Margaret remembers the friends of the Landons (Ralph Verhaug, who married Katherine, Joe Wright, Muriel, etc.) The friendship went cold for the most part, though Muriel remained very faithful in writing. Margaret recalls how hard it was to not…
Margaret remembers a story from the trip of the King of Siam going to the US for an eye operation. After the surgery had been done, no bill was presented, and so the King asked for it. The surgeon said something like, "The King can do no wrong. I…
Margaret tells of the beautiful place where the McDaniels were planning to build a new house and a hospital. The ground, the trees, and the landscape were just beautiful. Dr. McDaniel is very progressive and energetic, and he was making great…
Margaret tells the story of her first learning of Anna Leonowens. She tells us that she has often said that when she first read The English Governess in the Siamese Court during that 1930 visit in Nakhon, she really had no sense of a curtain’s going…
Margaret describes her stove, how slow it is, and the hard work it takes to cook on it. She tells of the market, especially the buying of meat and how she tendered beef before roasting it. Pork was more tender and they had it more often. She would…
Margaret tells about the girls in the school who were rehearsing a play. She was watching one night when suddenly a little girl ran up on stage and began to dance. "I never saw anything funnier." The Siamese dance was very beautiful, but very formal,…
Margaret wrote of picking a ripe jack fruit that was huge like a watermelon and entirely filled a pail. She briefly describes the fruit, larger than a durian fruit.
Margaret talks about their first three years in Siam and their furlough coming up in just a year. She had just begun to feel that she was of use as a missionary. It was so hard without the language. Sometimes she got blue because of the lack of any…
Margaret recalls an article in a local newspaper in which she was misquoted. It was a reunion with Mrs. Boyd, who was visiting in Bangkok and whom Margaret had known since she was a little child. Margaret comments that in many occasion this happened…
Margaret was doing the cutting and the seamstress was sewing. She talks about the challenge of making underwear for Peggy that would not sag, solving the problem with a piece of elastic in the middle of the back. Some clothes were coming by mail…
Margaret tells of the compound, housework, market, and sewing. The compound had begun to look like what Margaret had hoped for (it looked like a park). Dan Bovee had done a great deal to bring this about. There was a man for cutting the grass all day…
Margaret gives the background to her first story for the Literary Society, "A Grave for Frankie." Ku Pru told her the story. It was about her uncle who was a wizard. She told her that when the wizard's uncle died his son sat on his grave for three…
Margaret ate durian after attending the King's daughters' meeting. When she first came to Siam she felt sick every time she smelled the fruit. After a few years she got used to it and couldn't have it enough. She describes how the fruit grows in a…
Margaret entertained two discourteous guests. They came over to the Landons for the weekend and Margaret worked hard to ensure they had a nice stay. Something spilled on the lady's dress and she was unhappy. They never sent a thank you note and tried…
Margaret cannot trust the younger woman who was working for her. She passed her second year exam and was starting her third year. She got a new servant, very capable. Her mother was Siamese and her father a Czechoslovakian who left the family and…
Margaret writes to Elizabeth that she knows nothing more discouraging than missionary work. The failures loom so much larger than the puny successes. She tells of one of the strongest Christian couples in their church that had split.
Margaret was back from Phuket and was getting ready for school. She wrote to her mother painting a picture of the school. The girls were very timid about sleeping in a room alone because they were afraid of spirits. Margaret recalls the night when…
Mr Bulkley bought a baby elephant and wanted to ship it to New York to the Museum of National History, where he was a contributor. His wife was traveling on the same ship and he wanted to save the fare of a keeper for the baby elephant. He brought…
Margaret writes that Bill was learning to run, like a drunken sailor. Peggy is trying to sing, and since she knows no tune, her singing is always "original." Miss Eakin never came back from the US, so Margaret ran the school until she left for…
Margaret was now in charge of the school. Mrs. Bulkley had left because of physical difficulties, and Miss Eakin never came back. There were some building projects in the wind for the coming year. She talks about preparation work at the school. He…
Margaret left Phuket and Mrs. Sheehan drove her down to Tonka harbor where she and the children were going to sail. They listened to a man play classical music. They had a miserable trip going across, with all their luggage. They were glad to get…
Margaret tells about the first Christian she met in Phuket, a regular patriarch who had been Christian for more than forty years through the ministry of Dr. Amner. He was an old man over seventy years old yet with a strong frame, who went along to…
Margaret returned to Dr. Toy's story. He worked for the government and drew a lot of money. His first wife bore him four children and died. He remarried and had six more children. The last king died and Dr. Toy was laid off. He decided to become an…
Kenneth took Margaret to call on a group of Chinese Christians who converted to Christ with the ministry of Dr. Amner. He built a large church and left many years ago and entrusted the church to a Brethren missionary, Dr. Toy. This was unfortunate…
Margaret went to Nakhon with Mrs. Bulkley on her way to Phuket, because one of the Christian teachers at the girls' school was getting married. The girl's mother was not Christian and made the process to the wedding complicated. The couple eventually…