De: "Joyce Cook" <bobjoyce@tpg.com.au>
À: <weihsien@topica.com>
Objet: Re: Wei'Hsien concentration camp
Date: jeudi 10 janvier 2008 1:47
Regarding Terri K's email about WeiHsien camp. I sure did know Alice Moore. She was the Principal of the Peking
American High School at the time of her internment and she opened and conducted the school in the camp. She had short grey hair, horn rimmed spectacles and was quite slim. In her early sixties. She was one of my school teachers in the camp. She also as Principal signed my Diploma issued by the Peking American School. I still have it. She was very friendly and affable but although the school was conducted under trees and in the church hall she maintained school. I have not seen or heard of her since Camp and now I know something of her later moves. My family and I came from Tsingtao and returned there after liberation. We came to Australia in early 1947, Thanks. Joyce Bradbury.
----- Original Message -----
From: Donald Menzi
To: Terri Stewart
Cc: weihsien
Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 2:33 AM
Subject: Re: Wei'Hsien concentration camp
Welcome aboard, Terri,
One of the names of your grandmother's friends, "Helen Burton" rang a bell for me. She was apparently a very interesting woman, so being her friend reflects well on your great aunt. Before being interned she had owned a shop in Peking called "The Camel's Bell."
If you go to my "family" website you can find a picture of Helen Burton reading a letter informing her that her brother had died. You can find it by going to http://d.menzi.org (no www), then clicking on "Gripsholm" and then on "Life Magazine." She's on the 9th page. You'll also find a painting of the "White Elephant's Bell," a barter/exchange shop that she ran in the camp, by clicking on the "Weihsien" slide show, which is a "walking tour" of the camp, based on paintings and sketches done by inmates. Be sure to have your sound turned on to get the musical background.
Best wishes for a satisfying 2008.
Donald Menzi
-----Original Message-----
From: Terri Stewart
Sent: Jan 6, 2008 11:52 PM
To: dmenzi@earthlink.net
Subject: Wei'Hsien concentration camp
Hi!
I've only recently (two weeks ago) came into possession of my Great Aunt's letters and diary accounts from 1948-52. Much of it was about post-Weishsien and her life in Peiping, but several letters and entries came from various friends that also were in the camp and continued to live in China until the Communist take over in 1949-50 made it necessary to leave. I have been investigating what I can of the camp and other places she and her friends lived & visited. I would like to get onto the topica list if it is still active to see if any descendants knew of my Aunt and a couple of her friends? I also have a few pages that I can send as .jpg's of their time in the camp, although I cannot vouch on who wrote the "Repatriation" page in this group of notes.
My Aunt's name: Ruth H. Kunkel, an American teacher & nurse from Penn.
Date of birth: Feb 27 (not sure what year)
Her constant friends: Alice Moore, also a teacher & nurse from Maine, & Helen Burton, San Francisco? Alice's birthday was April 14 (don't know the year). Have no idea as to when Helen's birthday is.
Both Ruth & Alice taught at the Peiping American School, and later Ruth taught at the Fu Jen Catholic Univ. in Peiping, and later for Alice Moore who started her own school when the others were shut down.
I would appreciate any info that you or others can pass on. Half of her original diary has gone missing (in China - leading up to the time of her internment) so I only have letters and the other half (most of it) from May 1948 to Aug 1952 when she relocated with Alice to Istanbul, Turkey. Ruth's only sibling (my grandmother, Kathryn (Kay) Kunkel Reagle) did not keep any of the other correspondence from those days. The letters/diary I have came from Ruth's own possessions that were eventually sent to my family after her death?
I'm not sure about that and there is no one left (old enough) to ask. Somewhere in all of this stuff - my mother and I are still going through a lot of mixed up family notes (!) - are pictures of Ruth during some of these years. Many were eaten up by bugs so I'm not sure what has survived at this point.
I hope to hear from you?
Sincerely,
Terri K. (Reagle) Stewart
tksweaver@verizon.net
PS: Aunt Ruth and I share the same date of birth - Feb 27th.
De: "Tapol" <tapol@skynet.be>
À: <weihsien@topica.com>
Cc: "Anne de Saint Hubert" <annando@beeb.net>
Objet: Re: Helen Burton letter
Date: jeudi 10 janvier 2008 8:32
Hello,
Yes!
I'd gladly add all interesting data about our days in Weihsien Concentration Camp. It is interesting to confront personal impressions about the camp in those days. There are quite a few interesting diary extracts in Norman Cliff's chapter --- Peter Bazire recently sent to me the adventures of a 13 year old boy upon liberation --- and many others in the website. Even books --- some recopied in whole and readable (printable) as e-books. I hope that my sister will write someday about the experiences of a seven year old girl in camp and we are scheduled to have some extracts of Christian de Saint Hubert's diary this year ---
Best regards,
Leopold
http://www.weihsien-paintings.org
De: "Terri Stewart" <tksweaver@verizon.net>
À: <weihsien@topica.com>
Objet: missing messages
Date: jeudi 10 janvier 2008 19:55
I am now new to this list, but noticed that the last 3 messages to this list open to blank pages...no message to go with the heading.
Am I doing something wrong, or did they not post??
Terri
De: "Tapol" <tapol@skynet.be>
À: <weihsien@topica.com>
Objet: Re: missing messages
Date: vendredi 11 janvier 2008 10:12
Quite right !! There seems to be a problem on the "Topica" side. Best thing
is to wait --- for them to fix it :-))
--- all the best,
Leopold
De: "Joyce Cook" <bobjoyce@tpg.com.au>
À: <weihsien@topica.com>
Objet: Fw: Wei'Hsien concentration camp
Date: dimanche 13 janvier 2008 22:56
Regarding Terri K's email about WeiHsien camp. I sure did know Alice Moore. She was the Principal of the Peking
American High School at the time of her internment and she opened and conducted the school in the camp. She had short grey hair, horn rimmed spectacles and was quite slim. In her early sixties. She was one of my school teachers in the camp. She also as Principal signed my Diploma issued by the Peking American School. I still have it. She was very friendly and affable but although the school was conducted under trees and in the church hall she maintained school. I have not seen or heard of her since Camp and now I know something of her later moves. My family and I came from Tsingtao and returned there after liberation. We came to Australia in early 1947, Thanks. Joyce Bradbury.
De: "Terri Stewart" <tksweaver@verizon.net>
À: <weihsien@topica.com>
Objet: RE: Fw: Wei'Hsien concentration camp
Date: mardi 15 janvier 2008 1:22
Hi Joyce,
Glad to have been of some help and I thank you for your description of Alice! I hope to be able to find pictures of her and Ruth when my mother and I can get to that part of the family stuff. Alice taught school at Robert College in Istanbul, Turkey. She and Ruth went there after leaving China and she started teaching at R.C. in January 1950.
I'm not sure how long she was there, but I understand she eventually left Istanbul and went to England. I'll re-read the last few letters and try to clarify this. I think it is wonderful that you still have your diploma! So cool! Ruth (my g.Aunt) also taught at PAS and Fu Jen but I think she taught science. She was a nurse, so was Alice. I don't know for sure, but I think Ruth may have been assigned to the hospital at the camp by the way she wrote of things in her letters.
It would make sense. I love this list!
Terri
De: "Tapol" <tapol@skynet.be>
À: <weihsien@topica.com>
Objet: 2 new letters about Weihsien ---
Date: mardi 15 janvier 2008 11:05
Hello all :-))
Thanks to Terri Stewart, we have two new letters about Weihsien to read ---
goto:
http://www.weihsien-paintings.org/TerriStewart/indexFrame.htm
--- click once on the scanned letter --- it is easier to read that way --- and I added a few links too !!
Best regards,
Leopold
De: "Terri Stewart" <tksweaver@verizon.net>
À: <weihsien@topica.com>
Objet: Alice Moore
Date: jeudi 17 janvier 2008 19:02
Hi All,
I've re-read the letters of my g.Aunt, and it does mention Alice Moore going to England..but that was for a summer vacation. Alice did remain in Turkey - at least up to late 1952. Anything after that is unknown to me since this is where my g.Aunt's letters end.
As for Pu Mei Li (Mary Burton), no other mention of her is made in the rest of the letters after Dec. 1948. Helen Burton had moved to Honolulu, but spent many months or a year at a time in Mexico (no city given), but kept her home base in Honolulu. I am sorry to not have more information than this.
Terri
De: "Tapol" <tapol@skynet.be>
À: <weihsien@topica.com>
Cc: "Father Hanquet c/o Paul-E Lagasse" <lagassepe@yahoo.fr>
Objet: Peter Bazire's "First Class Journey" in Weihsien
Date: dimanche 20 janvier 2008 17:39
Hello,
There is a new text Peter asked me to recopy for him and include in the Weihsien-Paintings' website with more pictures and links --- go to:
http://www.weihsien-paintings.org/PeterBazire/ScoutBadge/txt_BoyScoutBadge.htm
I tried to locate every person mentioned in Peter's text by giving you the link to Ron Bridge's listings. Peter helped me.
Mr. Zimmerman is not in Ron's listings but mentioned in Greg's book --- ??
I didn't find Mr. Beasley nor Miss Melo. These names could be "phonetically" written --- or nicknames maybe??? Does somebody have a better idea? As for the other names, --- if I got some locations wrong --- please let me know --- :-))
Best regards,
Leopold
" Recently I rang the Scout Information Centre to ask about the "1st Class Journey" that I undertook in Weihsien with my class-mate Jamie Taylor. I was told that it was part of the "1st Class Badge" which no longer exists as such.
My “1st Class Journey” account was in June, but 1944 or 1945 - I don’t know. In the hymn “New every morning is the love…” there is a line: “The trivial round, the common task.” These pages are a bit like this last line: nothing dramatic; just 48 hours of observations of Camp life.
1st Class Journey.
June 8th 6 o’clock pm to June 9th 9pm
In the afternoon at 2.30-3.30 we chopped wood. We had a good deal of surplus wood which was very dry. We borrowed Birch’s axe , but during the journey we didn’t use it. Having packed the big haversack (J. Clark’s) with 2 blankets and the axe handle which was loose, and the small one (Ru Hoyte’s) with billy-cans, towel etc. and matches, salt, tooth brushes, a miniture (sic) book of psalms, peanut oil, raw food, spoon etc. mugs, we left the building at about 6.00. We emptied the kit out of the haversacks on to the mattresses which we had brought at about 3.30. We had forgotten the watch so J. Taylor went & fetched J. Graham’s while I lit the fire 6.05. I put a billy can of water on which, when almost boiling, I put in another billy can. J. Taylor returned with the watch at 6.10 and we fried leeks in a billy can. J.T’s food was cooked already so we ate that with some fried bread which was fried after the leeks. The weather was uncertain – a haze all over. There was a pleasant breeze blowing which came from W.S.W. We did not have to carry our kit with us in the evening 5 rounds. At about 7.00 we were ready to leave Mr. Warren’s block & he informed us that he had decided with Mr. Houghton that at 9.00, if the weather was threatening we would move over to the Hospital under the outside steps.
The round was from 23 to church – down Italian lane – to power house – to S. Field – to L. Showers & back to 23.
5 rounds between 7.00 & 9.00 p.m.
1st round.
The sun was a white haze. C. Trickey was at Mr. Hubbard’s who was banging some tins together. Trickey had probably seen something interesting. The Kitchen I boiler room stokers were at the showers & the kitchen workers were packing up. Mr. Dallimore was stoking at boiler I. D. Clark was pumping. The guage was 2’6”. The Houghtons’ aluminium drinking water jug was at the pump. Swifts and Azure winged Magpies were about the only birds around. Occaisionly (sic) a shrike would call harshly. The church door was locked.
The sky S.W. was comparatively heavy. In the N.E. it was slightly blue. There was a game of soft-ball on – Sadler v Sonny. Sadler was leading by 6-0. Mr Avery was pumping. There were little children playing on Italian lane. An azure was trying to peck at another while flying. Charlie Hope-Gill was watering Mr. Marshall’s garden. Stedeford was pumping 7 – 7.30 at the Hospital pump. The gauge was 4’11”. Miss Craggs was teaching Mr. Beasly the violin in the barber’s room. There were a few little black insects plaguing my leg. The S. Field was empty. There was the usual evening gossiping in block 50 yard. At the ladies showers, Mr. Girling was stoking and Mr. David pumping very slowly. There was a small queue for distilled water which was flowing very slowly. I noticed the walls were still very warm from the day’s heat.
At 7.30 when we were leaving, Mr. Girling told Mr. David that he was going to fill the boiler. The gauge was 6” from overflow. Mr. Churchill was smoking a long Chinese pipe. We noticed an azure’s nest in a silver poplar N.E. of 24. We also heard & saw an oriole. There were lots of sparrows by the sisters’ room.
P.S. There was a man sketching in pencil the K2 Boiler room & that arch way.
2nd Round
D. Clark was still pumping. The softball game was still going on. Mr Lawless was going to the church being a ticket seller at the back. Chalkey pumping at the Hospital tower weather-vein (sic) said S.E. wind. Hoyte 4 & Welch were fitting a tennis ball back & forth on the S. Field. Miss Talatti was walking around the S. Field.
6.45 Mr. David was still pumping at the Ladies showers. The sketches had finished just as we came around 35.
K.2 stokers had just finished. There was second oriole with the first.
3rd round
D. Clark still pumping.
7.46. A man came for distilled water at Boiler I. The next day’s bakers were coming to set yeast. The softball game finished 16-0 Sadler-Sonny. Jessu playing chess in Italian room. The wind as we came down Italian lane was due E., but it was always changing. On a whole it kept to S.E.
7.55. There was a service in the Iso. Ward. I was informed by George Andrews that there were two tennis leagues for over 18 & under. Miss Craggs had just finished from the violin lesson. J. Hoyte was climbing over the Jap-S.E. wall having hit a tennis ball over but he hadn’t found it.
Mr David was still pumping 8.00. The board with ‘no hot water’ was still up. The guage (sic) was 4” from overflow, but by the time we finished at that place, there were only 2” to go. There was very little water in the well. Mr. Girling had just finished drawing the fire. One person came for drinking water. Mr. David told her by mistake that it was not drinkable, but that it was the steam from the boiler condensing : so she asked Mr. Girling who said it was perfectly drinkable. The baby rooks came out of their nests & cawed slightly more shrilly than their parents. We saw the rovers going to their meeting in uniform. People were playing tennîcoît (sic) behind 23. A pied woodpecker flew from W-E behind 23.
At 8.10 an oriole was answering another in a tree 20 or 30 yds off. The sky was very yellow around the setting region. There were doves cooing but very few birds out.
4th Round
The sun set at about 8.12. The K.I. workers had finished and were coming back from their showers.
At 8.15 there were people gambling in K.I. Bazire I pumping 8 – 8.30. The guage (sic) was 2’ 8”. Dr. Hoch’s shift were well into their work.
8.20. The lights came on at 8.22. The Jap guard in the corner of the softball field was sitting on a stump leaning on his rifle. ‘Death takes a holiday’ began at 8.25. Ru Hoyte was running to pump at the Bakery. D. Parry was talking to the Italians. There were a few slightly reddish clouds low down N.E. Cool breeze blowing. R. Candlin was running up to fetch Mr. Makiloff. When we were at the bottom of the road Candlin was running back and told us that he was too buisy (sic) to come since he was in the show.
P.S. (I forgot to mention that the lights were off at the school).
Mr. Stoker & Mr. Faers were talking to Mr. & Mrs. Allan. Amos was pumping 8.30 – 9.00 at the Hospital. The guage (sic) was 5’ 0”.
At 8.35 the wind was S.S.E. Mr. Girling who had been stoking at Boiler II had had a shower because he was clean & was going to Mr. Houghton. The Jap guard was sitting on the turret wall. The 57 residents were gossiping S. of 57. There were no people on the S. Field.
8.38. A cat was running around the Zimmermans back yard. The rovers were in S.E. room of 35.
At 8.42 the Boiler II was closed up & the guage (sic) was 3” from overflow. The bats were beginning to fly around. I hoped that they would kill off some of the insects that were plaguing my leg. Miss. Ragiere was sketching Miss Melo & Mrs. Cox who were sitting on the 8 steps of 23. There were gamblers in K2. The kitchen was empty. The better ‘Death - Holiday’ was on K.2 notice board. People were watering their gardens.
5th Round
8.50, people were still gambling in K1. Father Ghyselinck was reading in K1.
8.52 the bakers were still mixing dough—some had finished & were having showers. Mr Huebener was fetching hot water for the bakery. Stoker banking fire at Boiler 1.
9.00, Mr Harle emptying yeast dregs (sic). Wind died down.
9.58 Amos finished pumping. Guides singing songs in 61. Jap guard still sitting in old position on turret. The Rovers were singing as if they were board(sic). Insects-moths were flying around the lights.
9.05 finished.
We then went back to Mr Warren & since it looked like rain, we moved our mattresses under the hospital SW steps & our kit. We were careful with the peanut oil. The lights went out at 10.15. These are the constellations and stars that were up at 10.15 from camp-site. There was only the SW section of the sky visible.: Straight above, Bootes, a star Arcturus. Hydra in the south, a star Alphard. Leo in the SW fairly high up a star Regulus. Castor & Pollux just setting in W. Virgo in the S, a star Spica. Since we were where the two wings of the hospital met, there was very little sky visible.
We woke up in the night & it was absolutly (sic) clear but by the morning it had clouded over again. We woke up at 5.00 but went to sleep & woke up at 5.30. Mr Warren came to see how we were getting on. We then set out for 23.
5 rounds between 5.30 & 7.30.
1st Round.
5.55 shreddy clouds. E. one haze. Heard orioles & doves. Irwin & Marques on KI. 5.59. Irwin stiring (sic) sweetened porridge.
2 or 3 people in hot water queue. Clearing up on the N sky - clouds yellow - sun somewhere near.
Dallimore stoking still at Boiler I. Lester pumping Bakery.
6.00. Mr. Calvert sieving (sic) cinders. Guage (sic) 1’5”. Weighing out dough into pans for baking – Hoch’s shift. Field empty. No guard to be seen. Pat Beatty practicing in the church.
6.08. Oriole heard in church yard. Gentle breeze E.S.E. Red legged falcon whistling in big Italian poplar. Bird pumping at the Hos. Pump.
6.10. Lots of sparrows in hedges by sewing room. Bell 3 asking John Man about his exercises which are very funny to watch.
6.12. I. Chan & Father Hanquet playing tennis. Oriole made a noise like a person whistling high to low ‘tu. Baby rook flew over Garland Smith lighting brick stove fire. People going for tea.
6.15. Orioles in 23 trees. Red-foot gliding over. Girling stoking & Boiler 2. Sun rising.
P.S. Bongo Jones & Rich sleeping out. Rich’s bed collapsed.
2nd Round
Dick Burge’s rooks on perch in KI.
6.20. 2 men sweeping KI with tea leaves. Some vegetable workers at work. Heard the Shrikes.
6.25., Steele doing exercises on the field. Jimmy doing exercises in the Hos. Pump area
6.27. Jap guard walking around. Wind changed to S.S.E. getting stronger.
6.29. 2 orioles on top of poplar ½ way up cow lane. We rested on the W.35 steps.
6.35. Torjesen I & Candlin going to pump. Torjesen getting hot & drinking water. Manning Railton doing exercises on mat.
3rd Round
6.39. Bakers eating perks. L. Attree’s team having practice
6.40. J. Pyke hitting out to them. Heard female cuckoo. Overhead no clouds
6.46. Quiet morning. Hos. Tank, 5’ 1”. No pumper. R. Masters & G. Bell carring (sic) out mattresses (sic)
6.48. thourough clean out of their room. Sun just appeard over Hos. onto S. Field. - We rest at 35. Drongo on cowlane wall. S. David carring (sic) water to K2. Ladies doing vegetables at 6.52.
Boiler 2 queue just started 6.54.
3 or 4 swifts flying around. Baby sparrows in 35 eaves. Wheat ripening. Clouds standing out against blue sky very clearly.
7.00. A Burmese red turtle dove flew over from West fields with a twig in mouth.
4th Round
K.I. vegetable workers picking wor…. out of baskets. There was a small queue for hot water. The magpie in K.I. yard was cocking its head as if looking at some object up in the air. The softball practice finished at 7.05. D. Carter pumping at Bakery. There was a long queue 20 odd. S.E. wind 7.10. At the Hospital pump Mr. David pumping extremely slowly. The guards at the tennis court changed at 7.17. We rested at 35 as usual. We changed the watch. Mr. Foxlee practicing at 35. S. David still getting water. Usual happenings at K.2. Mr. Lane & Jonsey chopping wood.
5th Round
Bakers cleaning bin at 7.26 - making buns. Guage (sic) 2’ 2”. There were groups of flies here & there. A red-foot was whistling in a tree by guard house. Hos. Weather vein (sic) swinging from S.E. to S.S.E & back. Mr. David loafing. Guage (sic) 4’ 10 ½ “. Jap sitting on turret. Mr. Foxlee finished & Mr. Gleed practicing (sic). Stedeford pumping at Boiler 2 from 7.30. – 8.00. Huebener finished his early morning bakery work.
7.39. finish
(The watch stopped & was moved forwards so we ended a bit late.)
From there we went & got our jug & cooked our breakfast by the bushes N.E. of the hospital. Taylor lit the fire while I got my breakfast. Then he got his. We boiled the potatoes (four) for 15 mins. We then fried them + some bread. We had a little fried bread + potatoes but kept most of it for afterwards. We fried some crusts broken up. Mr. Warren visited us twice. We had another billy can on the fire for hot water. When we had finished frying we had nearly a full milk tin of fried stuff. We washed up our plates etc. & the billy cans with ash & water. The roll call bell went so we took our kit upstairs & after roll call divided out the fried potatoes & bread. We brought up the two mattresses which we had borrowed from Sadler II. Then we got down to this account.
Finished Sunday 6 o’clock p.m.
De: "Ron Bridge" <rwbridge@freeuk.com>
À: <weihsien@topica.com>
Cc: "Father Hanquet c/o Paul-E Lagasse" <lagassepe@yahoo.fr>
Objet: RE: Peter Bazire's "First Class Journey" in Weihsien
Date: lundi 21 janvier 2008 12:37
Dear All
Oliver J BEESLEY British b 08.08.1907 Shanghai Yee Tsoong Tobacco Co Block 57 Room L did live in Quingdao pre Weihsien.
Could Miss Melo be Miss L Meebold lived in Block 23 with Mrs Florence Cox.
Zimmerman Family probably missed from the original listing as the end of the lists were torn. I can remember the name and what have have established over the last few years are below can anyone add to this. Leopold can you add to the list
Zimmerman Alfred Lionel b 1902 Director Far East Fur
Zimmerman Catherine Child
Zimmerman Dinah H Mrs b 1912
Zimmerman Donald Irving b 1939
Zimmerman Hazel Dretta b 1900
Rgds
Ron Bridge
De: "Tapol" <tapol@skynet.be>
À: <weihsien@topica.com>
Objet: Re: Peter Bazire's "First Class Journey" in Weihsien
Date: lundi 21 janvier 2008 18:05
Dear Ron,
Thanks very much --- the lists are modified now ---
I still have a hesitation for one name: Mr. Huebener who worked at the bakery. Your listings mention Evelyn Huebener who wrote a diary (see Norman Cliff's chapter: http://www.weihsien-paintings.org/NormanCliff/Diary/EvelynDavey/p-01.htm ). The problem is that we are looking for a Mr. ---- not a Miss. ????
Can you help?
best regards,
Leopold
De: "David Birch" <gdavidbirch@yahoo.com>
À: <weihsien@topica.com>
Objet: Re: Peter Bazire's "First Class Journey" in Weihsien
Date: lundi 21 janvier 2008 21:51
Dear Leopold (and Ron),
I personally knew both Mr and Mrs Huebener. Mrs Huebener was Miss Evelyn G Davey was one of the prep school teachers at Chefoo and Weihsien. So she was one of my teachers for possibly my full four years in the prep school. She was a great friend of Miss Monica Priestman.
I believe that Mr Huebener, then a very eligible bachelor, began courting Miss Davey, a wonderfully cheerful and talented woman who was the main cub scout leader in the Chefoo School. At Chefoo I was a most enthusiastic 9-yr-old member of her pack! I won't reminisce more, right here and now, about our activities, because I want to keep to the point you have in mind. But I have happy memories, nearly seventy years later, of the fun we had as cubs with Miss Davey.
EDGEWATER HOTEL, Qingdao, Autumn 1945.
In the first stage of our repatriation from Weihsien to our home country, my little brother John and I actually shared a room with Mr Huebener and Jim Murray in the Edgewater Hotel. I recall Mr Huebener's keen sense of humor. John and I had been caught by one of the male teachers, up on the roof of the hotel where he was satisfied that we were "up to no good!" We were sent to our room with no supper and given the gloomy notice that on the following morning, we would be paraded before Captain Crockett of the Royal Marines who presumably would put the fear of death into us. Mr Huebener thought this was a great joke, and suggested, with tongue in cheek, that we stuff a notebook into the seat of our pants , presumably for protection from the impending doom.
MOST RECENT ENCOUNTER WITH THE HUEBENERS
In 1988 I attended a Chefoo/Weihsien reunion in New Westminster. I knew a few of the other attendees. Neil Yorkston, at that time a psychiatrist with UBC, was there with his family. And, specifically I recall, Mrs Huebener (nee Davey) was present with her married daughter, whose name, unfortunately I don't recall. Mr. H had passed away by then.
The Huebeners made their home in coastal Washington state. Mrs H will have passed away some years ago I think. If she were living today she would have passed the century mark.
I will contact David Allen, a contemporary of John's and mine, who lives in Mt Vernon, WA. I think it very possibly that he may be able to get us in touch with the Huebeners' daughter. Or the Overseas Missionary Fellowship may have a way of contacting her.
Sincerely hope this may shed some light on the situation for you. Mr Huebener, I clearly recall, was a most colorful and fun-loving man, as well as being highly educated.
Respectfully
David
PS You will find Miss Davey mentioned in Appendix 1 to David Michel's "A Boy's War."
De: "Terri Stewart" <tksweaver@verizon.net>
À: <weihsien@topica.com>
Objet: weihsien camp book
Date: mercredi 30 janvier 2008 1:35
I am thanking you, Ron, for the latest collection of information you have sent me. I have enjoyed reading it and will pursue getting a copy of Hilda Hale's book. My email is down, so please forgive me for writing this on the topica list as I have no other way of thanking you beyond snail mail for the time being. It still amazes me to think what all the Weihsien internees went through!
Leopold, my mother has discovered quite a number of letters from my Aunt that are mostly pre-Weihsien, but a few are post-Weihsien. She is in the process of sorting out pictures trying to get them in some type of order (by whatever country my Aunt & Alice moved/visited/etc) as they are quite jumbled up. I will pass on whatever I find useful to the topica list when she is ready for me to have them. My mother was quite surprised to find these letters as we thought they had all been destroyed. So glad to find more treasure and I can't wait to read them!
Please be patient - it may take a few days yet until me email is working again. I hope to have the letters and pictures in another week or so.
Terri Stewart
De: "Tapol" <tapol@skynet.be>
À: <weihsien@topica.com>
Objet: Re: weihsien camp book
Date: mercredi 30 janvier 2008 8:22
Dear Terri,
Thanks very much in advance for all you will send my way and also thanks for all you have already sent. Of course, for the website I will only use the "Weihsien" material. Pre-Weihsien could also be interesting. The "home arrest" period from - Pearl Harbor to our internment in March 1943 - could explain many things. I would also like to understand how we lived in China in the pre-Pacific-War period --- from the invasion of Poland by Hitler to the Pearl Harbor attack by the Japs --- My father mentions sending "liebesgaben" parcels to his family (and others) in Belgium via the trans Siberian railway ---
Best regards,
Leopold
De: "Terri Stewart" <tksweaver@verizon.net>
À: <weihsien@topica.com>
Objet: RE: weihsien camp book
Date: mercredi 30 janvier 2008 23:47
HI Leopold,
My email is up and running again (!) today - turns out Verizon had turned off my in-box in error and it has taken 5 days for them to figure out how to turn it on again. Technology is such fun! I will be glad to send on whatever pre-Weihsien life was from Ruth's letters, as I am also interested in finding out why she was there in the first place! My mother stated that she moved there circa 1932-33 but isn't sure if she was stationed there as a nurse first and became a teacher later or just what the reason was. There are still a few letters to go for her to read before I get them. Will keep you posted!
Terri
De: "Tapol" <tapol@skynet.be>
À: <weihsien@topica.com>
Cc: "Janette & Pierre @ home" <pierre.ley@pandora.be>; "Albert deZutter" <albertarthur@sbcglobal.net>
Objet: Fw: le départ de notre cher Emmanuel
Date: vendredi 15 février 2008 8:17
Dear Weihsien friends,
Father Hanquet left us ---- Wednesday 13th ---
best regards,
Leopold
----- Original Message -----
From: Lagasse Paul-Emile
To: Pander Leopold
Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2008 7:21 PM
Subject: le départ de notre cher Emmanuel
Chers Monsieur et Madame Pander,
Comme vous le saviez, Emmanuel Hanquet ne se remettait pas bien de sa décompensation cardiaque qui l'avait conduit en clinique. Depuis son retour sa santé nous inquiétait fort et il avait conscient de son départ prochain.
Après une nuit un peu difficile - Sa sœur Monique avait logé près de lui - il s'est éteint doucement ce mercredi 13 un peu avant 8 heures du matin.
Comme je sais combien vous étiez proche de lui, je me fais un devoir de vous l'annoncer par email.
Vendredi soir à 19h30, nous aurons une veillée de prières dans la salle de la Fraternité auprès de son cercueil et l'Eucharistie des funérailles aura lieu ce samedi à 11heures à l'église St François de Louvain-la-Neuve précédée de condoléance à la famille Hanquet.
Paul-Emile Lagasse
De: "Tapol" <tapol@skynet.be>
À: <weihsien@topica.com>
Objet: father hanquet
Date: vendredi 15 février 2008 8:30
I got a message this morning from Father Hanquet's downstairs neigbour --- he died Wednesday morning. He had been 1 week to hospital in the previous days, and after a check-up was allowed out. I went to see him after that. He seemed OK but very tired. Happy to see me. He told me stories about China, Weihsien, Father Vincent Lebbe and about the hospital where he had been. We even laughed together. After an hour I told him that he had to rest and take it easy --- He smiled --- That's the last time I saw him --- ±10 days ago ---
all the best,
Leopold
De: "Christine Talbot Sancton" <sancton@nbnet.nb.ca>
À: <weihsien@topica.com>
Objet: RE: father hanquet
Date: vendredi 15 février 2008 14:17
Dear Leopold:
Please accept our condolences on the death of Pere Hanquet. We know how close you were to him.
We feel so lucky to have been able to meet him when we were in Belgium three years ago at the reunion you, Nicky and Janette so kindly organised for us.
Having that connection to my parents, Ida and Sid Talbot, was very moving for me.
Will there be a memorial to him of some kind? We would like to contribute to it. Please let us know. Also please can you tell me the name of his sister, Monique so that I can write to her personally.
Thank you for everything you have done, and are continuing to do, for us Weihsieners.
Sincerely,
Christine Talbot Sancton
De: <MTPrevite@aol.com>
À: <weihsien@topica.com>
Objet: Re: father hanquet
Date: vendredi 15 février 2008 17:30
I send deepest sympathy on the passing of Fr. Hanquet.
I've enjoyed every one of the memories he's added to our Weihsien story.
Thank you, Leopold, for making this connection possible.
Mary Previte
De: "Albert de Zutter" <albertarthur@sbcglobal.net>
À: <weihsien@topica.com>
Objet: RE: father hanquet
Date: vendredi 15 février 2008 20:17
Dear Leopold,
Thank you for all you are doing and have done to keep us Weihsien survivors, progeny and friends in communication with one another, and thank you especially for providing our link to Father Emmanuel Hanquet. While I know that we all deeply regret his passing, we have all benefitted from his contributions to our memories here through your mediation. Our thanks also to M. LaGasse in Louvain-la-Neuve.
It was a great blessing to me to discover that Father Hanquet was still among us when you brought him to us through this site some years ago (six or seven?).
I am very grateful to you and Nicki and Janette and Pierre for arranging our visit at Janette's house in 2004. It was wonderful to talk over old times and to discover that Father Hanquet still remembered a verse of "Tout Va Tres Bien, Madame La Marquise." That song was performed as a comedy skit in the concentration camp by two Belgian priests. Father "Gus," short and plump (this was early in the game, before malnutrition had taken its toll), played the Marquise calling home, singing in a falsetto voice, and a great big bearded priest played the butler whose role was to tell the Marquise that everything was fine ... except for a growing list of disasters revealed verse by verse. They had us in stitches. I know it must have made a big impression on me as an 11-year-old because although the whole thing was in French, I understood the gist of it and remembered the chorus. When we parted that evening after you brought me to my hotel, Father Hanquet said, "See you in heaven."
Fortunately for me, that was not to be the last time I saw him.
Laughing at ourselves, our guards and our circumstances was a key survival technique in the camp. There was a song about the monotony of bean sprouts on our menu day after day for a time; there was a song about Father Scanlan getting caught dealing for eggs with the Chinese farmers through a hole in the wall ("Oh they trapped me a Trappist last Wednesday, Now few are the eggs to be fried..." I wish I could remember more of it).
The 300 priests we had there for the first six months or so did so much for the overall spirit and morale in the camp, and while Father Hanquet was no comedian, he made a substantial contribution to our welfare with his activism, his optimism and positive, can-do attitude. In truth, I do not remember a time when I saw him other than positive and very much in tune with his mission in life -- not in his twenties in the concentration camp, not in his forties when he visited our family in Brussels when we lived there from 1949 to 1950, and not in late eighties and early nineties during the two times we visited in Belgium in 2004 and again in the spring of 2007.
He was to me the epitome of what a priest should be -- dedicated to doing good and happy in his work. I have known many good priests during my lifetime (and some who were less than impressive), but Father Hanquet remains as the standard-bearer in my mind.
While Father Hanquet was well-known throughout the camp for his activism and concern, he was a special friend to our family, consisting of my father, Jean de Zutter, my mother Olga, my older brother John and myself. He and Father Palmers, Father Van Pelt and others visited our second-story room many times. He was also a French language tutor to my brother and me. As we had no textbooks, he wrote out dozens of verb declensions in his neat and economical handwriting. He and Father Palmers were assistant Scoutmasters with the elegant, quiet-spoken Mr. Cogburn (pronounced Coburn) as Scoutmaster.
Our family came to America in 1950. Father Hanquet and I exchanged letters in the 1960s. I remember his expressing amazement at the fact that I had four children by then, in contrast to Belgian couples who had one or two at the most. After that I lost track of him until this site was created by Natasha and you, Leopold, began your generous archiving work and became our link to Father Hanquet.
I am so glad that I decided to make another trip to Europe last spring with the primary purpose of spending some time with Father Hanquet, and so grateful for your help in making the arrangements. While staying literally next door to him at Le Relais, I was privileged to spend mornings and afternoons talking with Father Hanquet for three days, learning about the backgroud of this remarkable man -- about his youth in Liege, his inspiration to become a missionary to China and his relief work in China after the war where he was subjected to an open-air "trial" by the Communists in a Chinese village -- a remarkable story which I hope to recount at a later time. (It can probably be found in Leopold's archives.)
I am so grateful to have had that opportunity to learn more about a man who was so influential in my life. I am equally grateful for the friendship extended to me by Leopold, Nicki and Janette, and though I did not have the opportunity to get to know him, I am sure I saw acceptance in Pierre's attitude as well.
Thank you all, and I thank the Lord for Father Hanquet.
Your friend,
Albert de Zutter
Kansas City, Missouri
USA
De: "Gay Talbot Stratford" <stillbrk@eagle.ca>
À: <weihsien@topica.com>
Objet: Re: father hanquet
Date: vendredi 15 février 2008 20:31
Dear Leopold,
Our sypathies to you all . No doubt Father Hanquet is being welcomed as the good and faithful servant. But he leaves a gap in the lives of those left behind.
Our prayers are with you all.
Gay Stratford
From: Donald Menzi
Sent: Friday, February 15, 2008 9:06 PM
Subject: RE: father hanquet
Leopold,
You really HAVE to collect all the information and stories you can about Fr. Hanquet into a single biographical document for us all to share. We will all be grateful for it.
Donald
De: "David Birch" <gdavidbirch@yahoo.com>
À: <weihsien@topica.com>
Objet: Re: father hanquet
Date: vendredi 15 février 2008 21:08
Dear Leopold,
My sincere condolences to you on the passing of your dear friend, Father Hanquet. Although he was very elderly indeed, and could not have been expected to live very much longer, he had been a 'larger-than-life' figure in your own life since you were just a little child! Your personal loss must be very great.
May God bless and comfort you at this time.
David
De: "Terri Stewart" <tksweaver@verizon.net>
À: <weihsien@topica.com>
Objet: Re: father hanquet
Date: vendredi 15 février 2008 23:46
My condolences to you, Leopold, for the loss of a very dear long-time friend and also to the rest of the Weihsien survivors who knew him. Like the others on this list, I hope that you will be able to pull together some of his stories for all to read, share, and remember.
Terri
De: "Dwight W. Whipple" <thewhipples@comcast.net>
À: <weihsien@topica.com>; <weihsien@topica.com>
Cc: "Terri Stewart" <tksweaver@verizon.net>
Objet: Re: father hanquet
Date: samedi 16 février 2008 0:33
Seems like the end of an "era" for us Weihsien internees. We are all getting older and passing into history. Thanks to people like Fr. Hanquet and Leopold and Don, and those who have written of our experience, there will be a legacy left for others to peruse. Condolences to all~
~Dwight W. Whipple
4728A Lakeshore Lane SE
Olympia, WA 98513
360.456.4300
thewhipples@comcast.net
De: "Tapol" <tapol@skynet.be>
À: <weihsien@topica.com>
Objet: Re: father hanquet
Date: samedi 16 février 2008 14:13
Dear Christine,
You can certainly send a personal letter to:
Famille Hanquet,
c/o Fraternité des Buissons
rue des Buissons 1
1348 Louvain-la-Neuve
Belgium
---
We are just back from the ceremony that took place in the big church of the University Campus of Louvain-la-Neuve. The church was full and I counted not less than 18 priests --- a very moving 2 hours ---
Best regards,
Leopold
De: "lucy lu" <lucy9859@hotmail.com>
À: <weihsien@topica.com>
Objet: RE: father hanquet
Date: dimanche 17 février 2008 10:07
Dear Leopold,
It's so regret to know the passing of respected Fr. Hanquet.
I can clearly remember the meeting with you and Fr. Hanquet in Belgium last September, especially when we interviewed Fr. Hanquet on 30th September, we took so many pictures together. All of the memories will be cherished by us all.
My sincere condolences to you all.
Best regards.
lucy (Lu Jie)