throughout Santa Cruz County. , “Making achievements, in a hundred years” , “Ever told are their greatest stories”, Chinese Monument , We will never know the full history of the Santa Cruz Chinese pioneers. We have lost most of their true names, origins, and stories. What we can do is appreciate their contribution by taking care of their graves appropriately. Toward that end, artists, history and language experts, and volunteers completed this award-winning monument in 2014. , The Santa Cruz MAH extends appreciation for crucial contributions to Ow Family Properties, Yuming Shang, Geoffrey Dunn, Tom Ralston Concrete, Sandy Lydon, Sean Monaghan and Bronze Works, and the many other volunteers. , For more on the extraordinary history of the Chinese pioneers in the Monterey Bay region, see Chinese Gold by Sandy Lydon., Caption: Monument Dedication, 2014, Where were the Chinatowns? , Four different Chinatown locations in Santa Cruz form 1860-1955 , 1 Pacific Avenue Chinatown c. 1860 - 1872 (1860: less than a dozen men) , 2 Front Street Chinatown 1872 - 1894 (1880: 37 men, 1 woman) , 3 Blackburn's Chinatown 1894 - 1905 (1900: 19 men) , 4 Birkenseer's Chinatown 1905 - 1955 (1905:50 men, 9 women) , Additional captions: , Old Time Chinese Cook Is Buried , Lue Chong Sing, a Chinese cook well known in different lumber and logging camps, was buried yesterday, his funeral taking place from Wessendorf and Son's undertaking parlors. He has been paralyzed for about a year and this resulted in his death. The Chinese was 64 years old and was born in Canton province, and among the places where he has cooked during the past 15 years was at the Loma Prieta mill, McAbee's camp and at Jim Maddocks. In Chinatown he lived with Wong Kee. He was buried under the auspices of the Gee Kong Tong, or Chinese Free Masons, and little Woo Tong sat in the front seat of the hearse and scattered the punctured papers, as is customary. The pallbearers were members of his clan, the Lue family. The burial was at the Chinese plot at Evergreen cemetery, where all his belongings were burned, and sacrifices of roast pork, chicken, sweet meats, etc., were offered and where there was worship at the altar at their plot. His belongings were carried to the cemetery in an express wagon, in charge of Chin Jim, the keeper of the Masonic meeting place. , Santa Cruz Morning Sentinel April 19, 1921, Chin Lai, age 81, and his nephew George Ow, Jr., January 1947. Chin Lai had been a logging camp cook for many years in the San Lorenzo Valley. This memorial sculpture was installed in 2014 with the support of Ow Family Properties., Evergreen Cemetery , MAH , www.santacruzmah.org/evergreen , Property of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History