Walk of Remembrance

Dynamic activist Gerry Low-Sabado, who lives in Fremont, travelled 90 miles to Monterey to show me her ancestors' village. (Post one.) She first led us to Point Lobos, a point not only of nature but history, she said. Her great grandmother's photo is in the Whaler's Village. (Post two.) Her great-great grandfather floated over from Canton, escaping the chaos and poverty that accompanied war. (Post three.) Gerry researched her ancestors, and so had lots of information to share when CSU-Monterey Bay expressed interest. A documentary came from that research, and bolstered Gerry to spread the word.(Post four.) People didn't always want to hear her words. (Post five.) Still, making history correct became Gerry's mission. (Post six.) While at the Chinese cabin, we encountered a European who said that accepting others is a problem everywhere. (Post seven.) Working together with the city of Pacific Grove, Gerry managed to create the Walk of Remembrance as well as remove offensive lines in an annual festival performance. (Post eight.)

The Walk of Remembrance has become an annual tradition, and it grows more and more popular each year. Gerry gives a short presentation of the history at the Pacific Grove Natural Museum, which is followed by a lion dance, and then a hike along the path where her ancestors once lived.  

Gerry points out where her grandfather would fish. When tensions got tight, her grandfather (who could not swim) went out in his boat at night with a kerosene lantern. He thus discovered that squid are attracted to light. While her grandfather was not a swimmer and her mother is not a swimmer and Gerry is not a swimmer, she made sure both of her children could swim. In fact, her daughter Amber swam backstroke on a relay team that broke the national record.  Her son Brandon’s swim team was the Mission Valley Athletic League Champions.
“Even though the ancestors didn’t swim, we changed that history.”

Some years ago Brandon did a triathlon at Pacific Grove called the Kelp Crawl. When he emerged out of the water at Lover’s Point, exactly where they hold the Feast of Lanterns celebration, Gerry was awestruck.

“I see him as an artifact of the Chinese village emerging out of the ocean. The 6^th generation emerging out of that water. He is the symbol of strength and courage. The symbol that –even though they tried to push everything into the ocean—they bulldozed the village into the ocean--the artifacts are emerging back out.”  

(To be continued.  Next and Final: Gerry Receives Civil Liberties Award.)