For several months I have searched for the short wave radio station where my grandfather, Dr. Hugh MacMillan, broadcasted propaganda to the Japanese during the latter part of World War II. Recently my friend, John Bracken, loaned me a old paperback called “Room 3603″ by H. Montgomery Hyde. This book, published in 1962, chronicled British [...]
Here’s another bit of text I’ve written from the book I am researching about the lives of my missionary grandparents, Rev. Hugh and Donalda MacMillan. First, however, some brief context: In 1925, three churches merged to become the United Church of Canada. The Presbyterian Church in Canada was one of them, but that caused a [...]
Before I arrived in Edinburgh, I arranged with the lovely folks at the New College Library (in the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh) to locate my grandfather, Hugh MacMillan’s, PhD thesis for me to read. Suffice it to say, this heavy, black, 260 page, typed, double-spaced document bore equal amounts of research [...]
I spent much of the 2011 Easter weekend at the Yu Shan Theological College and Seminary, one of three seminaries that serve the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan. Yu Shan is the Taiwanese name for the island’s highest mountain, which looms some 20 km away. The name fits, since this seminary focuses on theological education for [...]
Here’s a bit from Chapter One of the book I’m writing about my missionary grandparents: Hugh was the eldest of four boys, all born in a log house on the family farm in the south part of Bruce County, Ontario. He grew up in an environment of hard farm work and good farm food, and, [...]
Well today, apparently, a coupla’ kids are getting hitched at Westminister Abbey. That pales in comparison to last week’s events here in Taiwan. Last Sunday was a ‘three-fer’: Easter Sunday, for sure, but also my new BFF, Rev. Sidney Chang’s 69th birthday – AND he also decided to get married! Sidney’s first wife died many [...]
More random notes from my Taiwanese trip: “Wherefore art’ thou?”: some of the students spent their English class rehearsing Romeo and Juliet today in the courtyard opposite the old Women’s School (the latter was part of Rev. George Leslie Mackay’s innovative and somewhat daring missionary vision for Taiwan a century ago). I asked one of [...]
Cingcyuan, an aboriginal mountain village that I visited, is famous for its hot springs and mountain beauty. It’s also known as one of eleven places that Zhang Xueliang was held under house arrest. Zhang, also known as “The Young Marshall” was a Manchurian warlord who ran afoul of Kuomintang founder, Chiang Kai-Shek. According to my [...]
The day before my lecture at National Tsing Hua University my friend Professor Hsiao Yen Yen introduced me to Mr. Li over a cup of Oolong tea at the Socrates Café that he owns. It is a splendid place, filled with great food, well loved books and about six live-in cats. Mr Li is a [...]
Several men with the English first name Albert have been especially kind to me during this trip. Two stick out in particular. ——————————————— Albert Yao is the principal of the Tam-Kang School, and my benevolent landlord (he provided me with accommodation in the school’s guest house for much of my trip). Albert is one of [...]
