The interior of the Hong Yek Kee Mercantile. Doorway on right looks across the alley into the Kwong Hong Yick laundry. ~National Archives and Records Administration photo.

Three of the five buildings that made up Chinatown, circa 1902, were on the southeast corner of Fifth and Columbia streets. Left to right are the Chinese boarding house, The Hong Yek Kee Co. Import Mercantile and Labor Contracting, and the Kwong Hong Yick Laundry. ~National Archives and Records Administration Photo.

An unidentified Chinese family poses for the photographer, circa 1890s ~Ida B. Smith photograph. Courtesy of Washington State Historical Society, Capital Museum Collection.

Members of Olympia Veneer Company's "Glue Gang" include Gabe Hoglund, Fred Peterson, Evalo Wentjar, Art Kallman, Walde Forsman and Bill Gustafson. ~Courtesy of Norma Hangge private collection.

Bill Gustafson, superintendent of Olympia Veneer Company, is pictured on July 31, 1944. ~Courtesy of Norma Hangge private collection.

Our People; continued

Founding Cultures -- Indian Leaders

Founding Cultures

Indian Leaders

During the 1920s American Indian leaders went to the nation's capital to secure the rights of the tribes to pass on their heritage to future generations. One of the group was Frank Iyall, grandson of Chief Leschi's sister. He lived on the Nisqually Indian reservation, where he raised cattle and horses, and farmed about 80 acres. His wife, Ida Smith, conducted Indian Shaker Church services and hosted social gatherings in their home. One of Iyall's many negotiations involved lobbying for the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, which enabled American Indians to vote and authorized citizenship for those born within the territorial limits of the United States. He also was instrumental in getting federal recognition for the Nisqually tribe.

Jewish Community

Olympia is one of Washington's oldest Jewish communities, with three distinct influxes: German Jewish settlers who came before 1870, Orthodox-reared Eastern European Jews who came in the early 20th century, and the "modern" Jews of the late 1960s and 1970s.

One of Olympia's first Jewish families was the Bettmans, who emigrated from Bavaria. Brothers Louis, Mose and Sig Bettman established a general merchandise store in 1853 on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Adams Street.

In 1863, Gustave and Bertha Rosenthal arrived in Olympia and opened a dry goods store on Second Avenue and Main Street (now Olympia Avenue and Capitol Way), then started an oyster business, shipping oysters to Portland, San Francisco and Victoria.

In addition to filling roles as prominent businessmen, members of the Jewish community were political leaders. German Jew Edward Selig Salomon was the ninth Governor of Washington Territory, Louis Bettman was a city councilman in 1888, and Mitchel Harris served as Olympia's mayor from 1909 to 1911.

The Hebrew Benevolent society was formed in 1873, and by 1880 there were about 40 Jews living in Olympia. Political upheaval in czarist Russia forced many Jews to emigrate, and the next wave of Jews came from Eastern Europe. Earl and Tillie Bean and family came to Olympia around 1920, and Earl's parents, Jacob and Rachel Bean, settled in Olympia a few years later.

Several new families, including the Hollanders and Goldbergs, arrived in the late 1920s and early 1930s. These families and others helped create a vital downtown business core as proprietors of stores such as Olympia Supply Company, Olympian Auto Parts, Goldberg's Furniture Store, Frederick's Apparel and Anna Blom's bookstore.

Orthodox Jewish services for 10 to 15 families were held in Jacob and Rachel Bean's home on Puget Street. As the Jewish population grew, the need for a permanent place of worship became obvious, so in 1937 property was purchased to erect the synagogue Temple Beth Hatfiloh. Earl Bean, Carl Hollander and Reuben Cohn solicited funds and contributions from Jewish and gentile sources. The building was dedicated in June 1938. The synagogue's veneer-paneled interior and cove-type ceiling was constructed from lumber and plywood donated by the "Swede" mills -- Olympia Veneer, Washington Veneer and Anderson Brothers. Earl Bean had previously donated materials to help build the Lutheran Churches and had extended generous credit to the Olympia Veneer Company.

During World War II, Olympia's Jewish community engaged in efforts to aid uprooted Jews. By the late 1960s and 1970s there was a shift in the congregation from Orthodox to a mixture of Conservative and Reform. This was due, in part, to the expansion of state government and the opening of The Evergreen State College. By 1990, Temple Beth Hatfiloh hired its first full-time rabbi. Today, Temple Beth Hatfiloh has a membership of about 150 family units and a second congregation, B'nai Torah, has about 25 families.

Chinese

By the early 1850s, Chinese immigrants were arriving in Olympia. Single Chinese men filled an important niche, providing much of the physical labor needed to tame the frontier. They built bridges, pulled stumps, graded streets and also worked in the oyster beds and in logging camps. Chinese gardeners cleared plots of land in and near downtown and cultivated the first locally grown commercial produce, which they delivered door-to-door.

The earliest Chinatown, which contained at least two small stores and a hand laundry, was located on Fourth Avenue between Columbia Street and Capitol Way. The Chinese store served as boarding house, mail stop, recreation hall and employment agency for Chinese laborers.

Olympia was known as a 'Locke town.' Chinese immigrants with the same surname were often from the same village in China, and tended to migrate to the same town in America. Most of the Chinese in Olympia came from the area around Shuibu village in southeast China.

In the late 1880s, as downtown further expanded, the Chinese community relocated to the southeast corner of Fifth Avenue and Columbia Street, building wood-frame structures on pilings over the tide flats.

Merchant Sam Fun Locke, owner of the Hong Yek Kee Company, emerged at this time as an important community leader. He acted as banker for many laborers, and was able to finance new Chinese-owned businesses. He was known locally as the "Mayor of Chinatown."

When the tide flats were further filled to create more land for building, the Chinese community moved to a third location. From 1913 to 1943, the last Chinatown stood at the northwest corner of Fifth Avenue and Water Street. It consisted of five buildings that housed dozens of Chinese workers and contained Chinese mercantile import businesses.

A small number of financially successful Chinese, such as Sam Fun Locke and Suey Kay Locke, were able to bring wives from China and establish families. Sam Locke and family lived in the rooms above Hong Yek Kee Mercantile; all nine of their children were born there. Lam Shee Kay and Suey Kay Locke, with the help of their children, ran Kay's Cafe on Capitol Way from 1941 to 1976.

Around the turn of the century, Suey Gim Locke, grandfather of Gov. Gary Locke, arrived in Olympia and worked as a house servant for a time.

Scandinavians

According to George N. Talcott Jr. in an oral history recorded in 1979, the formation of a worker-owned veneer plant was one of the most wonderful examples of camaraderie and friendship he'd ever seen. According to Talcott, the men worked in the logging camps and "couldn't make enough to marry their sweethearts." The men lived in deplorable conditions. After long days logging, the men returned to cold, poorly constructed log shacks and slept wrapped in damp, flea-infested blankets. Talcott went on to explain that a group of men formed Olympia Veneer through sheer hard work and application.

Ed Westman, co-founder of Olympia Veneer, was a Swedish immigrant and active in the Swedish fraternal lodges. He recruited men who were willing to invest in a worker-owned plywood plant. Because of his efforts, Olympia Veneer incorporated in January 1921. Two hundred shares of capital stock were authorized at $500 each; 125 of Westman's friends bought shares. Those who didn't have cash to invest worked off their debt by helping build the first mill. At one time the men ran out of nails and hardware, and persuaded local hardware dealer Earl Bean to extend credit. At times, the men received no pay. They worked from dawn to dusk, washed their own clothes and cut each other's hair. A year passed before regular checks were handed out, but by 1923 the company was turning a profit. The volume of work kept plants operating on 24-hour shifts. Production increased from 18 million square feet in 1926 to 21 million square feet in 1927. When the economy was strong the wages were among the highest in town. It was said that if you worked on Saturday you got paid as much as the Secretary of State. During World War II, Olympia Veneer was the largest producer of plywood in the world.

"Big Bill" Gustafson was a Swede-Finn and superintendent of the Olympia plant from 1927 until his retirement in 1955. The workers had great respect for him because he stood during a meeting where layoffs were being discussed and suggested a reduction in shareholders' wages. For, as he said, "the men need the vork!" This was during the Depression when there were few orders.

Being loyal paid off for the 70+ shareholders who remained committed to the company. Their capital gain was eight shares of stock worth $22,000 a share. From shaky beginnings, Olympia Veneer grew to a corporation valued at more than $15 million. Although the plant closed permanently in 1967, the old office of Olympia Veneer still stands at 321 Jefferson St., and two warehouses remain on the west side of Marine Drive. There are no remnants of the factory left, but the pilings in the tide flats off Easy Bay Drive serve as a reminder of a cooperative venture that enabled a group of hard-working immigrants to achieve the American Dream.

Olympia's second manufacturer of plywood, Washington Veneer Company, started operations in 1925 at the north end of Capitol Way. Founders were Ed Westman, Joseph L. Peters, C.J. Lord and Millard Lemon. The company grew rapidly, and in 1929 built a 225-foot-tall brick smokestack. Viewed as a symbol of economic prosperity, a couple was hoisted to the top and married in June 1929. Washington Veneer was sold to the Georgia-Pacific Lumber Co. in the late '40s. The plywood plant was closed in 1967, bringing a local industry, and a piece of history, to an end.

The Olympian Copyright 2000

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