First Time At Chew Museum – Lim Lam Pheng

Ignatius Chew giving Lim Lam Pheng a tour of the museum 

A first time visitor to Ignatius Chew Museum was Lim Lam Pheng the grand-daughter of Lim Seok Tan and daughter to Lim Cheng Chye and Chiang Geok Ngor.

The visit brought back fond memories of when she was growing up through the years. 

Her grandfather Lim Seok Tan had nine sons but only one daughter her Lim Kim Keow.

Lam Pheng had not seen her aunt Lim Kim Keow although relatives had told her that she resembled her aunt. Ignatius had that photo on display hence her visit to Ignatius' family museum.

Lim Kim Keow married Chew Mah Sing and was one of two early instances of Chew- Lim marriage at the time. 

Lam Pheng's aunt Lim Kim Keow's marriage to Chew Mah Sing. The bridesmaid next to Lim Kim Keow is Monica Yeoh Suan Bee a daughter of Yeoh Khuan Joo

In later years when Lam Pheng was studying to become a nurse in London England she would stay at the home of Lim Chor Lin, the son of Aunt Kim Keow.

Another fond memory she recalled was when her mother would bring her along to visit the family of Yeoh Khuan Joo and his wife Lim Siew Tong.

"Lim Siew Tong and my grandfather Lim Seok Tan were siblings. During Chinese New Year we would pay our respects without fail at their big bungalow at Jalan Bendahara.”

(L) Pauline Chew, Lim and Ignatius (R) Lim with Annie Ho pose with photos of Lim's parents 

The tour of the museum unleashed a flood of memories ....

and surprises....'that's my mother' 

The visit to the museum had unleashed a flood of memories. It took up a second afternoon visit where Ms Lim Lam Pheng explained how the Lim’s of Tapah grew as a family. But that will be for another posting.

JAG

Chew Boon San’s Descendants Visit Chew Museum During Chinese New Year

Descendants of Chew Boon San (r-l) Chew Yuen Keat, Chew Yuen Hin and Chew Ghim Seng (Yuen Keat's son) 

It is common to have family drop by during the Chinese New Year but it was an auspicious morning when the descendants of Chew Boon San paid a visit.

Chew Yuen Keat and his brother Chew Yuen Hin visited cousin Ignatius Chew’s during the Chinese New Year period. Yuen Keat and Yuen Hin’s were the sons of  Chew Choo Beng, Chew Boon San’s eldest son.  

(Seated l-r) Dato Dr Choong Kam Fook, Datin Choong, Chang Choon Keng, Chew Yuen Hin, Chew Yuen Keat and Chew Ghim Seng. (back row) Ignatius Chew, Lau Chee Hoong, Teoh Ghim Loo, Pauline Chew.

Yuen Hin joined the armed forces but Yuen Keat was an employee of Ban Hoe Seng. 

He began his career in 1969 when the company was still at Old Town and moved to the new Ban Hoe Seng premises at Kampar Road a year later all the while working in the claims department.

He was given the nick name of ‘Claim Chew’ because there were so many Chew’s working there.

He described his time at Ban Hoe Seng as happy and memorable working with his Uncles Chew Choon Siew and Chew Choon Kok and cousins.

“I was working under Yeoh Oon Kok my cousin from the start. It was 1969 and I was 19 when I started and worked for 42 years before I retired.  

Chew Yuen Keat aka 'Claim Chew' during his early days at Ban Hoe Seng

Chew Yuen Keat takes a photograph with the staff of Ban Hoe Seng Auto. 2019

Occasionally I was a driver for Uncle Choon Siew’s wife and took his daughter Florence to school. Sometimes on weekends Uncle Choon Siew would take the staff to Penang to stay at his Batu Ferringi bungalow  by the sea.

I had one job and was treated very well. I was happy there which is why I could work very long.  

The descendants take a photo with Chew Boon San (big photograph at back of Yuen Keat) 

'Impressed with elaborate Chew Museum' .. Ignatius briefing the cousins about the museum

Chew Yuen Hin was impressed with the Chew museum saying it was and interesting and commended Ignatius for doing an elaborate family museum.

End 

My Story... I Lived Above Ban Hoe Seng, Old Town Was My Playground.

Yeoh Poh See at the handlebars with cousin Angeline. 

My name is Yeoh Poh See and I was born at the end of the war to my parents Yeoh Cheang Peng and Chew Gaik Ee. My home was at Ban Hoe Seng, Old Town, Ipoh.

That time Ban Hoe Seng was at 62 and 64 Belfield Street. It was a 3 storey building and owned by my grandfather Chew Boon Juan.

On the ground floor they had a business selling motorcycles. It was run by my Uncles Chew Choon Siew and Chew Choon Kok.

I lived at the second floor of Ban Hoe Seng

My family lived on the second floor as did my second aunt Chew Gaik Hoon and her family. I had such wonderful memories of my time Ban Hoe Seng and Old Town.  

I remember playing with my younger cousin Angeline at the square in front of my uncles shop where there was a beautiful marble water fountain. The fountain was in memory of Birch and it is a pity that it was demolished.

Poh See and Angeline at the Birch Fountain

Opposite from my house window was the shop that sold Kwan Loong Medicated Oil. In the evenings they would beat the drum to attract buyers to purchase the medicated oil.

Those days it was very safe to be a child in Old Town. My brother studied at St Michaels Institution and used to walk to school.

During my time our playground was the Birch Memorial clock tower and the surrounding grounds. The railways gardens too was always nice and pleasant.

My playground ...at the Birch Clock Tower ...

and the Railway Station gardens

We would cut across the Pakistani Mosque behind the shop to get to the clock tower.

 I remember my father taking me to eat nasi kandar at the stall under the trees in front of the post office.

A later pic of Yeoh Poh See   

I lived at Ban Hoe Seng until I was 12 before we moved away. It was a truly wonderful time.

JAG

What’s In A Name

The Johnston's at Ignatius Chew's museum 

Ignatius Chew’s museum seems to be a ‘place-of-interest’ for relatives who return from abroad. The latest visitor was Yeoh Choo San a daughter of the late Datuk Yeoh Kian Teik.

She and her husband Richard William Johnston and family comprising son William and 2 daughters Victoria and Alexandria were down for the holidays and had come by the museum for a visit.  

The Johnston's: William Pang Han Johnston, Yeoh Choo San, Richard William Johnston, Alexandra Chooi Gaik Johnston and Victoria Chooi May Johnston

Choo San at the Yeoh display section in the museum

Ignatius gave them the grand tour of the museum and elaborated at the section reserved for patriarch Yeoh Khuan Joo.

All relatives who visit are required to sign in to the visitor’s book. This family revealed an interesting fact. Their children had signed in indicating their western name together with their Chinese name. 

Alexandra and William sign into the Museum visitors book

Choo San said the name was given by her father Datuk Yeoh Kian Teik. Robert added he had no objection as they were part Chinese.

I subsequently inquired with another sister in the family Christine Yeoh also married to a foreigner. She confirmed that she too followed their father’s instruction.

“The boys use the genealogical name of Pang and the girls Chooi. It followed the Zhao Mu as tabulated by grandfather Yeoh Khuan Joo to indicate which generation they belonged to” said Christine.

It was reported that when Yeoh Khuan Joo first came to Malaya from China his forefathers did not provide a list of characters known as Zhao Mu to be used by future generations whereby he subsequently he formulated his own Zhou Mu.

JAG

A Visit To The Museum And More

The descendants. (standing) Chew Poh Chan and Chew Poh Ying (descendants of Chew Boon Hong), Ignatius Chew (descendant Chew Boon Juan)  and (seated) Chew Chow Fee and Chew Chow Khoon (descendants of Chew Boon Seong)

With Chinese New Year a month away the families from outstation come home to visit in case they are unable to make it on the actual day.

It was the same for the family members from the Chew clan specifically the descendants of Chew Boon Hong. Their visit to the Ignatius museum earned them an additional visit to another relative belonging to the line of Chew Boon Seong.

Chew Poh Chan and Chew Poh Ying grand-daughters of Chew Boon Hong were in town and took time off to visit the Chew Museum managed by Ignatius Chew.

(L) Chew Poh Chan and Chew Poh Ying (R) Ignatius giving the guests the grand tour of the museum

It was Poh Ying’s first time visiting and Ignatius gave her the grand tour taking them through the various sections of the museum.

After the tour Ignatius took them to visit another branch of cousins. Chew Chow Khoon and Chew Chow Fee, both in their eighties and nineties respectively, are the grand daughters of Chew Boon Seong the eldest of the Chew brothers.

Chew Poh Chan had visited them during her younger days when her aunt Chew Gaik Khuan brought her along on her visits.   

Cousin exchanging stories of days gone by

An early photo (middle row 3rd from left) Poh Ying followed by Poh Chan with Aunt Chew Gaik Khuan (extreme right) and their grand mother Lim Keng Bee (seated front row) 

Her Aunt used to order Ang Ku, that nyonya delicacy with “red soft kueh and green bean paste inside’ which was made by the cousins mother. 

Poh Chan remembered then their house was diagonally across from Methodist Girls School along Jalan Kampar.

At other times her aunt would take her to another relatives’ ‘wooden house along Chung Thye Phin road’ for an all nyonya cook-in.

“Other lady cousins were there all dressed in the usual nyonya white blouse and sarong and they would cook up a delicious nyonya menu”.

What good memories the trip brought back from just one visit.

JAG

Close Families – Yeoh, Lim and Chew

Close family. (l-r) Ignatius Chew,Christine Yeoh Choo Hoon (3rd from left) and after her Datuk Lim Si Boon.

Yeoh-Lim-Chew in Hokkien sounds like the “Yeoh’s (like to) drink wine” And so it was a night of merry making and close relationship of the families at the recent Datuk Yeoh Kian Teik memorial.

There was so much of camaraderie amongst the cousins that night that I sought to ask Christine Yeoh what it was that gave them all such family unity.

“It’s been that way from our grand-parents time, four generations ago.  We were a strict family but among us cousins we grew up together and we remained very close.

 

Close relations through marriage 

My great grandfather was Yeoh Kuan Joo married Lim Siew Tong who was the sister of Lim Seok Tan, Datuk Lim Si Boon great grandfather.

That was well before the war and the families have been close since.

Christine explained that during her Grandmothers time whenever there was an event all the families came together.

 

Chew Boon Juan ( 2nd from left) and Yeoh Khuan Joo (7th from left) at the wedding of Boon Juan's 7th daughter

In the 1930’s Yeoh Kuan Joo’s son Yeoh Ghim Cheow was married to Chew Gaik Tiew the daughter of Chew Boon Juan while in the 40’s another Yeoh daughter Yeoh Suan Bee married Chew Choon Kok thus continuing the relationship of the families.

In recent times, Christine said her father the late Datuk Yeoh Kian Teik and the late Datuk K.K. Lim, Lim Si Boon father were good friends and drinking buddies for a long time.

Yeoh,Lim And Chew Meet At Dato' Yeoh Kian Teik’s Memorial Dinner

Yeoh's from Singapore posing with Datin Janet Yeoh, the widow of Dato Yeoh Kian Teik

The family of Dato’ Yeoh Kian Teik held their fathers memorial dinner recently. As in previous years it was a most joyous occasion.

Yeoh Lam Hock and  Yeoh Lam Keong are greeted by Christine Yeoh Choo Hoon

The dinner surpassed their expectations of the Singapore Yeoh’s especially for those who attended for the first time and witnessed the “Yeoh-Lim-Chew” culture of the large family which they fully enjoyed.

According to Christine Yeoh, the daughter of Datuk Yeoh Kian Teik, the family has been having the memorial dinner since the first year after his death.

‘Each year it was enjoyable and it always ended with singing and dancing. Also this year there was the young family members from Singapore and they made a difference.

We had more of a younger crowd and so we had more rock songs. In previous years we had more of the oldies, those songs from the sixties and seventies”.

Cousins selfie ....

All cousins

The hall was full of family members made of Yeoh, Lim, Chew and Oh and two tables were from the associations and the office.

It was also Christine’s brother Yeoh Lam Jit’s birthday, which was a few days away and they surprised him with a birthday cake which got the ball rolling.

Birthday boy Yeoh Lam Jit (with microphone)

First the Yeoh boy’s led by Lam Jit took to the microphone singing Robbie William’s “Better Man". 

Lam Jit leads the Yeoh boys in song

This was replied by the Yeoh Girls rendition of Teresa Teng’s “The moon represents my heart” and the young Singapore Yeoh’s  rendered Blue’s r &b number ‘All Rise”

The Yeoh girls with Datin Janet sing a Teresa Teng's classic ...

..the Yeoh's from Singapore rendering 'All Rise'

Christine Yeoh, as the tai kar cheh and organizer, then led the family to dance the Macarena around the floor.

Christine Yeoh leads the family dancing the Macarena

The young members of Singapore Yeoh’s were delighted to meet so many of their cousins and relatives and discover the Yeoh-Lim-Chew culture.   

  JAG