The story of Pacific Grove’s Chinese fishing village is told in a compelling new film.

Pam Marino here, thinking about how history reverberates through time. We may want to say “the past is the past” and move on, but the truth is, the past influences the present and the future, whether we want to admit it or not. 

A prime example is Pacific Grove, where the past is deeply intertwined with its present through the story of the Chinese fishing village that once was located there, on Point Alones near Hopkins Marine Station. 

Chinese immigrants came by boat around 1850, first to Point Lobos and then to Pacific Grove, where they pioneered the region’s fishing industry and later contributed to science by collecting specimens for scientists at the marine station after it was established in 1892.

It’s a rich and complex history which has continued to echo into the present, leading to a formal apology by the Pacific Grove City Council in May 2022 for the fire that burned down the village in 1906. (Some believe it to have been arson, there is credible evidence that at the very least firefighting efforts were sabotaged.) The residents were not allowed to rebuild. 

The Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History has been an important repository of the history of the village and more recently it has been actively developing curriculum to share the history of the Chinese immigrants with young students. Out of that came the idea for an interactive film, Chinese Fishing Villages of Monterey Bay, that can be used in classrooms or by anyone interested in learning more.

You can read more about it in the story I wrote, “Talking History,” in this week’s paper. You can also catch a free presentation of the film at 5:30pm Thursday, Nov. 21, at the museum, 165 Forest Ave., Pacific Grove. Seating is full but people who show up can take seats if those with reservations do not, and there is standing room available.

I was able to experience the film for myself as I was reporting the story and found it to be very compelling. Santa Cruz filmmaker David Waller worked with direct descendants of the village and other knowledgeable people who speak during the film. Bowen Lee, an educator, author, artist and storyteller in Monterey County, shares immigrants’ stories.

The story of P.G.’s Chinese fishing village is both inspirational and painful. The film does an excellent job of highlighting both aspects. It’s an important story, worthy of being better known by the people who live here and shared with others well beyond the Monterey Bay region.

Chinese Fishing Villages of Monterey Bay is now available on the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History website. Click here to view it.