Although this news is not put with the column heading 'Cheung Chau Notes', it may still be a continuation of that correspondent series.
The annual concert of the Cheung Chau Residents' Association was held in the Assembly Hall last evening ... [1]
The programme includes :
(1) Piano Accordion and Mouth Organ Duet by W. Newbern and Billy Newbern [2]
(2) Male Quartette, P. Backlund, D. Carlson, H. Gravern and Mr. Holten
(3) Recitation, Miss Gertrude Wahl
. . .
(7) Vocal Solo, Doris Dirk, accompanied on the Auto-Harp by Mr. H. Holten
. . .
(11) Welsh Songs, A. Thomas and P. Jones."Juanita" and "The Cat,"
by Mrs. N. Hill, Mrs. D. Carlson, Mrs. C. Lawson, Mrs. H. Holten, Mrs. W. Newburn and Miss P. French,
accompanied on the piano by Mrs. G. Krickson
. . .
(13) Reading by the President, Mr. D. O. Silver
. . .
(15) Community Singing led by Mr. W. Newburn [2]
Sports are to be held tomorrow on the Afternoon Beach followed by a Community Supper.
This may possibly be the 'last' concert held in that assembly hall. WWII apparently changed this close community a lot.
My enquiry :
do you know whereabout this Cheung Chau Assembly Hall was located ?
notes
1. China Mail, 1940-8-27
2. I think all 'Newborn', 'Newburn' is Newbern actually. Would try to disprove it myself, if evidence found otherwise.
Comments
Cheung Chau Concert ( 1940)
In 1940, many missionaries in South China considered Cheung Chau a retreat or vacation place. Some had family with them too. But because of the first Battle of Changsha in early autumn of 1939, several southern provinces were also in a war zone, a time when many missionaries might choose to stay longer than usual in Cheung Chau, up until the Pearl Harbor Incident.
As far as I remember, some people mentioned in the music concert program were still residents here in Cheung Chau in the 1960s. They worked for or supported the Alliance Bible Seminary here after leaving mainland China.
As a teenager, I met Billy Newbern and the senior Mr. Carlson quite often on Peak Rd. They were very friendly people.
So I guess more clues could surface from the records of the missionary works from that time or their life stories in print.
Tung