The 20th Annual Historical Museum at St. Gertrude Fall Lecture Series continues with presentations at both 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Thursday, October 17, with Lyle Wirtanen, who will present “Chinese in Idaho.”
Nearly 300,000 Chinese, mostly men, immigrated to the U.S. after the California gold rush. Some helped construct transcontinental railroads. Most were miners or served mining communities as packers, cooks, doctors, launderers, and gardeners. Virtually every Idaho mining community had a large Chinese population, as did supply centers like Lewiston.
Historian Lyle Wirtanen will present a general history of the Chinese presence in the our region including the massacre of 34 Chinese miners in Hells Canyon. He will also show a 28-minute video produced by Oregon Public Television about the Chinese in the Northwest. Lyle was involved with education for 33 years. He served as director of the Historical Museum at St. Gertrude for 11 years (2000 to 2010) and is a past recipient of the Esto Perpetua Award for distinguished service to Idaho history.
The series will conclude on October 24 with Keith Petersen and “Straight Lines and Squiggles: How Idaho Got that Weird Shape.”
These events provide insights into the history of our region and are held on Thursdays during the month of October with the support of the Idaho Humanities Council. Lectures begin at 7:00 p.m. and end at 8:30 p.m. A Q&A session with the presenters follows the lectures. Light refreshments are provided. The events are held in the Johanna Room at Spirit Center at the Monastery of St. Gertrude located at 465 Keuterville Road, Cottonwood, Idaho. Learn more at stgertrudes.org or call 208-962-2054.