The Arrangements Have Been Made
Imagine being 25 years old with a young bride and departing from Boston’s Fulton Dock on the 8th day of June 1818. Dr. and Mrs. John Scudder began a four (4) month journey to Calcutta, and on to Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). The rest is history as they say.
A trip has been arranged to travel to India in January 27th through February 1st, 2019 to celebrate the 200th Anniversary to the start of our story. The weather in Southern India in December and January is delightful. We will be posting stories from our travelers next year, so check back in February 2019
We are looking forward to a wonderful trip,
Hello,
Sounds like a great trip. I would be interested in joining in Chennai (I have previously been to Agra, Jaipur, Varanasi and Delhi) but would be interested in extending the trip to Sri Lanka and Goa. I also would be flying from Denver International.
Thanks and Best,
Patricia Scudder
Hi Patrica, Thanks for letting us know you are interested. I’ll update your information to include this. Rich Scudder Board Member
In November 2017 I visited the Scudder Memorial Hospital and was disappointed in its physical appearance since my visit there 50 years ago. The hospital appears to need better planning and funding. The Association should investigate this before a visit. They could use a substantial contribution if we visit there. On the same trip I also visited the Scudder hill station house in Coonoor (where my grandfather Frank Scudder was born, and only sold by the family in 1954). It is in very good condition.
I suggest a visit to Jaffna, Sri Lanka where Dr. John statred out in 1819. I visited there in March 2017. It is easily reached by a day’s train ride from Colombo. I have sent the Newsletter articles (as yet unpublished) on the Scudder sites there and the Scudder Sri Lanka stamp recently issued.
I plan to join the visit to the hospitals in January and am going on to Sri Lanka after that visit to return to Dr. John’s first mission hospital station – our family was there for about 16 years. The government medical system now cares for the needs of the population, but the church he strenghtened by his service (The Church of the American Ceylon Mission) in Sri Lanka is very strong and doing good work. While Scudders of today may think our mission began in the country now known as India, Dr. John’s major contributions were in the part of British India that is now called Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon). It was Dr. John’s descendents who started the hospitals in the Tamil Nadu section of present day India. It is hard to believe the Association is commemorating the 200th anniversary of our mission without a visit to Sri Lanka. .