(1949) Hedvig Leaves China

Marriage of Dollan

On January 30, Dollan married the ex-marine Bernard Holmquist. Oscar and Hellen sent to telegram from China congratuating the happy couple and wishing "God's blessing on Bride and Bridegroom." On February 8, Oscar received a letter from Bud's Father John telling him of the wedding. "I am very glad to hear the first new of the happy wedding of Bernie and Doris." "It is good to hear that " 'they are as happy as a couple can be.'" "[Dollan] seems so happy to be daughter in such a fine Christian family and she is proud of her new Dad and loves you and all members in her new home." [See rules regarding multiple quotes from various parts from one document that are not separated by other sentences.] Oscar always knew what to write and say for such occassions. 2

Communists

Back in China the Communists were winning. Hellen and Oscar talked with Hedvig about leaving China before Tsingtao was 'liberated'. She was old they told her, they didn't know what to expect during the Communist rule. Perhaps there would be little or no money. Times could be rough. Hedvig did not like the idea. China was her home. She had lived in China now for almost 55 years, longer than she had ever lived in Sweden. Johan Alfred was buried nearby in Tsingtao. She loved her Chinese friends and they loved her. She had certainly been through hard times before and had lived through other revolutions. This would not be the first time.

Eventually they convinced her to leave.

Oscar, Hellen and Gunnar Berggren accompanied her to Tsingtao. They traveled first across the countryside in a cart, and then a truck loaded with boxes. Despite her 81 years she took the journey very well.

Hellen and Hedvig first took a flight down to Shanghai where their good missionary friends, the Connelys took care of them. After some days they continued by flight on to Hong Kong. Hellen [or someone else] telegramed Oscar saying they had arrived safely in Hong Kong. They found out a Norwegian plane was leaving Hong Kong on February 13 for Stockholm, Sweden. They hoped to get Hedvig a seat on that flight. If so, she would have have the company of another missionary who was bound for Sweden.

It was open to question, apparently, if Hellen should return home to Kiaohsien, in Shantung. "Hellen will watch the situation before she returns to Shantung," Oscar writes. Hellen decided to take a chance and fly back to Tsingtao. As it turned out, she should have left with her mother-in-law, Hedvig. In fact Oscar should have left. The next several months would not be easy.

On February 2 Oscar received a letter from Bud's father John Holmquist in Chicago, Illinois. He answered it immediately.

Your kind letter of Jan. 29 was received about five minutes ago. I am answering it at once because we are expecting a political change any time and I will probably be cut off from the outside world . . . .

Oscar wrote his daugher's new father-in-law about Hedvig and Hellen's journey to Hong Kong and the present political crisis. He writes that two of the missionary families intend to leave China. Two single ladies [missionaries presumably] were staying. Gunnar [is she one of them?] will stay in Tsingtao during the crisis. Oscar was leaving the next day to return home in Kiaohsien. He didn't expect more trouble from the communists than before though up to this time the communists had take over the mission's school buildings including the Primary School. Though religious liberty was very limited in communist territory, the communists still allowed the Swedish and Chinese Christians to hold meetings daily in the church. Christian work in the countryside, however, was only allowed now in Christian homes. "I would be grateful to be remembered in your thoughts and prayers. Hearty greetings to all and may the good Lord be with you all," Oscar writes John. 2

When visiting Tsingtao on June 2, Oscar was not allowed to return to Kiaohsien. He was stranded to Tsingtao for two years and rented a house on October 14, 1949 from a Mr. and Mrs. Frank Halling who had left China [don't know if their leaving China was for good or for what reason]. Apparently the house came with either a cook or a caretaker of the property by the name of Mr. Tang. 1

Oscar spent part of this time teaching at the Southern Baptist Seminary, and enjoying English church services and doing a small share of work in the Tsingtao Community Church. Eight churches and many nationalities were represented in this church. [Some of this info perhaps can be moved to chapters 1950 or 1951. Oscar dated the sermons he gave at various places because he often used a sermon more than once. Check the last page of any of his sermons for dates, especially from this period. This may indicate what he was doing in the church in 1950 or 1951.]

Apparently, Hedvig arrived in America and stayed for some time with her daughter Margarett and her husband, and her sister, Edith. She was still probably in America by 1951 because she visited Dollan and family in 1951.⁸² This can be verified from a photo taken together of Hedvig and Lennart Holmquist. Incidently, when Hedvig visited the States she was wearing a fur coat made in China. This fur coat probably still exists and as of 2007, and if so is stored in a cedar chest at the home in Dollan Brown in Hanson, Washington (2007). In Sweden Hedvig possibly went to Sala where she had family because it was to Sala that Oscar visited his mother after his return to Sweden.

Principal Wang

The new government forced the closing of the co-educational school. Wang Fengying (also called Wang Huating) who had been principal of the co-educational schools since 1929, taking over from Egron Rinell, no longer had a school. ⁶² Info on closing of school from Lally Rinell Email to LJH, Sept 28, 2007.

Reinbrecht Family Leaves China

Chuck left China for the United States about October of 1941. He was going back to the United States to enter ninth grade. Earlier he had been in Pyongyang, Korea, in boarding school, his first year, but the school closed because the war was coming.

Janet was seventeen when she graduated from high school at the Tsingtao American School (TAS) in 1948, and then went home [home to China or the States]. TAS met in two buildings behind the large German church on the hill in Tsingtao. Going up the steps from the road, one of the buildings was on the right. Down the steps from that building the students went up other stairs to the second building where they had their classrooms. Outside between the buildings they played basketball or volleyball.⁶⁵ Dusty does not thing they went to school with Lally and Johnny Rinell. Email from Dusty Reinbrecht to LJH, February 23, 2008. In it was a basketball court where the students played sports and had dances. After the war when the number of students numbered about sixty, a live navy band from one of the US ships anchored in the harbor would play at the dances. Georgie, now fifteen and Janet at seventeen would date sailors or marines. They were only allowed to date if they 'double-dated,' that is the two sisters going out on a date with two sailors or marines. "We thought they were amazing, heck uniform and older!", Georgie related later.

In January 1949, when Dusty was fifteen years old, she and her parents flew to Hong Kong where she entered a British school. She attended the school until June. Transferring from an American school to a British school, however, was not practical. The schools were too different [in curriculum, culture?]. Dusty returned to the United States with her mom for her senior year in high school graduating in 1950.⁶¹ Emails from Dusty Reinbrecht to LJH, February 21, 2008.

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Footnotes