Ok, this story is about to get real, but first I need to say something about the miles and miles. From my home to the Page Springs campground is over 300 miles. For the last half of that you don’t see many towns. You see a lot of big ranches and
widely scattered little hamlets clinging to the highway. We drove over a thousand miles. One of the subtle surprises was that all of the pavement we drove over was in excellent condition. One of the reasons for this is that the state highway system is
mostly paid for by the people living on the west side of the Cascades because that is where most Oregonians live. I’ll have more to say about the money as we go along. The economics are different of the east side of the mountains.
So where do you go after the Malheur nature reserve? Hey, let's head to what might be the strangest place in Oregon. We’re heading to the heart of darkness—maximum MAGA—John Day Oregon. It might as well been on a different planet. We landed
at the Kam Wah Chung interpretive center in time for the last tour of the day. I’ve been in John Day many times, but this was the first time I was able to go inside the historic building. It sat alone and unloved for a long time. Most Oregonians
probably aren't even aware that it exists.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kam_Wah_Chung_%26_Co._Museum https://friendsofkamwahchung.com/
https://friendsofkamwahchung.com/history/
That last link is a brief history of the building. It really doesn’t explain the importance of this building in Oregon’s history. Doc Hay and his collection of traditional Chinese medications gets all the publicity. He was a pulseologist. He
could read a person’s pulse in 17 different places and that was part of his diagnosis. But, the real mover and shaker was his business partner and long time friend, Lung On. He had his fingers on the pulse of the community. If there was a way to make
money in central Oregon, Lung On probably found it and was likely to be involved. Both men entered the United States during the period of the Chinese Exclusion Act and found ways around it. Under the exclusion act they couldn’t legally own property. By
the time they died they were probably the richest guys in Grant county. Other people probably made more money there from the gold mining, but they tended to move to more cosmopolitan places than John Day.
“Lung On (Liang Guanying, also known as Leon) was a partner with Ing Hay in the Kam Wah Chung and Company general store and apothecary in John Day from 1887 to 1940. Born in 1863 in Guangdong Province, China, he arrived in California in 1882 and
formed a business partnership with Ing Hay, a Chinese herbalist, in 1887.
Lung On, from a prosperous Chinese family, was an educated Chinese classicist, and his fluency in Chinese and English made him invaluable to both the Chinese in John Day and the non-Chinese who contracted labor and traded with the store. He served as
interpreter and translator, scribe, and business mentor for the Chinese in John Day. He was noted for his conviviality, his knowledge, and his love of games of chance, including horse racing.
In 1905, the Kam Wah Chung was ransacked in an unwarranted search, and Lung On and two other Chinese men were accused of possessing opium. A mob ordered them to leave town. But Lung On remained in John Day, pled not guilty to the charges, and was
acquitted. He later helped Chinese laborers navigate local laws when violence and robbery were perpetrated against them.
As he aged, Lung On became known as Leon, and local children frequented the Kam Wah Chung for his gifts of candy. He was a leader in the Sze Yup Communal Organization of Eastern Oregon and held investments in mining interests, real estate, and labor
contracting. He opened the first automobile dealer franchise in Oregon east of the Cascades and a service station, Tourist Garage, which operated until his death in 1940.
Lung On’s estate was valued near $90,000 in 1940, and proceeds were divided between Ing Hay and Lung On's wife and daughter, who had remained in China, though his family was never able to recover their share of the estate. Lung On is buried in John Day.
”
https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/lung_on_1863_1940_/
Both men were said to have been very popular. They were the only Chinese people who were buried in the Whites only cemetery in John Day. Lung On employed 7 White guys at his auto dealership. During the depression he loaned a bank enough money that
they were able to survive the depression. He had a couple of small rooms added to the old building for his bedroom and an office. The old office now houses an expensive security system with a fancy nitrogen fire suppression system, so any fire can be
suppressed without damaging the contents. In addition to business and gambling Lung On enjoyed dressing well and visiting prostitutes.
At the peak of John Day’s gold mining era there were probably around 2,000 Chinese people living in an area around the size of a city block. The only places in the United States with more Chinese people at that time were San Francisco and
Portland. They were a significant part of the population. Currently John Day is about 95% White and the median age is 52.5. (For all of Oregon the median age is around 40.) Most of the Asian Americans living there now are probably the families of the
southeast Asians who own the motels in town.
John Day has obviously seen better days. There were a lot of empty buildings, including two that looked like they had been nice restaurants and could be again, if there was enough business to support them. One of the more upscale remaining
restaurants was a big indication that we have arrived in the middle of Magaland. It advertises itself as a Republican restaurant. Outside on the reader board it had a message on one side about the Durham report & lies and on the other side there was a
message about “fruitcakes” causing a shit show. Another indication is that 77% of the voters in the last election voted for #45. Biden got 20% of the vote. This is also one of the counties where the majority of the voters would like to live in Idaho.
Since we didn’t want our dinner with a side of MAGA we went to the Squeeze In. It was an excellent choice. They serve something you rarely see these days—real freshly made French fries.
We were in John Day during a happy/sad event—high school graduation. It looked like the graduation was the social event of the season. It was sad because most of those kids will have to leave Grant county soon. There are no jobs for most of
them. Ranching and logging are still an important part of the economy, but in John Day the economy is driven by government services and tourism.
It’s hard to take Grant county seriously because there aren’t many people living there. The whole county has less than 8,000 people and John Day is significantly less than 2,000 people. They don’t have enough people or money to pay for the
highways they enjoy, let alone all the other government services. One of the interesting things about the museum is the amount of money the state park system pays to run it versus the number of people who visit. They way they are currently configured
only 64 people per day can tour the old building and they probably average a lot less than that. The admission was free. On this side of the mountains the state park system charges for just about everything, including day use at many of the state parks.
It was sort of the same way with the Feds. On this side of the mountains you pay to see the recreation of Fort Clatsop on the coast. On the east side of the mountains the visitor center at the wildlife refuge was free. At the Page Springs
campground we paid half price because I have a senior card--$9.00. If anything money gets stranger as we go along. More coming soon.
TB
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