On The Scene: The Best of the Best

THE BEST OF THE BEST

Once in a while I come across people, organizations, and travel destinations that I think are exceptional. On the Scene will devote itself to these special people and places.

A HIDDEN TRAVEL GEM

Seeking a place away from the humdrum of traffic and California’s summer crowds, I headed to a little-known area of Southern Alberta where I found the most interesting history and scenic beauty. Few people stop in Lethbridge on their way from Calgary to Glacier National Park except to see its highest and longest suspension bridge in Canada, but I did. Chinook County Tourist Association CEO Kimberly Lyall kept me busy showing me what her hometown had to offer.  For history buffs, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Head-Smashed in Buffalo Jump is one of the largest and most well- preserved buffalo jumps in the world. For 6,000 years the native people of the North American plains were able to kill bison by driving them over this precipice. It is amazing to realize that before firearms or horses were available—thanks to their understanding of topography and bison behavior—this method of hunting could kill up to 300 bison at a time.

We rock lovers toured Writing-On-Stone Park where National Parks Guide Bonnie showed the largest collection of petroglyphs and pictographs in North America dating back over 5,000 years. At Fort MacLeod we visited the replica of the first outpost of the Northwest Mounted Police in Western Canada where I got to help groom the horses performing in their live musical ride of uniformed riders. Program Director Jeremy Mason showed us the historic Empress Theatre where the story of Charles Dickens’ son, Frank of the Mounted, was presented in a one-man show.

Larry, Loretta, and husband Calvin Louie found golfing among the beauty of Canada’s scenery very inspiring. Land-O-Lakes Pro Jim Moulton showed them his well-manicured course in nearby Coaldale. Butte Golf Club Pro Dean Sklarenko showed me his well-stocked golf shop of women’s clothes, which isn’t always the case in most courses. As Director Michael Fleischhauer was proud to tell us, Paradise Canyon Golf Resort is nestled among the mountains, making it a very beautiful setting for golfers who travel here from all over the country,

The old town of Lethbridge once had a thriving Chinatown and today is still home to a thousand ethnic Chinese, according to Bow Tin owner Al Leong.  Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden ED Lindy Rollingson led us on tour of her serene and peaceful place right in the center of the city, boasting an authentic teahouse and landscape designed by noted artists from Japan. We were enthralled with the history of the area told to us by Emil Gundlock who chronicled all he knew about this interesting area he grew up in.

Traveling an hour southward we came close to the Montana border where we discovered Canada’s Shangri-la: Waterton Lakes National Park, the world’s first International Peace Park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Trail of the Great Bear

President Beth Russell-Towe is a native who fell in love with the area some fifteen years ago and never left. Her company spearheads the Wildlife Festival, which draws visitors to see the animals of the park, and the Wildflowers Festival featuring many species of rare flowers. Beth took us to beautiful Cameron Lake with boat rentals enjoyed by families of all ages, and drove us on Red Rock Parkway, which truly illustrated where the strikingly colored red and green rock mountains meet the prairie. We even saw two bears lolling around the Waterton Lakes Golf Course before retiring to the comfortable Bayshore Inn where General Director Shameer Suleman brought to the town the largest gift shop, a Lakeside Chop House & Fireside Lounge and Serenity Spa for his daily visiting bus tourists.  If you need to step back from the busyness of your life and stop and smell the flowers, this is the place to come to during the summer.

FOR YOUR READING SHELF

Angel Island: Immigrant Gateway to America by Erika Lee and Judy Yung gives the first comprehensive history of the Angel Island Immigration Station.  Yung and Lee used new immigration research which included oral histories, immigration records and newly discovered inscriptions on the Angel Island barrack walls to tell the (until now) untold story of the lives of people who passed through the Station from 1910-1940. Not only does the reader learn about the stories of Chinese “paper sons” but also discovers the plights of the Japanese picture brides, Korean students, South Asian political activists, Russian and Jewish refugees, and many others from around the world who spent lonely hours under interrogation and isolation before being allowed to enter US soil. This book is the official publication commemorating the Immigration Station’s 100th anniversary. A portion of book sales goes to the AIISF. For more information please visit www.aiisf.org

Published by the Chinese American Council of Sacramento, Canton Footprints by Philip Choy tells the history of Sacramento’s Chinese legacy. Choy tells of the 1849 Gold Rush when Sacramento was the destination for many Chinese gold seekers, the origin of the Transcontinental Railroad, and a center for California agriculture.  I found the over forty oral histories of Chinese families in Sacramento fascinating as they are definitely testaments to how the Chinese went from unwelcome immigrants to valued citizens in the subsequent century after their arrival. Kudos to Douglas, Karun Yee and their fellow members of the Chinese American Council of Sacramento who sponsored the publication of the book. Their goal was to see that a book about their community was written,

EARNING MY RESPECT

When I discovered Judge Richard Ullmer had been endorsed by all nine Asian American Judges, the Chinese American Democratic Club and the

Chinese American Citizens Alliance San Francisco Chapter and the Sing Tao Daily, I wanted to find out why. I shot at him many questions which he answered with no reservations or hesitation.

When I asked him how he had won over eleven Asian American groups, he replied, “I have always worked among Asians since my early ESL tutoring of Hmong immigrants when I was an eager long haired student in Omaha, Nebraska. My fellow judges have seen me for my many years as a lawyer before their courts and my one year in the Judge’s robes so I am happy they liked my record enough to endorse me for my reelection to the San Francisco Superior Court Judgeship.”

“I am active with the Zion Lutheran Church where over half of our parishioners are Asian American,” he continued, “ And I helped mediate the dividing of the diverse church groups to two segments there – the Zion Lutheran Church and the Canaan Lutheran Church.”

When I asked his thoughts about how he would serve Asian American interests if he won his reelection bid, he answered, “I believe judges should make an effort to be out in the community more, and I would like to see the instigation of quarterly community meetings where people would have the opportunity to ask questions about court procedure. So many of our recent immigrants came from countries where the court systems were quite different from ours, so I would like to see such meetings being held so the immigrants wouldn’t be so fearful of the court system.”

Judge Richard Ulmer won my respect when he told me of the proudest moment of his law career: “In 1999 I led a team of fifty lawyers and paralegals at Latham & Watkins to investigate conditions in the California Youth Authority. Conducting over 100 interviews, we uncovered horrendous conditions of youth beatings, youth placements with sexual predators who were raped and assaulted, and youths placed in isolation cells and sometimes kennel-type cages. We sued in federal and Superior Courts and after years of litigation, the state agreed to a consent degree to end these abuses.”

For his thousands of hours on this case, Ulmer was given the California Lawyer Attorney of the Year award for 2006.  Judge Richard Ulmer comes up for re-election to maintain his seat on the San Francisco Superior Court, and like so many of his Chinese American associates who have worked with him, I feel he is the right man for the job.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Maria Chen sends us a notice that the Taiwanese American Chamber of Commerce-Northern California will be presenting its 2010 Double Ten Golf Tournament on October 2 at Summit Pointe Golf Club in Milpitas. With a dinner and golf entry fee of $100, it sounds like a great deal for a day of fun and fellowship for all who come to support the TACC-NC.  Chief Coordinator Michael Lin, VP Oscar Wu, Cliff Chen and Frank Lee together with Advisors Victor Huang, Bert Chang and Jesse Tseng welcome all.  Contact Gloria Wang 408 420 7131 for entry information.

During the 2nd Annual San Francisco Autumn Moon Film Festival, spend a lunch hour of magic and movie watching at the Four Seas Restaurant on September 19th.  The event will feature the magic of Chin-Chin and a screening of the movie The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam—a film about a man who was once Orson Welle’s mentor in magic. For reservations please call  (415) 793-1183.

The Dedication and Blessing of the Dr. and Mrs. Lawrence K.W. (BoHing Chan) Tseu Center for Nursing Education at Chaminade University of Honolulu will be held September 16th in the Henry Hall Courtyard of the University.  Dr. Tseu, having risen from humble beginnings in Honolulu, attended St. Louis School, BYU in Utah and Northwestern University Dental School in Illinois.  His wife, the late BoHing Chan, was a graduate of the University of Paris and received hr M.A. from the University of Oxford in England.  In partnership, they became a major philanthropic force in the Hawaiian Islands. Dr. Tseu remains active supporting many well-deserving non-profit causes in Hawaii and around the world.  His generosity to worthy projects knows no bounds. This new Center for Nursing Education is the recipient of the Tseus’ philanthropic spirit.