加州樂居鎮 Locke, CA

舊房子和靜静的街道散發着悠閒, 安逸的氣息。What a combination!

2013 北美西部行腳之七 : 加州樂居鎮 2013 Westbound 7 : Locke, CA

從三藩市去也要一個多小時車程。It took us an hour (or more) to drive to Locke from SF.

在水道交橫的Walnut Grove, 樂居就是地圖右上角的一小塊。Locke is located on the upper right corner of the map, a one-street community.

這是此次加州行第三個要去参觀的早期中國人聚居的地方。跟Weaverville 和Oroville 不同的是, Locke 的建立是在尋金熱(1848-1855)數十年之後。聚居的國人來此是参與堤壩的建築和農產品種植/收割的エ作。Locke 的網頁上有這樣的記述:

[約有三、四千中國人於一八七零年開始集結於沙加緬度縣三角州地區，他們投身於建築堤壩及農業工作。沿著沙加緬度河，此三千多華工分佈於數個小鎮居住，包括有埃靈頓(Isleton)，汪古魯 (Walnut Grove)，和葛崙(Courtland)。於一九一五年，汪古魯的唐人埠發生大火，燒毀了整個唐人埠，其後有部份中山人和距離汪古魯埠約半哩的地主George Locke相熟，便得到他的同意租出他的土地來建立一個唐人埠，並定名為樂居港(Lockeport)，後來改名為樂居鎮。

鎮內共有屋宇約五十間，大都是於開埠首五年建成，於一九二零年後樂居鎮相當繁榮，居民有五、六百人，全屬華人。商業方面有影院，中藥店，六間餐館，九間雜貨鋪，數間宿舍，並有數間賭館及妓寮。妓寮由白人經營，賭館、酒寮、鴉片煙窟則由華人經營。

於七十年代初，美國政府確認了樂居鎮的歷史價值，將鎮內五十間樓宇列入為國家歷史古績，以表揚樂居鎮為全美國惟一由全華人建立及居住的唐人埠，實為華人之光。]

The beginning of house building that lead to a rural Chinese community was in 1912. According to the official website of the town, levee construction was the reason the Chinese were brought to this rural area of Sacramento Delta , and by the time the town was built, most of the work was in farm labor. The first building in Locke was a dry goods store/beer saloon, and then a gambling hall… Finally, a total of seven buildings formed the hamlet of then so called Lockeport. In 1915, a fire burned down the Chinatown in the nearby Walnut Grove (see the map) causing the folks to move to Locke which was built on the land leased from George Locke (Chinese was not allowed to own land at that time). The population of Locke swelled with the growing season and harvest. the Chinese population would be as many as 1000 to 1500. By 1920, Locke stood essentially as visitors see it today.

正街 (主街道) On the Main Street.

這是樂居最主要的街通。The Main Street of Locke.

現居民以白人為主, 華矞人數只得十人左右。 The majority of current residents are white, there are only 10 Chinese descendents still living there.

大街內有小中式花園。A small Chinese garden.

街上只有一兩間店鋪營業, 售買些紀念品/舊東西。A few shops on the Main Street were open for business.

鎮上有幾所博物館免費供遊客參觀。我們參觀了三處，分別為舊學校，大來賭館和俊英會館。它們有別於傳統的博物館，它們是將原來的機構回復舊貌，讓參觀者一窺當時的生活點滴。

There are a number of museums open to visitors. We visited three of them, the school, the gambling hall and a community hall, admissions were free. There were no curators on site, visitors were welcome to walk in and enjoy the exhibition which was basically the restored old state of the establishment.

鎮上的學校博物館 The school/museum.

學校前的孔子像。 Confucius in front of the school.

國父像。Dr. Sun Yat-sen, one of the founding fathers of modern China.

學校。The classroom.

有點歴史的學生桌椅。 Interesting old student desks.

學校牆上掛的舊照片。Student participated in the town’s activity, 1920s.

一九二五年追悼孫中山先生大會。An old photo dated 1925.

大來賭館博物館 The gambling house/.

大來賭館博物館正門。 Dai Loy Museum/ The gambling hall.

大來賭館博物館內觀。 Looking inside the museum/gambling hall from the entrance.

西式撲克牌。A poker table.

中式番攤。A gambling table.

中式番攤。Chinese style gambling.

彩票。Lottery tickets.

The back of the gambling hall. On the left, there are lottery room and…

左為彩票(開字花)室, 右為賬房。The lottery room and the money room.

牆上掛有古老字花(?)賭博用圖。A very old lottery system that was used in Macao.

此處似是供酒的吧檯。With wine bottles on the shelf, I believe this was the bar of the hall.

彩票(開字花)室。The lottery room.

賭館後房間展出舊時雜物和照片。There are a couple of rooms on the back where old photos are on display.

1922 年一家人。The Jeng’s of the Sacramento Delta, 1922.

舊照片。Some old photos.

民國廾七年(1928) 三藩市出版的少年中國報。 Newspaper, the Young China, published in San Francisco in 1938.

金山時報。 “Hitler is really serious”

俊英會館博物館：俊英會館用現代說話就是中山同鄕會活動中心。樂居鎮居民多來自廣東中山縣，大部份是男性, 隻身赴美。俊英會館提供收信、寫信、膳食等服務。並提供場地供同鄉閱報, 聊天, 玩牌, 和唱戲。

The Chinese Association Museum/The Jan Ying Benevolent Association

This has been the social center and informal headquarters for the men from the Zhongshen of Guongdong Province. Mails were received here and help was available for writing letters. Folks also came here to read Chinese newspapers, play games, enjoy tea, play music, or just to have a chat in their own dialect. The association was equipped with a big kitchen which indicates that this establishment at sometime provided meals for its members (most of the members, particularly at the early time, were men who left their families behind).