Requested and underwritten by the Durfee Foundation. In 1929, ten Pomona College
students traveled on a one-year expedition to China. Five of the original ten
students were alive at the time this project was initiated in 1988. These interviews
record the recollections of these men as to: planning the expedition; the year
of travel in China; and their reflections on the impact the trip had on their
lives. The interviews are part of an Oriental Study Expedition Archive housed
in Special Collections of the Honnold Library.
Avery, R. Stanton (b. 1907)
Businessman
1989
Mr. Avery discusses his involvement in planning the expedition, impressions
of Japan and China, student movements and conditions in China. He also talks
about his work in famine relief and the continuing influence of the expedition
on his personal life.
Interviewers: Enid H. Douglass, Oral History Program; Arthur Rosenbaum, Associate
Professor East Asian History, Claremont McKenna College and Claremont Graduate
School.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of the page.
Gambell, George (b. 1908)
Travel Agent
1989
Mr. Gambell discusses raising money for the expedition and his impressions
of Sik Leong Tsui, the original expedition leader. He goes on to relate his adventures
in Shanghai and Peking where he observed student unrest, counterfeiting and opium
dens. Mr. Gambell also discusses his participation in famine relief work, a return
trip he made in 1983 and his reflections
on the 1989 protests in China.
Interviewer: Enid H. Douglass, Oral History Program.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of the page.
Haskell, Oliver (b. 1908)
Activist
1989
Mr. Haskell discusses his family background and early life, his initial career
objectives and political views, his relationship with Avery and Tsui, his involvement
in the Expedition despite his own initial rejection of the idea. He discusses
his prior knowledge of China and Japan, his first impressions, and he relates
the social activities of the group, the attitudes of the Chinese students and
famine relief work. Later, Mr. Haskell served as director of the China Aid Council
of the American League for Peace and Democracy and traveled through the Soviet
Union. He reflects on relations between China and Russia and the impact of the
1930 expedition on his adult
life.
Interviewers: Enid H. Douglass, and Arthur L.Rosenbaum.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of the page.
Lorbeer, Carroll (b. 1907)
Citrus Grower
1989
Mr. Lorbeer discusses his activities at Pomona, the development of the expedition
idea, his personal intellectual interests in China, contact with Chinese students
and the cohesiveness of the expedition as well as the occupying influence of
the Japanese in Manchuria.
Interviewer: Enid H. Douglass, Oral History Program.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of the page.
Armacost, Robert
The fifth student is Robert Armacost, who did not make himself available for
an interview. However, he did supply the project with a detailed diary he kept
during the expedition. This diary is deposited with the four interviews in Special
Collections, Honnold Library.
Restricted Interview. Contact us for more information. Top of the page.