American School of Kikungshan (ASK) [1915- ]

In the early 1900s, Norwegian-American Lutheran missionaries of the China Mission of the Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod identified Kikungshan ("Rooster Mountain") (Jigongshan), Honan (Henan) Province, in central China, as an ideal retreat for escaping the heat and disease of the central China plains.

They purchased a large section of the mountain, built stone cottages with verandahs, planted trees, and erected a small stone church, transforming the mountain into a major summer retreat. 

The area served as a crucial hub for American and Norwegian Lutheran missions, providing a place for language study, education, and the founding of the Lutheran Church of China.

In 1915 a boarding school was founded for the children of the missionaries, the American School of Kikungshan (ASK). It was an attractive western-style building of three floors, with colonial style verandahs on each floor at the front of the building.  The school took students from several other Protestant Missionary groups (see post below).

It was built with the intention for it to feel like home.  A former pupil said, “It was for us a home away from home and it offered all the advantages and pleasures of an extended family. Our teachers were not only academic instructors, they were our personal friends— an integral part of our lives”. 

In February 1938, because of the Sino-Japanese War, the school evacuated from Kikungshan to the Aw Par Hospital on Cheung Chau, Hong Kong. 

Cheung Chau was a common refuge for missionaries and residents due to its relative safety compared to the mainland at the time.  Cheung Chau must have seemed like a home from home, as the houses and their situations bore a strong resemblance to the homes in Kikungshan.

In 1940 the Directory of Protestant Missions has these staff members of the school staying in different houses on the island - 

In House 13 was Rev L A & Mrs Buuck, and family.

In House 25 was Mrs H J Gravem. 

In House 27 was Rev Paul S Backlund and Mrs Ruth Backlund.

Other staff who moved were

Miss Esther Anderson, 

Miss Irene Bengston, 

Miss Dorothy Eckstrand, 

Miss Ruth Gilbertson, served 1920-49, appointed Principal, 1939.

Miss Selma Lindell, 

Mrs Eugene Schyttner,

Rev Edgar and Mrs Sovik, Miss Gertrude Sovik.

In 1941 ASK transferred to the USA. Some staff stayed and were interned on Stanley (Rev Buuck) when the Japanese invaded.  Ruth Gilbertson was interned in the Philippines.

In 1948 the school moved back to Hong Kong, Pokfulam, at Ebenezer Home for Blind Girls.

Sources:

Roots to Branches: The Story of My Family on Kikungshan (has pictures).

Concordia College, Minnesota