When I heard of former Gov. Allen Olson’s passing last December, one of the first things that came to mind was the sight of him jogging in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. It was in the summer of 1982. Gov. Olson had led a dozen North Dakota businessmen and political leaders on a trade mission to China. I was one of the journalists covering the mission. President Richard Nixon had been to China just 10 years earlier, essentially opening that country to the rest of the world after three decades of isolation.
Gov. Olson was determined to jog every morning, regardless of where he was. Meanwhile, I was equally determined to attend Sunday Mass. By 1982, the Catholic Mass was allowed in China, but Masses were state-approved and celebrated on a restricted basis. Our interpreter gave me general directions to one of only two Catholic churches in Beijing, a city of 11 million people. The church was more than 2 miles from the guest house where we were staying.
I left at 5:30 the next morning and walked alone in light rain. I’d been told what to look for. The church had a high wall around it and the gates were locked when I got there. But an elderly man directed me to a side opening where I could enter. I was surprised by the sharp contrast between the old church’s gray, stark exterior and a beautifully decorated interior with a vaulted ceiling and paintings on the walls.
It was a traditional Latin Mass with a Chinese priest, but the congregation chanted and prayed in Mandarin. Most of the people were elderly and appeared to be poor. I was the only non-Chinese person there. When Mass ended, I and a few others got up to leave, but most stayed for the next service. It seemed no one had paid much attention to my presence.
The rain had ended as I walked back to the guest house, arriving in time to depart with the other members of the delegation for the Great Wall. The memories have faded, but I can still see Gov. Olson jogging, and I can still feel the trepidation I felt walking to Mass that day and the flood of emotions as I left.
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Al Gustin is a retired farm broadcaster, active rancher and a member of Mor-Gran-Sou Electric Cooperative.
