From July 18, 1986 letter from Rosemary Faris Baer to Joyce Wiley Swogger:
“I was born Sept. 6*, 1913 in Tsing Tau, which is now spelled Qing-dao, on the coast of Shantung, now spelled Shandong province. You will note on the map(s) that all the spellings have changed to the so-called Pinyin form, as of 1979-80. I went over there in the Fall of 1979. I doubt if you find all the places where our missionary relatives served. I never did learn the geography. Many of the towns were mere villages (though Qingdao, where the missionaries went for summer vacation, has always been a fine port and resort). Paul and Helena Faris served in Ichowfu, on the I River– that’s where Eunice was born. I could never find it on the map when I was a child, though I could locate Shandong Province easily. I came back to the States when I was less than a year old. Heard my folks talk about China a lot, and used to sing “Jesus Love Me” in Chinese for their missionary talks. Eunice, who was eight, knew Chinese better than they, but insisted on consciously forgetting it immediately so she could be more American.
“For twenty-five of the fifty years (since college) I was family-oriented. The other half, allowing for overlapping, was spent teaching languages in New England, nine years; another nine years teaching airline sales on the west coast; and seven in Southern California church systems as educator and then co-ordinator of older adult ministries. The family consisted of (husband) John, an electrical tester for the Department of Water and Power in Los Angeles; son Alexander, now a Presbyterian pastor in Cincinnati, Ohio, with wife Louise (Totty) and daughters Rachel and Susan; and daughter Veloma, married to Dirk A. Hill and mother of sons David and Johnathan in Colorado.
“Wanderlust has been a recurrent theme: a ship to France, a bus to Mexico for studies when I was teaching; a free flight to Scandinavia when with the airline; auto tours as a family in Europe and the U.S.
“Now that I’m single again after John’s death, I’ve visited China to see my birthland and last, Scotland-Ireland-Wales to walk the glens of my ancestors, Israel-Egypt to make vivid my spiritual heritage. I’m content. Life for me is good on this planet. Let’s make it so for those who follow. Come visit me in San Diego, where California began!”
*Social Security Death Index lists Rosemary's birth date as the 16th. Date in the letter as transcribed by Joyce Wiley Swogger is the 6th; assuming this is a typo.
From The Somerville and Faris Family History by Joyce Wiley Swogger, 1986, p. 54-54b.
“I was born Sept. 6*, 1913 in Tsing Tau, which is now spelled Qing-dao, on the coast of Shantung, now spelled Shandong province. You will note on the map(s) that all the spellings have changed to the so-called Pinyin form, as of 1979-80. I went over there in the Fall of 1979. I doubt if you find all the places where our missionary relatives served. I never did learn the geography. Many of the towns were mere villages (though Qingdao, where the missionaries went for summer vacation, has always been a fine port and resort). Paul and Helena Faris served in Ichowfu, on the I River– that’s where Eunice was born. I could never find it on the map when I was a child, though I could locate Shandong Province easily. I came back to the States when I was less than a year old. Heard my folks talk about China a lot, and used to sing “Jesus Love Me” in Chinese for their missionary talks. Eunice, who was eight, knew Chinese better than they, but insisted on consciously forgetting it immediately so she could be more American.
“For twenty-five of the fifty years (since college) I was family-oriented. The other half, allowing for overlapping, was spent teaching languages in New England, nine years; another nine years teaching airline sales on the west coast; and seven in Southern California church systems as educator and then co-ordinator of older adult ministries. The family consisted of (husband) John, an electrical tester for the Department of Water and Power in Los Angeles; son Alexander, now a Presbyterian pastor in Cincinnati, Ohio, with wife Louise (Totty) and daughters Rachel and Susan; and daughter Veloma, married to Dirk A. Hill and mother of sons David and Johnathan in Colorado.
“Wanderlust has been a recurrent theme: a ship to France, a bus to Mexico for studies when I was teaching; a free flight to Scandinavia when with the airline; auto tours as a family in Europe and the U.S.
“Now that I’m single again after John’s death, I’ve visited China to see my birthland and last, Scotland-Ireland-Wales to walk the glens of my ancestors, Israel-Egypt to make vivid my spiritual heritage. I’m content. Life for me is good on this planet. Let’s make it so for those who follow. Come visit me in San Diego, where California began!”
*Social Security Death Index lists Rosemary's birth date as the 16th. Date in the letter as transcribed by Joyce Wiley Swogger is the 6th; assuming this is a typo.
From The Somerville and Faris Family History by Joyce Wiley Swogger, 1986, p. 54-54b.
From July 18, 1986 letter from Rosemary Faris Baer to Joyce Wiley Swogger:
“I was born Sept. 6*, 1913 in Tsing Tau, which is now spelled Qing-dao, on the coast of Shantung, now spelled Shandong province. You will note on the map(s) that all the spellings have changed to the so-called Pinyin form, as of 1979-80. I went over there in the Fall of 1979. I doubt if you find all the places where our missionary relatives served. I never did learn the geography. Many of the towns were mere villages (though Qingdao, where the missionaries went for summer vacation, has always been a fine port and resort). Paul and Helena Faris served in Ichowfu, on the I River– that’s where Eunice was born. I could never find it on the map when I was a child, though I could locate Shandong Province easily. I came back to the States when I was less than a year old. Heard my folks talk about China a lot, and used to sing “Jesus Love Me” in Chinese for their missionary talks. Eunice, who was eight, knew Chinese better than they, but insisted on consciously forgetting it immediately so she could be more American.
“For twenty-five of the fifty years (since college) I was family-oriented. The other half, allowing for overlapping, was spent teaching languages in New England, nine years; another nine years teaching airline sales on the west coast; and seven in Southern California church systems as educator and then co-ordinator of older adult ministries. The family consisted of (husband) John, an electrical tester for the Department of Water and Power in Los Angeles; son Alexander, now a Presbyterian pastor in Cincinnati, Ohio, with wife Louise (Totty) and daughters Rachel and Susan; and daughter Veloma, married to Dirk A. Hill and mother of sons David and Johnathan in Colorado.
“Wanderlust has been a recurrent theme: a ship to France, a bus to Mexico for studies when I was teaching; a free flight to Scandinavia when with the airline; auto tours as a family in Europe and the U.S.
“Now that I’m single again after John’s death, I’ve visited China to see my birthland and last, Scotland-Ireland-Wales to walk the glens of my ancestors, Israel-Egypt to make vivid my spiritual heritage. I’m content. Life for me is good on this planet. Let’s make it so for those who follow. Come visit me in San Diego, where California began!”
*Social Security Death Index lists Rosemary's birth date as the 16th. Date in the letter as transcribed by Joyce Wiley Swogger is the 6th; assuming this is a typo.
From The Somerville and Faris Family History by Joyce Wiley Swogger, 1986, p. 54-54b.
“I was born Sept. 6*, 1913 in Tsing Tau, which is now spelled Qing-dao, on the coast of Shantung, now spelled Shandong province. You will note on the map(s) that all the spellings have changed to the so-called Pinyin form, as of 1979-80. I went over there in the Fall of 1979. I doubt if you find all the places where our missionary relatives served. I never did learn the geography. Many of the towns were mere villages (though Qingdao, where the missionaries went for summer vacation, has always been a fine port and resort). Paul and Helena Faris served in Ichowfu, on the I River– that’s where Eunice was born. I could never find it on the map when I was a child, though I could locate Shandong Province easily. I came back to the States when I was less than a year old. Heard my folks talk about China a lot, and used to sing “Jesus Love Me” in Chinese for their missionary talks. Eunice, who was eight, knew Chinese better than they, but insisted on consciously forgetting it immediately so she could be more American.
“For twenty-five of the fifty years (since college) I was family-oriented. The other half, allowing for overlapping, was spent teaching languages in New England, nine years; another nine years teaching airline sales on the west coast; and seven in Southern California church systems as educator and then co-ordinator of older adult ministries. The family consisted of (husband) John, an electrical tester for the Department of Water and Power in Los Angeles; son Alexander, now a Presbyterian pastor in Cincinnati, Ohio, with wife Louise (Totty) and daughters Rachel and Susan; and daughter Veloma, married to Dirk A. Hill and mother of sons David and Johnathan in Colorado.
“Wanderlust has been a recurrent theme: a ship to France, a bus to Mexico for studies when I was teaching; a free flight to Scandinavia when with the airline; auto tours as a family in Europe and the U.S.
“Now that I’m single again after John’s death, I’ve visited China to see my birthland and last, Scotland-Ireland-Wales to walk the glens of my ancestors, Israel-Egypt to make vivid my spiritual heritage. I’m content. Life for me is good on this planet. Let’s make it so for those who follow. Come visit me in San Diego, where California began!”
*Social Security Death Index lists Rosemary's birth date as the 16th. Date in the letter as transcribed by Joyce Wiley Swogger is the 6th; assuming this is a typo.
From The Somerville and Faris Family History by Joyce Wiley Swogger, 1986, p. 54-54b.
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