Wheeler Work in Japan Translated into English

Dear Friends, 

It all started with a message from Japan that popped up on the Concord list serve! The message was from a Japanese writer, Tetsuro Takasaki, who was looking for a contact in Concord to assist him in his efforts to write a biography of Concord's William Wheeler! Knowing about our time in Japan, Debbie (Bier) called me that day and said, "You are the one, Rick!

William Wheeler had joined with three others from the Massachusetts Agricultural College in 1876 to go to Japan to start an agricultural college in the northern island of Hokkaido.  He stayed for two years, came back to Concord to marry his bride, Fannie Hubbard, and returned to Hokkaido with her for two more years during which he was the President of the new College! 

In 1924, William Wheeler was awarded the "Fifth Order of the Rising Sun" by the Japanese government in recognition of the many contributions he had made during his stay in Japan.  I would like to add here a personal anecdote.  When Betty Ann and I arrived in Tokyo in 1965, for what would be a four year tour with our Citibank, we kept being asked by newly introduced Japanese hosts, "Are you a relative of William Wheeler?"  This, mind you, was 85 years after his departure!  He certainly made a difference in so many ways!  Oh, yes, he was our eighth cousin, thrice removed!

So, over the following years Betty Ann and I assisted Takasaki-San in his many visits to Concord where thanks to Alan Cathcart at the Department of Public Works, Leslie Wilson at Special Collections in our Library, and so many other members of our Concord community, he completed the Wheeler biography, which covers not only his years in Japan but his life in Concord as well. 

"William Wheeler – A Young American Professor in Meiji Japan" was published in Japanese in 2004. 

That left us with the task of completing an English language translation.  Here, Barbara Wheeler stepped forward to introduce a good Japanese friend, Kazue Campbell, a former Professor at Boston University, to lead that effort. 

We brought together a wonderfully dedicated group to serve as an "Editorial Committee" composed of family members and individuals who had in various ways committed themselves to Concord's history, as well as our Sister City relationship with Nanae, and the Island of Hokkaido itself. 

This part of the journey was another three years or more, however, today we can share with deep satisfaction that the English Language translation was completed in 2009 and that the book is now available for sale.

Copies are available at our Concord Bookshop at 65 Main Street in Concord.  We would like to clarify that our portion of the proceeds will be dedicated to those current and future efforts supporting our Sister City relationship with Nanae as well as the Island of Hokkaido itself. 

Thank you for your interest! Rick Wheeler