Ma Chuck, the Mathematician/Inventor
As mentioned in earlier posts, Ma Chuck was the first Chinese American male to register to vote in Santa Clara County. He also paid a...
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Lost Bay Area Stories
An Exploration into Obscure Bay Area History
- Feb 8, 2022
- 1 min
The Battery of Ma Chuck
As mentioned in a previous post, San Jose resident and Chinese American, Ma Chuck, became the first man of Chinese decent to register to...
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- Feb 8, 2022
- 2 min
First Chinese Man to Vote in Santa Clara County
An American born Chinese man named Ma Chuck was the first man of Chinese decent to register to vote in Santa Clara County on September...
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- Feb 3, 2022
- 1 min
Salaries of Potentates, 1886
More than 120 years ago, during the era of Monarchies and the Gilded Age, the San Jose Mercury pointed out the inequities in society....
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- Feb 2, 2022
- 3 min
Chinese New Year, Heinlenville, 1896
Heinlenville was one of the original Chinatowns in San Jose. It was located near 6th and Jackson St (currently Japantown). It is...
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- Nov 9, 2021
- 5 min
Spanish Flu? COVID? Discourse is the Same
In 1918, letters to the editor were the equivalent of social media today, a mixed bag of opinions many times anchored in counter factual...
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- Oct 27, 2021
- 2 min
Louis Corbetta 'Parasol' house in Los Altos
During the early 1960, Louis Corbetta, a retired 60 year old, decided to build an iconic party house for friends and neighbors in the Los Al
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- Sep 15, 2021
- 1 min
San Jose Masking During Spanish Flu
An excerpt from early San Jose Historian, Clyde Arbuckle, on the Spanish Flu era and the wearing of masks. The statistics are a little...
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- Aug 12, 2021
- 1 min
"Big George" and San Joses' first "safety" bike
"Big George" Osen, from the Edenvale neighborhood in San Jose, was the first cyclist with a "safety" styled bicycle. He drew so much...
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- Aug 10, 2021
- 2 min
"Dusty" Lamkin, San Jose Bicycle Pioneer
This photo of A.G Col was part of a accumulation of photographs that were found when cycling was just starting in San Jose around 1884. ...
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- Aug 8, 2021
- 2 min
"Al" on the Steed, San Jose Bicycle Pioneer
This photo of A.G Col was part of a accumulation of photographs that were found when cycling was just starting in San Jose around 1884. ...
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- Aug 2, 2021
- 2 min
"Dick" Moody before he 'dyed'
Starting in the late 1800's, San Jose became infatuated with cycling and bicycle racing. In 1908, the San Jose Mercury decided to...
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- Jul 27, 2021
- 1 min
"The Bonded Woman" SF Billboard, 1922
I love old movie billboards. This one was in San Francisco in 1922. Betty Compson was a rising Hollywood startlet and had early...
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- Jul 26, 2021
- 1 min
Marcian Rossi's Lost Fortune (Part 3)
San Jose's Marcian Rossi was an interesting local character as I've mentioned in other posts.. He was the overseer of the family's...
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- Jul 26, 2021
- 1 min
"The Rich Man's Burden", 1921
Ironically, this debate a hundred years ago is the same one that we're having today. Sources: San Francisco Call, October 5, 1921
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- Jul 25, 2021
- 1 min
Marcian Rossi - The Author (Part 2)
I've already posted about San Jose resident Marcian Rossi's collection of Marco Polo era maps and their noteworthiness. I've also posted...
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- Jul 25, 2021
- 2 min
Fah Teh Loy's Outrageous Bifurcated Pantaloons
Cultural norms and modesty were amusingly different a hundred years ago. Showing legs and ankles were a sign of avant guard fashion. ...
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- Jul 14, 2021
- 1 min
Marcian Rossi's Invention (Part 1)
As I've mentioned in a previous post, Marcian Rossi's claim to fame was that he held a collection of maps from the Marco Polo era. He...
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- Jul 13, 2021
- 3 min
Marco Polo and the San Jose Connection
There was an Italian San Jose resident and local tailor/machineist that lived in the area 100 years ago who's lineage connected him...
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- Jun 12, 2021
- 1 min
San Jose's One Armed Chauffer
R.B Barrett was quite a celebrity in San Jose during the early 1900's. He was the only one armed chauffer to drive a deliver car in the...
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