The latest IBAHS activities

The latest IBAHS fundraising activity is selling World's Best Candy bars. These candy bars are $1.25 each and available in Chocolate Almond or Chocolate Crisp. Currently these are offered for sale at the Isleton Thread on Main Street across from the laundrymat and from Curator Ed Concepcion. Come into the Isleton Thread and ask Janette Gaillard for these chocolates. Buy your fill of chocolate bars now, 'tis the season for candy!

Happy New Year from IBAHS!

Programs from 60+ Years Ago

Check out long ago events in Isleton and vicinity from the mid-late 1940s by viewing these programs which are courtesy of the Sacramento-Delta chapter of the Filipino American National Historical Society. Information on the historical society can be found on http://fanhsac.tripod.com/ , www.fanhs-national.org, and http://fanhsis25.blogspot.com/ Some long-past Isleton Main Street businesses are listed in each of these programs and some who are mentioned in the same programs still have relatives in the area. Here are the links:

1946FilipinoDeltaAlbum.PDF
1947FilipinoDeltaAlbum.PDF
1948FilipinoDeltaAlbum.PDF

A page of some businesses listed in the 1946 album is the IBAHS' current website feature.

The October Old Town News is here!

The October issue of the Old Town News of the IBAHS is available on this link: IBAHSOct08Newsletter.PDF. The newsletter is created, compiled, and printed by President Karen Franscioni on MS Works software and uploaded by the IBAHS Staff. Check out the latest Old Town News!

Interim Museum on the Move!

The IBAHS interim museum is on the move again. This time the museum will be moving into 23 Main Street, the former Quong Wo Sing, Isleton Bait Shop, and See-Why Plants building. The building was continously in the Chinn family until 2005 when it housed See-Why Plants by Christian Yuhas. For more information please email info@isletonhistory.org or contact Curator Ed at 916-777-4426. Hours for the new location are 12-5PM Saturday and Sunday and by special appointment.

Walking Tours Information

The growing popularity of heritage tourism enhanced by the Bing Kung Tong building's appearance in PBS' History Detectives has brought the need for walking tours. IBAHS has been conducting walking tours of Main Street as of late. For those interested in our informative walking tours, the IBAHS board suggests a donation of $5.00 a person; students and seniors are $3.00 a person. To request more information please email IBAHS at info@isletonhistory.org.

General Meeting Re-Rescheduled

The fourth quarter general meeting has been re-rescheduled for November 9th from 11AM-1PM. The venue is slated to be at Delta Daze Inn, 20 Main Street. For more information please call President Karen at 916-777-6906, Curator Ed at 916-777-4426, Vice President Charlene at 916-777-5186, or email info@isletonhistory.org.

Pioneer Day and General Meeting July 26th

The July 26 Pioneer Day and General Meeting was held at the St. Therese Church Hall instead of the regular museum site at 203 Second Street due to an inoperable elevator at the museum. The guest speakers were the sister duo of Emily Fonseca Gasperi and Sally Fonseca Patrick. Sally and Emily discussed their lives in the area in earlier times. Emily discussed her home life on nearby Tyler Island and her school experiences, which inspired her to later become involved in education. Sally also discussed her life on Tyler Island and school experiences. Sally also spoke of her early career as a bank employee. Sally and Emily said that when they were enrolled at Isleton Grammar School, staff had a hard time pronouncing their names. Sally's actual name is Celia and Emily's is Emilia. The original family surname is Da Fonseca. The Tyler Island-born sisters engaged several in the audience in discussion.

The History Detectives Episode of the Bing Kong Tong to air July 7th!

The new season of PBS' History Detectives will premiere June 30. The episode where the Bing Kong Tong Building is included is scheduled to air Monday, July 7th at 9PM. The PBS affiliate in the Sacramento-Stockton area is KVIE Channel 6. A notice has been posted at the Post Office Bulletin Board and a printed email message is posted at the Muddy Waters Coffee House bulletin board. History Detectives is produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting.

The Latest IBAHS activities

The Community White Elephant Sale was held May 24, 2008 at the Isleton Community Center. Based on the response to the event, future plans are to expand this as a 2-day event and on Memorial Day weekend thereafter.

Chuck Hasz of Isleton Restorations LLC on 46 Main Street is enlisting the Curator to place laminated copies of early Isleton scenes on empty Main Street storefronts where feasible in order to pique the curiosity of Crawdad Festival attendees. Pictures often differ from the storefront's earlier histories, to alleviate confusion please visit the museum or contact the Curator at wec1@citlink.net or phone 916-777-4426.

One example of this incongruency is at 12 Main Street where the 1920s-era pictures of Bank of Isleton, later Bank of America, are displayed. 12 Main Street was a business called Estrella's and Paul's Barber Shop sharing opposite sides of a storefront. For authenticity the bank location is at the current site of Bank of Rio Vista Isleton Branch at the corner of "A" and Second Streets across from the current site of the museum.

PBS' History Detectives Season 6 is to begin later this month. Tentatively included in the upcoming broadcast season is the episode where the Bing Kong Tong Building is featured. The PBS affiliate for this viewing area is Sacramento-based KVIE.

Museum Schedule for 2008

With the exception of Pioneer Day Speaker Series/ General Meetings and pre-arranged events, the Museum in the Gardiner Big Red Isleton Building at 203 Second Street announces its schedule for this year. Saturdays the museum is open from 11AM-4PM. Sundays the museum is open from 12PM-5PM. Contact Curator at 916-777-4426, IBAHS Vice President at 916-777-5186, or email info@isletonhistory.org if you want to make arrangements for a tour outside of regularly scheduled days and times.

Pioneer Day and General Meeting April 26th

The second Pioneer Day Speaker Series and General Meeting of 2008 will be held Saturday, April 26, 2008, 1PM to 4PM at the museum, 203 Second Street. Scheduled speaker is Aurelio Salas, who will discuss life in Isleton when the canneries were the prominent industry in the area. Also scheduled to speak are local area resident Johnny Correia and Ken Scheidegger of Discover the Delta Foundation. Email info@isletonhistory.org or call Curator at 916-777-4426.

Isleton Pioneer Day and General Meeting

The first Pioneer Day Speaker Series and General Meeting of 2008 will be held February 9th, 2008 from 1PM to 4PM. Tentatively scheduled guest speakers are Eleanor Silva and Betty Martin, who will discuss life a few decades ago in and around Isleton as they witnessed and lived it. For more information contact the Curator Ed at 777-4426, Vice President Charlene at 777-5186, or email info@isletonhistory.org.

History Detectives in Isleton December 3rd - 6th

The Public Broadcasting System (PBS) through Oregon Public Broadcasting filmed their History Detectives episode of the Bing Kong Tong Building and its artifacts December 3rd through the 6th.

Charlene Andersson, Roger Chinn, and Lucille Searle are three of the interviewees for the episode which will be tentatively aired in June 2008. Curator Ed Concepcion assisted as gofer for History Detective Gwen Wright and producers Laura Dickson and Renato Rodriguez.

Scenes in the episode tentatively include the Bing Kong Tong Building; Lucille Searle's Hop Fat Building; the artifacts at the interim museum at 203 Second Street; the Isleton Library; and Muddy Waters Coffee House. Above is History Detective Gwen Wright preparing for a scene in Muddy Waters Coffee House.

General Meeting Election Results of November 18

The general meeting of November 18 was the election of officers and board members meeting. The officers and board members for 2008-2009 are:

Interim President: Karen Franscioni

Vice-President: Charlene Andersson

Secretary: Pamela Bulahan

Treasurer: Sharon Fong

Board members: Joani Johnson, Bill Cox, Pam Sweet, Ross Peters, and Ed Concepcion.

The previous board for 2007 were all-Isleton Grammar School-Isleton Elementary School alumni. The current board are all associated with Main Street past and present:

Karen and Charlene have Main Street buildings as do Sharon's relatives. Pamela once temporarily lived on Main Street while the primary home was being repaired due to 1972 flood damage.

The November issue of the Old Town News is here!

The November issue of Old Town News of the IBAHS has been released! Click on the link to read the newsletter: OldTownNewsIBAHSNovember2007.
Original copy of the newsletter created, edited, and is printed by board member Karen Franscioni on MS Works software. The actual copy is scanned as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file and uploaded on this site by IBAHS staff.

Class of 1957 Reunion at the Museum October 20th

The Isleton Grammar School eighth grade class of 1957 held their reunion at the museum on 203 Second Street. When this class was in eighth grade in 1957, 203 Second Street was the Gardiner Improvement Company hardware and general merchandise store. IBAHS treasurer Sharon Fong is in this class. Pictures of this event are displayed in the Gallery link on this site. Here is the class photo in 1957. Instructions for viewing pictures in the Gallery Link to view captions and descriptions: Click on the picture in the Gallery and picture will move to the left of the screen as another box with text appears next to picture. There will be a link called "view larger image." Click on the link and the picture will enlarge. The full description of the picture will be above the enlarged picture.

The September 2007 issue of the Old Town News of the IBAHS has been released.
Original copy of the newsletter created, edited, and printed by board member Karen Franscioni on MS Works and scanned to Acrobat document by IBAHS staff. You can view the newsletter by clicking this link:
OldTownNewsSep2007.PDF

Pioneer Day and General Meeting October 6th

The Pioneer Day and third general meeting for 2007 was held Saturday, October 6th during regular museum hours at 203 Second Street, this time in the upstairs meeting room. Discussing Isleton in earlier times are Carl Hennige, Nick Catanio, and Kenny Silva.
Carl Hennige's mother Alice Himebauch was the first Isleton Asparagus Queen and the museum has an exhibit noting this. Nick Catanio recently exhibited a family photo display at an Isleton gathering in August. Kenny Silva is a lifelong Isleton-area resident. Carl described being able to ride the Delta Queen as a child and his parents' and grandparents' community service in Isleton.
Nick Catanio discussed life on Sherman Island, attending school on Sherman and Twitchell Islands, and farming activities. Nick said that horses and not tractors were widely used on the farms when he was growing up.
Kenny Silva talked about activities on Isleton Main Street, attending school in town and working on the farms to help his family after his father's death. Approximately twenty attendees listened to the presentation.
Tea available at the event was provided by Victoria's Teas and Treasures of Isleton's Main Street.
The next Pioneer Day for 2007 will be scheduled soon with another set of guest speakers to discuss earlier times in Isleton and its surrounding region.

Collectibles & White Elephant Sale Has Been Moved to October 13, 2007

Joani Johnson of My Favorite Things at 15 Main Street is the chair for the Collectibles and White Elephant Sale now rescheduled for a third time for Saturday, October 13, 2007 due to wet conditions at the sale venue on the 22nd and short notice for the 29th. This is a community-wide yard sale. For those residents that want to host their own yard sale, please notify us of the address of the sale and the times which the sale is held. The main venue for the sale has also been changed. It is now at the Isleton Community Center on Jackson Boulevard.
Please visit Joani at her store or contact Charlene at (916) 777-5186, Ed at (916) 777-4426, or email at info@isletonhistory.org.

Pioneer Day July 28th

The second Pioneer Day and general meeting for 2007 were held on Saturday, July 28 from 12PM to 4PM at the Museum on 203 Second Street, also known over the years as the Gardiner Improvement Building, The Big Red Building, and the Isleton. Scheduled guest speakers for the afternoon were Betty Fujimoto Kashiwagi and Bea Rogers Morgan discussing earlier times in Isleton. Rogers Morgan, who is part of the Valine family in Isleton, talked about the Del Rio Hotel when her father Manuel and brother Bob built the 1949 structure. Fujimoto Kashiwagi talked about life in Isleton up until she was fourteen and her family was sent to internment camps at Walerga in North Highlands and later on to Arkansas. The next Pioneer Day will be announced later this fall. If you are a former or present long-time resident and want to participate please call Curator at (916) 777-4426, President at (916) 777-5186 or email info@isletonhistory.org.