Overview
| Repository: |
Yale University Divinity School
Library
409 Prospect Street New Haven, CT 06511 Email: divinity.library@yale.edu Phone: (203) 432-5301 |
| Call Number: | Record Group No. 164 |
| Creator: | American School of Kikungshan. |
| Title: | Archives of the American School Kikungshan and American School Kikungshan Association, |
| Dates: | 1900-2010 |
| Physical Description: | Total archival boxes 23; total linear footage 10' |
| Language(s): | Materials in English. |
| Summary: | Reports, correspondence, photographs, and collected material document the history of the American School Kikungshan and its graduates. The American School Kikungshan was a school for missionary children established by the Lutheran missions in China. The American School Kikungshan Association is the alumni/ae association of the school. |
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| Finding Aid Link: | To cite or bookmark this finding aid, use the following address: http://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/divinity.164 |
| Request Materials: | To view manuscript and archival materials at the Yale Divinity Library, please submit the request form at http://www.library.yale.edu/div/request.htm. |
| Catalog Record: | A record for this collection, including location information, may be available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog. |
Administrative Information
Provenance
Gift of the American School Kikungshan Association.
Information about Access
Open to qualified researchers.
Cite As
Archives of the American School Kikungshan and American School Kikungshan Association, Record Group No. 164, Special Collections, Yale Divinity School Library.
Biographical Sketch
| 1914 | ASK established on Kikungshan with Agnes Kittlesby as first principal. Predecessors included small schools set up by Hauge Synod and American Lutheran Mission |
| 1927 | School moved to Hankow, then evacuated to Shanghai and closed |
| 1928 Fall | Reopened in Eric Sovik home in Shekow |
| 1929 Spring | Returned to Kikungshan |
| 1930 Oct | Fled to Lutheran Missions Home and Agency in Hankow |
| 1931 Jan | Returned to Kikungshan |
| 1931 Feb | Fled to Lutheran Missions Home and Agency in Hankow |
| 1931 Fall | At Redcroft School in Kuling |
| 1934 Fall | Reopened at Kikungshan |
| 1938 Jan | Evacuated to Cheung Chau, Hong Kong |
| 1941 Jan | Evacuated to U.S.; finished school year at Luther Academy in Wahoo, Nebraska |
| 1946 | Reopened at Sinyang |
| 1947 Dec | Evacuated to Lutheran Missions Home and Agency in Hankow |
| 1948 Mar | Evacuated to Hong Kong; opened in Ebenezer Home for Blind Girls in Pokfulam |
| 1950 Fall | Tutorship school opened in rented house in Tao Fong Shan, Hong Kong |
| 1951 Spring | Last high school graduation |
| 1952-53 | Lillian Landahl tutored half-time, then left on furlough. No replacement found. |
| 1953-55 | Six missionary mothers taught classes in their homes. |
| 1955 | Home board authorized purchase of station wagon to transport missionary children to Kowloon schools. |
| 1992-2005 | The American School Kikungshan Association, an alumni/ae association, was incorporated in 1992. It was officially dissolved in 2005 as many of the graduates were no longer able to attend reunions. Since that time some ASK graduates have been involved in a new organization, China Venture Services, which seeks to foster the development of meaningful relations between the Christian community in North America and the Chinese community, especially in Henan. |
Description of the Papers
These records document the history of a school established in 1915 for the children of Lutheran missionaries in China and the school's alumni/ae association. Because of civil unrest in China, the school was often evacuated from Kikungshan (now Jigongshan), a hill resort situated north of the Yangtze River that was the favored summer resort for the foreign residents of Hankow (now Hankou). These records, along with records held at YDSL of the Shanghai American School and North China American School, provide an excellent picture of the lifelong influence of these schools for missionary children.
Series I includes minutes of the Board of the American School Kikungshan, financial records, and correspondence related to the management of the school.
Series II documents the life of the school through its publications - yearbooks and newsletters, as well as programs from school events and compiled information about the school's history. Of particular interest are a 1946 report by Gertrude Sovik that provides detailed information about the operations of the school and a 1994 report about the childhood experiences and health history of ASK graduates.
Series III includes material by and about the alumni/ae and faculty of ASK, including "The Rooster Crows Again: the Story of the American School Kikungshan" by Charlotte Martinson Gronseth and Gertrude Sovik, which includes a summary of the history of the school and reminiscences of alumni/ae.
Series IV documents the American School Kikungshan Association, an alumni/ae group that has an ongoing newsletter and reunions. Series V includes miscellaneous material including Lutheran mission reports and periodicals that provide information about the history of ASK.
Series VI is an addendum that further documents the ASK Association and the lives of ASK graduates.