PBS Continues To Spread Misinformation on Locke

Recently Georgia Public Broadcasting and NPR affiliates of PBS published a piece on Locke, titled, "This Historic California Town Is A Living Legacy To The Chinese Immigrant Experience" by John Ruwitch.  Well, sadly the article is chocked full of historical errors. Nothing surprises me anymore, but it sure is frustrating to see history being pushed that is not only false, but very blatantly one-sided. 

Anyone who knows me, knows I love the quote by Cicero that states, “It is the first law of history that the writer should neither dare to advance what is false, nor suppress what is true.”

I literally live by that quote. When I started researching the history of Locke, and started to peel back the layers, like an onion, I realized there was so much history within this town-- but the scary part was that there was a group of people dead set on keeping the real history forgotten and buried. The more I dug, and the more I found this out, the more I wanted to shine a light on the truth for everyone to see. And honestly, I will never stop. I will keep digging and sharing the facts with the world. I am like a pit bull, and once I get hold of something "God help you," 'cause I am not going to let it go.

Going back  to this particular article, I wanted to briefly go through a few of the points they attempted to push, which are clearly false or misleading and instead share with you the facts.

As the journalist John Ruwitch wrote about the scenery of the location being  like an “rundown movie set for a Western.” Well, that’s because it was. Documented history shows that the town was actually built by Caucasian carpenters. It was made exactly like any other western town was built back then, and I could take you to town after town across the entire United States and show you the architecture is the same.  Locke was no exception.

One thing that people don’t seem to understand, because certain people continue to perpetuate a continued lie over and over, year after year, but Locke was not “Founded by Chinese immigrants.” As hard as it is to believe this, the documented history shows that Locke was founded by a lot of people, and yes, Chinese were among those who helped start the town, but it was not founded by them.

Why is it that the Locke family are always a footnote or an afterthought when it comes to the history of their town? That is something people should really think about. Had it not been for the Locke family, the town of Lockeport (or later Locke) would not even exist. Period.

Going back to the article, there are a lot of errors in it that the public should be made aware of.

For one, the fact that Chinese never owned land in Locke had absolutely nothing to do with the Exclusion Act.  It was because the land was owned by the Locke family, and they were never going to break it up and sell it. It was their estate. The Locke family allowed a town to be built on their private property for a reason, and it was for their own benefit. It was never about discriminating.

In fact, there were many Chinese in Locke who owned businesses and voted, (they are in the voting registry) and they couldn’t have voted back then unless they were citizens, which meant they had “papers.” Legitimate or not, if they had papers that meant they could own land. Remember, the only ones who couldn’t own land were the ones who were “immigrants.” Many of the Chinese had “fake papers,” which said they were born here, thus they had the right to own land, and therefore that silly theory about them not being able to own land goes right out the window.

Lockeport had already ‘started’ per se,  a few years before the Walnut Grove fire, when the Locke’s had buildings constructed near their Packing House and their Lodging house to cater to their workers and the railroad workers (who by the way were also Caucasian). The Locke Boarding House predates all the buildings in Locke, and has absolutely no history within the Chinese residents in town.

Also, the Libby, McNeil, Libby company had purchased a piece of land literally on the north western tip of where the Locke family’s property sat, and they were building their new cannery during the early part of 1915. Mr. Locke knew that this cannery would bring in a lot of people to work. What better way to cater to them than to have a small town less than ½ mile down Old River Road?

Lockeport was in its early beginnings before the Walnut Grove fire, but by October 1915, when the fire occurred, the Lockes agreed to allow some of the Chinese families (as well as others from all different countries) to come to Locke to start over. Mr. Locke cleared 14 acres of his own orchard (that wasn’t cheap; even back then) to clear an area for the town to be built up. He invested his own money into the town, too.

He had saloons and brothels built, and those continued to run for many, many years. The post office was established in Lockeport, and it was Clay Locke who was the post master. George Carlton was the town constable. Tell me again how the town was founded by Chinese?

Now, let’s get to the mention of Al the Wop’s.  Al came to Locke and was very good friends with the Locke family.  In fact, when he came to Locke in the early 1930s he opened up his restaurant known as “The New Locke Café.” The Chinese didn’t do any favors for him, he came because he wanted to start over in a small town and the Locke family were his friends. Again, it is very easy to make stuff up about a dead person when he isn't here to confirm it. It seems to be a habit over there.

Locke, from its very beginnings was a cultural melting pot of people from all nations. As time went on even more people flocked to Locke, and by the 1930 Census records show 550 residents of Locke, (136 separate "households"). Most of the residents at the time were Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, American, Italian, along with Swedish, German, Japanese, Filipino, Mexican, Turkish, Armenian and various others.

For those of you interested in the true history of Locke, I encourage you to dig deep. Go to the primary sources, not books by other writers pushing their agendas. Go to the source. Go as far back as possible, That is how you find the truth. I cannot emphasize that enough.

Locke is a beautiful town and has a wonderful and colorful history, but a history full of all walks of life that helped create and build it. Not just one group. 

(Copyright 2021- J'aime Rubio, www.jaimerubiowriter.com)

All the content that is published on this site or any of my blogs under my profile J'aime Rubio or Dreaming Casually © is my property and is protected by all applicable Copyright Laws. No part of my work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission from me, the publisher/author J'aime Rubio

 

1920 Census Summarized

1920 Census

In 1920, Locke was still included on the Georgiana Township Census records. It was still a small town and so Ryde, Walnut Grove and Locke as well as Isleton were recorded in the census. There are 36 pages for that particular census, however, based on the names listed on the 1920 voting registry listing residents for Locke I was able to cross reference them along with other names of residents I recognized to narrow down the number of pages in the census that reflect Locke. By using that method of research the residents of Locke can be found between pages 18-23 on that particular census.

Right now I am in the process of making a database of all the residents listed in the 1920, 1930 and 1940 census' for Locke. Once I am done I will be making all this information available. Until then, this is a very basic summarized blog post giving you an idea of the make up of Locke during 1920.

According to the stats on the census, there were:

155- Chinese living in Locke in 1920 (this included listed Chinese-Americans and Chinese Immigrants)

121- Caucasians living in Locke in 1920 (this included Americans (born within the U.S.) as well as European Immigrants from: Germany, Portugal, Holland, Switzerland, Scotland, and Russia.

29- Japanese living in Locke in 1920.

3 - Hindu, East Indians living in Locke in 1920.


As always, this is further proof that shows the Locke was comprised of many different groups of people from its beginnings, and was not "Exclusively built by, for and lived in soley by Chinese" as many people will try to have you believe. Look, I have absolutely nothing against the Chinese people of Locke, in fact, I love everyone who lived there and contributed their culture and heritage to this unique little town. Everyone! I just do not like that a lot of  the history of Locke has been forgotten or purposely omitted. I believe that all of Locke's history should be remembered, from the Chinese to the Caucasian residents, the Japanese, the Hindu, the Italians, Portuguese and even the Russians who lived out on Locke Slough (out back behind Locke; near Snodgrass Slough), which was still considered part of Locke and was part of the Locke family estate. These people deserve to be remembered, too. And this town deserves to acknowledge ALL the former residents of this beautiful Delta hideaway.


(Copyright 2017- J'aime Rubio, www.jaimerubiowriter.com)

Alien Land Law of 1913 - Did Not Apply To Residents of Locke

This blog is meant to be an unbiased look at Locke's history, and I stand by that whole-heartedly. One thing that really bothers me is that certain people who claim to be the "official" ones preserving Locke's history in Locke, have been promoting a very one-sided approach to sharing its history.

In various plaques within the town you will see their mentioning of the Alien Land Law of 1913, and how it discriminated against Chinese in Locke. First and foremost let's make two things clear:

The Alien Land Law of 1913, which is also known as the Webb-Haney Act prohibited ANY aliens from owning property in California. From the beginning, it focused on Japanese immigrants first. It was not specifically against Chinese, but branched out to include all Asians (except Filipinos) and even included East Indians who were not eligible for citizenship.

Still, there was always a way to skirt around the law, which is exactly what happened.

"The intent of the law was to restrict land ownership by Japanese immigrants. However, by assigning ownership of land to second generation children, born in the United States and thus citizens, or by the use of extended leases the law could be evaded."---(http://www.intimeandplace.org/Japanese%20Internment/reading/constitution/alienlandlaw.html)

Back to Locke 

Secondly, the law has never applied to Locke and never will. Why? Because Locke was private property owned by the Locke family long before it became a town, and it remained in the Locke family estate until the last of all the Locke heirs passed away. 

So because no part of Locke was ever for sale when owned by the Locke family, and no part of Locke was offered for sale to any other persons the law could never apply to Chinese residents in Locke. In other words, the Chinese were not refused the opportunity to purchase land in Locke, it was just that no part of Locke was ever for sale when the Locke family owned it.

This was simply private property owned by a family who at one point in time very generously allowed people of all races and ethnic backgrounds to build homes and businesses on their land, and they were considered tenants of said property owners (The Locke family) whose tenants paid rent monthly to their landlords. So you see, the Locke’s never had any intention to sell their land at any point in time so they could never be guilty of withholding property from anyone based on their ethnic background or nationality. So the Alien Land Law of 1913 cannot apply.

The residents of Locke didn’t own the property they lived on, not because of racial prejudice, but simply because the owners of the property never had any intention to sell it, to anyone. They preferred keeping their property in their family estate. There is nothing discriminatory about that.  The late Connie King was quoted in an interview for the Locke Oral History Project for the Parks Department, when she mentioned speaking to Mr. Locke (I am assuming Clay Locke, grandson of George W. Locke, who lived on his ranch there until his death in 1963) and in regards to being asked why residents in Locke (after 1952) could not own their homes in town, she stated:   “See, I talk to Mr. Locke several times because I help him collect rent, see, so I said, “Why can’t you?” He said, “Because this land is owned by the Locke family and the family’s too big and not everybody agreed to sell.”  So that’s what happened.”--- quoted from transcript in  “Locke Oral History Project,” written by Maya Beneli, interviewed by Patrick Ettinger, Ph.D.,page 206.

In reality, and you can check the property records on this, Locke belonged to the Locke family from its beginnings all the way until the last of the Locke heirs passed away in 1969. It wasn’t until after the Locke’s had all passed away and the estate went into probate that a Chinese businessman from China came in and purchased the entire parcel in the 1970’s, which they intended to create a Chinese Amusement Park where the town is. That businessman Ng Tor Tai, is the brother-in-law of Clarence Chu.  No one ever brings up the fact that from the 1970’s until the County stepped in over 25 years later, the homes in Locke were unavailable for residents to own as well. It is a well-known fact that during that time period it was Ng Tor Tai who owned the town, and the entire parcel that once was the Locke Estate, and he had not offered the properties to residents to own, but in fact allowed the town to fall into such disrepair during that time the town was about to be condemned.

Local government had to get involved to save Locke and then eventually those who had homes in Locke had the opportunity to own each individual property.  Why then is it that this part of Locke’s history is never is mentioned? Yet, this false narrative that somehow residents were deprived of owning their homes between 1916-1953, because of some archaic land law or discrimination against Chinese is what is constantly pushed, when that simply wasn’t so. There seems to be double standards in this case since no one seems to complain that the later owner of Locke, Ng Tor Tai, for all the years of him owning the land, he didn’t offer the properties to residents either. Where is the outrage about that?

Historical Accuracy --The Census records for Locke going back to its early beginnings show that Locke was inhabited by a lot of different people, not solely Chinese. I have been researching Locke’s history for several years now and I have many of my findings on this blog which is backed up by primary source materials. Please feel free to read more about it, here are just a few links:

1.       http://lockehistory.blogspot.com/2016/05/early-voting-registries-tell-different.html

2.       http://lockehistory.blogspot.com/2016/04/1930-census-shows-diversity.html

Yes, many Chinese lived in Locke, there is no denying that, but it was NOT exclusively lived in, built for and ran by Chinese. To say that Locke was exclusively a Chinese town would be revising the facts and that is history revisionism, and that is morally wrong. 

 Also, many of the Chinese living in Locke had fake papers (“Paper Sons”), meaning they had obtained fraudulent identification to show they were “Citizens” and not immigrants.  What did that mean for them?  It meant some of them could vote, own businesses and yes, even own land! 

 I have seen page by page lists of the voting registries of Locke going so far back as 1916 and census records from 1920 to the 1930’s showing there was diversity in Locke. Chinese and Caucasian residents, as well as Japanese in its earlier years, and later Russian, Italian, Portuguese as well as many other residents of various ethnic backgrounds.  Going back to the early 1916-1918 voting registries, a registered VOTER on the list meant they were listed as Citizens. 

Lee Bing was one of the people in Locke’s earlier history. The book “Bitter Melons” by Jeff Gillenkirk and James Motlow quoted Lee Bing’s son as saying his father “bought a lot of land” because, as it reads, “That law [ about Chinese not owning land] was pretty flexible.” – page 34.  Another thing to note, Lee Bing was an immigrant from China, who was using fake papers, and yet he owned land all over California, including Walnut Grove. As the book plainly states, the law was pretty flexible.

So in ending, I hope that you will see that the narrative that somehow the former residents of Locke were prevented from owning their homes because of some archaic land law is actually false. Locke was never for sale and was never going to be for sale as long as the Locke family had ownership of it, therefore there was no discrimination against anyone. In fact, it was quite the opposite. When in other areas of the state if Chinese or Japanese immigrants who might have wanted to purchase land but were denied because of the law, at least in Locke the Locke family allowed Chinese, Japanese and all sorts of other immigrants to rent from them and live there in peace.

 Again, you must remember, the law only applied if (a) you were an alien and (b) if you were attempting to purchase land or property that was actually for sale. This did not apply in Locke because the Locke family never had any intention to break up their estate and sell it. Another thing to mention was that there were plenty of residents within Locke who had the ability to purchase land or property elsewhere if they wished to, because they used false identification (Paper Sons) in order to claim citizenship. If you were considered a citizen, you could vote, own businesses and yes, even own land or property. So not all Chinese immigrants were barred from owning land or property, as even Ping Lee mentioned in his quoted interview in "Bitter Melons." 

(Copyright 2017) - J'aime Rubio  www.jaimerubiowriter.com

1930 Census Shows Diversity

1930 Census, Locke, CA

The 1930 Census records shows there were 550 residents living in Locke at the time. Out of those 550 people, there consisted 136 separate "households".  Most of the residents at the time were Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, American, Italian, along with Swedish, German, Japanese, Filipino, Mexican, Turkish, Armenian and various others.

Here are the surnames of those households: Carlton, Gay, Chan, Chung, Lom, Lewis,Chun, Ah,Mar, Chan, Tai, Ching, Jang, Low, Lemma,Chan Lin, Chans,Lee, Leong, Chan, Baker, Way, Benedix, Locke, Bard, Owyang, Sing, Chan, Yuen, Chan, Cheung, Lee, Chan,Chan, Kim, Chan, Witt, Chan, Chan, Chan, Law, Chong, Owyang, Lend, Foringer, Modick, Fadan, Muller, Reistetter, Kuramoto, Ross, Corpuz, Delacruz, Castillian, Yurasaki, Jacob, Dauegtost, Lederma, Perry, Rodriguez, Marino, Garcia, Stickel, Hehr, Lowrence, Brum, Herzig, Ledesma, Gonsalves, Bautista, Goureia, White, Jenkins, Nolte, Hollenstein, Caster, Gonsalves, Bentz, Chin, Schiling, Myer, Coleman, Stickel, Lindauer, Lenhart, Fuhsman, O'Donnell, Castellanos, Nelson, Radke, Aman, Espigaras,Gil,Guigni, Richina, Ruiz, Zbitnoff, Lyada, Fueranten, Ortega, Espiche, Luengo, Arigliano, Cafiero, Miller, Price, Kennedy, Kennedy, Cucciare, Casado, Petarine, Leslie, Arana, Chiccheng, Martin, Hanlan, Emodan, Gil, Novarro, Lopez, Lopez, Pegus, Romero, Rubiales, Silva, Navarro, Simonich, Lawrence, Miller, Fries, Moreno, Wardwell, Paredes, Salido and Garcia. (U.S. Census Records, 1930, Town of Locke)  

( ** note: the underlined names are Non-Chinese residents in Locke)

Also, according to the 1930 Census—

There were:  10 Chinese businesses, 3 Caucasian businesses, 1 Portuguese business, and 2 Japanese businesses running in Locke as of 1930:

Chinese: (3) General Stores (1) Cigar Stand (1) Pool Room (1) Dentist (1) Butcher Shop (1) Barber Shop (1) Restaurant (1) Rooming House

Caucasian: (1) Rooming House (1) Saloon (refreshment parlor) (1)Mechanic Shop

Portuguese: (1) Restaurant

Japanese: (1) Rooming House (1) Restaurant

I am still working on a spreadsheet for 1930's census, but I estimate that about 37% of Locke’s residents in 1930 were of Chinese ancestry (Chinese immigrants and Chinese-American born citizens). The other 63 % consisted of non-Chinese immigrants, children of non-Chinese immigrants born in the U.S. and Americans (Caucasian).  Even in 1930, Locke was a multi-cultural town, full of a wide variety of people from virtually every ethnic background. 

(Copyright 2016, J'aime Rubio www.jaimerubiowriter.com)
Sources:
U.S. Census Records, 1930, Town of Locke

A Town Founded By Chinese, or Not?

A Town Founded by Chinese or Not? 

So when exactly did the Chinese come to Locke? Well, interestingly enough, the story changes over the years depending on who you talk to. In James Motlow's book "Bitter Melon," Ping Lee, son of Lee Bing, claimed that the Chinese built Locke in 1914, after the great fire in Walnut Grove that destroyed all of its Chinatown (pages 32-34).

In articles all over the Internet, websites and even some books, the fire allegedly took place in 1914, 1915 or even 1916.

In August of 2015,  I was contacted by Mr. Motlow after I had been quoted in the Central Valley Business Times, backing up Martha Esch's claims that Locke was not exclusively a Chinese town, and that many other people of various backgrounds called the town home over the years. After asking Mr. Motlow about the rampant discrepancies online in dates of the Walnut Grove fire time frame, he graciously emailed me a few copies of the old newspapers of the time that finally puts this question to rest!  Sure enough, the date of the Walnut Grove fire occurred on October 7, 1915 as stated in the Sacramento Bee and Sacramento Union archives.

How  Did The Fire Start? 

"$100,000 FIRE WIPES OUT CHINATOWN"- 
Walnut Grove-  Fire which started, according to the best information, through the introduction of a lighted cigarette into a cleaning establishment, wiped out Walnut Grove's Chinatown today with a loss of $100,000 and only the shifting of the wind late in the afternoon saved the remainder of the town from destruction. At 5 o'clock the flames were under control, but were still burning in places.

When the fire first started water was thrown on the gasoline and the flames immediately spread all over the shop. Twelve hundred dollars were stolen from one of the big establishments in Chinatown, and practically the whole available force from the Sheriff's office has been called to Walnut Grove. The deputies besides endeavoring to catch the thieves, will prevent any possible disorder.

The fire broke out in the Oriental quarter just before noon, and although every effort was made to save the Chinese homes and stores, the wind swept everything before it. Although Alex Brown's two fire boats were called into commission and worked heroically to stem the blaze, the north wind forced back the fire fighters. Chinatown fell before the assault, and the saloon of Bob Rhodes followed.

Then the fire boats received unexpected aid from an unexpected quarter. The wind shifted, and turned the blaze back on itself. As a result the streams of water from the fire boats were sufficient to down the flames. The loss was practically confined to the Oriental section of Walnut Grove. The hotel, store, bridge and the residences of the Americans are standing unhurt.

Dye brothers own most of the property on which Chinatown stood. It is not known how much Insurance they carried or whether they or the Chinese intend to rebuild."---  October 8, 1915

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"WALNUT GROVE ORIENTAL SECTION TO BE REBUILT"
Destruction of Chinatown resulted in $100,000 loss- Dye Estate and Alexander Brown heaviest losers- Modern Buildings will replace 85 structures consumed in flames-

Walnut Grove (Sacramento County) October 8- The destruction of Walnut Grove's Chinatown by fire yesterday afternoon resulted in a loss of approximately $100,000. It was stated today little insurance was carried.  The biggest losses were sustained by the Dye estate and Alexander Brown, the former's being about $24,000 and the latter's about $10,000. Eighty-five houses and stores were consumed by the flames, in addition to several barns and smaller structures. Rebuilding will start at once, it has been announced and the new buildings will be fully modern.

Started From Oil Stove- The blaze started in a Japanese woman's house near the river. She was cooking fish on an oil stove. she left the room for a few moments, and when she returned the room was a mass of flames. The fire spread rapidly, and was carried almost to the heart of the business section..... It was reported that ashes fell in Woodbridge, seventeen  miles away.  The town was saved by streams of water from fire boats, after a bad wind had veered."--- Sacramento Bee, 10/8/1915

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


When the argument comes up about who started Locke, and who it "belonged to," you will always find that books and articles state the town belonged to the Chinese but that because they couldn't officially "own" property that is why they didn't own their homes in Locke. Yes, there were laws in effect back then excluding mainly Japanese, and Chinese from owning land, this was no different than how things were in Walnut Grove, where many of the Chinese and Japanese had been living prior to moving to Locke.

Still the fact remains that there is no conclusive evidence to show that had the property been available, that the Locke family would have ever sold it to anyone, Chinese or non-Chinese. In fact, in an oral interview transcribed and readily available to the public, Connie King admitted that she had approached the Locke family, long after the laws preventing the Chinese from owning property were overturned, wanting to buy her home, and that they refused to sell. The fact was that Locke belonged to the Locke family and the family intended to keep the property, the estate, together. They never had any intention to sell.

Another issue I have with this whole "exclusively Chinese" story is that there is documented evidence that shows there were other people (non-Chinese) living in Locke around the same time that it was claimed to be "founded by and exclusively for the Chinese."  There are also records showing many Chinese immigrants were claiming to have been born in the U.S. (by way of fake papers) which allowed many of them the ability to own land and businesses regardless of their national status. One of those being Lee Bing.

In the book "Bitter Melon" by Jeff Gillenkirk and James Motlow, the authors interviewed Ping Lee, the son of Lee Bing** (early resident of Locke),  who claimed that his father had four or five ranches* and that he "bought a lot of land" because, as it reads, "That law [ about Chinese not owning land] was pretty flexible."-- pg 34.  

So, did the Chinese exclusively start the town of Locke (Lockeport)? According to the documents and records I have found, I would have to say "no."  I believe the Chinese played a big part in helping the town grow, but to say that they solely founded the town, I would have to disagree. I believe that over the years, as time went on the town's population might have became primarily Chinese, but that from 1915 up until the 1930's there were lots of non-Chinese residents living in the boundaries of Locke. So that means there were all sorts of people living in Locke in its early years.

-----

*old parcel maps of the Delta also show  Lee Bing's name as owning a section of land on the other side of the river in Walnut Grove near Ryde. In fact, he is listed in several directories as also living in Walnut Grove and is listed as a registered voter, too.

**The 1900 Census shows Lee Bing working as a "servant" for Alex Brown (of Walnut Grove). His records on the Census and following Census records have him listed as being born in California with Chinese born parents although that is not accurate, as he immigrated to the U.S. in 1893 -according to Ping Lee's interview.

(Copyright 2015- J'aime Rubio, www.jaimerubiowriter.com)

Who Approached George Locke First?

Who's Idea Was It? 

Who thought of moving to Locke first? The answers may surprise you. You see, there is an alternate story that has been circulated and even published over the years, stating that the Japanese were actually the first to think of moving to Locke as a group. Originally, a large amount of Japanese were also living in Walnut Grove's Chinatown. After the fire they were displaced, and no longer wanting to be associated with the Chinese, they approached George G. Locke about moving to his land first.

According to Eiichiro Azuma, the curator at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, his published work,"Interethnic Conflict under Racial Subordination: Japanese Immigrants and Their Neighbors in Walnut Grove, California, 1908-1941" the story is clearly presented.

Azuma cites sources documenting that after the fire in Walnut Grove, the Japanese immigrants wanted to disassociate themselves from the Chinese all together. Despite what many may assume, the two cultures were very much different and did not get along. After the fire the Japanese wished to rebuild, but this time they wanted a Japantown. Unfortunately the Japanese were divided. Some wanted to rebuild on the Dye brothers' land in Walnut Grove, while others eyed the property of George Locke. Cited sources used by Azuma state that "George Locke demanded $20,000 from the Japanese for the construction of a new living quarter. If they agreed on it, he promised to provide a maximum of $10,000."  The Japanese are the only ones to provide such evidence, and the dates coincide with the Walnut Grove fire, as it was only about a week after the fire that this is mentioned in various papers at the time. The Chinese have not provided any written documentation that the idea to move to Locke was their own. (Japanese Association of Walnut Grove, “Kawashimo Nihonjinkai Kiroku,” October 15, 1915 in JARP; and Nichibei Shimbun, October 18, 1915.) 

According to Azuma, once the Chinese heard that the Japanese were planning to move to George Locke's land, they quickly approached George Locke and "hastily signed lease contracts on the most convenient lots on Locke's land."*  There was a personal issue between both groups, one having complaints against the other. The Japanese thought of the Chinese as greedy and "menacing", who lived in filthy conditions and made their money by promoting undesirable practices (ex; gambling halls.)

Likewise, the Chinese thought the Japanese to be vulgar and would not let their children play with Japanese children at school. The opinion of the Japanese people was that the Chinese were "conspiring" against them at all times. From pushing the Japanese farm workers out (who were working the agricultural areas of the Delta since the early 1900's), to quickly flooding into the town of Locke, the animosity between the two groups didn't end there.

There were some Japanese that chose to stay in Locke, despite the high population of Chinese who moved there from Walnut Grove. For one, a Mr. Wakayama opened a barber shop in Locke after being displaced in the Walnut Grove fire.  For this choice he was "excommunicated" by his people, and a letter was sent to his home village in Japan, to shame his family for his "misdeeds." After several years, he was able to clear his name by writing a letter of apology to the Walnut Grove Japanese Association. Wakayama was not the only non-Chinese resident in Locke, though, there were many others.

(*there has been no written documentation presented proving the Chinese signed lease agreements with G. Locke, although the story has been orally passed down.)

(Copyright 2015- J'aime Rubio)
--originally posted on October 5, 2015 (Dreaming Casually)

Slander and Disappointment in Locke

This blog was originally set up to be a place where long forgotten, documented, factual evidence of Locke's history could be available to the public. It was never meant to be a sounding board or platform to vent but tonight things have changed, at least for this post.

Let me first start off to say that when I first started researching Locke back in 2012, I couldn't understand why after all these years that a place with such rich history, such as Locke, would have so very little written about it. Yes, you can find a book about it or an article online, but I have noticed it is always the same thing being regurgitated over and over...the same lazily copied and pasted history. There were no definitive historical stories, dates, or primary sources cited. And the few sources cited were secondary or third sources by books dated in the 1970s, but nothing from the time period that the events took place. Also, a lot of the history has been passed down orally, which is known to be less factual as the years go by.

It appears that most people just do not want to do real research anymore. They just rely on the other guy to do the research and they take their word for it, and share it, over and over and before you know it, there is a whole bunch of nothing out there. Which in this case has happened to Locke for nearly 40 years.

When I say a "whole bunch of nothing" that is exactly what it means. There are no details on the origins, the back stories, nothing. Why? Again, because no one bothers to do research anymore. There are a few of us out there though that still search the archives, the newspaper microfische, the old books and magazines, the census records and other directories searching for truth, and searching for answers. My blog is that truth. There is nothing on my blog that cannot be proven by the sources I list. That is why I list my sources in the articles themselves. So the reader has the choice to verify what I am showing them. You cannot rewrite a history that was already documented long ago, that is impossible.  I am bringing you the factual source material to give you the real history of Locke, one you can verify by documented evidence from the time period that the events took place.

Stop believing everything you are told on television shows, or even what certain people tell you in books, articles online or even in person. Unless they can show you the facts, the odds are that they are spinning a yarn and you are taking the bait. The ones who tell history without documented proof are the revisionists, even if they have been getting away with it for many years. And remember that an omission of history is still revisionism because if someone willfully leaves out facts or evidence about people, places or events in telling history they are changing or rewriting it to their own advantage and that is wrong. By excluding various people from Locke's original history, plainly ignoring or erasing those facts is an example of lying and revisionism. I am here to set that straight by way of factual evidence. Evidence you can look up on your own and read for yourself.

Tonight, this blog is to address the latest episode on Ghost Adventures. First off, I have never been a fan of the show. I am not really"into" shows about ghosts, as I have had my own experiences with paranormal and I do not find it amusing to watch sensationalized overly dramatic men jumping in the dark, scared by every little sound they hear.

BACK TO GHOST ADVENTURES

This particular episode, was centered on Locke, and it was a complete mess. Where do I begin? Okay, the story about Mei Ling, that is false. There is absolutely no evidence that this woman existed or that she performed, disappeared or died in Locke. There are no accounts of prostitutes being killed and dumped in the river.  By the way, the prostitutes in Locke were Caucasian. I have never found any documented evidence of Chinese prostitutes having lived in Locke until the later years (1950s-1960s).

Please read my other articles found on this blog, there are quite a few on the subject of prostitution in Locke. You might be surprised.

I found it interesting in the episode Zak acted like he was unaware of the Dai Loy Casino when speaking to Clarence Chu, but then later he seems to know all about it when he speaks about Fred Chisholm's murder.

Here's a news flash...George Shinn wasn't in the Dai Loy Casino when he shot Fred.  In fact, Fred was playing cards at one of the other gambling halls, there were 8 in total at that time period, and he ran out onto the road near the river, which meant he ran from one of the buildings facing the river. The Dai Loy Casino is located on an inner street. To top it off, Fred Chisholm was shot in the road, and he died in Walnut Grove.  Also, a mug shot photo of George Shinn was taken and used from this blog without asking permission. I also found it disgraceful that Jeff Belanger was given the factual information on Fred Chisholm's death for the episode, and yet the show disregarded the facts. I have the emails to prove that they were informed of the truth and still omitted it.

George R. Locke and his brothers (grandsons of George W. Locke, who was originally from New Hampshire) were heirs to their father's estate. George made his presence known in town, which is verifiable in numerous newspaper clippings of the time. G. Locke controlled many buildings there, including the houses of ill-repute to which he allowed his Caucasian madams, Grace Melbourne and Ruby Allen to run. Even Cleveland Hill, (Caucasian) from North Carolina ran a bar there, too.  This was as early as 1916 and well into the 1920s. Locke even had a "Watchman" named George Carlton, born of German/English immigrant parents. He was noted in the newspapers as the Constable.

Remember, when the Chinese moved to Locke they paid rent to the Lockes, their landlords, just like they had paid rent to the Dye Brothers or Alex Brown in Walnut Grove before the fire. There were buildings already present in Locke (known then as Lockeport) before the town itself was officially established. The residents of the area known as Locke, back then, was made up of  several people, all of whom came from various ethnic backgrounds.

The 1930 Census records state there were 136 households living within the boundaries of Locke. Out of those households there were 550 residents. Out of those residents there were 70 Chinese immigrants, 135 Chinese-Americans (a total of 37%) and the rest (a total of 63 %) consisted of backgrounds that varied from Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Hawaiian, Filipino, Japanese, Americans, a few Scotts, English, German, Armenian, Turkish, etc. There were 10 Chinese businesses, and 6 non-Chinese businesses.


SLANDERING MARTHA ESCH

As the episode goes on, the crew starts to interview a man introduced as Dustin Marr in the Locke Garden restaurant. This person is quoted saying that Martha "is changing the history, how dare her. ..she does not believe there was Chinese here."

 This is a false statement.  Anyone who knows Martha, knows that what he said on national television is untrue. Martha is well aware that many Chinese lived there, that they had a presence there and they left their mark in Locke's history, but she also knows that others lived there too, which appears to be something that many people in Locke do not want the world to know.

Locke was built on the land owned by George W. Locke. Their family continued to own it until the 1970s when the last of their heirs passed away. No one bothers to speak about the Locke family in the episode either, by the way, which is shameful. If it was not for the Locke family, there would be no town of Locke today.

Unfortunately, just because you want something to be so, doesn't mean it is. Locke had many Chinese living there but the town was not built exclusively by, for and lived in exclusively by Chinese and it would be a lie to continue to perpetuate that.  The articles on this blog have the facts backed up by documented evidence. I am not here to please anyone, I am here to state the history, backed up by facts. Telling the facts doesn't take away from the accomplishments or the history of the Chinese community in Locke, but it is a misrepresentation of the truth to claim it was always solely Chinese.

Why is it such a big deal for people to accept that there were other people who made up the town of Locke from its beginnings and onto the years moving forward? Why does it matter so much to certain people to avoid the documented proof? Does it suddenly make Locke less important because other people from other lands came to live there besides the Chinese? No. It makes Locke's history even richer. I would think that those who are lovers of history would appreciate that the records have been researched and the facts that were always there are being documented for posterity. It just took some elbow grease to find it.

Back to the show..... 

In the midst of this apparent attack on Martha, there appears to be a second person (who was identified after speaking to locals, plus I recognized his shoes from the show, since they are the same shoes he is wearing on his Facebook profile photo). Anyhow, this person who is interviewed while cowering behind the camera is unwilling to be seen or even heard without a voice scrambler because of his apparent fear of Martha. Interesting since this is the very same person who has been making Martha's life a living hell.

He goes on to slander her even worse, calling her a "psychopath" and "certifiably crazy." Then he starts talking about some black smoke that swirls around the bar at Al the Wops and incites violent attacks at will and that he was an eye witness of this. That scene made me laugh. Are we really expected to believe that? Really?

What is interesting to note is that a newspaper dated in the Stanford Daily Newspaper on July 26, 1983, shows an interview with this same person where he literally talks about the incident at Al The Wops, except in the newspaper interview he completely leaves out the very paranormal aspect that he tries so hard to sell you on the Ghost Adventures episode. The subject matter of that part of the article was how the summer visitors in Locke were more rowdy than usual, especially those who frequented Al the Wops. In fact, this part of the article went like this:

(Name removed from article) 

Did you see any mention about black mist or smoke, or ghosts? Neither did I.

Getting back to the subject, it's funny that the person or person(s) who claim Martha is rewriting history don't seem to be providing any documents of their own to back up their stories. Yet, Martha willingly took the Ghost Adventures crew into her soda shop and spoke to them on camera for over 45 minutes showing them documented evidence of all of Locke's history, including census records, delta property deeds from 1893, Chinese artifacts and even documents from the Foon Hop Grocery Store from 1946-1957, and yet they left all that on the cutting room floor.

So in the end the show aired stories that were not backed up by factual evidence but then they took the one person on the show who had proof, and who offered it to them honestly and hospitably and they basically threw her under the bus.

Martha has never said that Chinese were not in Locke. We have had conversations for hours talking about all the fabulous history there, and most of which were stories she told me about Chinese families. Martha however doesn't pick and choose her history, she tells it all, including the parts that the chosen exclusionary history leaves out.

So who really is the bad guy here? And why was Ghost Adventures taking their side?

When I asked Martha what she thought of the Ghost Adventures episode and how dirty they played her, she said this:

"Anyone with half a brain, first of all probably would change the channel after watching Zak Bagans for about five minutes, because it is so obvious how much BS (blatant sensationalism) he builds into his stories. Past history of Locke was poorly portrayed, however the current history of bully gang mentality was clearly shown by two of the "self-elected" individuals seated on the Locke public agency boards of directors. Their defamation of my good character and reputation was taped by Bagans and the Travel Channel and shown on national TV for all to see - to try to make me look like a fool. Anyone who didn't fall asleep by the 15 minute mark, if they listen to my words, will see that I only wish for the history of Locke to be told with accuracy, to include the many nationalities of the people who've lived here, not just one." -- Martha Esch

Personally I hope Martha sues all the people who slandered her, including the people running the television show for their part of allowing her character to be assassinated on national television. Martha is an honest, caring and humble person who just wanted the whole history of Locke to be told, not just bits and pieces that have been picked over by certain individuals.

In the end, let's tell the truth. Locke is an amazing town, full of amazing history, which includes various backgrounds of people who have called this place "home."  In an upcoming blog post I will go into all of that even more. As it appears even more important than ever before to get those facts circulating.

I will end this blog with one of my favorite quotes by Cicero that says, "IT IS THE FIRST LAW OF HISTORY THAT THE WRITER SHOULD NEITHER DARE TO ADVANCE WHAT IS FALSE, NOR SUPPRESS WHAT IS TRUE." We should all be advocates for the truth, no matter what it may be, by making sure the whole history is shared, not just bits and pieces.

---
(Copyright 2016- J'aime Rubio, www.jaimerubiowriter.com)
Photos by Roland Boulware.


{DISCLAIMER: "If anyone decides to slander me in any way, be it on television, in a book, online, social media, news media, or any other manner, etc., be informed that I will sue you. I take my job seriously and I do not push false information to the public, that is why I cite my sources. Therefore it would be a very serious allegation to throw any slanderous accusations about me out there, if you choose to go that route. I will not be slandered the same way in which Martha was slandered. I have integrity about what I write about so with that being said, if you choose to slander me or my work in any way, you will be held accountable for it, and I will use every avenue available to the fullest extent of the law to go after you. So think before you speak or write anything about me."---- J'aime Rubio}

Drugs, Crime and Wild Gambling Raids...Just another day in Locke!

During the 1920s, especially the first few years of that decade, Locke seems to have been one of the wildest and obstreperous places in the state. The "roaring twenties" certainly lived up to its name in that delta hideaway, with constant newspaper headlines and accounts of suspenseful raids and arrests, police chases, cheating gamblers and shoot outs. Locke was known as the place to go to gamble your cares away, find a woman to lie with for the right price, or use as a haven for junkies needing a morphine fix. Opium dens, whore houses, saloons and gambling were rampant in this little town full of vice.

In the earlier years it appears that Locke was able to keep gambling dens full of patrons without issue from the law, but it seems that it may have eventually caught up with them as time went on.

According to one Sacramento Bee article, "Raids Are Bluffs," a resident of Locke claimed that the "Sheriff runs a bluff occassionally by making a raid, but Locke is never seriously bothered by Officials." It goes on to state that "Locke remains, as it has been, the gambling concession of Sacramento County, which runs without interference from either the Sheriff's office or from the Constable of that township*. or apparently without any danger of such interference."---

Still, when those raids did take place, they sure made headlines.

"Lockeport Raid Nets Seven Drug Victims"- 
Completely surrounding a house in Lockeport in which it was believed the use of drugs was being indulged in early Sunday morning, netted Deputy Sheriffs W.R. Cook, H.D. Bryant, John Pendergast, George Wittenbrock and George Altucker, aided by Bob Cole, seven prisoners, five of whom were Chinese.

One white girl, Miss Frances Reese, aged 22, and Charles Mehner, white, also aged 23, were among those caught in the net thrown around the building. All were brought to the county jail in this city to be charged with using drugs. A part of the evidence obtained was the finding of a package of more than 1000 morphine tablets on one of the Chinese. He will be charged with running an opium den and violating the state poison act."--- Sac Union, 6/24/1919



It didn't stop there. Raids on opium dens and gambling houses were just getting started and would continue, as the public officials and law enforcement decided to crack down on Locke.

On March 8, 1920,  Sheriff's deputies Brant and Cook raided an opium den in Locke (Lockeport). As the article in the Sacramento Union states, the raid was one of many in a "long campaign against drug users." Along with seizing pipes and "hop", two of the patrons using the drugs were arrested and brought to jail.

November 5, 1922, newspapers report of a "Sensational Raid upon Chinese den- Sheriff's deputies gain entrance to Lakeport [sic] house and arrest three.

Battering down the wooden doors of an alleged Chinese gambling den at Lockeport, while two deputies with drawn revolvers held a crowd of 30 gamblers at bay, deputy sheriffs from the office of Sheriff Jones raided the establishment of Tin Fan, in the river town last night.

Three Chinese were arrested and $1,500 taken from five tables. Those arrested were Tin Fan, housekeeper; Ching Sing, gamekeeper, and Gee Johnnie, gamekeeper. They were released on $900 cash bail.  The arresting officers were H.D. Bryant, chief criminal deputy sheriff; H.C. Cann, criminal deputy sheriff, and Deputies Oagle and Slater.

Elaborate plans were made and the raid went through without a hitch. Two of the deputies, dressed in old garments and with several days; growth of beard on their faces, gained entrance to the establishment in the guise of customers.

Tin Fan, the proprietor of the house, suspicious and wary of the strangers, delegated several Chinese to watch them. After remaining in the place for 20 minutes, the deputies drew their revolvers and gave a pre-arranged signal. The officers on the outside broke down the door and lined the patrons of the place up against the wall."-- Sac Union, 11/5/1922


(Copyright 2015- J'aime Rubio,  www.jaimerubiowriter.com )
* George Carlton is mentioned in Sacramento Bee articles as the Constable of Locke, the California Voting Registry for 1920-1922 also state him as the "Constable" in Locke. 1920 Census records state him to be the "Watchman for the Town of Locke."---

Sources: Sacramento Bee Archives, 1919-1920
Sacramento Union, 6/24/1919, 11/5/1922

The True History of Locke, California (Part 1)

ARTICLE HAS BEEN BROKEN UP INTO SMALLER ARTICLES--- PLEASE LOOK TO MY LIST ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THIS BLOG TO SEE INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES----