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Nelson blogger and Chinatown historian dies

Claus Schunke was a fierce critic of Nelson City Council
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Claus Schunke organized the creation and placement of the stone marker at Hall and Vernon that commemorates Nelson’s former Chinatown. He’s pictured here in 2011 in his Chinese Liberation Army coat. Photo: Bill Metcalfe

A Nelson blogger who was a thorn in the side of city council and who championed Nelson’s Chinese heritage died on April 5.

In 2016, Claus Schunke successfully nominated Nelson’s former Chinatown as a provincial heritage site and organized the memorial stone that now sits at the corner of Vernon and Hall Streets containing an inscription acknowledging the significance of Chinese culture in Nelson’s history.

On Kootenay Co-op Radio in 2009 and 2010, Schunke produced and hosted Chinese Feed, a weekly show about China and about the history of Nelson’s Chinatown.

Schunke had lived in China and visited there annually.

On his blog and in his monthly visits to council meetings, Schunke was a harsh, relentless, and sometimes colourful critic of Nelson city council.

Schunke died in Vancouver on April 5. No information was immediately available on survivors, but no service is planned.



Bill Metcalfe

About the Author: Bill Metcalfe

I have lived in Nelson since 1994 and worked as a reporter at the Nelson Star since 2015.
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