Visit Kam Wah Chung & Co.
Lee's Association Lion Dancers of Portland perform at the Kam Wah Chung reopening celebration in John Day on May 4, 2008. This is a press release courtesy of Oregon Parks and Recreation Department The Kam Wah Chung & Co. Museum is officially open for group tours after a May 4 reopening celebration in John Day. The museum is now open daily for hourly tours limited to groups of 10 people from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. The tours begin at the nearby interpretive center, also operated daily from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) as part of the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site. Both the center and the museum will be open until Oct. 31. "Kam Wah Chung is one of our state's cultural treasures," said OPRD Director Wood. "Reopening the museum in its restored state is a tribute to a successful partnership that has combined national and statewide support with a dedicated local preservation effort." Proceeds from a $1.5 million fundraising campaign chaired by Oberst and led by the Oregon State Parks Trust, the Friends of Kam Wah Chung Museum and the City of John Day helped finance the museum's restoration. The 10-month project involved repairs to the building along with improvements that included new lighting, a security alarm system, high-tech fire detection sensors and a fire suppression system that uses a high-pressure mist. The most visible improvements include restored wallpaper, floors, ceilings and epigrams—brief descriptive or philosophical writings in Chinese lettering seen on walls throughout the building.
The restoration also included an inventory and archiving of the museum's artifacts by a National Parks Service collection team. After their removal during work on the building, many of the 30,000-plus artifacts are back on display in the museum or in the interpretive center. Others found to be in poor condition are still being restored. Reopening day events included the unveiling of a plaque from the Oregon State Parks Trust inscribed with donors' names, museum tours, special Chinese exhibits, Chinese games and performances by the Lee's Association Lion Dance Team of Portland. Speakers joining Oberst at the ribbon-cutting ceremony included Jeanne Day, president of the Friends of Kam Wah Chung; OPRD Director Tim Wood; Mary Jane Guyer of the Oregon State Parks Trust, and Robert Waugh, the grand nephew of Ing "Doc" Hay. Doc Hay, a specialist in herbal medicines, and businessman Lung On were Chinese immigrants who operated the Kam Wah Chung & Co. as general store, apothecary and cultural center for the area's Chinese population beginning in the late 1880s. |
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Oregon First Lady Mary Oberst (at right) used one of the museum's artifacts — a cleaver — to cut the ribbon dedicating the renovated National Historic Landmark, which had been closed for restoration since Oct. 1, 2006. Oberst has been leader in efforts to preserve the historic building.
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