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“...Published by the Chefoo Schools Association
The Chefoo Magazine
2012
FEATURED IN THIS
ISSUE
CSA China Tour, 2012
• An overview
• Chefoo/Yantai
• Temple Hill
• Weihsien / Weifang
• Shanghai
• Guling / Lushan
• Kiating / Leshan
A Sixty Year Surprise: 25
George and Dick Kraft
visit their parents mission station near the Tibetan border
8-32
George & Dick Kraft
Kangding, western Sichuan province, near the Tibetan border
Chefusians attend the 31
2012 Lushan Institute
The Long March to avoid 35 the "Long March", by
Norman Austin
From Weihsien to 39
Shanghai's Pootung
Camp, by Basil Scott
Full Table of
Contents
3
George Kraft attended the Chefoo School at Shanghai, and his brother Richard joined him at Kuling. Their parents had served as missionaries with the China Inland Mission in western Sichuan province. They were stationed in a small town of Kangding, half the distance between Chengdu and the Tibetan border.
George and Dick joined the Chefoo Schools Association China tour this past July, which...”
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“...devoted to the trip this past summer to China, sponsored by the Chefoo Schools Association. We visited all the sites of the Chefoo Schools in China, the first, and probably the last such trip, ever. A total of 26 people participated, with a core of 22 of us who took in the entire trip. Special thanks to Rob Joyce ('Francis' reverted to 'Rob' for this trip, the name he went by at Shanghai and Kuling), who teamed up with a superb China national guide, Eric Liu, to pack a lot into a fairly brief time, yet everything went very smoothly. Eric in turn selected a first rate team of local guides, most of whom are probably as good as one could get if visiting China. To top it off, the people who joined the tour were very cordial, patient, generous, and enthusiastic - you simply could not have put together a more amenable group if they had all been hand-picked, which they weren't. It was a wonderful tribute to the Chefoo Schools Association, to Rob and Eric, our local guides, all the participants,...”
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“...pictures or documents related to Chefoo Schools, please consider passing them on to central archival locations:
• In the UK, Rebecca Mackenzie will assist you to place them in the CIM/OMF/CSA archive collection at the University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies. Telephone Rebecca in London at 00 44 (0) 7944 331393, or contact her by email at rebeccamackenzie @gmail.com
• In Australia and New Zealand, contact Marjorie Keeble, who is exploring this with OMF. m.keeble@bigpond.com
• In North America, Ian Grant will assist you to place your documents with the CIM/ OMF/CSA collection at the Billy Graham Archives at Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois. chefoo@rogers.com, or 1-705-726-9677
CONTENTS
SPECIAL NOTE: Commencing in 2013 the Chefoo Magazine will be published in the Spring, rather than the Fall. So Look for it in late April or early May, not October.
FEATURE STORIES
SHORT STORIES
BOOKS
DEPARTMENTS
CSA CHINA TOUR: VISITS TO THE SCHOOLS
• An Overview, by Barbara (Jeffery) Goode...”
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Page 6
“...years old there was a girl in the prep school in Chefoo (in my class, or in the class ahead) named Edith Bell, and, at an age when most little boys despise little girls, I persuaded myself that I was in love with her! I expect that she would have been born in 1931 or 1932 ...
(Ed: Edith (now Edith Riegler, is Ruth Nyquist's cousin—her father was George Bell, and Ruth's father was John. Edith lives in Rawdon, Province of Quebec. I don't know about the girls, but many of us little boys at Chefoo Schools have admitted, over the years, that we were in love with at least one sweet girl at school. When does it start? When does it end?)!
Thoughts on Homelessness
Anonymous, submitted by a Post China Chefusian
I was inspired to write this by the interview with Raquel Hoersting Barbosa in the last Chefoo magazine, about cultural homelessness and the process of developing our identities -"knowing who we are and whether we are comfortable with that". Ian Grant made the point that for many Chefusians being...”
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“...(Kuling) and Shirley have returned to Auckland to live in a modern retirement village. Other former Kuling students Maybeth Roberts (nee Conway) and Averil Bennett (nee McIntosh) have also retired with their spouses, from a lifetime of missionary service in Thailand and China, and Thailand respectively. Before leaving China Maybeth (and husband Ian) were able to join the CSA tour in July 2012 - a wonderful trip down memory lane to the place of her birth and upbringing, amongst other places.!
Chefoo Schools China Tour Map, 2012 The Account of this trip is covered on the following pages
The trip commenced on arrivals at Beijing, then on to Yantai (Chefoo), to Weifang (Weihsien), Shanghai, Lushan (Kuling), and finally to Leshan (Jiading), near Chengdu.
Atrip extension, participated in by 10 of the original group of 26, went to Xi'an, Dali and Lijiang in Yunnan province, Guilin, and back to Shanghai....”
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Page 9
“...The Chefoo Magazine, 2012
Page 9
BACK TO SCHOOL!
Visits to the Chefoo School Sites in China,
Sponsored by the Chefoo Schools Association July 5-17, 2012
At Yantai, with the Prep School as background
Left to Right: kneeling, Mavbeth (Conway) and Ian Roberts, Ian Grant, Henry Hallgren;
Standing, first row, Susan Dobson, Bob Jeffery, Margery (Joyce) Palomino, Ann (Bob) Jeffery, Priss (John) Streeter, Grace (Glazier) Bryer, Delores, Jeff, Stan and Peter (with hat) Thompson, Chris (Mabel Andrews) Johnston, Anne Joyce, Sandra Grant.
Standing, behind, Barbara (Jeffery) Goode (almost hidden behind Bob), Hakon Torjesen, Dick Kraft, Francis (Rob) Joyce, Linda Miller and John Jeffery, George Kraft, and John Streeter (between Chris and Anne).
The following pages will feature descriptions and impressions of this tour by those who participated. The object will be to make those of you who did not join us to deeply wish you had....”
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Page 10
“...The Chefoo Magazine, 2012
Page 10
AN OVERVIEW
By Barbara (Jeffery) Goode
Barbara was the only person in our tour group who attended Chefoo Schools in three, actually four locations, counting Kalimpong in India. She attended the Emergency school commencing in 1943 in Leshan, then referred to as Kiating, which was hurriedly moved to India in late 1944 when it was feared that Chongqing and Chengdu would fall to the Japanese. Following the War she attended school when it was temporarily opened in Shanghai at the Mission headquarters in 1946, and she followed the School to Kuling late in 1947 when a more 'permanent' site was acquired. Alas, she had to leave once again when the school at Kuling closed early in 1951. Barbara was delighted to make this Chefoo School voyage to the past, accompanied by her two brothers, Bob and John. Barbara was also one of the ten who took the ten day trip extension, which she includes here.
Linda Miller and John Jeffery, Anne and Bob, and Barbara
It was with great...”
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Page 14
“...The Chefoo Magazine, 2012
Page 14
CHEFOO SCHOOLS CHINA TOUR ~ 2012
A diagram of what remains of the Chefoo School in Yantai
Our group photo was
taken from this location (refer to page 9)
Prep School
S
A
E <-----> W
▼
N
Internal
Navy Base
Road
Memorial Hall
Entrance to Propertyi
1
To
Seaside, & Main City East-West Road
This diagram is an approximation of the size and location of the three Chefoo School Buildings that currently exist at Yantai. This diagram is not drawn to scale. The photographs below and on the next 2 pages show these buildings and are identified by their North-South-East-West orientations.
Co-ed building facing north-west
Co-ed building, facing its east side...”
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Page 15
“...The Chefoo Magazine, 2012
Page 15
CHEFOO SCHOOLS CHINA TOUR ~ 2012
Memorial Hall, looking from the south
Inside Memorial Hall, now a retired Navy service men's center
Facing the Prep School looking north
Three 'wee' Prep School graduates, now, ahem, having reached age 80 and beyond: Stan Thompson, Chris (Mabel Andrews) Johnston, and Hakon Torjesen...”
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Page 16
“...The Chefoo Magazine, 2012
Page 16
CHEFOO SCHOOLS CHINA TOUR ~ 2012
Prep School, upstairs hallway, looking east
A main floor meeting room, Co-ed building
Two plaques: on the left, attached to the Co-ed building, and on the right, attached to the Prep School building. The first was apparently discovered by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution, while the second, we speculate, was hidden by greenery.
Co-ed building, from the west, beside the internal Navy road
Facing north to the gap between the Co-ed building on the left, and Memorial Hall on the right. The clock tower is at the seaside....”
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Page 17
“...The Chefoo Magazine, 2012
Page 17
CHEFOO SCHOOLS CHINA TOUR ~ 2012
TEMPLE HILL, YANTAI
The Place of Internment, Stage Two, November 1942 to October 1943
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, drawing the United States into the War, all Westerners other than Germans who resided in Japanese occupied China, were interned. Initially the Chefoo School remained at the school site, but by the Fall of 1942 the Japanese decided they needed this prime piece of property, so they moved the entire school to another location at Chefoo, known then and now as Temple Hill. At the top of Temple Hill is a historic Taoist temple, but surrounding the temple at a lower level there were a number of large homes that had been owned by Westerners. The Chefoo School, students, teachers and staff were crowded into four of these houses, and they remained there until November of 1943 when they were transferred to Weihsien. The boys were located in two houses, side by side, and the girls house...”
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Page 18
“...The Chefoo Magazine, 2012
Page 18
CHEFOO SCHOOLS CHINA TOUR ~ 2012
WEIFANG
Where the Chefoo School was interned, 1943-1945
V? Sentry Cover* and guard rvuM*
♦ outer tover* anti puepa
A *ere Brien Thaapaori electrocuted during roll-call
0 Guard house vhere Japanese iutrendered on liberation Oar
C ioot where Mjeaal and Tipton escaped
Q »wre Salvation *rwy Bend practised each veea
E Location of *Ohlte Clamant* Cadhange Bureau
Prepared by B Joyce end 0.Michell.5.C.Martin,M.Cliff ,M.lock.P.Aaos
As with the Chefoo School site at Yantai, most of the Weihsien Camp has been demolished, and much of it has been converted to a beautiful park. What does exist are the hospital (one wing of which has been removed), and two one floor buildings that were used for residences. Below is a diagram of the camp for your reference. In the lower left corner you will identify the hospital. The two one story residences showing directly beneath the church in the diagram still stand also. Between these buildings and...”
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Page 19
“...The Chefoo Magazine, 2012
Page 19
CHEFOO SCHOOLS CHINA TOUR ~ 2012
Monument in front of the Weihsien hospital, established by the Weifang People's Government on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Camp.
Eric Liddell Memorial Monument — we pause for a brief ceremony of remembrance and gratitude...”
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“...The Chefoo Magazine, 2012
Page 20
CHEFOO SCHOOLS CHINA TOUR ~ 2012
SHANGHAI
The Location of the Chefoo School, 1946-47
At the conclusion of the War in 1945, after the Chefoo School was liberated from the Weihsien Concentration Camp, not to mention those in other internment camps such as Lungwha, Pootung, and Chapei in Shanghai, everyone longed to get back to Chefoo, fix up the buildings, and get on with living a normal school life. Alas, this was not going to be. Most buildings were in poor shape, and the staid old boys school building had been destroyed by fire. Furthermore, when the defeated Japanese left, the Communist forces of Mao quickly moved in behind them. They were not disposed to Westerners returning to North East China, so it was quite apparent that this
coveted campus, established 65 years before, was no longer viable.
For want of a suitable site the China Inland Mission had no choice but to temporarily re-establish the school at its China headquarters at 1531 Sinza Road in...”
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“...The Chefoo Magazine, 2012
Page 21
CHEFOO SCHOOLS CHINA TOUR ~ 2012
Shanghai Compound - 2012
Former CIM Admin building ■- New, joining | the 2 buildirlgs 1
l l
Former Sinza Rd entrance
Internal Roads
Former missionary residence
New building
Hospital entrance
New building
Approximate layout of 1530 Sinza Road, not drawn to scale
Facing back of former CIM Headquarters building
Facing main entrance to the hospital
Looking up the stairway in the form CIM missionary residence building...”
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“... it sure would have been nice to have an elevator, especially if you were assigned to the third floor. But we managed. ♦
The former Tyng house serving as the Chefoo Tour hotel, 2012.
George Kraft leading in the singing of Chefoo school songs, and selections from Golden Bells, foyer of Tyng's House
Maybeth (Conway) and Ian Roberts, in front of the former Conway family residence.
WELCOME BACK HOME CHEFOO STUDENTS
MuDehua, our long time friend, is formally made an honorary member of the Chefoo Schools Association....”
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“...family photographs when leaving in 1951, we attempted to "recreate" a few scenes of visiting Tibetans that had been sent in family letters sixty years ago.
Since we were only 6 and 8 year's old the last time either of us had seen Kangding, and the fact that we had never really visited the Chinese/Tibetan countryside with our father, we were delighted on this visit to have the chance to visit the high grasslands where Tibetans still herd their yak and where a number of Buddhist monasteries and schools now exist. These were the same incredibly beautiful and almost empty mountains, valleys and plateaus where our father gained his formidable reputation for strength, lifting twenty-two 90 pound tea loads (more than any Tibetan), hiking dozens of miles from tent to tent spreading the Gospel, and trekking over high passes to the base of 26,000 foot Himalayan peaks, such as Gongga Shan. This likely influenced us in our own physical search of strength through various sports and mountaineering activities...”
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“...that. And waiting for us was a lovely Chinese lady in her
nineties, once about the same age as my mother was during those days of internment and hardship. I hope the hug I gave her conveyed adequately my heart. And there, on the other side of the world from where I now live, are the names of my father, mother and sister, as well as my own, carved in Chinese onto the Liberation monument. How little my parents spoke of those years of internment. It was very special to be there.
Thank you Chefoo Schools for giving me this amazing opportunity to return to the land and the place of my birth. You were all such great company making this vacation so outstanding and so enjoyable. And special thanks to Eric, Lan (not Ian) and all the local guides and drivers who worked so hard and made the tour such a success from beginning to end. You were absolutely brilliant!!
I loved the singing from a selection of Chefoo School Songs and
from Golden Bells hymnal at Tyng house at Kuling. It was so much fun seeing...”
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“...more careful about shutting off the power. In his mind the incident had been made unspeakably tragic by the fact that it was the Thompson family's eldest son who had been thus struck down, and, I'm told that the Japanese guard expressed his dismay by formally volunteering to personally accept the responsibility for the complete support of the stricken family and the education of all of the victim's siblings. I still see this offer as a warm expression of deep sympathy.
In 2012 on the Chefoo Schools China Tour, we visited the site of the Weihsien Camp, and the hospital is one of the very few buildings still standing. I stood at the point where I estimated Brian had fallen, and told the group what had happened that day.
Note that there is now a minor road that passes where the south wing of the hospital has been truncated, and that overhead wires are still common). ♦...”
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“...The Chefoo Magazine, 2012
Page 31
CHEFOO SCHOOLS CHINA TOUR ~ 2012
Chefusians attend the Lushan Institute's 2012 Session
The Lushan International Institute of Language and Culture completed its inaugural summer program in July of last year. The Institute was first inspired by the Kuling American School Association (KASA) in 2005 when they held a reunion at Lushan. They had kindly invited members of the Chefoo Schools Association (CSA) to join them, and five people who had been at
the Chefoo School at Kuling attended. After considerable work and negotiations the Institute was born as a partnership between
KASA, the Lushan government, and Nanjing University.
The second July session was held this year, and four people associated with the Chefoo Schools participated. They were Helen (Simpkin) Joynt of Australia and her husband Robert, Helen's sister Dorothy Simpkin from Great Britain, and Ken Grant (this Magazine editor's younger brother) who lived in the OMF hostel in Alberta in the 1950s...”
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