located in the historic Newberry Building in downtown Stockton.
Founded as an All American five and dime store in the 1911, Newberry's was a retail giant in past years nationwide. The Stockton location was shuttered in 1997 but recently reopened two decades later with various tenants...
One of which is the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), National Museum. Twenty years in the making, this museum is dedicated to educating the public, as well a the disemmination and sharing of the cultural contributions of Filipino Americans IN America (not the Philippines). Stockton, once known as the "Asparagus Capital of the U.S." was also a strategic city in which to house the museum because it was considered the epicenter for Filipino laborers helped shape the agricultural landscape of California by working the crops, especially during the Depression years up until the late 1960's.
We planned our visit around this museum because they were only open for certain days. I made sure to email and call ahead of time to make sure they would be open, especially since we are members of FANHS, San Diego. I also called while we were en route to let them know to expect us. The door was locked but someone saw us and let us in.
There is so much I want to write but I will try to keep it brief...
The volunteers working the museum were very nice, ranging from a new FANHS member who just joined and recently immigrated from the Philippines (she was also unaware of the past history of discrimination faced by our Filipino pioneers), and two older second generation Filipino Americans who were born and raised in Stockton.
Inside the case were series of books written by various FANHS chapter members for the Arcadia Press series, "Images of America - Filipinos in (insert city or state here) " (San Diego's version was released in 2010; I have previous three separate posts of those book events)...
FANHS co-founders, the late Uncle Fred Cordova (read my tribute here) and his wife, Auntie Dorothy Cordova...
Vintage WWII Army uniform and native dress loaned by FANHS Stockton Chapter.
Exhibits showed life in the "campos" (dwellings where the Filipino 'manongs' and farm laborers lived), Filipino bikers and maps of the areas where Filipino labors contributed to the California economy by working the fields of the Central Valley.
The gentleman pictured below is Mr. Ernie Cabreana, one of the FANHS Central Coast Chapter members...I had the pleasure of meeting him year ago during a FANHS National Conference, 2002 in Los Angeles. Many of the San Diego folks met up with the Central Coast chapter and had lunch at a Thai restaurant close to the conference venue.
Artwork (wish I knew who the artist was):
The following panels for Singgalot - The Ties that Bind, was a former traveling exhibit which originated from the Smithsonian. We saw this exhibit in 2010 in San Francisco when it was housed at the San Francisco Library. The library had all thirty panels. Here, at the FANHS National Musuem, there are only HALF of the panels. The remaining panels are at the Wing Luke Museum of the Pacific Asian Experience in Seattle, WA.
I was happy to see the exhibit again, especially now that TC is older and can appreciate this history more (she was only ten when we saw the exhibit in SF). Below, a selection of a few of the panels:
Plus more of the other exhibits:
As a second generation Filipina American with ties to the US Navy via my father, visiting this museum was certainly an emotional experience for me. Although my experiences as a Navy brat growing up in the 70's differed from the experiences depicted in the exhibits here, it only served to underscore the variety of backgrounds and the push/pull factors for the distinct waves of Filipino immigration into the United States. Down here in San Diego, many of my generation and older have a military connection. Nowadays, this is not the case. Many folks from the Central Valley have the agricultural background and were here way before my dad who joined the Navy in the early 1960's.
We need more museums like this, especially in San Diego.
Articles:
"After more than two decades, Filipino American museum scheduled to open" NBC News, Oct. 5, 2016
National Filipino American History in America museum to open in Stockton this fall" Capradio.org, May 15, 2015 (Note - the museum eventually opened Fall 2016)
Here is a cool video showing support from the Filipino American biker community on the musuem's opening day:
Plus a cool documentary featuring Manong Ernie Cabreana (featured in the current exhibit about bikers) - This is Part 1:
followed by Part 2:
FANHS National Museum (located in the historic Newberry building)
337 E. Weber Ave
Stockton, CA 95202
(209) 932-9037 / fanhsstockton@aol.com
fanhsstockton.com/fanhs_museum
Admission is free but donations are accepted. I was glad that we were finally able to see the FANHS National Museum and look forward to a return visit perhaps this October when it is Filipino American History Month...
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