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The
Amoy Mission--1840-1951
Copyright 2001-7 by Sue Brown & Dr.
Bill Order
Books Xiamenguide
Forum
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Page
E-mail This page contents copyright
2007 by Walter deVelder Family
A
Missionary Journey Over Nine Decades
By Walter deVelder
.... This
fascinating memoir was provided by Joann
Hill. Enjoy!
Part
1: 1900-1910 Part
2: 1910-1920 Part
3: 1920-1930
Part
4: 1930-1940 Part
5: 1940-1950 Part
6: 1950-1960
Part
7: 1960-1970 Part
8: 1970-1980
Return
to The Amoy Mission
I
Remember "Wally"
Part 2: 1910-1920
In 1911 we moved to a farm one-mile West and a half mile
North of Boyden. I started kindergarten in the Church School in Boyden
usually walking the distance with Tena, Delia, and John. In 1912, on January
28 my younger brother Marion (Mert) was born. We welcomed him. We kids
had many experiences on the farm. I recall in 1915 that men in carts came
to buy "scrap iron" to send to Europe. It was great to earn
a few dollars from leftovers in the grove. Little did we think that in
a short time we would be engulfed in a horrible war, where friends and
relatives would die. In 1916 our school was knitting squares for blankets
and at age nine, I was told I was a good knitter. Brother John was in
training with a wooden rifle in 1917. There was a lot of anti-German feeling
in our area and several good German neighbors had yellow blotches painted
on their farm buildings. The worst situation was the Ku Klux Klan holding
scary demonstrations on farmlands. These demonstrations were mainly against
blacks and the irony was that there were no blacks within sixty miles
of the area.
Life on the farm was good. It was hard work, but very
rewarding. I was milking three cows in the early morning at age ten, and
three cows in the late afternoon. We had a lot of chores to do. Dad had
a very fine smokehouse from which came many delicious meats. We rarely
went to the butcher shop in town, and shared butchering with our neighbors.
We made our own sausage, and mother canned a lot of meat and vegetables.
We were happy when the First World War ended in November 1918, but I can
never forget the celebration we had in our town. I can still see the glass
hearse with an effigy of Kaiser Bill inside wending its way from the town
square to the dump yard on the Northern end of town. The parade was led
by the mayor and the minister of the Reformed Church. Behind the hearse
walked a minister of the Presbyterian Church. There was a column of Veterans
and a Band. When the celebration came to the dump year, Kaiser Bill's
effigy was burned. I shall never forget this horrible experience and this
planted in me the sadness of wars and the irony of Christian feeling.
We were happy the war was over, but sad that Uncle Marion (Dad's brother)
deVelder died in France.
In 1917, brother Mert started kindergarten and his teacher
was sister Tena. In those days high school graduates could go to the Teachers'
Training School in Cedar Falls, Iowa, for six weeks and become qualified
elementary and kindergarten teachers. Mother said to Mert on the first
day of school, "You must obey Tena as your teacher". I can still
hear his reply, "Yes, Mama I will obey Tena at school, but not at
home".
As the 1910's came to a close there was a big change
in our sibling relationship. Brother John went off to Central College
in 1919, and sister Delia married George Foreman. Soon after that sister
Tena quit teaching to marry William (Bill) Bomgaars. The nest was quite
empty with only Mert and myself, now eight and thirteen left at home.
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
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