Sue Lee

So the photograph is the famous champagne photo with one worker's bottle of champagne raised over his head with the two engines coming together at Promontory Point. And you have all these people surrounding the two engines. Wow. The Central Pacific had actually completed its part of the line for the May 10th celebration. The Union Pacific was late.

So the photograph is the famous champagne photo with one worker's bottle of champagne raised over his head with the two engines coming together at Promontory Point. And you have all these people surrounding the two engines. Wow. The Central Pacific had actually completed its part of the line for the May 10th celebration. The Union Pacific was late.

So the photograph is the famous champagne photo with one worker's bottle of champagne raised over his head with the two engines coming together at Promontory Point. And you have all these people surrounding the two engines. Wow. The Central Pacific had actually completed its part of the line for the May 10th celebration. The Union Pacific was late.

So what the Central Pacific did was it sent most of its work crew back down the line to clean up the rail line. So the actual number of Central Pacific workers at Promontory for that May 10th celebration was very small. But if you look at the photograph as just a normal person, you go, well, wait a minute, there are no Chinese there.

So what the Central Pacific did was it sent most of its work crew back down the line to clean up the rail line. So the actual number of Central Pacific workers at Promontory for that May 10th celebration was very small. But if you look at the photograph as just a normal person, you go, well, wait a minute, there are no Chinese there.

So what the Central Pacific did was it sent most of its work crew back down the line to clean up the rail line. So the actual number of Central Pacific workers at Promontory for that May 10th celebration was very small. But if you look at the photograph as just a normal person, you go, well, wait a minute, there are no Chinese there.

And in fact, if you look at that photograph very, very carefully under a microscope, you can see one or two Chinese workers with their heads turned and their backs to the camera. So there were few Central Pacific workers and even fewer Chinese workers, though the Central Pacific kept a crew of eight men.

And in fact, if you look at that photograph very, very carefully under a microscope, you can see one or two Chinese workers with their heads turned and their backs to the camera. So there were few Central Pacific workers and even fewer Chinese workers, though the Central Pacific kept a crew of eight men.

And in fact, if you look at that photograph very, very carefully under a microscope, you can see one or two Chinese workers with their heads turned and their backs to the camera. So there were few Central Pacific workers and even fewer Chinese workers, though the Central Pacific kept a crew of eight men.

An eight-man gang of Chinese workers were at promontory or stationed at promontory, if you will, by the Central Pacific for the celebration itself. The work that the eight-man gang was supposed to do was to nail in the last tie of the construction and to do cleanup.

An eight-man gang of Chinese workers were at promontory or stationed at promontory, if you will, by the Central Pacific for the celebration itself. The work that the eight-man gang was supposed to do was to nail in the last tie of the construction and to do cleanup.

An eight-man gang of Chinese workers were at promontory or stationed at promontory, if you will, by the Central Pacific for the celebration itself. The work that the eight-man gang was supposed to do was to nail in the last tie of the construction and to do cleanup.

And they were actually invited by James Strobridge, the superintendent of all of the work of the Central Pacific, to his train car to be acknowledged at the celebration, to thank them for their work there. But in those days, it wasn't like a photo op that you do today and everybody knows that you have to be in the photo at a certain time, right?

And they were actually invited by James Strobridge, the superintendent of all of the work of the Central Pacific, to his train car to be acknowledged at the celebration, to thank them for their work there. But in those days, it wasn't like a photo op that you do today and everybody knows that you have to be in the photo at a certain time, right?

And they were actually invited by James Strobridge, the superintendent of all of the work of the Central Pacific, to his train car to be acknowledged at the celebration, to thank them for their work there. But in those days, it wasn't like a photo op that you do today and everybody knows that you have to be in the photo at a certain time, right?

It just happened that the photographers were there, there was the crowd, people were there, they took the photo, and then they went away. I can't imagine that they would have called particular workers or people to be in the photos. But the fact that Chinese weren't in that photo whitewashes our history and says, you guys aren't important. We're not going to include you in anything.

It just happened that the photographers were there, there was the crowd, people were there, they took the photo, and then they went away. I can't imagine that they would have called particular workers or people to be in the photos. But the fact that Chinese weren't in that photo whitewashes our history and says, you guys aren't important. We're not going to include you in anything.

It just happened that the photographers were there, there was the crowd, people were there, they took the photo, and then they went away. I can't imagine that they would have called particular workers or people to be in the photos. But the fact that Chinese weren't in that photo whitewashes our history and says, you guys aren't important. We're not going to include you in anything.

We at the Chinese Historical Society felt that it was time to set the record straight. and to clarify what had happened 150 years ago, and to begin recovering our stories and to tell the stories through the voices of descendants of actual workers.

We at the Chinese Historical Society felt that it was time to set the record straight. and to clarify what had happened 150 years ago, and to begin recovering our stories and to tell the stories through the voices of descendants of actual workers.