Ledger-Dispatch

By Bethany Monk (bmonk@ledger-dispatch.com) =

From left, Fiddletown Preservation = Society=20 members Deirdre Mueller, Teri Schnepp, Brian Mueller and Carl = McDanel,=20 volunteer as wine servers for Fiddletown Heritage Day visitors=20 participating in the region's first Best of Fiddletown Wine=20 Competition.

Photo by: Bethany = Monk

Cathy Hudson, left, of Fremont, Leta = Gower of=20 Livermore and Gwen Johnson of Fiddletown visit the gravesite of = Jimmy=20 Chow, the last person of Chinese heritage to live in Fiddletown. = He was=20 born in 1887 and lived until 1965.

Photo by: Bethany=20 Monk
The historic Chinese buildings of = Fiddletown=20 "are a link to our heritage," said Gwen Johnson, Fiddletown resident and = member=20 of the Fiddletown Preservation Society. "Without them we become just an = Anytown,=20 U.S.A."

This and a passion for Chinese history inspired Johnson = to begin=20 what was once called Chinese Heritage Day four years ago in Fiddletown, = which=20 has the largest and most intact group of Chinese buildings from a mining = town of=20 the California Gold Rush era. The name of the event has since been = changed to=20 Fiddletown Heritage Day, but the prevalence of the area's unique history = is=20 still a large draw.

More than 400 people participated in this = year's=20 event Saturday, in the historic downtown area. Vendors selling and = displaying a=20 variety of items, and several authors were on-hand to sell their books = during=20 the event, which ran from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visitors also enjoyed the = Best of=20 Fiddletown Wine Competition, historical re-enactments, live music, and = tours of=20 the schoolhouse and other historic buildings. The special day was a = fund-raiser=20 for the society's efforts to help restore the Chinese General Store and = Gambling=20 Hall, Fiddletown buildings that have been around since the 1800s, = Johnson said.=20

"It's a good outreach effort," Johnson said. "You gain insight = into=20 history."

"It's been a real good turn out," said Carl McDanel of = the=20 Fiddletown Preservation Society. McDanel and other members of the = society served=20 wine during the Best of Fiddletown Wine Competition. Several Heritage = Day=20 visitors participated in the competition as judges. "We have everything = here,"=20 said Jodi Kinser, a docent at the Chew Kee Herb Shop, in between giving = tours of=20 the shop to Heritage Day visitors. "(The shop) is an artifact itself. It = makes=20 me feel proud that such a tiny community has this."

"It's a = really neat,=20 unique sense of community," said Sierra Gold Country Realtor Sarah Zulim = of=20 Plymouth. "So many people that come together. I just like it up=20 here."

Senator Dave Cox visited the festival around lunch time. = District=20 5 Supervisor Brian Oneto also stopped by.

"It's a neat little = town," said=20 Cathy Hudson of Fremont. She enjoyed seeing all the "old buildings," = especially=20 the old schoolhouse.

"I love sharing my Chinese heritage," said = jewelry=20 maker Tina Jung. She and her husband, Cary of Sacramento, had a booth at = the=20 festival where they sold Tina's handmade jewelry made from Chinese = items. "It's=20 a charming event."

"History of Chinese medicine is still being=20 practiced," said Leta Gower, when asked about the importance of learning = about=20 and preserving the Chinese culture. "I always feel better," she said, = noting=20 that she practices it herself.

"If you're going to be in a = community,"=20 and make a lasting impression, "you're going to have to put yourself in = it,"=20 Gower said, praising Johnson's efforts to educate the community and = bring people=20 together through the heritage day.

The society needs more than = $100,000=20 to stabilize and weatherproof the Chinese General Store and Gambling = Hall,=20 according to a heritage day pamphlet. Johnson said she anticipates = raising=20 $2,000 from this year's event.

The Gold Rush community of = Fiddletown is=20 listed as National Registration No. 78000655 on the National Registry of = Historic Places, according to the pamphlet; it is also listed as = California=20 Historic Landmark No. 35.

Bethany = Monk