Click
to
Access
AMOY MAGIC SITE from
OUTSIDE China
Click
to Access Amoy
Magic Site from
INSIDE
China
TRAVEL LINKS
Xiamen
Gulangyu
Jimei
Tong'an
Jinmen
Zhangzhou
Quanzhou
Wuyi
#1Fujian
Sites!
Fujian
Foto Album
Books
on Fujian
Readers'Letters
Ningde
Zhouning
Longyan
Sanming
Putian
Bridges
Travel
Info,
Hakka
Roundhouses
Travel
Agents
MISC. LINKS
Amoy
People!
Darwin
Driving
Amoy
Tigers
Chinese
Inventions
Tibet
in 80 Days
Amoy
Vampires!
Dethroned!
Misc.Writings
Latest
News
Lord
of Opium
Back
to Main Page
Kung
Fu
|
Copyright 2001-7 by Sue Brown & Dr.
Bill Order
Books Xiamenguide
Forum
Main
Page
E-mail (This
page copyrighted 2006 by Gary Veenschoten, MD)
Amoy
Vignettes by Dr. Girard Veenschoten:
My
Story
Veenschoten
Memorial
Dad's
Practicality Ah
Beng
Our
Amoy Animals Chinese
New Year Related: Hill
Family Hill
Photos
MY
STORY
by Girard (Gary) Veenschoten, MD, 2006
The China
Years
January 29, 1919: I, Girard Veenschoten, was born on the
third floor of Hope
and Wilhelmina Hospital, Kulangsu,
Amoy, Fukien,
China. My parents, the Rev. Henry
Michael & Stella Girard Veenschoten
had arrived in Amoy (Xiamen)
in the fall of 1917 as career missionaries of the Reformed Church in America
with first assignment by the Chinese Church to Sio-khe for language study.
With
the arrival in Amoy of The Reverend David
Abeel in 1842 and the establishment of a Reformed Church Mission to
the Chinese, an ongoing missionary effort began. Over the years principally
Reformed Church and English Presbyterian missionaries had given their
lives to share the Gospel in many ways through the establishment of schools
and hospitals as well as churches in Amoy,
Sio-khe, Tong-an, Chang-chow
and Leng-na and including many small chapels over a wide territory of
South Fukien. So that by 1917 when a large
group of professionals from Holland, Michigan ¨C Hope College and Western
Seminary ¨Ccame, they were to serve in a well established mission-related
Chinese Church. The Veenschotens were a part of that 1917 era group.
A daughter Joann,
in May 1923, had been added to the Veenschoten family by the time they
went on a 15-month furlough in 1924. Of course, reconnecting with family
in Iowa and Michigan was a must. But telling the missions story was the
principle activity during those months in the States before returning
to Chang-chow where they were now stationed.
By the next furlough from 1932 ¨C 1933, a second daughter Elin (April
1930) had joined the family.
During my elementary
school years I was home-schooled by my mother. This was besides doing
extensive teaching of Church and school choirs, transposing and having
translated English texts into Chinese. She also did considerable solo
work, both in voice and piano. Beside this she stretched our salary so
that living was comfortable. But by 1931 and the seventh grade,
my parents decided that I should join other Amoy
Mission kids going by boat to Shanghai and Shanghai American School
from which I subsequently graduated in 1937. That summer I traveled by
boat to the States and enrolled in Hope College in Holland, Michigan.
The 1930s were an
extremely turbulent time in China. With the down-fall of the Qing Dynasty
and final demise in 1911, local strong warlords like General Yuan Shi-kai
competed for the Golden Prize ¨CPeking. Sun Yat-sen and Chiang Kai-shek
were hoping to establish a democratic republic. By the 1930s the communists,
led by Mao Ste-tung, were pushing up the coast and the Japanese launched
two attacks against China. A number of RCA China-missionaries returned
to America not only because of the turbulent political situation but also
because of the Great Depression.
My Memory
of 1931
My parents, as were the rest of the missionaries, were forced to give
up/ leave behind everything in their homes. In 1931, Dad
and Mother, along with my sisters Joann
and Elin, joined me in Shanghai where I was at school. We proceeded to
the States by the Steamship BACH of the $-Line. When we arrive on the
West coast, we had only my trunk. The US Customs officer gave us a hard
time and finally charged my folks $200.00. Our family returned to the
field in early 1933.
My memory of 1934 was that it was a terrible time in China, with the Communists
moving north, and the Japanese were using strong suggestions to force
the three coastal provinces to secede. Chiang Kai-shek¡¯s government,
the Republic of China, was pushing back trying to establish his hold on
the whole country. Throughout China the missions effort was caught up
in this turmoil, including the Amoy Mission.
In December of that year, Mao and his troops passed through Leng-na on
their way north. The Hollemans and the Poppens were stationed there. The
Poppens left ahead of the Mao¡¯s group, as did Mrs. Holleman and her two
children. I remember standing in our yard in Chang-Chow
watching Mrs. Dorothy Poppen and Mrs. Ruth Holleman and their children
come in the compound gate. They were very dirty and exceedingly tired
after being evacuated days before. They could hardly walk and all they
had were the clothes on their backs. They continued then down to Amoy.
However Dr. Holleman was captured, but made a miraculous escape a few
days later with the help of courageous villagers along the way. He was
rejoined with Ruth and the children three weeks later ¨C during which
time his wife¡¯s hair turned white! There was a time during Mao¡¯s pushes
north, that he briefly occupied our house in Chang-Chow.
I remember that, as a ninth-grader in Shanghai American School, I was
home for Christmas vacation. It was during that chaotic period that
Chiang Kai-shek¡¯s Nationalist planes bombed the current ward-lord¡¯s
forces stationed in Chang-chow. With
planes flying overhead and bombs dropping, we hurried down to our house¡¯s
basement. I was very nervous. I was carrying our cat Jupiter. in spite
of admonition, I insisted on walking around, stumbling on some loose water-pipes
stored in the center room, making an awful racket! And addingto the nerve-wracking
dismay of the others. Ah-beng, our cook, was hiding under a table. We
were not hurt, even by the one bomb which exploded about 100 yards away
beyond the compound.
The bombers were small bi-planes, carrying the bombs strapped to their
wings. The bombs had to be pushed off the wings by hand! They dropped
about 30 bombs, one of which fell on the campus of Talmage College the
Mission boys highschool.
Later when we also were evacuated to Kulangsu,
we could see them as they flew by. I was standing on Flag-staff rock when
w bi-plane went over me about 200 feet away. The Chinese pilot waved at
me. Kulangsu had international-concession
status and thus, because of extraterritoriality, we were immune from attack.
My parents had many stories about those very suspenseful years.
The Calm
Summer of 1937
The Opium Wars of the 19th Century had opened
up China to domination by foreign powers. Especially the British established
their own rules, laws, customs, methods and ways of speaking. Some of
these were very intrusive and grating, However along with this, they established
excellence of administration and honesty in performance.
One custom, which was very pleasant for us, was the establishment of summer
resorts ¨C nearby Toa-bo Soa¡¯ (Big Hat Mountain) with a few stone cottages
was one. Often it was not possible to summer in Toa-Bo because banditry
was rife. But the summer of 1937 was one of the few times we were able
to use our house on Toa-Bo.
Our house was especially well planned ¨Cthree bedrooms, two bath-rooms,
a large living/dining-room, and a roomy wide screened porch facing south
between wooded hills and looking toward the China sea 15 miles away. It
was built of indigenous granite corners, reconstructed brick from an old
house ruined by a typhoon, and roof-tiles (typhoon-proof?) brought up
from the valley below. We had a gorgeous view of the Amoy harbor to the
East.
To move our family up there for the summer was quite a job. We had a family
of five ¨C my parents, ¡°Nelson¡±
and Stella Veenschoten and us three
children ( I, Girard, the oldest, followed by my sisters: Joann(
Hill) and Elin (Moerland). We were accompanied by three servants,
two cats and a dog. The arduous trip began in Chang-chow
with a bus to Phu-kiong. Then by river-boat ten miles up-stream to Peh-Tsui-ia¡¯
and thence by canal to the foot of the mountain. Hired burden-bearers
carried our baggage from the foot of the mountain up to the cottage at
the top. Everybody but mother walked up the maintain. Mother had a sedan-chair
with six bearers.
It was very serene. Away from the ¡°Madding croud¡±. We had good times,
including swimming in a natural pool and picnics. There was a tennis-court
of sorts and a swimming pool, but usually not in very good condition.
Good-by to
China
In August it came time for me to leave China ¨C return to the United States
and attend Hope College. From Chang-chow
Dad accompanied me to Amoy to catch a Butterfield & Swire coastal
steamer for Hong Kong where I would board a Dollar Steamship Line the
President Taft to cross the Pacific to the West Coast of America. That
was a sad occasion!
However, that tropical
day in August, the weather was beautiful. The first day out was very serene.
The next morning, however, we stopped in mid-ocean. Very soon the sun
was rising in the WEST! Thereafter rumors started. Shanghai was being
attacked by the Japanese navy. Simultaneously, the Japanese army was attacking
the northern provinces.
Soon we started up again going northward to Shanghai. We turned west into
the Yang-Tsi River. But when we came to the Whangpoo River, we stopped.
There were about 15 Japanese warships lobbing shells over Woo-sung into
Shanghai. We could see the arc of the projectiles. Soon the firing stopped
and in about a half hour the largest Japanese liner The Tatsuta Maru came
down the Whang-poo River. We could see the passengers lining the rails.
As the Maru passed, she went outside the line of gun-boats which remained
silent the while, and turned into the Yang-Tsi River towards the sea.
The gun-boats resumed firing again, but stopped about an hour later.
Down the Whang-poo River came two tug-boats. They were loaded with people¡ªthe
last Americans to leave Shanghai. We could seee some fighter planes dog-fighting
all around them. Some of the bullets even landed on the decks. However
no one was injured.
And here is the last of the story. The passengers climbed off the boats
and up the gang-way into the President Taft. As their baggage was being
unloaded, one of the slings broke from about 20 feet up. A cascade of
baggage fell to the Taft¡¯s deck ¨Csome of the bags broke open. Two of
these suitcases were identical. There were packed with opium!
Please
Help the "The Amoy Mission Project!" Please
share any relevant biographical material and photos for the website and
upcoming book, or consider helping with the costs of the site and research
materials. All text and photos will remain your property, and
photos will be imprinted to prevent unauthorized use. Thanks!
Dr.
Bill Xiamen University MBA Center
E-mail: amoybill@gmail.com
Snail Mail: Dr. William Brown
Box 1288 Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian
PRC 361005
Click
to E-mail
Readers'Letters
Last Updated: October 2007Return
to Main Page Back
to Top
Google
Search
|
AMOY
MISSION LINKS
A.M.
Main Menu
RCA
Miss'ry List
AmoyMission-1877
AmoyMission-1893
Abeel,
David
Beltman
Boot
Family
Broekema,
Ruth
Bruce,
Elizabeth
Burns,
Wm.
Caldwells
DePree
Develder,
Wally
Wally's
Memoirs!
Douglas,
Carstairs
Doty,
Elihu
Duryea,
Wm. Rankin
Esther,Joe
& Marion
Green,
Katherine
Gutzlaff,
Karl
Hills,Jack
& Joann
. Hill's
Photos.80+
..Keith
H.Homeschool
Hofstras
Holkeboer,
Tena
Holleman,
M.D.
Hope
Hospital
Johnston
Bio
Joralmans
Karsen,
W&R
Koeppes,
Edwin&Eliz.
Kip,
Leonard W.
Meer
Wm. Vander
Morrison,
Margaret
Muilenbergs
Neinhuis,
Jean
Oltman,
M.D.
Ostrum,
Alvin
Otte,M.D.Last
Days
Platz,
Jessie
Pohlman,
W. J.
Poppen,
H.& D.
Rapalje,
Daniel
Renskers
Talmage,
J.V.N.
Talman,
Dr.
Veenschotens
. Henry
V.Stella
V.
. Girard
V.
Veldman,
J.
Voskuil,
H & M
Walvoord
Warnshuis,
A.L.
Zwemer,
Nellie
Fuh-chau
Cemetery
City
of Springs
(Quanzhou, 1902!!)
XM
Churches
Church
History
Opium
Wars
A.M.
Bibliography
YMCA
Volunteer!
XICF
Fellowship
TemplesMosques
Christ
in Chinese
Artists'
Eyes
DAILY LINKS
FAQs
Questions?
Real
Estate
Shopping
Maps
Bookstores
Trains
Busses
Car
Rental
Hotels
News
(CT)
Medical
& Dental
Expat
Groups
Maids
Phone
#s
EDUCATION
Xiamen
University
XIS(Int'l
School)
Study
Mandarin
CSP(China
Studies)
Library
Museums
History
DINING Tea
Houses
Restaurants
Asian
Veggie
Junk
Food
Chinese
Italian
International
Visas
4 aliens
RECREATION
Massage!
Beaches
Fly
Kites
Sports
Boardwalk
Parks
Pets
Birdwatching
Kung
Fu Hiking
Music
Events
Cinema
Festival&Culture
Humor&Fun
Fotos
BUSINESS
Doing
Business
Jobs!(teach/work)
Hire
Workers
Foreign
Companies
CIFIT
(Trade Fair)
MTS(Translation)
Back to Top
|