Saratoga Sampler
Archeologist digs up a new Chinatown
By Mary Ann Cook
SURPRISES FOUND: When state archeologist Mark Hylkema started excavating at the site of the third Chinatown to be found in San Jose--this one at Taylor at the Guadalupe River, he found plenty of surprises. He related his adventures at the Chinese New Year dinner last month held by the Los Gatos-Saratoga-Monte Sereno branch of the AAUW.
The Woolen Mills settlement was in existence for only 14 years, but it had a water system, a sewer system (unlike the remainder of San Jose), skylights and evidence of food eaten not native to this area, such as the puffer fish and the Sand Hill crane. Opium pipes and false teeth were also found.
The sophistication of the settlement is even more surprising when one realizes that the Chinese Exclusion laws were in full force and the Chinese were not allowed to own property. They had to form partnerships with Caucasians to gain any control.
Anti-Asian prejudice was so rampant that when Plaza Chinatown (where the Fairmont stands now) burned, it was thought to be arson and San Jose firefighters merely stood and looked on. But because the Chinese had to document their movements so thoroughly, a lot is known about this village.
Maps are so accurate one can tell exactly where each structure stood. A theater was in the community. A great-granddaughter of the leader of the community has been found and researchers are hoping more information will come to light when she's interviewed.
Woolen Mills Chinatown passed from the scene in 1901, about the time the mill, where many of them worked, was in decline. The results of the excavation will be published this summer in a book, Life along the Guadalupe River, available at the San Jose History Museum at Kelley Park.
ON '60 MINUTES:' Saratogan Sonya Barna racked up her 15 minutes of fame recently when she appeared on the TV show, "60 Minutes." Barna's nickname is "The Patton of Pot" because she's a special agent for the state, working out of the Attorney General's Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement.
Barna is operations commander for a squadron of helicopters that spot fields of marijuana. The troops then shimmy down a rope to take machetes to the crop. The helicopter work is undertaken when the crops are in full bloom and easily spotted, during July, August and September. Barna works out of Sacramento, and comes home weekends.
Marijuana is the state's largest crop and a brilliant green, so it's easy to spot from the air. Barna is a diminutive sort and was a police officer and undercover agent, posing as a high school student in San Jose, when she met her husband, Keith, who was with the FBI. Today he runs a company called Barna P.I., a private investigation and security firm.
Keith graduated from Saratoga High in 1980. His mother is Lillian Barna, a retired superintendent for San Jose schools. His brother, Craig, is a musical director in New York, currently working on Peter Pan, starring Cathy Rigby. Father Eugene is a retired nuclear engineer for Bechtel, so the Barnas cover a lot of categories.
MARINE FOR A WEEK: Mark Ritter had a dream vacation for a 10-year-old--a week aboard the U.S.S. Tarawa, from Hawaii to San Diego. His brother, Marine Lance Cpl. Erich Brockmoeller, is stationed on the ship. Such trips where guests are accommodated are called Tiger cruises.
On this venture were 1,500 Marines, 800 Navy men and 500 guests. The visitors were introduced to the ship from stem to stern, taking in such intricacies as the engine room and the radar room. They were treated to air shows as well. The Tarawa functions as a mini aircraft carrier.
"I want to go next time," says their mother, Wendy Ritter.
BOWL-A-THON: The bowl-a-thon to help bring a dozen Russian orphans to the South Bay this summer--with the hope of their eventual adoption--raised $9,400 so far. The organizer, Andrea Rogerson, who hosted a youngster last summer, said this should be enough to take care of expenses.
About the bowl-a-thon, a new experience for her, she says: "Everybody was having such a good time, whooping and screaming." She said she had been on the phone for nine weeks in preparation. Her family was heartbroken when they couldn't adopt their Russian guest last summer.
The Rogersons are Brits, here on a visitor visa, and the restrictions and red tape for adoption proved overwhelming. Now Rogerson is concentrating on seeing that others do get adopted.
TESTIMONIAL: Mountaineer Jim Williams has this to say about his childhood: "Growing up in Saratoga, among such fine people who felt that the world was truly just out our back door, helped me have the confidence I needed to explore life as I have for the past year."
Williams tackled and reached the tops of the highest peaks in each of the seven continents over a seven-month period last year. He was a recent speaker at the Saratoga Foothill Club.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
