Long ago in China, small communities hired a night watchman called a Geng Fu to patrol their villages after dark, mark the hour by hitting a gong or hollowed wood block, and watch for fire and thieves. This centuries-old tradition followed Chinese immigrants to the United States, especially to delta towns where wooden structures made fire a constant threat, and the Geng Fu's simple but important duty was to keep a nightly vigil to ensure all was well. From the sound of his knocks, townsfolk used onomatopoeia to call the Geng Fu the Bok Bok Man. Locke's last Bok Bok Man retired in 1954, and some say his wandering spirit still patrols the town after dark.