NEWS
Locke Celebrates Lunar New Year - Photo Gallery
 The historic Delta town of Locke filled with revelers Feb. 22 for its 17th annual Chinese New Year celebration, ushering in the Year of the Snake.
Try Something Fresh from Contra Costa Libraries
Gardeners of Antioch, Brentwood, Crockett, and Hercules have an unexpected resource for upcoming spring planting: their local libraries.
The Contra Costa County Seed Library program creates places where community members can share and trade seeds that have been donated or harvested locally. According to the website, “the plants that grow from these seeds will often do better than store-bought seeds since they have acclimated to the local microclimates and soils.”
At the Brentwood Library, the “program is popping!” said cheerful library assistant Adelia Sheffer, who noted the flower and vegetable seeds – packaged by volunteers – are very popular with visitors.
Seeds are available year-round and gardeners can take up to three packets of seeds. The hope, Sheffer said, is that the gardeners then return some seeds to the library at the end of the season from the plants they grew – “and the community can continue to share in the fruits of their labor.”
For information, contact your local Contra Costa County Library - locations, hours and telephone numbers can be found here.
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A Heritage Planting Party in Locke
 Loofah gourds. ©iStock/xijian
The Locke Chinese Heritage Demonstration Garden is hosting a “planting summer seeds and socializing” event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 15.The focus is on traditional Chinese vegetables, including include long beans, hu lu (or wu lou) gourd, bitter melon, and, interestingly, loofah.
“People think it grows under the sea,” says event organizer NancyJo Overmeyer, “but, no – you can grow it on your porch!”
This fibrous vegetable, while perhaps best known as an exfoliating back-scrubber, can also be consumed raw as a snack, shredded for salads, or added to stir-fries, soups, and stews. The loofah has a gentle flavor, often likened to cucumbers and zucchini. Other uses for this impressively versatile vegetable? Peanut butter storage for bird feeders and scrubbing mud out of the treads of shoes.
Participants should arrive at the Locke Boarding House Museum at 11 a.m. They will be escorted to the Demonstration Garden.
For information, contact Stuart Walthall, (916) 893-3727, stuartwalthall@aol.com.
Delta National Heritage Area Management Plan Approved
The U.S. Department of Interior approved the Management Plan for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area on Jan. 16.
“The Delta Protection Commission developed a plan that promotes the continued appreciation and protection of the natural, historic, and cultural resources associated with the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta National Heritage Area, a place important to our nation’s history and heritage,” wrote Charles F. Sams III, Director of the National Park Service.
Davis Camp Commemorated in Brentwood
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The City of Brentwood unveiled three new displays in January commemorating Davis Camp, a site that housed farm workers from the Great Depression through the Bracero Program.
Watch the video.
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GRANTS
March 18: Semiquincentennial Grant Program
The National Park Service is accepting applications for the fourth round of funding for the Semiquincentennial Grant Program.
This program supports the preservation of sites and structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places that commemorate the founding of the nation.
Grants support the physical preservation of a broad variety of cultural resources associated with the country's 250th anniversary. For the purposes of this grant program, the "founding of the nation" is defined as the period ending in 1815.
The application deadline is March 18.
MUSEUMS
New: Exhibit Honoring Chinese Farmers of the Delta
An impressive map featuring Chinese farmers of the Delta is on display at the Locke Boarding House Museum.
Created by Lili and Dee Kan, the exhibit shows the “footprint” of past and present farms and identifies the farmers. Many were not permitted under the laws of the time to own their own land; they were either sharecroppers, handing over 30% to 40% of their product to the white landowner, or tenant farmers who rented their land.
Alongside this display is a timeline of the significant challenges experienced by Chinese immigrants from 1850 to 1950, including anti-Chinese sentiment and violence, segregation, and city expulsions. Also featured is a chart detailing the shocking number of fires that plagued Courtland, Walnut Grove, Isleton, and Locke from 1870 to 1940.
The Locke Boarding House is operated in partnership with the Locke Foundation as a museum that provides “a glimpse into the past.” It is open Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
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Cultural Heritage Exhibit at San Joaquin County Historical Museum
 On Saturday, April 26, the San Joaquin County Historical Museum in Lodi will host a cultural art exhibit featuring 12 invited local artists and local high school students who will display artwork depicting their cultural heritage.
The event, which is open to the public, goes from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the museum, 11793 N. Micke Grove Road, Lodi. For information, contact Linda Claramo at (410) 960-0081.
Locke’s Past Comes Alive at Sacramento History Museum
The complex and colorful history of Locke is celebrated in a fascinating exhibit, “Chinese Pioneers: Power and Politics in Exclusion-era Photographs” at the Sacramento History Museum.
The exhibit runs through April 20 and explores the historic Delta town that was “built by Chinese Americans for Chinese Americans.” Visitors learn about the town’s struggles with discrimination, but also enjoy stories of its resilient and resourceful residents and their day-to-day lives, dreams, and challenges.
Another compelling feature of the exhibit examines the California Chinese immigrant experience through a series of powerful photographs and displays.
The Sacramento History Museum is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is located at 101 I Street in Old Sacramento.
Student Art Exhibition at the Haggin
The 94th Annual Robert T. McKee Student Art Exhibition - the country's longest running museum-sponsored student art exhibit - runs through March 16 at the Haggin Museum in Stockton.
On average, Haggin receives 1,000 pieces of art chosen by the teachers as the best in their class. The Museum’s temporary galleries are filled with two- and three-dimensional artworks created in crayon, colored pencil, pastel, watercolor, oil and acrylic paint, photography, and other mediums.
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CLASSES AND WEBINARS
Los Medanos College Lecture Series
LECTURES: The Los Medanos College's Lifelong Learning Center's lecture series includes lectures by local historian and Delta NHA Advisory Committee member Carol Jensen and author Dan Hanel.
The following courses will be held at the College's Brentwood Center and online:
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Mystery of the Great Stone House, 6-8 p.m. TODAY, March 6, online.
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Death at the Healing Waters, 6-8 p.m. March 13, online.
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Pioneering Women, 1-3 p.m. March 19, Brentwood Center Room 306.
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Ghosts of Black Diamond, 6-8 p.m. March 20, online.
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Beneath the Tangled Vines, 6-8 p.m. March 27, online.
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Byron Hot Springs: The Most Fabulous Resort in the West, 1-3 p.m. April 16, Brentwood Center Room 306, and bonus tour 1-3 p.m. April 19 (for those who attend the lecture).
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Pre-1848 Californios living in Alta California – Genealogía, 1-3 p.m. May 21, Brentwood Center Room 306.
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Knightsen and the Milk Train (Farms in Knightsen? “Moo!”), 1-3 p.m. June 18, Brentwood Center Room 306.
PICNIC IN HISTORY: The following are "road trip" courses involving personal vehicles and carpools leaving the Brentwood Center at 8 a.m. on the last Saturday of the month and heading to historical Delta destinations.
Enrollment at Los Medanos is not required, but you must register in advance at the Los Medanos College website.
EVENTS
Submit your event for inclusion in our bi-monthly Delta Heritage Courier newsletter by emailing submit@delta.ca.gov. The deadline for inclusion in the next newsletter is April 24; the newsletter comes out May 1.
 March 15 in Ryde: Immigrant and Emigrant Pioneer Contributions featuring Carol Jensen. 2-4 p.m. at the Ryde Hotel, 14340 CA-160.
March 22 in Sacramento: Film Premiere of "Voices: Chinese Women of the Delta," a documentary by Min Zhou. 1-4:30 p.m. at the California Museum, 1020 O St.
April 5 in Brentwood:
April 12 in Rio Vista: Mad Hatter's Tea Party - entertainment, prizes, games, raffle. 11:30 a.m. at the museum; tickets required.
May 6-10 in Sacramento: The Annual California Preservation Conference and Awards - more than 600 participants from the state gather to learn, network, and share successes.
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