The Children of Chinatown: Growing Up Chinese American in San Francisco, 1850-1920

Acknowledgments

acknowledgments I have accumulated many debts throughout this project, and there are numerous individuals and institutions whose support was instrumental in the completion of the final manuscript. I wish to thank Eric Rauchway for all of his support during the early stages of research and writing. I am also extremely grateful to Cecilia Tsu for her insightful comments and expertise on the subject matter. Lisa Materson, Louis Warren, and Kathy Olmsted also provided excellent advice and encouragement during the early process. I am especially indebted to Lois Smith for her extensive editorial assistance. I also wish to thank the other colleagues who listened to my ramblings and o√ered feedback on my initial findings: Judy Walker, Jean More, and Ben and Sarah Symkowick. I extend a special thank you to Stephanie Chen Wu for her assistance in translating some of the Chinese-language sources. I am deeply grateful for the help of the numerous individuals who pointed me in therightdirectionwithmyresearch,including Judy Yung, Colleen Fong, Lucy Salyer, Timothy Fong, Erika Lee, Bill Hing, Marlon Hom, Jeanie Low, Sue Fawn Chung, xii : Acknowledgments Laverne Dicker, Charles Egan, Ron Fillon, Marcia Bell, Kathryn Gin, Lynette Choy Uyeda Gin, Miroslava Chavez-Garcia, Lewis Baer, and Jack Hudson. David Garton provided access to his family documents. Je√rey Staley shared his excitement for the subject and his research findings, and he graciously opened up his home to me. Financial assistance was made possible by Betsy and Roland Marchand, the California State University Chancellor’s Doctoral Incentive Program, and the University of California, Davis, Institute of Governmental A√airs. I am also indebted to the following people and institutions: William Greene of the National Archives and Records Administration, Pacific Region, San Bruno; Jeannie Woo and Anna Naruta of the Chinese Historical Society of America; Erika Gee of the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation ; Wei Chi Poon of the Asian American Studies Library, University of California, Berkeley; Tami Suzuki of the San Francisco History Room; Verne Deubler of the California Genealogical Society; Ronald Lee of the Boy Scout Troop Three Alumni Association; Father Daniel McCotter of St. Mary’s Chinese School; William Jorae of the Photographic Archives, California State Parks; the California State Library; the California State Archives; the Bancroft Library; the California Historical Society; Stanford Special Collections; the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace, Stanford University; the University of Oregon Special Collections; the San Anselmo Theological Seminary ; and the Holt-Atherton Library at the University of the Pacific. I continue to be inspired and moved by conversations with several people presently working to improve the lives of the children of Chinatown. These include Marlene Callejas, principal of Gordon Lau Elementary School; Helen Joe-Lew at San Francisco Unified School District Multilingual Programs; Ben Wong, deputy director of Community Education Services; and Christina Wong at Chinese for A≈rmative Action. The anonymous readers for the University of North Carolina Press helped me clarify my points and strengthen the overall argument, and their insightful comments improved the flow of the manuscript. I am also grateful to Chuck Grench, Sian Hunter, Jay Mazzocchi, and the unc Press sta√ for believing in this project and guiding it through publication. On a personal note, I am eternally grateful for the loving support of my husband, Wil Jorae, who is both my most honest critic and best friend. My father, Denis Sweeney, has provided a constant model of integrity and inspired in me a love of learning since I was a young child. My mother, Sherry Sweeney, has taught me the value of hard work while demonstrating the most generous spirit of anyone I have ever met. My grandmother, Lina Acknowledgments : xiii Rouse, has been with me every step of the way and has provided a foundation of unconditional love and stability for the entire family. This page intentionally left blank the children of chinatown This page intentionally left blank ...