The historical expedition to China started on Wednesday morning, April 11, 2007. My wife and I went on this expedition together. She was born deaf and we use sign language as our way to communicate. As it turned out, her deafness was a blessing because we didn’t speak Chinese and her lifelong experience with gestures made communication much easier. We flew from St. Cloud to Minneapolis to Tokyo and finally landed in Beijing, China. We stayed one short night in Beijing before catching an early morning flight to Kunming (a three-hour flight southwest of Beijing) on Air China. From Kunming (Yunnan Province Capital City) we took a three-hour bus ride northeast to Qujing (similar city to a county seat). From Qujing we took a 90-minute cab ride north to the mountain village where the railroad workers were from (we explained in the last printing how we knew this). It was all very exciting, but let me highlight a few points. While on the flight from Beijing we spoke with a few Chinese men (in broken English) that knew all about the exodus to America back in the 1860s and 1870s. One man claimed he had ancestors that went from the Kunming (Qujing) area and they did not return home. Friday we walked the streets of Kunming, wondering what life was like back in the 1860s. We visited the Yunnan Museum of History and ate fantastic Chinese food. We watched men, women and children escort around goods on the back of their ox and wagons pulled by donkeys. Of course, there were countless economy Japanese cars as well. We arrived at the bus station in Qujing on Saturday morning, April 14, 2007, in need of a 90-minute ride to the village at the Pearl river’s source. As my wife and I set down our belongings on a depot bench, a Chinese man in his early 20s sat close to us. I handed him the book pointing at a question “Where is the toilet?” Thanks to the help of some local St. Cloud State University (SCSU) Chinese students, we had all our questions written out in English and Chinese characters. The man pointed to the toilet. I informed my wife I would go check it out, and report back to her. While I was gone, the man looked through the book. I returned and informed my wife it was safe to go use the toilet. While my wife was gone, the man spoke to me in broken English. I told him I was also here to find out what happened to the women of all the men that left for America (a topic not in the book). He gave me the answer I will mention in the next and final part of this series. We went outside the Qujing bus depot and not a single cab driver spoke any English. Using our prewritten requests in Chinese, the first six cab drivers all said “no” because it was too far. It was also possible they didn’t trust us. For a brief moment, I was very discouraged until a young female cab driver came running up behind us yelling something. My wife made the assumption she would give us our 90-minute ride to the mountain, and she was right. We jumped in the cab, and were on our way. We passed through rugged mountain country and finally arrived at the park entrance. Although the cab driver had intended on waiting in her cab, she joined our walk up the mountain because she liked Cathy. Our emotions were very high because we finally made it to our destination. We had plenty of time to explore the mountain and the village below. (Final Part 3 conclusion is next). ********** Our world-traveling historical society member Dan Becker achieved more than he even dreamed by recording and telling the rest of us about the old St. Anne’s cemetery, several forgotten Chinese railroad workers buried there and incredible stories of this history we may never have learned. Again, thank you Dan for bringing this into our lives at this time. ********** Facelift for Main Street Restoring historict city hall phase 3 … 2007-2008. Built in 1908, the Kimball City Hall is turning 100 years old next year. This centenarian is getting a face-lift for the celebration. But more important than just a visual facelift, Kimball’s only structure to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places is being preserved. Tuck-pointing to repair the brickwork and new windows that meet historic authenticity standards while also helping to conserve energy mean this landmark will be around and in good shape for many years to come, a promise few of us will make as we reach that 100-year milestone. All donations are tax deductible and doubled by a matching grant, so your most appropriate gift helps reach the goal. Leave your mark on city hall! ********** Souvenir notecards, trivets, coffee cups and the Maine Prairie history booklet of Kimball’s beginnings are all available at the Kimball Bank – making excellent gifts. Keepsake cookbooks are available at Knaus Sausage House and at the Kimball Bank. We thank both of these businesses. To donate to The City Hall Fund by payment of pledge, give us a story for this column, learn more about our history and opportunities to volunteer, renew membership or begin membership, contact the Kimball Area Historical Society, Box 100, Kimball, Minn. 55353 or phone (320) 398-5743 or (320) 398-5250 or toll-free (800) 252-2521, if out of the area. ********** Preserving our history Celebrating our heritage
