Marysville Museum Opens with a Bang
April 19, 2007
During the 127th Bok Kai (Bomb Day) Festival celebrations, which annually draws thousands to Marysville, California for a community parade and parties, Brian Tom opened up his Chinese American Museum of Northern California, a two-year project for his hometown. The Bok Kai Festival dates back to the 1850’s, according to Tom, when the first Chinese came to Marysville. This holiday was also celebrated by other older Chinatowns, once upon a time. Marysville Bok Kai Temple, founded in 1852, is the only active Chinese temple in the U.S., dating back to early California history to carry on this celebration.
The museum’s two-day grand opening festivities drew over 1,000 visitors and featured tours of the once active Chinatown by Lawrence Tom. A dinner awarded the CMMNC museum’s First Pioneer Award to Lillian Gong-Guy and myself for our contributions to preserving Chinese American history in San Jose. Gordon Chang and Judy Yung discussed “Defining the Chinese American Dream,” and Chang shared the history of his great-grandfather Hom Hock Fun, a Marysville pioneer. Another Marysville native, former Superior Court Judge Frank Kim, recalled growing up shining shoes after school during hard times, while living just two doors from the present museum. Arthur Tom and Dave Wing shared stories of their lives growing up in this secluded section of Marysville.
As you enter the museum, the first exhibit is a replica of an old Chinese general store, inspired by a photo of Brian Tom’s grandfather’s store. Found most interesting by the visitors was the exhibit titled Chinese American History in 10 (Easy) Steps, where Tom cleverly highlighted two or three key sentences in each step for reading ease. An interesting pictorial exhibit was entitled The Lost Chinatowns of Old California – Ghost Towns and Survivors, with ghost towns on one side and surviving Chinatowns on the other. The original Sanfow Bean Sprout Plant was an interesting back room exhibit. With over 200 photos on display, many never shown before in public, Tom said his hope was to give the visitor a good sense of the history of Chinese people in America.
With plans for the future, Tom, the museum’s sole benefactor and designer, established this museum along with his wife Kelly. Tom said, “We will open the first Saturday of each month and look forward to welcoming students and families wanting to learn about Chinese history in northern California. Today we were a meeting place for a lot of former Marysville residents renewing friendships and recalling memories, much like the function of the Chinese general stores of a hundred years ago.”
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