Josh Steward, Jesse Breidenbach,
Raymond Dickinson, Kurt DeWees, Jared Gates Forks football offensive line
October 2000 p 103 #1485
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Josh Steward, Jesse
Breidenbach, Raymond Dickinson, Kurt DeWees, Jared Gates Forks offensive
line. CHINA gunboat TULSA 1930-31 38 Jack used mainly a German Voightlander
purchased San Francisco June l929 en route to Philippines and a Kodak Speed
Graphic purchased for $250 in Honolulu 1944 with tripod, flash and yellow
and infrared filters.speed thousandth-second"Willie Steele" Story told to
Sophie by Jack Barrett When Jack was Gunnery Officer on ther USS TULSA in
Tientsin in 1930, he enjoyed going to the Tientsin Club after work about
five in the afternoon, before my arrival November 1930. The Club was for men
only - a chance to relax and get acquainted with men of many nationalities
with good conversation. At the Tientsin Club he met businessman Faison
Jordon, Mr. Reymolds of Ford Motors, and "Willie" Steele, head of The
Tientsin Pukow Railway line. According to Jack ,Willie was a tremendous
Scotsman with a tremendous appetite for good food, good liquor, and good
conversation. When Jack said to him, "Willie, are you a Highlander or a
Lowlander?" Willie struck Jack hard on the back in friendly fashion and
replied, "Ach, mon, that's all past and done!" Sophie Meranski Barrett at
Tientsin County Club photo by Tientsin Police Chief Isemonger CHINAchapter
TULSA CHAPTER INTRODUCTION BY JOHN BARRETT-- Sophie Barrett's chapter
"Living in the Orient" begins with her arrival November 13, 1930. Jack
Barrett had been in North China since May, 1930. He arrived on destroyer
TRUXTUN, was detached about May 15, and spent six days leave at Marine
Barracks, American Legation, Peking, where he discussed gunnery with his
1910 ITASCA Revenue Cutter School shipmate William Rupertus. Then Jack was
Gunnery Officer,First Lieutenant, Senior Watch Officer and temporarily
Executive Officer of the gunboat TULSA based at Tientsin. At first Walter
Decker was Captain, succeeded by Commander Paul Rice. The Rice family became
very close friends of the Barrett family over many years in China, Panama,
Hawaii, and after the war, and they may be introduced by several letters.
Paul Rice lived to age 95 1886-1981 and his wife Gertrude to age 102 + 1/2
born Juneau, Alaska, December 3, 1893 to July 25, 1996. Her father was a
silver miner named Hammond, and her mother's father named Coleman was one of
the first 1847 settlers of St. Paul, Oregon in the Willamette Valley. He had
eleven children. Gertrude had three older sisters, one of whom married Navy
Admiral Cross. The Hammond family came to the San Francisco Bay area 1906 or
1907 shortly after the great earthquake and fire. In 1917 Gertrude married
Naval Academy 1909 graduate Paul Rice, and their daughter Nathalie, born
June 1919 was eleven years old when Sophie arrived in Tientsin. Nathalie was
trained in social work and said Sophie played a part in interesting her in
the field. The friendship of the Rice family was extremely beneficial for
Sophie as a young Navy wife in a strange land, and Paul Rice's encouragement
helped Jack Barrett achieve promotion to Lieutenant Commander and another
fifteen highly productive years in his Navy career. These letters will
introduce Gertrude and Paul Rice: Mrs. Paul H. Rice (Gertrude) 523 South
Hudson Avenue, Pasadena, California 91106 22 July l970 Dear Sophie, We would
be glad to write to Bill Paca if you would send his address. You've never
written if he is married. I thought he did marry many years ago. The things
he wrote about Jack must have pleased you. It seems that somehow they should
be woven into your book. I'm sure that Paul always looks to his command of
the TULSA as one of his most happy commands. Strangely enough he had a
command in every grade, beginning with Ensign. He had a great regard for the
officers that served with him on "the TULSA," and there always seemed to be
such a good relationship. I always thought the China duty the best thing the
Navy had to offer, but of course we've never been in Europe. Nath has three
children, two boys and a girl. Chris is 24, John is 20, and Erica 18.
Nathalie is Mrs. J. V Hawley (Mrs. Vernon Hawley 333 Marion Avenue, Mill
Valley California 94941." PAUL RICE letter On February l0,l970 a letter came
from Paul Rice Captain USN who was with us on the TULSA in Tientsin l930-3l,
visited Panama in l935 & lived in Waikiki l94l when the war struck until
February l942."Dear John, As you surmise,Sexton was a classmate of mine,
class of l909 at the Naval Academy. Captain Samuel Wilder King was a
classmate- knew him very well.He relieved me of command of the USS SAMAR at
Hankow,China in June,l9l5. We had no Chaplain on the TULSA. As I remember
the anchorage at the entrance of the Hai Ho River was called Tangku. The
TULSA used oil-not coal.I spent about three years on the Yangtze- had
command of the SAMAR & navigated it to Ichang one thousand miles up the
river.Navigation on the river was similar to that on the Mississippi,I
suppose.During the summer floods good sized ships could navigate to
Hankow.Of course Gertrude & I would be glad to try to identify pictures.Mrs.
Rice says she & Nathalie met your uncle Bill in New York City in l942 (but
did not meet your aunt Virginia)).Please give our regards to your
mother.Sincerely, Paul H. Rice." Sophie added a note: "Jack & I sailed from
Tangku to Japan on the Chowan Maru.Tangku is where the Japanese soldiers
crossed their swords on my chest when I started to the wrong dock where a
Japanese Army troop ship was next to the passenger ship dock." [[PHOTO LIST
1-6, 4-27, 5-38, 7-49,53, 8-62, 17-135,136 18-137,138,139, 29-863, 36-918,
37-924, 39-945, 46-1002,49-1024, 53-1067,1068, 64-1160, -1371, 90-1381,1382
After l993 thefts of desks, bureaus, furniture, books and papers in West
Roxbury l993, photo web p. 18 #139 is the only remaining photo of an
outstanding group taken by Mr. Isemonger spring l931 at Tientsin Country
Club. He and his daughter Tina arrived at Tientsin just after the Barretts
December 1930 from India, and he became chief of police in British
concession of Tientsin, where Court Hotel was located.He was a frequent
luncheon visitor to the Court Hotel, sometimes accompanied by his daughter
Tina.He was frequently helpful to both Jack and Sophie. The loss of the
Tientsin country Club photos was a great disappointment, and also a group of
photos of Sophie taken at Yamamoto studios Tientsin. p 18 #] p 26-796 China-
arrive Nov 1930- Liang, Rice,New Years,Fleet Maneuvers 1931-Paca letter-Mukden
incident- GUNBOAT TULSA - CHINA "LIVING IN THE ORIENT" MAIN SOPHIE BARRETT
TEXT NOVEMBER 1930 - ARRIVAL CHINGWANTAO + TIENTSIN + COURT HOTEL + GUNBOAT
TULSA + RICE FAMILY Between Manila & Hong Kong on the transport HENDERSON we
encountered a typhoon when the ship rocked & pitched dangerously & even I
spent much time in my bunk-not because I was seasick but because it was not
safe to be on deck.An Army wife,Florence Hilldring,came aboard in Manila for
the trip to Chingwantao en route to Peking for a change of climate as she
found Manila too hot & humid. Finally on the thirteenth of November l930 the
ship arrived early in the morning at Chingwantao far in in northern China
near the Manchurian border.Jack met the ship and had breakfast aboard. I was
at the head of the gangway and watched him come aboard in Navy blue winter
uniform.We smiled and waved to each other for about half an hour while the
ship tied up.He brought a new dark gray heavy woolen steamer rug (English)
to use on the train trip from Chingwantao to Tientsin one hundred
twenty-five miles. Although Jack was very thin,he looked well & very happy
to see me & was most complimentary about my small velvet hat & my coat
trimmed with Persian lamb fur. We took first a train, then a motor car to
the Court Hotel on Victoria Road in the British concession where we had
lunch-called "tiffen" by the Australian woman Miss Moore who owned the small
hotel.Then Jack dropped the bomb.He told me that Captain Paul Rice had held
the TULSA over one day so Jack could meet me & get me settled.The next
morning-early-the TULSA would sail for Shanghai for a priod of overhaul &
liberty- & I would be left alone again-this time in the Orient where I knew
no one.I left the hotel with him right after tiffen to go the mile to the
ship.Two ricksha coolies came up,& Jack signalled me to get into one. Jack
gave the Chinese command "Dong-y-dong" for them to proceed. At first I was
reluctant to have human beings wait on me in this way, but it was a
necessity for European women, and they were glad to have the money, at a
time when most Chinese lived in extreme poverty.We arrived at the Court
Hotel by taxi from the railroad station in time to have lunch "tiffen"
there.Then we went by rickshaw down Victoria Road to the TULSA - about a
five to ten minute walk- on the dock on the Hai Ho River.I met some of
Jack's shipmates and looked over the many linen items Jack had bought in
China.About four p.m. we went by rickshaw to call on Mrs. Faison Jordan,
wife of an American business executive for a British company, who was
friendly at the Tientsin Country Club. When she found out that I was a Mount
Holyoke graduate,she told us about Mrs. Evans, leader of the Mount Holyoke
Alumnae Club of North China, whose husband was a Tientsin lawyer. We made a
short call on Mrs. Evans, who told me that my former student Grace Liang was
living in Tientsin.Grace soon called on me at the Court Hotel and later
entered my name in the Mount Holyoke Club of North China. The Liangs lived
at 314 Elgin Avenue in the British Concession of Tientsin, where the Court
Hotel was located also. About five o'clock we went to call at the home of
our TULSA commander - Commander and Mrs. Paul Rice at 127 Meadows Road, also
in the British Concession. The TULSA was leaving for Shanghai the next day
and Captain Rice had held the ship at Tientsin an extra day or two so that
Jack could await my arrival. "Captain" Rice was really a Navy Commander,
class of 1909 at the Naval Academy. When Jack first reported to the TULSA in
May 1930,Commander Walter Decker was the Captain, but by the time I arrived,
November 13, 1930,Paul Rice was in command.This was his second tour of duty
in China.In 1912 he had commanded the USS SAMAR, a Yangtze River Patrol
Boat.which navigated one thousand miles up the river to the city of
Ichang.Navigating on the Yangtze, according to Captain Rice,is like
navigating on the Mississippi River.When he was detached from the SAMAR,it
was then commanded by Samuel Wilder King in 1915.Captain Rice had been on
the Yangtze about three years, and his good friend Samuel Wilder King, later
in 1950s appointed governor of the Territory of Hawaii by President Dwight
Eisenhower, was his 1909 classmate - the first native Hawaiian appointed to
the United States Naval Academy. When Paul Rice first met his wife Gertrude
(Hammond), he decided that she was the girl he would marry. I knew her well
in China, Panama, and Hawaii. She was not only pretty,but a charming
hostess, an excellent conversationalist, a devoted wife,mother, and
friend.Many of my most vivid memories in Tientsin, Chefoo, Shanghai, and
Waikiki revolve around her. We had many exciting experiences together in
Wai-hai-Wei, China, and Hawaii. She occurs again and again in the pages of
this narrative.She and Paul and their daughter Nathalie did much to help me
meet what Jack called the "vicissitudes" of the Navy and to enjoy Navy life
despite its many challenges. About six o'clock we went back to our hotel for
dinner, and I unpacked.At nine the next morning Jack left for the TULSA,
which sailed to Shanghai for repairs and leave and liberty for the crew.
When the ricksha coolies finally dropped us at our hotel room early in the
evening for our dinners, they were well paid by Jack. Jack spent a lot of
time warning me to drink only boiled water & to eat no fresh fruit or
vegetables-I would get Chinese stomach ache or even cholera.Also he told me
never to touch shellfish as the water was so polluted.Before I knew it,early
morning arrived,& Jack was off to the TULSA & to Shanghai.MRS. FAISON
JORDAN'S DINNER PARTY + TIENTSIN CLUB Things picked up a bit when Mrs.
Jordon called on me early the following week & invited me to a formal dinner
party at her home on Saturday night followed by dancing at Tientsin Country
Club. Mrs. Faison Jordan's dinner party was my initiation into the social
whirl of Tientsin. For the first time I wore my new black velvet evening
dress, a white rabbit's -fur jacket purchased in Shanghai on the way up and
wore the crystal beads Miss Farmer, one of my workers at Macy's, had given
me as a "bon voyage" present.At dinner I sat on Mr. Jordan's left. At my
left was Nora Waln, well-known author whose writing frequently appeared in
the Atlantic Monthly magazine.Her husband, an Englishman, was head of the
Chinese Post Office in Tientsin.Although everyone else sympathized with me
about going half way round the world to be with my husband and then being
left alone for eight days when the TULSA went to sea the next day,Nora Waln
said nothning to me either at dinner or later, though the others were
friendly.Mr. Jordan drove me to the Tientsin Country Club where I enjoyed
dancing, music, and sandwiches.Suddenly before midnight Nora Waln went
home.The rest of the party left the club when it closed about two
o'clock,and although I asked to be taken to my hotel, they took me to a
different party in a commercial hotel, and I was not delivered to my own
hotel until daybreak.Ms. Waln's husband was the one who took me to the Court
Hotel and invited me to dinner at their home on Wednesday evening. I told
him I could not accept an invitation that did not come from his wife. He
answered, "Child, you are in North China now, where the men are the masters,
and my wife being an American, owes you some hospitality. I will call for
you here at the Hotel at seven on Wednesday." Early Sunday afternoon my room
boy brought me a chit from him reading:"Dear Mrs. Barrett, My wife is
indisposed, so the invitation for Wednesday is cancelled." I never heard
from them again. MR. and MRS "BUNNY" WARREN + MR. HENINGSON at COURT HOTEL I
soon met Mr. and Mrs. "Bunny" Warren, guests at the Court Hotel whose small
table for two was close to my table in the dining room. Mr. Warren was
employed by the British Imperial Chemical Company.They remained at the hotel
for several months until they found a furnished house that suited them.After
they left the Court Hotel I frequently at tea with "Mollie" Warren at their
home. At the hotel too I met Mr and Mrs. Heningson of Denmark, who were
still living at the hotel when we left China.Mr. Heningson, although "not a
stamp collector", he said cut every stamp off the envelopes he received and
put them in a small green cardboard box.He gave me a boxful of stamps,
mostly Chinese and Danish.We later allowed aunt Mollie Barrett to look
through those and give some to my nephew Billy, and Willie Kennedy at Macy's
also looked through the box and took a few when she visited Boston in
1932.Willy was still working at Macy's in 1932 and gave me a copy of a
report I had been working on when I resigned in 1930,-definitions of terms
used to describe successful and unsuccessful sales clerks.She told me that
she was in Boston at the request of Percy Strauss of Macy's [whom I knew] to
go over the report with Mr. Kirstein of Filene's to get his impression of
it.I was very pleased to find that the report was credited to me because so
much of the work had been completed before I left for China.-43- GRACE LIANG
MOUNT HOLYOKE 1925 + FAMILY Mrs. Evans had told my former Mount Holyoke
(class of l925) student Grace Liang, that I was in Tientsin.Her father had
graduated from Hartford Public High School Connecticut about l880, & then a
change of government policy required him to return to China, where he had a
distinguished career first in north China railroads & customs offices & then
in the Foreign Service.I believe he was the first Chinese to be invited to
address the United States Congress- around the time of the Nine Power
Conference in l922 when Japanese commercial ambitions conflicted with
America's Open Door policy on China enunciated Secretary of State John Hay
in the McKinley administration & with the principle of self-determination
pronounced by Woodrow Wilson. Grace came to call on me very soon after I
arrived & invited Jack & me for tea at their home when the TULSA
returned.Soon we called on Mrs. Liang ,who served us tea-we left when the
servants brought our coats & hats & bowed us out-but she had given us the
honor of inviting us to dinner- at which her distinguished husband,her
daughter Grace,& her two doctor sons would be present.These young men had
been educated in England,& their services were greatly in demand.The family
occupied a spacious compound.Years later when the Communists occupied
Tientsin,the family lost all its possessions and Tou.....Liang though a
valued physician,was liquidated.At that dinner party Grace & her mother
appeared in exquisite Chinese dresses,but the men wore European
clothes.Since Mr. Liang expressed an interest in ships, Jack invited the
family to dinner aboard the TULSA.That evening the dock was crowded with
Chinese people,who had gotten the word that Mr. Liang was expected. They
respectfully kept their distance & silence as he left his car & boarded the
ship.They remained on the dock throughout the dinner to get another glimpse
of the respected diplomatic official.He told us about the low standard of
living of most Chinese laborers & how little it took to support a family in
those days deep in the worldwide economic depression.Later in l93l Grace
left Tientsin to marry Dan Yapp of Shanghai, and then we saw no more of her.
In l970 we located them in Waikiki on Kalakaua Avenue.We understand that she
has been teaching in Connecticut at the Central Connecticut State College,
New Britain, Connecticut. CHIEF OF POLICE ISEMONGER and his DAUGHTER TINA,
HAI HO RIVER PILOTS and WIVES, NEW YEAR'S EVE COSTUME PARTY 1930-31 Since I
arrived in Tientsin on the thirteenth of November, 1930, the holiday season
was fast approaching. A new guest registered at the Hotel just before
Christmas. He was Mr. Isemonger, who was an Englishman just employed in
India in charge of the Sikhs, in the police of India. He had come to
Tientsin with his twenty-year-old daughter Tina to take charge of the
Chinese and Sikhs police in the British concession of Tientsin where we
lived. Jack informed me that it was part of his job to foster international
relations, so we were friendly. The Isemongers lived at the Court Hotel for
a while and later had lunch there frequently.When Mr. Isemonger found a nice
house in Tientsin, Jack and I were frequent guests for Saturday noon dinner
and for dancing later at the Country Club. The Court Hotel was the home of
several Hai Ho River pilots mostly of English extraction. Mrs. Johnson,
English and the wife of a pilot, invited me to go to Schlessinger's Tea
House with her about eleven o'clock oone morning late in December. She
invited us to attend a costumed New Year's Eve Ball at the Tientsin Country
Club, of which we were members, saying she hoped we would understand that we
would have to pay our share of the cost. My husband and I had matching
costumes made of inexpensive blue and white Chinese silk- and we enjoyed the
pilots who remained friendly throughout our stay. Mr. Isemonger and several
of the pilots and their wives are with us in the New Year's Eve 1930-1931
photo on web page 39 photo #945. --Mr. Isemonger had an excellent camera and
found me photogenic. He would come by the Court Hotel in the morning to
invite me to ride to the Country Club with me where he was tireless and
gifted in photography. He always gave me copies of the pictures without
charge. He spent many hours in the Chinese city hunting for an embroidered
evening coat for me- he found a white one with large white flowers.The
bottom was embroidered with exquisite silk tiny blue and black flowers -
also the front of the evening coat had the same border, modeled on styles of
the Empress Dowager's family. In the fall of 1952 I wore it to my son's
Junior prom in West Roxbury when I was the hostess, because he was Class
president that year. We emjoyed Mr. Isemonger's hospitality for many months.
Jack used his new Voightlander camera frequently to take pictures of me in
our hotel room, and I took one of him, in which a red table-like paper drum
is visible. Evenings he spend a lot of time studying to get ready for a
promotion exam at the end of 1931. JANUARY 1931 - SOPHIE'S MANCHURIAN SEA
OTTER FUR COAT --Not long after New Year's 1931 I was sitting in the small
reception room in the Court Hotel after tiffen when two men sat down,
talking.I was wearing my cloth coat with only Persian lamb trim- not warm
enough for the north China climate with its peircing cold winds. When I
realized that they were Americans, I asked them what they were doing in
Tientsin, and they said they were taking a train later that afternoon for
Manchuria, where they would buy furs. When I said I had never been as cold
as I was on the streets of Tientsin, they offered to buy some skins for me,
as they expected to be back in Tientsin in a few weeks. When they returned
they had for me enough sea otter skins for a gorgeous coat.The cost was
small - the coat warm and beautiful and very inexpensive. It was made up by
a Chinese tailor in Tientsin. Sea otter is lustrous and light gray -a
short,durable fur with a lovely silver sheen-very warm & comfortable.This
coat appears in many photos of Sophie in China 1931 and in Bala Cynwyd 1937,
and lasted extremely well. Sophie continued to use it during her years in
West Roxbury after world War II. Sophie often commented that North China
winters are very cold, and most of the north Chinese are taller than the
Cantonese workers who have come to Hawaii, San Francisco, and other parts of
the United states. The following September I saw these same fur buyers, when
they brought word of the Japanese capture of Mukden, which news I telephoned
to Captain Paul Rice - the first report to United States Navy and
government.Although the Court Hotel was reputed to have the best food in
North China. food was definitely a problem because we dared not touch milk,
butter, fresh vegetables or Chinese grown fruits. My husband grew tired of
the steady diet of rice and snipe but managed to wash it down with liquids.
I lived on toast with marmelade,rice, snipe, pot roast, cooked dessets and
tea. Captain and Mrs. Rice occupied a furnished house and most graciously
invited us to dinner fortnightly. When we wanted to return their hospitality
and to entertain the new Executive Officer and his wife, Lieutenant
Commander and Mrs. Leonard Doughty, we invited them to the Court Hotel for
dinner.One evening Rachel Claude Doughty, who came from Washington D.C.
regaled us with tales of her mother's friend who came to the Claude home in
Washington and stayed for forty years. Jack took photographs of a
traditional Chinese funeral, in which great honor is paid to ancestors.
White is the color of mourning. FEBRUARY 1931 Jack took leave, and we
visited Peking and the Great Wall of China and the Ming Tombs and Forbidden
City where the Emperors had lived and "Center of the Universe." .--
PURCHASES As time passed that winter and spring I became well known to the
Chinese and Japanese shopkeepers on Taku and Victoria Roads. I bought some
rare dragon and turtle candlesticks of brass,some 48- red and green Chinese
lacquer drums, which served as small tables and through Mrs. Mendelsohn I
located a lovely black and gold lacquer Chinese chest with inlaid colored
semi-precious stones arranged in patterns. I also shopped for linens at
Takahashi Japanese linen store. SPRING-SUMMER 1931 ASIATIC FLEET GUNNERY +
MANEUVERS CHEFOO - SHANGHAI In the spring of l93l the gunboat TULSA went to
Chefoo and Shanghai for Asiatic Fleet maneuvers & shooting excercises. The
rest of the year she was kept near Tientsin primarily for intelligence
purposes. Gertrude Rice, wife of our captain, (with her daughter Nathalie),
& Rachel Doughty,wife of our executive officer & I decided to go to Chefoo &
Weihaiwei on the Shantung peninsula while the TULSA was cruising south.Jack
agreed I could go on a British freighter provided I take twenty-four bottles
of boiled water-sold by the case in a drug store.Since the TULSA left before
we did,Mr. Isemonger bought the case of water for me & drove me to the
freighter,where the coolie stored the box near my bunk. Before we left
Tientsin, we had lunch on the ship, and Mr. Isemonger joined me. There was a
choice of hot beef stew or prawns. I was tempted to have the prawns for a
change of diet, but Mr. Isemonger emphatically told the waiter, "The lady
will have stew." I was disappointed at the time,but that night on the ship
several of the ladies had severe intestinal trouble after eating the prawns.
There was considerable cholera in the Orient, and Americans did not have
their immune systems adapted to many strains of bacteria that Asians have
adapted to. I shared a cabin with a British missionary lady returning from
leave in England=she was on her way to a very hot dry region in Southwestern
China.She was in the cabin when the case of water was stowed & subsequently
had nothing to do with me-avoided me like the plague.When we arrived in
Chefoo,I offered my case of water to the missionary woman,as I hadn't used
any of it,&it was too heavy to take ashore.She was startled but very glad to
have the water, which she thought all along was gin,as she understood that
all American Navy women were heavy drinkers of strong liquor.The reason she
avoided me was she thought I was planning to drink a case of liquor in her
cabin. CHAPLAIN MAGUIRE FINDS A BOARDING HOUSE FOR SOPHIE Since the whole
Asiatic fleet was in Chefoo for exercises,Jack had trouble finding a place
for me to live.Finally the chaplain, Father William Maguire found room &
board for me in a small boarding house owned by Mr.Wineglass. The goats
lived right outside my room- there was no running water=a makeshift toilet &
no bath. Before I left Tientsin, Jack had tried to warn me before and
mentioned a famous Navy song, which we remembered and sang in later
years-,"They wear clothespins on their noses in North China- They wear
clothespins on their noses -(Be)cause Chefoo don't smell like roses - a
verse of "O the monkeys have no tails in Zamboanga." GUNNERY OFFICER JACK
BARRETT AND MARINE COMMANDER PACA ACHIEVE TOP GUNNERY SCORES The gunnery was
successful beyond anything the ship had previously scored. Jack & Captain
Rice were delighted. Jack's experience in gunnery went back to 1909 at
Revenue Cutter School and included work with big guns on battleship WYOMING
1932. At Peking he discussed techniques and innovations with his former
classmate Bill Rupertus, who was studying the latest Marine techniques.
COLONEL WILLIAM WINCHESTER PACA LETTER 1970 Our friend Colonel William W.
Paca,US Marine Corps (native of Annapolis Maryland,where he was named for
great-great-great-grandfather who signed Declaration of Independence) wrote
June 23,l970-he was the senior Marine officer on the TULSA & worked closely
with Jack in winning the Asiatic Fleet l93l gunnery competition--"Colonel
William W. Paca 680 American Drive, Apartment 42 Annapolis Maryland 21403
June 23, 1970 Dear Mrs. Barrett, I was distressed to learn via your letter
of Jack's decease this past August. Please know that you have my sincere
sympathy in your bereavement.= "I remember Jack fondly as a fine officer and
one of the best of shipmates.I remember him too with gratitude-which I hope
I expressed directly to him at the time-for his guidance & advice-which as
gunnery officer of the TULSA,he gave me relative to the training of our
Marine gun crew & which resulted in our gunners winning an "E" at that
year's gunnery practice. = The cause of this inexcusable delay in replying
to your so interestinhg letter has been twofold = First, I hoped to find
among my effects, upon my return from several months stay in the South.
several memorabilia relating to the TULSA. I did have a really excellent
photograph of the ship, and I thought I also had a photograph of the
officers and crew. I intended to send both to you for possible incorporation
in Jack's memoirs, but I have been unable to locate either. The second cause
is the embarassment I feel due to my deplorable memory, which worsens year
by year, and which I am reluctant to confess. I have forgotten so very many
names, dates, and other incidents of my military service. =-I do have one
especially clear memory of Jack- and that is that he was one of a rare group
of people who have the faculty of being 'where the action is.' Frequently
during wardroom conversations on the TULSA when past events were
mentioned,it would develop that Jack had either been there or nearby or
otherwise had been in a position to have special knowledge of the event.In
past years I have several times remarked that I once served with a naval
officer who had that rare facility or gift.As for myself, I was graduated
from West Point in August, 1917. I was promoted to Captain while in
France.After the war and the letdown of demobilization I resigned from the
Army. Three years later, and because I badly missed service life I joined
the Marine Corps. This was basically because I loved the water and ships,
and I had wanted to be in the Navy in the first place but had been unable to
obtain a principal appointment to the Naval Academy. = I commanded Camp
Catlin, Oahu, from 1944 to 1946. I was then on duty at Headquarters, Marine
Corps, and later was Commanding Officer of the Marine Barracks, Naval Base,
Philadelphia. = My great, great, great grandfather was William Paca, a
Maryland signer of the Declaration of Independence. The main part of the
hotel, Carvel Hall, was built on the rear of William Paca's town house. The
hotel part has now been torn down, and the mansion and gardens are being
restored by the local historical society. = There have been, and are, a
rather surprising number of TULSA officers living here. These in addition to
myself include Captain Doughty (deceased), Admiral William T. Fitzgerald,
jr., Rear Admiral Wayne R. Loud, Rear Admiral Charles E. Coney, and Colonel
Gordon Hall (my predecessor on the TULSA) In addition General Pedro A. Del
Valle lives here, and I see him fairly frequently. = Again please forgive my
remissions.I do hope this finds things well with you. Sincerely, William W.
Paca Colonel United State Marine Corps Retired." PARTY AT CHEFOO CLUB To
celebrate the TULSA's good score Jack wanted to give a party at the Chefoo
Club for all the ship's officers.I bought hand painted place cards,
candles,Japaese lanterns as the party as to be outdoors on a lovely summer
night.Every officer was invited even though there were only three wives
attached to the ship at that time. There was much good conversation for
twenty-six guests.After every other guest had gone, the wife of the
executive officer, Rachel Doughty came up to me & said, "Sophie, you ought
to know better than to seat me in candle light. It is not becoming to me."
NEARLY STRANDED AT WEI-HAI-WEI As we approached Wei-Hai-Wei, I became
excited because I had often enjoyed breakfast at Gertrude Rice's home in
Tientsin,where we were served in bed.The coffee pot was red pottery with
pewter,& the cream pitcher & sugar bowl were also red pottery with
pewter-lovely pieces of china as well as being useful & unique & Gertrude
told me that they had come from Wei-Hai-Wei.It was a beautiful town
developed by Germans but given back to China after World War I. I wanted to
buy a Wei-Hai-Wei coffee & tea service of this red pottery with silver
trim.But to my disappointment the ship anchored out quite a distance. We
could not even see Wei-Hai-Wei from the ship.But a smll boat was leaving our
freighter & without even going to my cabin to get my purse I persuaded
Gertrude Rice to get into the boat with me with me for the trip to
Wei-Hai-Wei. I took it for granted that the Chinese man running the small
motor boat was on an errand for my freighter & would certainly return to
it.I don't know why,but we left twelve-year-old Nathalie Rice on the
freighter when we made our hurried departure,& we waved to her as we
left.Our boatman spoke no English,but I believed he understood us when he
nodded assent to my questioning him as to whether we could have two hours in
Wei-Hai-Wei before returning to our ship. It was getting to be late
afternoon & I did not want to be in the Chinese city after dark.We started
off happily & even found the shop which sold the Wei-Hai-Wei coffeee & tea
sets. There I charged a set to be sent to the TULSA as I had no money with
me in my haste to get into the departing small boat.When night threatened,we
returned to our dock,but found no small motor boat.At first we were not
alarmed,but when we heard the freighter's whistle sounding repeatedly &
impatiently & when no small boat appeared as darkness approached, we
bargained with a sampan to row us out to the freighter. Gertrude paid him
from her purse & he tried hard to row us but made litle headway with the
heavy seas.He managed to reach a Chinese junk sailing along in the wind, &
we again bargained for a ride & paid the owner of the junk to take us
aboard.The wind held, & the junk mnade good progress with the large square
sails & we again met a difficult transfer from the junk to the freighter.The
captain of the freighter was greatly annoyed by the delay & stated he would
have stranded us if Nathalie had not tearfully appealed for him to wait for
her mother & Mrs. Barrett. SHANGHAI SUMMER 1931 ASHLEY SISTERS AND TOPSY
From Chefoo we went to Shanghai where we lived at the Palace Hotel but aside
from having clothes made in Shanghai and a very enjoyable luncheon at the
home of ships' chandler Ah Sing I could do very little socially as my hands
were very sore. However, I did spend one happy evening at the home of Mickie
and Maimie Ashley and their brother. Mickey was Jack's old friend from
MARBLEHEAD days in 1927. She was born in China and worked as secretary to
the local head of Standard Oil Company of New York. She and her sister had
adopted a Chinese girl, Topsy, who lived with them until Maimie became a
prisoner of the Japanese in 1941 after Pearl Harbor. Mickey had gone to the
states, but Maimie was waiting in hopes that Topsy could obtain permission
to come with her to the United States. Maimie did hear Topsy calling her by
name in the Japanese prison camp, but she feared the Japanese would take
reprisals against Topsy if she was seen with an American. Topsy disappeared
and must not have survived.Mickie Ashley letters 1937 and 1970 appear atend
of this chapter and tell of Japanese brutality. = Knowing I would return to
the United States with Jack via Europe in early 1932, I ordered many new
clothes made up for me in Shanghai. We attended a long play at a Chinese
theater where we were given steaming hot towels to refresh ourselves during
the long performance. RETURN TO COURT HOTEL TIENTSIN When we returned to the
Court Hotel Mr. Isemonger was concerned about my physical condition. He
recommended the same Dr. Grice, whom I had seen for indigestion when I first
arrived in Tientsin. Dr. Grice called my hand condition "pomphylyx" caused
by too much medication. he scraped much sore tissue away surgically and
applied silver nitrate and asked me to wear white cotton gloves. My hands
did improve toward autumn. SEPTEMBER 19, 1931 SOPHIE SENDS FIRST REPORT OF
JAPANESE AGGRESSION AT MUKDEN, MANCHURIA In the winter of l930-31 I had met
two American fur buyers in the lobby of the Court Hotel.They bought sea
otter fur skins from which the Tientsin tailors made me my very warm &
comfortable, long-lasting coat.In September l93l they returned to the hotel
& I visited with them before they left for Mukden & other parts of Manchuria
to buy furs for their New York concern.Only a few days later they reurned to
the hotel,visibly shaken as they had barely escaped with their lives when
the Japanese captured Mukden September l8-l9,& they got away on the last
train allowed to leave the city- a bribe to Japanese officers was necessary
for them to leave.The Japanese claimed that the railroad track to be used by
their troops had been bombed by the Chinese,-& they used that as an excuse
to occupy Mukden. I immediately telephoned Captain Rice, who was at Taku Bar
with the TULSA forty miles east of Tientsin at the mouth of the Hai Ho
River,because of unusually low water levels that year, which made navigation
to Tientsin inadvisable.He immediately telegraphed the Admiral of the
Asiatic Fleet at Shanghai-probably the first report the United States
government received.The U.S. ambassador in Tokyo was on vacation. The Navy
was told to keep "hands off" the situation.When we did nothing to stop
them,the emboldened Japanese militarists established the state of Manchukuo
with a puppet emperor Pu Yi.They proceeded to conquer much of North China &
attacked Shanghai in l932..Their heady successes in China ultimately
encouraged the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor December 7, l94l.Had we
pushed them out of Manchuria in l93l, we might have avoided large scale
conflict later.Secretary of State Stimson & many European leaders favored
action, but President Herbert Hoover, a pacifist who built no ships and had
lost political support in view of the deep economic Depression, missed the
opportunity to nip World War II in the bud.NICHOLSON RUG FACTORY RUSSIAN
CONCESSION TIENTSIN North of the Court Hotel and Hai Ho River in Russian
concession in Tientsin was located the Nicholson rug factory, where Sophie
watched high quality traditional Chinese rugs being hand woven. The pricipal
sales outlet was at Peking, and Jack and Sophie purchased a nine by twelve
gold living room rug, an eight-by-ten black-bordered dining room rug, and
six smaller gold and blue rugs. They used these rugs at 422 Columbia Road
Dorchester 1932-3, 712 Stradone road, Bala Cynwyd Pennsylvania 1936-8, 9615
Shore Road, Brooklyn 1939-1941 and 52 Emmonsdale road, West Roxbury 1947 to
1980s, although Bill Barrett's girl friend Anita Douredoure burned a hole in
the gold rug with ciagarette ashes in 1933. PEKING NOVEMBER 1931 Sophie
accompanied Jack to Peking in November when he went for physical exam for
promotion to Lieutenant Commander. The good score of the TULSA in Asiatic
Fleet gunnery and maneuvers and strong fitness report from Commander Paul
Rice and intensive study for exam helped Jack achieve this promotion. VISITS
WITH RICE FAMILY The Barretts had a cordial visit with the Rice family
around the December 1931 holidays, and young Nathalie Rice became interested
in Sophie's social work experience and became a social worker herself years
later. Sophie narrates: "Just before [our] departure Captain and Mrs. Rice
asked us if we would spend one night at their home to look after Nathalie
while they spent the evening and night in Peking. So we spent the night with
Nathalie, and the next morning at breakfast the number one 'boy' [they were
adults - this was the term used] inquired of Jack, "Master wantchee eyogg?"
Jack had no idea what he was asking about, so the 'boy' repeated this
question several times. Finally young Nathalie explained that her father
always had two EGGS for breakfast, and the 'boy' was merely inquiring
whether Jack wanted eggs for breakfast. He pronounced 'egg' like 'IGG' the "i"
being long as it is in "Ike". Jack wanted no part of Chinese eggs, which
were always too old for anything but scrambled eggs. Jack liked to tell a
[related] story about a man who ordered FRIED eggs in China. The servant
said, 'Fly - no can do -- scramble - maybe can.'" John Barrett note The
Departure of Sophie and Jack from Tientsin is treated in the next chapter
"RETURN FROM THE ORIENT VIA EUROPE December 1931 - March 1932." The Rice
family came to the Tientsin railroad station to say goodbye Christmas Day
1931 - then Jack and Sophie had Christmas dinner aboard the TULSA at Taku
Bar at the outlet of the Hai Ho River more than thirty miles east. Then they
traveled a short distance to Tangku, where they planned to board the
Japanese passenger liner CHOWAN MARU to travel to Kobe, Japan. However,
there was a terrifying incident when two Japanese sentries crossed their
swords in front of Sophie, because there was a secret Japanese miliitary
shipyard next door to the commercial ship. The next chapter tells of
enjoyable visits to Pagsanjan Canyon, Philippines, botanical gardens in
Malaya and Ceylon, the Sphinx and pyramids, and great cities in Europe. A
major theme of RED HEADED STEPCHILD is the Japanese brutality and aggression
of the 1930s, and letters from Mickey Ashley of Shanghai form the conclusion
of this chapter. They also appear with MARBLEHEAD and Harold Fultz
materials. DEPARTURE GOODBYE TO RICE FAMILY TIENTSIN- CHRISTMAS DINNER ON
BOARD TULSA - ENCOUNTER WITH JAPANESE SENTRIES BOARDING SHIP the anchorage
at the entrance of the Hai Ho River was called Tangku (note by Sophie M.
Barrett"Jack & I sailed from Tangku to Japan on the Chowan Maru.Tangku is
where the Japanese soldiers crossed their swords on my chest when I started
to the wrong dock where a Japanese Army troop ship was next to the passenger
ship dock."). MADGE 'MICKEY' ASHLEY letters 1937, 1970 - Ashley letter l937
war crimes Shanghai: On November l2, l937 our good friend in China Mickey
Ashley wrote from 94 Canton Road in Shanghai China "During July I went to a
party & an Indian juggler entertained us.The year so far had been a quiet
one & I was wondering what I could put in my usual Christmas letter,so I
asked the man to put his performing python around my neck- at least that
would be something to write about.Now I've seen so much I don't know where
to commence.The war has lasted over three months & we are still in a tight
spot.We hate to see the Japanese win, but selfishly hope they will drive the
Chinese a few miles out of Shanghai so that our lives & property will be
safe.It is a strain to hear guns going day & night,planes droning,explosions,
not to be able to sleep.The company (Standard Oil) never mentioned
evacuation or took any steps in that direction regarding stenographers in
spite of all the U. S. authorities were urging, so I did not evacuate & my
sister would not leave without me. However,all the wives & children were
sent away at the Company's expense. After the first terrible air raid when
everything in Shanghai was at a standstill,with no transportation
facilities, they told me to stay home for a couple of days,but we've been
working regular hours ever since.Being short staffed-five girls away,three
on leave,& two evacuated because they couldn't stand it any longer- we were
often very rushed,especially when four fell ill.However,my sister & I took
the precaution of having our pasasports ready & the necessary papers made
out to enable us to have our little Chinese girl accompany us to the United
States if conditions became decidedly worse.I told the office I wasn't
staying if the Japs used poison gas in Shanghai. What a lot of red tape-
there were so many signatures & guarantees when the Consulate knew an
emergency existed & we couldn't possibly leave the (adopted) child here
(their adopted daughter, the Chinese child named Topsy- Sophie Barrett
note).The greatest danger was the air raids while going to or returning from
the office.The horror of the first one will always live in my memory,
especially as I saw the planes & heard the antiaircraft guns just as I was
approaching the devastated area of "Bloody Saturday" bombing.The huge crater
was roped off,but skeletons of charred cars still remained.To watch the
white smaoke in the air, to hear the pounding of guns & to know that any
moment your own self & car may be a similar tangled mess wasn't pleasant.My
stomach felt as if a giant had squeeezed it tight in his huge hand, & only a
vacuum remained.Then to know that we were driving into the danger - the Jap
men-of-war were firing from the river- & upon arrival at the office to feel
the building shake & hear the bang, bang, bang as if a thousand bricks were
being flung against the windows- was really terrifying.That same day &
during that raid shrapnel fell at Maimie's feet when she left our car.Every
day one sees hordes of refugeees with their small bundles without any idea
where to go in this crowded place, little lost children- poor bewildered
dogs following - cats & other animals are left to wait for death- horribly
wounded people, nasty-smalling coffins conveying away soldiers or victims of
shrapnel- sick & weary lying on roadsides & families parked for weeks on
sidewalks with only straw mats.No wonder disease is rampant.We have all had
inoculations against typhoid & cholera & been vaccinated against
smallpox.Already two dear friends have paid the price of staying here-they
died of dysentery.One was head of the Blind school where my little "Pine
Tree" was taken in. The school has been badly damaged & how frightened the
blind *& deaf boys must have been.Another friend is dangerously ill with
typhoid.The doctors ran short of medical supplies.The pity & tragedy of it
all just because a group of men must have more power.If it were possible, I
would condemn such to intense suffering the rest of their lives.So many
homes had to be abandoned- palaces & cottages alike.The very best of
everything was looted- but that wasn't enough.Furniture was hacked to pieces
- the Japs say eventually they must buy Japanese goods. food not eaten was
strewn about, & malicious damage done whever possible.In a garden section of
the eastern division where we once lived, the Japs have put furniture on the
sidewalks while their horses are placed in dining & drawing rooms.Mills have
been dismantled & their machinery shipped to Japan for scrap iron.An old
friend now seventy-three "Auntie" we call her-has lost practically
everything, her beautiful collection of linen, furs, silver, stamps, books-
the treasures of fifty-two years.She was so overcome over the condition of
her home - her own property-that when we visited her that same evening, her
face was grey with misery,& she wept- something I've never seen the little
person do.Her husband was an artist & art collector- all his ivories &
scrolls, stamps - his son's paintings his own embroideries were all gone.Oil
paintings not taken were pierced by bayonets - doors & trunks hacked
open.The Chinese had been driven out of the district long ago & the Japanese
were in complete control as nobody is allowed to carry a bundle without
numerous examinations by Japanese sentries-all of her things must have been
carried off with the cognizance of the Japanese military.While the fighting
continued in the north, & east, we were more or less safe once at home. What
beautiful weather & delightful moonlit nights there were -it was difficult
to believe that only a few miles away, men were being slaughtered.We
preferred rain, because in fine weather planes would drone, then guns
roar,-tracer bullets in gay colors would light up the sky,& anti-aircraft
guns would spoil the beauty of the night.As the Japs drove the Chinese from
the east & north,we in the west then came in danger,but not before those two
districts were swept by fire as far as the eye could see.From a tenth story
apartment we watched the destruction- our eyes glued to the holocaust-& our
hearts sank with pity for those who had escaped the shells but now must run
from the fire.. We thanked god fervently those two nights that there was no
wind & that a creek separated us from that part of Shanghai.Every day we
heard the guns & explosions a little nearer.Fortunately, from the beginning
we had dismantled our pretty little home.Cases stood in the hall & only bare
necessities were being used. On October 28 the nearness of guns made it
imperative to move. 539 On the thirtieth while at dinner shells whizzed past
the house- then I decided the hour had come.No trucks could be had at that
late hour, so they were ordered for 8:30 AM. We packed until twelve & tried
to sleep.I was the last to leave on my bicycle leading the dog.(Now) our one
room apartment the size of Maimie's bedroom is jammed, crammed with things,
but my sister is clever & has made it liveable.Some of our furnture is with
friends, the balance in a garage.Where the sixty-eight thousand poorer
Chinese refugees stay I don't know, though numerous refugee camps have been
erected.We don't know what emergency awaits us.One morning a huge shell fell
in the warehouse adjoining our office- at the same time big department
stores were bombed.U.S. Naval experts say that had it exploded, it would
have damaged all buildings within a radius of one acre. Our office & we
would have gone up in smoke as the yard was full of drums of gasoline.We
miss our home, those airy rooms, & the garden.. To be cramped into a small
apartment & not even know which trunk contains one's clothes isn't
important- but annoying.It's funny how one can tolerate the roar of cannons
& explosions & get fussed over petty things. At the office where men's
nerves are raw, it is not easy to work. I've seen as many as eleven planes
over our place.We are making quilts for refugees., also helping Topsy make
strips for gas masks. I hope you will receive this. So many of our cards &
letters have gone astray.-Mickey Ashley."In l939 or l940 Mickey Ashley left
Shanghai to work for Standard Oil's New York office because the value of "Mex"
(Chinese currency ) had fallen so low she could not afford to accept her
Shanghai "Mex" salary.We saw her in New York. Now she is retired & lives in
Ridgewood New Jersey after years of lecturing about China. Ashley letter
SHANGHAI "June 30,l970 from Miss Madge Ashley ("Mickey") 7l5 Hilldrest Road,
Ridgewood New Jersey 07450 Dear Sophie (P.S. For twenty years I lectured
before women's clubs & garden clubs on China).It is a long time since I
heard from you.The last was a card from Honolulu. I hope Jack did not suffer
long. I lost my dear Maimie the same year & feel very lost without her.She
had a long illness- it was heart. In September l969, I suppose it was too
much for me.I had an acute coronary thrombosis & was in hospital a month,
two weeks in a nursing home,& had home care for three weeks.I had to learn
to walk again & now am going very slowly.I have been at Cape May for a
vacation.It is lovely here- so very clean-& the food is excellent. We face
the ocean. About twenty years ago my sister & I bought this little house in
Ridgewood,& we have been very happy in it.The number is 7l5 Hillcrest Road
(not 3l5) Ridgewood, New Jersey 07450. Ridgewood is a purely residential
district,& it is kept very nicely.The people were marvelous to me when
Maimie died & during my illness.All the years that I worked in New York &
when I retired we have kept in touch with Harold Fultz.He suffers badly from
emphysema.You asked about my brother. He married a Shanghai American school
teacher from Kentucky.They came to the United States over thirty years
ago.They have two daughters,who are both married.One has three boys -eight.six
& four (years)-& Bob her husband was a Captain in the Marines.He went to
Vietnam after three years in Okinawa.He left the Marines & is now with
Kodak. The other daughter lives in Dallas & is now a government accountant.
They have two girls (six & four years).Brother & Dorothy l;ive in
Louisville, Kentucky.I am sorry to say Maimie- who remained in Shanghai
while I came to New York to get a job- never saw (her adopted Chinese
daughter) "Topsy" again after she was put in the Japanese (concentration)
camp where they nearly starved to death until rescued by American fliers.I
am "Mickie" & Madge is my real name.You want to know how we met Harold &
Jack.The MARBLEHEAD was anchored at the Standard Oil wharf Pootung.The
foreigners at the installation were under my boss- therefore I met them all
when they came to the office.The families would invite me for weekends,
etc.,& include some Navy officers,& then they would escort me home the next
day & stay for "tiffen" - lunch & dinner..Several came that way.How my
father went to China is that he wanted to see the world- so went on a
sailing ship as many pioneers did- & liked the Far East so much he stayed
first in Hong Kong- where he met my mother & then in Shanghai.He & a fellow
American started the first volunteer fire brigade in China. All the
equipment- even the huge fire bells- came from New York.There were so many
civil wars that we got used to storing rice & canned goods, filling both
tubs with water, & hiding the family silver.Some of our friends were killed,
but Maimie only suffered when the Japanese were so rotten to all
foreigners.I don't know Grace Liang. The two Russian sisters (Gala & Vera
Tsirentchikoff) I hardly knew. I met Gala once at a party,& that's all.I
sent your letter to my brother.He represented Lloyd's of London & two
steamship companies, so he knew Ah Sing well.We knew Cockeye & "Jelly Belly"
(because he had a fat tummy) the tailors.Most American gunboats went to
Tsingtao - a summer resort first made beautiful by the Germans- a bit of
Europe in China & after World War I taken by the Japanese. One night in
Shanghai (spring l927) the MARBLEHEAD GAVE A CONCERT & later a dance.During
the show we were asked not to applaud as "There had been a death in one of
the Standard Oil families." Then Harold (Fultz) told me confidentially that
little Billy Robertson (his father was manager of the installation) had died
of cholera.He took ill at noon & was dead in a few hours.Had any of us known
I doubt that we would have gone to the dinner & dance, as cholera is a
terrible thing, especially as there were so many salads & cold food on the
table. ....On November 4, l970 our friend Mickey Ashley of China days whose
l937 letter appears in this chapter wrote: My sister Maimie was in the
Japanese concentration camp- starved & sick with malaria, but she was never
beaten. Some Americans were.Topsy came to the camp & called,'Miss Ashley,
Miss Ashley' outside, but Maimie's friends advised her not to answer because
the Japs would ill-treat all Chinese who favored Americans. Maimie never saw
her again. We presumed she was dead. We lost ever so many valuables, & our
Chinese money went to nothing overnight. Our lovely home went for seven
thousand dollars U.S currency, & we were lucky to get it. -Mickey (Ashley)"
.Letters of Marvin Stone, Captain Jenkins and Gordon Hall to be added here
and listing of Sophie Barrett's Chinese purchases. PHOTO p. 4 #27 Shown in
all its grandeur, probably for Fleet exercises at Chefoo Spring l931- TULSA
commanded by Paul Rice with Jack Barrett as gunnery officer and William W.
Paca in charge of U.S. Marines won 1931 annual gunnery competition Asiatic
Fleet. TULSA was northernmost ship of Asiatic Fleet kept near Tientsin and
Taku Bar- Hai Ho River for intelligence purposes. Sophie Barrett and Paul
Rice sent first report to Navy and State Department of September l9, l931
Japanese aggression and capture of Mukden, Manchuria - beginning of fourteen
year war in Asia. CAPTION p 5-#38 Sophie traveled on commercial freighter
along with Gertrude and Nathalie Rice and Rachel Doughtie when gunboat TULSA
joined Asiatic Fleet annual maneuvers and gunnery competition late spring
-early summer 1931 Sophie used to sing the Navy song "The Wear Clothespins
on their noses in North China They wear clothespins on their noses in north
China- They wear clothespins on their noses For Chefoo doesn't smell like
roses - They wear clothespoins on their noses in North China." There were
goats immediately outside her window at the Wineglass boarding house in
Chefoo, as accomodations were scarce while the Asiatic Fleet was gathered
for spring l931 gunnery and maneuvers, in which Jack's gunboat TULSA won the
fleet competition - he was gunnery officer aided by Marine Lt. William Paca.
Paul Rice was commander of the TULSA. Sophie was grateful to Chaplain
William Maguire, who later played a heroic role at Pearl Harbor December 7,
l941, though he remained a non-combatant, and the legend he fired a gun at
Japanese airplanes is fictitious. He visited the Barretts in Waikiki and
described the work of Jack's Overseas Transportation Office in his l943
book, "The Captain Wears a Cross." As a new navy wife Sophie studied Emily
Post's "Etiquette" text carefully. She gave a party to celebrate the TULSA's
victory in gunnery. The wife of the Executive officer complained about being
seated too near the candles -she said "Candlelight does not become me."
Rachel Claude Doughtie used to tell a tale of a visitor who came to see her
mother's Maryland family for the weekend and stayed for forty years.Sophie
Barrett and Gertrude Rice took a small Chinese rowboat to shore in Weihaiwei
to buy fine teasets ornamented with pewter.They nearly were stranded, with
difficulty returning to their southbound British freighter. |