Hi Fans,

Carpenters & staff hope you have all enjoyed beautiful summer and fun vacations. Karen & Richard have had no time off this year and because of this we have some good news for everyone and bad news for Japanese, Philippine & Australian members. First, the bad news: All Japanese, Manila and Australian concerts and the two scheduled for Hawaii have been canceled, due to a much needed rest ordered by their doctor. The good news is: The new album is scheduled to be released September 23 and there's something on it for everyone, including opera lovers. Watch for "Passage" in your music stores. Their new single was released Sept. 9th and it is a very unique space song. Look for "Calling Occupants Of Iinterplanetary Craft" in your music stores now.

We have a new keepsake item which will make a perfect Christmas gift or a bright addition to your own wardrobe. We have a limited supply of some very lovely neck scarves, ideal for either fellas or gals. There's a choice of pale blue with white logo and autograph or white with navy blue logo and autograph. Supply is limited to 250 and these will be a collectors item. They are made of 100% nylon and measure l8" X l8" Price per scarf is $X.XX for U.S. members and $X.X for foreign. This includes shipping & handling.

Without further ado, here is a bio of Dad Carpenter:

Harold Bertram Carpenter was born in Wuchou China in 1908. His father, George, a brilliant electrician and top notch salesman, was a British subject. On a visit to the U.S. he met Nellie Jane Lynn at a Methodist prayer meeting in Wellsville, N.Y. where she had been born and raised. After they were married they decided to devote a few years to missionary work and were promptly sent to China, where they were transferred from city to city.

Upon completion of their mission, George returned to his work in electrical sales and they settled in Yunnan, China in a section of the city that had been set aside for foreign dignitaries and professionals. Their home there was a beautiful big house with a huge yard and garden which was well cared for by numerous Chinese servants. Formal parties within the complex were frequent and when the Carpenters entertained, the dinner table was set with fine China and silver. Frequently young Harold with younger sister Esther would sneak downstairs where they could observe the festivities without being seen.

It was the era of the Boxer Rebellion and street fights and killings were frequent. No one walked the streets. All foreigners stayed within the complex and servants were sent out to do the shopping. Supplies of all kinds were limited. Most were ordered from Montgomery Ward, including huge supplies of food. The only available fresh fruit was persimmons. A lovely persimmon tree grew right outside Harold's bedroom window and he thoroughly enjoyed the succulent fruit it bore. Apples and oranges were seen only in the minds of Harold and Esther as their mother described the beauty and taste of these fruits so abundant in the U.S. Meals consisted of rice, vegetables and a little meat. Harold preferred eating in the kitchen with the servants where they prepared real Chinese dishes for themselves, using ginger-root as a basic spice. He loved to scoop out the pieces of ginger-root and eat them, using chopsticks as adeptly as the Chinese servants. The family dressed well in clothes that also had to be imported. Harold's excellent taste in clothes today probably stems from the lovely Eaton suits he wore as a youngster.

Transportation was a Chair on poles, carried on the shoulders of four servants. Each family owned their own chair but public taxi service was via Rickshaw. Toys and games were rare items. Harold's favorite activity was shooting the noisy, bothersome crows that were so plentiful in their garden. His father, an excellent hunter, provided him with a 22 and taught him how to use it correctly; and once each year they would travel to West Mountain to hunt pheasant. Though he and Esther each had their own pony, their rides were limited to roads within the compound. Though a tutor was hind for the youngsters education, it was a hit and miss affair and they did not receive a formal education until they were placed in schools in England. Harold was eight when plans were made for their trip to England to place them in schools. It was a long, difficult, dangerous journey that had to be made by train because World War I was in progress. They traveled across Siberia and because the Russian Revolution was also going on, the train was Frequently stopped and searched by Russian troops. At each stop the children hid under the tables of the dining car. In Petrovgrad they left the train and were placed in a hotel for a few days where they existed on black bread and water, the only food available to them. Bombings were frequent and the hotel next to theirs was demolished during a bombing. Boarding another train they entered the arctic circle in Finland and traveled to Sweden and then Norway where they were finally put aboard a ship at Bergen, where big ships embarked for England. They skirted the Shetland Island in the North Sea the week that German U-boats sank more passenger ships than any other week of the entire war. At the end of this nightmare voyage they disembarked at Liverpool, then continued on to Margate where Harold and Esther were placed in boarding schools. His mother with younger brother, Richard returned to China where eventually, two more younger sisters would be born. At war's end his mother and dad returned to England and bought a house in Hendon where Harold continued his education by attending Hendon Hall. His father went back his electrical sales business in China. His mom remained in England until it was near time for her baby to be born, then again joined his father in China. Eventually they disposed of all their possessions in China and they both returned to England where they settled in Golder's Green, where his dad invented a burglar alarm. When business dropped off, his mother with the five children sailed to the U.S. to live with her mother. Harold was 14 and though his education in England was equivalent to a high school education in the U.S., he attended the Wellsville, N.Y. high school for two years. Due to his mother's illness, he left school at 16 to go to work. She had contacted a lung ailment in Singapore and eventually lost the use of one lung.

An uncle in Middletown, Ohio was night superintendent or a paper-box industry and he put Harold to work there, feeding the press, and welcomed him into his home to live. When his uncle took a better job in Indianapolis, Harold moved along with them and again worked with his uncle on a press. His mother, brother and sisters came to Indianapolis for a brief stay then returned to England to be with Harold's father. Harold remained in Indianapolis where he became interested in motorcycles and joined a cycle club. Once again he moved with his aunt and uncle to Maryland to accept still better jobs. He and a friend rode their bikes to Catonsville where he met Agnes, and after a 4 year courtship, they were married. Since then, his life parallels Agnes's which you read about in Newsletter #54.

Harold has enjoyed good health all his life. His only surgery was an ear operation in 1960 which left him slightly hard of hearing in his right ear. Injuries consisted of 3 nasty motorcycle flops in Indiana and a more serious one to his arm when it was accidentally caught under the rollers of a printing press he was working on at the time and Mom Carpenter have the same interests in music and T.V. shows but differ in favorite colors. His is red. When asked what his favorite food is, his answer was "The best way to answer that is to ask me what I don't like". The question was asked - "which foods don't you like?" His answer - "Stewed tomatoes. That is all - just stewed tomatoes."

The amazing talent that K & R possess comes partly, perhaps from grandmother Nellie and grandfather George. Both were fine pianists and often played piano for their guests at the formal dinner parties they held when they lived in China. Grandmother Nellie had a fine voice and would also render for her guests, beautiful songs. Harold was given piano lessons for a while (against his will) but was not interested in learning to play the piano and hated practicing. He did enjoy his parents renditions, however and he also loved listening to lovely classical and semi-classical music from records played on the beautiful Victorola they had in China. His favorite relaxation today is to relax on an easy chair in Richard's huge music room and surround himself with fine music from records played on the turn-table of the fantastic stereo sound system in that room.

Though Dad Carpenter retired from the Container Corp. in 1970, he surely has not retired, He is busier now than at any time of his life. He and Mom are Collection Control Administrators of Richard's car collection and are responsible for bringing all cars purchased to mint condition. This means numerous trips from one car specialist to another and making numberless calls and trips to obtain obsolete parts. Dad also reads numerous ads in search of cars that Richard wishes to add to his collection, and this, at times, takes him and Mom to other states to check out possible purchases. He and Mom have also been Richard's representatives in several car shows and parades.

To your list of Richard's cars, add a 58 Edsel Citation and a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air. This brings his collection to 57.

Rap later. Ev.

Last changed: Wed Jul 13 21:00:33 EDT 2005