Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1919-04-24
LETTER FROM CHESTER FUsoN

former Wa-Keeney boy HIS parents
Judge and Mrs. w. H Fuson, were
well known of this place and we are
proud to be able to note such history
and success of one of our former cit
| liens, he has sure made good.
The Rev. Chester G. F'uson, form
er1y, of Emporia, who is a mission
airy in Canton, China, has written, on
request, something of his work and
his preparation for it, to the First
| Presbyterian Church, of Pueblo, Colo,
which pays Mr.. Fuson's salary and
keeps his work going financially Mr.
Fuson lived for years in Emporia, and
married an Emporia girl, Miss Phebe
Meeker, and both have many trends
here. His letters will be read with
| interest by Emporia people:
ssYou ask me to write you of my
preparation for 1ife,' and to send you
our photographs Under separate
cover please receive photographs of
my family and myself. These were
executed by a Chinese photographer,
| which may account for some of the
| peculiarities; at any rate they are re-
cent.
GAS to my preparation for life: I
| was born in Western Kansas, in Wa
! Keeney, in 1881. My father, Judge
w H Fuson, was one of the organ
izers of Trego County in the early
days. Some years after my fathers
death in 1884, the family moved to
| Emporia, Kansas, where better school
| facilities could be secured. After the
usual and some unusual vicissitudes
of life I was graduated from the Kan
| sas State Normal in 1908, and the
| College of Emporia in 1905. The day
| OF my GRADUATE marked the day on
| which became member of the staff
on the Canton Christian College, and
I arrived in Canton, September IS,
1905 My sister had preceded me
to Canton, China, three years. Her
husband is the agent for the British
and Foreign Bible Society.
81 remained during the first term
of three years and was asked to stay
another year before returning home
for fur1ough, but in January, 1909,
was given opportunity to make a
journey across Asia as assistant in a
magnetic survey, under the auspices
of the Carnegie Institution of Wash
ington. Our journey (the leader of
the expedition a fellow Kansan)
began at Picking and extended through
North China, across the Cobb Desert
through Turkestan, over the Himalaya
| Mountain system, through Kashmir,
to Bombay, and thence home to Am
| erica, journey lasting ten months
and three days. Because of this ex-
petition I was elected Fellow Of the
| Royal Geographical Society of Eng
land Though only in America ten
weeks, I was able to marry the girl
left behind me-, Phebe V. Meeker
of College of Emporia,' 90. We re-
turned to China and the Canton Chris
tan College in February 1910.
During the following term of five
years, which was extended to over
six years in order to relieve the need
for staff, I had become more and more
interested in the general Christian
educational work of the province.
was organizing secretary of the
Kwangtung Christian Educational
Association for several years. and in
1915 was president.
For four years I had charge of the
Summer Normal Institute for Teach.
ers, which enrolled over $50 teachers
of mission schools. The last year be-
fore going home on furlough I set UT
the Christian College Press, as the
printing trade had helped me through
my college course. For three years
I was a member of the Council OF
the Canton Christian College and was
named IN the cata1og professor o.
geography
OoA LII AOdSI years were spent
Chicago, where I took graduate worI
IN geography and geology. After oul
steamer reservations had been mad.
to return to China and to the c. C. c.
we received call from the Presby
terrain Mission to undertake the SUD
ervision of the elementary schools O.
the Mission in South China Their,
was the same time a call from sew
eral missions which wished to unit.
IN this work I had been urging tn.
necessity of this step for years ane
when the proposition was put to M.
3 could not consistently turn it down
> although it would change our plan.
5 for our life work. Thus it is we ar.
3 here in the Presbyterian Mission.
'sGod has given us three preciou:
5 boys to train and watch develop fol