By Gerrye Wong, CHCP Co-Founder and Trustee

Chinese Historical and Cultural Project (CHCP) started off the week with a bang – its first annual BBQ picnic in History Park exclusively for its CHCP members and their personal guests. There were favorite picnic foods – hamburgers and hot dogs done on the History Park grills by masters: CHCP Director Liz Chew, CHCP Member Willy Wong, and CHCP Director Peter Young, set up and served by Director Edith Gong and Treasurer Liz Lee. CHCP had badminton for young athletes, mah jong for the more sedate members, Bluegrass and piano music for music lovers, and door prizes for everyone. See from the happy faces caught on camera what a great day it was…and a special perk for being a CHCP member. Many guests enjoyed the group so much, they hastened to join as members and docent volunteers for the CHCP museum at the park. Thanks to Chair and Outreach Vice-President Ingrid Lai, photo guy - Director Bill Shu, Bluegrass musician and CHCP Co-President Arthur Jue, and door prize guy - Director Erwin Wong, for showing us all what fun-loving times CHCP members can have when they join up. Membership always open for all.

How proud Emily Yue, Jeff Lee, Michael Chan, Anita Kwock and I were, as founding board members there, to see how wonderfully the group is thriving since we began in 1987...38 years ago. Congratulations CHCP members past and present!!

By Kimberly Eng Lee, CHCP Co-President

The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) and Chinese Historical and Cultural Project (CHCP) proudly announce that Connie Young Yu is the recipient of an Award of Excellence for Individual Lifetime Achievement. The AASLH Leadership in History Awards, now in its 80th year, is the most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of state and local history. 

Connie Young Yu is a writer and independent historian dedicated to documenting America’s immigration history for over a half century. She was involved in the preservation of the immigration detention building that led to the Angel Island Immigration Station in San Francisco Bay becoming a national monument. She was a founding member of Asian Americans For Community Involvement (AACI) and is an Advisory Board Member and Historian for CHCP. Among her many works, she is the author of Chinatown, San Jose, USA, The Peoples Bicentennial Quilt Book and co-author of Hakone Estate and Gardens. She consulted on the archaeological excavations of three Chinatowns in San Jose and a railroad workers camp site in the Sierras. She conducted oral history interviews of descendants for the Stanford Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project, gave the commencement speech at the 150th Anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad at Promontory, UT, and accepted the City of San Jose’s formal Apology for past racial discrimination against Chinese immigrants and their descendants. Young Yu recently launched The Geary Act Project which endeavors to gather Certificates of Residence, the ‘yellow card’ required at the time of all Chinese in America by order of the 1892 Geary Act.

This year, AASLH confers 54 national awards honoring people, projects, exhibits, and publications. The winners represent the best in the field and provide leadership for the future of state and local history. Awards will be presented at AASLH’s annual conference in Cincinnati, OH, September 10-13, 2025.

The AASLH awards program was initiated in 1945 to establish and encourage standards of excellence in the collection, preservation, and interpretation of state and local history throughout the United States. The AASLH Leadership in History Awards not only honor significant achievement in the field of state and local history, but also bring public recognition of the opportunities for small and large organizations, institutions, and programs to make contributions in this arena. For more information about the Leadership in History Awards, contact AASLH at 615-320-3203 or go to www.aaslh.org.

For more on Connie Young Yu: View the 06/11/24 DeAnza interview "Connie Young Yu: Writing Untold Stories"

In 2024, CHCP Co-Founder and Trustee Gerrye Wong was selected by the AASLH to receive their 2024 Award of Excellence for Individual Lifetime Achievement for her decades of work in preserving and sharing Chinese American history in California.

In 1998, AASLH named CHCP the recipient of the Albert B. Corey Award, the most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of local, state, and regional history. The Albert B. Corey Award is reserved for very deserving, small, primarily volunteer-operated, historical organizations. This award is granted only when an organization meets the high standards of excellence set by Albert B. Corey, a founding member of the AASLH, and therefore, is not awarded annually.

By Ingrid Lai, CHCP Outreach Vice-President

Bill and I went to San Diego to attend a graduation ceremony, and as suggested by CHCP Director Brenda Wong, we found time to visit the San Diego Chinese Historical Museum. Luckily, we bumped into CHCP Advisory Board Member Pinki Fung in San Diego, who was there attending a conference. She very kindly agreed to visit the museum with us and all the great photos were taken by her. We met a very nice docent at the museum from whom we learned a lot.

The museum's newest exhibit, CBI Victory!, is an 80th Anniversary retrospective of the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater, a theater of battle to which many Chinese and Chinese Americans contributed. It is curated by the Chinese Historical Society of America (CHSA) and the Chinese American G.I. Project. The exhibit includes many historical photos, medals, and memorabilia, and will run until January 2026.

By Peter Young, CHCP Director and HELP Grant Chair

Rancho Milpitas Middle School held its annual Asian American Heritage Night Thursday, May 15th.  The event was held at the outdoor school quad and was partially funded by a CHCP HELP Grant that was used to purchase costumes, props, decorations, and cultural food items sold at the event.  Approximately 150 students, parents, and faculty members were treated to a variety of 11 ethnic Asian performances.  Performances included Bollywood, Vietnamese, K-Pop, Hawaiian, a Filipino Tinikling performance to a non-Filipino song, and a piano performance by the daughter of Rancho Milpitas Middle School faculty member Yen Mai.  Decorations included life-sized drawings of Asian costumes by the students.  CHCP Co-President Kimberly Eng Lee and Board Members Peter Young, Brenda Wong, and Edith Gong attended and shared information on CHCP and upcoming events with the attendees.

Dr. Kimberley Connor's talk on "Beer, Bitters, and Batteries: Glass from the Market Street Chinatown" presented the first results from a new analysis of glass containers and tablewares from the Market Street Chinatown in San Jose. Her presentation told us about everyday life in the Chinatown, technological changes in glassmaking, and the types of products consumed.

By Christina Li, SBHCACC Vice-President

This year’s Ching Ming Jie had many newcomers who came to learn about the land’s 100+ year history and participate in a cultural event that honors our ancestors. For me, it was especially meaningful as we were able to debut the monument from Black Pearls of Geneaology. This marble monument has a history of the cemetery and the names of those buried. We are already thinking of how to make the event more accessible to families next year!

View a KPIX/CBS News broadcast about the 2025 Ching Ming Ceremony at the Historic Chinese American Cemetery:

By Kimberly Eng Lee, CHCP Co-President

CHCP’s Vice-President of Education, Dr. Chris Jochim gave a bilingual workshop on April 4 at the Avenidas Chinese Community Center (ACCC) in Palo Alto. Dr. Jochim presented in both English and Mandarin about the importance of the local temples, compared the Chinese American Historical Museum (CAHM) (in the replica Ng Shing Gung building) to other Chinese American temples, explained the meaning of various couplets, and discussed why most early Chinese immigrants’ temples disappeared or became museums.

Attendees listened intently and participants had many questions about the topic, including who was responsible for upkeep of the Ng Shing Gung temple, where had the altar been stored after the temple closed, and what were relations like between Chinese residents of Heinlenville and adjacent Japantown.

CHCP Co-President Kimberly Eng Lee also described the still active Bok Kai Temple in Marysville, which CHCP visited in early March during the Bok Kai Festival.