[Some paragraph breaks added for ease of reading.]Peiyang Women's Hospital
Tientsin, China.
September 9th, 1933.My dear Miss Turner:
We are all back from vacation for work again. Mary Jean and Abby have started their school. Mary Jean enters third grade and Abby second grade. My two girls were at beach for part summer as we were unable to get there on account of presence of Japanese soldiers. They had six weeks at beach nd I was with them for three week ends.
I have wanted to write to you all summer. The work of our new building and hospital work keep me busy every day of the week. Days seem to[o] short. During early part of the summer we were busy with refugees from surrounding districts. [sic] The fall work has started[.] Twenty four girls tried entrance examinations to enter our training school and sixteen passed their examinations. They are now on probation for six months. Twelve graduates were placed for different positions and four of them were invited to join our staff.
Our nursing school is under supervision of a nurse who had her training at Grace Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. She is very fine in her position. We have added to our staff a man pharmacist, a graduate from Cheloo University. We have added to our staff also a resident technician.
The work of our laboratory is getting too heavy for a part time worker. It is better to have a resident worker as she can do our emergency work any time. We are growing. There are five men doctors and four women residents in hospital. Men doctors are only part time workers. Most of the heavy work are still on our shoulders as we live at hospital. Soon we shall have seventy five bed capacity. Our quality of our work has improved also as we get every available help from P.M.M.C. Peiping is near us and we try to get advice from different departmental heads. How I wish that you are hear [sic] to see something of my active years. I realize that one cannot be as active as this all the time.
Your box contained two story books and paper dolls came. I want to thank you for Mary Jean and Abby. I will give them your box when they are settled in thier [sic] school work. They seem to be on the go every minute also. They start for school eight in the morning and do not get home until four in the afternoon. I try to teach them to take good care of their books and toys. They are able to write few sentences in English. But both read fairly well. I am sure that they will enjoy Peter Rabbit and Cinderella. Abby will like her doll with many dresses. She is weak with her hand work so putting out dresses she will learn to be more dextrous. Little Abby has a good mind. She learns any thing quickly but she hates to use her hands. She is not good at her writing at all. We have much trouble with her Chinese writing. She simply would not write without someone to supervise her every minute.
Thru Dr. P. C. Chang I sent you a package in early June. I sent it at this time as I knew he could mail it from Honolulu to you without having you pay duty at the other end. I hope you did get it. Dr. Chang is a visiting porfessor [sic] at Hawaii University this year. He lectures on Chinese drama. We do not learn anything in schools about our drama at all either in old school or modern school. It is good to have someone to make a special study of it. He lectured two years ago at Chicago University. He might come to mainland again next year.
By the time this letter gets to you, college would be in session[.] I hope that you[r] back is in her normal condition again. Whenever you have time I shall be glad to hear from you. We are busy and often we only can have the pleasure of pleasant memories and not letters. We send our love to you. My children will write and thank you later.
Yours lovingly,
Me-Iung Ting.P.S. I typed this letter at hospital office. The little Corona is getting too old for work. I shall send it to a mecanic [sic] and see what he can do. This little kodek [sic] picture was taken recently Abby is the first one on right. [Alas, the photo has not remained with the letter.]