Spring 2024
Wellington Lee, Upcoming Events, and Name Changes
WELLINGTON LEE
With great sadness we report that historian and Salinas Chinatown advocate Wellington Lee passed away recently. Wellington’s grandfather, Shorty Lee, and father, Albert Lee, were prominent leaders in Salinas Chinatown. Wellington grew up in Chinatown, valued its history and told its stories. He was a stalwart of Asian Cultural Experience whose contributions to the Asian Community and Salinas Chinatown will be cherished and greatly missed. You can sign Wellington’s obituary book on the Struve & LaPorte website. Several photos of our friend are included at the end of this post. Our condolences go out to his family.
NAME CHANGES
The ACE Board has decided to change the official name of the organization to reflect its location in the City of Salinas. We are preparing to switch to Asian Cultural Experience of Salinas, and to the acryonym ACES. We are still using the old ACE logo, but the name change (in progress) will soon be reflected on our banners, logo, and websites. The “Asian Cultural Festival” is also being changed to Asian Cultural Fair.
THEO GONZALVES LECTURE
April 12, 6 pm, Multipurpose Hall, Buddhist Temple of Salinas
Sponsored by ACE and BTS, Asian Pacific American scholar, composer, and curator Theo Gonzalves, PhD will give a talk about his book, Smithsonian Asian Pacific American History, Art, & Culture in 101 Objects, published by the Smithsonian Books. Gonzalves is Filipino American and was born at Ford Ord and raised in Marina. Theo served as the twenty-first president of the Association for Asian American Studies, and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the American Council of Learned Societies. He lives in Washington, D.C. where he is a curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. The history he presents is based on objects in the Smithsonian Institution’s Asian Pacific American collection, and is very relevant to both the history of the people of Salinas Chinatown, and to ACES’ project to create an APA cultural center and museum in our neighborhood.
ASIAN CULTURAL FAIR, 2024
The 15th Annual Salinas Chinatown Asian Fair is scheduled for Saturday, April 27, 2024, 11 am to 4 pm. Sponsored by Asian Cultural Experience (ACE) of Salinas and our non-profit partners including the City of Salinas, educational, historical, and cultural associations, and more!
Vendors and Nonprofit/Educational Tables:
Calling all food and arts & crafts vendors, as well as nonprofit and educational organizations! We welcome you to the Cultural Fair and will provide spaces for your tables and booths, which will be located near the Buddhist Temple of Salinas on California St. Nonprofits and educational spaces are free. To sign up, go to the Asian Cultural Fair page on our website at salinasace.org. Limited parking for vendors available at the Cristo Rey Church parking lot on Calle Cebu (near the Filipino Community Center).
A full schedule of events will be outlined in our special Asian Cultural Fair Issue of this newsletter (early April). If you are on our subscription list, you will receive the schedule in your email!
BUDDHIST TEMPLE OF SALINAS CENTENNIAL
This is a big year for the Buddhist Temple of Salinas! Along with events, such as Dr. David Matsumoto’s panel and lecture on Jodo Shinshu (March 9), Dr. Scott Mitchell’s seminar on IBS, Theo Gonzalves’ lecture (partnering with ACE) on April 12, the Salinas YBA Curry Feed (April 21), and Obon Festival (July 29), BTS will celebrate its Centennial in October. Keep an eye out for more announcements!
For more information, check the calendar on the BTS Events page.
REMEMBERING WELLINGTON LEE:
TIME TO JOIN OR RENEW YOUR ACE MEMBERSHIP!
If you are a member of ACE, you will soon receive our annual membership renewal letter. Your membership and contributions to ACE are always greatly appreciated. They go to fund upkeep of our office, development of our archives, student programs, staff, special events, and planning for renovation of the Republic Cafe building. Checks can be sent to ACE at P.O. Box 574, Salinas, CA 93902. To pay online, go to the JOIN page on our website to make your payment. Thank you!
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I had the honor and privilege to work closely with Wellington in documenting the oral history of Salinas Chinatown. This project, which was carried out by CSUMB students, extended from 2008 to 2013. Wellington was our historical director and inspired the students with his own life story of growing up in Chinatown. He was an endless font of knowledge and delighted in sharing the history of the Lee family and the whole community. He was a dedicated archivist and left an amazing photographic collection. He played a key role in the planning grant funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities to convert the Republic Cafe into a museum and cultural center, a project that we still hope to realize. Wellington was a guiding force and founding member of the Asian Cultural Experience. The community owes him a huge debt of gratitude for his dedication and passion in preserving Chinatown’s history. We will miss him immensely. He left us all too soon.
Rina Benmayor
Professor Emerita
Humanities and Communication
CSUMB
On behalf of the Monterey County Historical Society / Boronda Adobe History Center of Salinas, California, I would like to express my utmost condolences for the passing of Wellington Lee. As President of the Board of Directors of the Monterey County Historical Society, we fully understand and appreciate the significant contributions of so celebrated a community historian.