THE GOLDEN CHAIN

You may have heard of Boon Wan, the goldsmith shop that grandma/Cho Cho managed at No. 6 Jalan Tun Hj Openg (formerly called Rock Road)after grandpa (Tay Hai Lee) passed away. What about the goldsmith shops called Boon Hin (next to Boon Wan)and Boon Sen (3 shops further down the road from Boon Hin). Why did they share the common name `Boon'?

The original Boon Wan actually started at 5 Carpenter Street, right at the same shop that later was occupied by Lian Tai Optical shop. That 2-storey shop was owned by Kung Kung's grandpa or my great grandpa. He must be pretty rich by the sound of it as he owned all these shops, including another one in Padungan Road. He bequeathed the shop at No.5 Carpenter St and Boon Sen to his only son Tay Kim Sai (Kim Sai means the `Golden Lion' by literal translation). Grandpa, Hai Lee, being an adopted son was given a few thousand dollars and he started his own business as Boon Wan. When Kim Sai who I called Arm Chek Kong decided to rent out the shop space at Carpenter St to Lian Tai Optical, grandpa had no choice but to move his shop to another rented premises at 6 Jalan Tun Hj Openg. That was when all of grandpa's family members had to squeeze into the 2nd storey above Lian Tai as living quarters. (See Ta Ker's earlier write up about how the three bedrooms had to be shared). Boon Hin was bequeathed to great grandpa's brother-in-law (Uncle Ah Leng's father). I am not sure if Uncle Ah Leng's dad inherited the goldsmith shop or just the shop space and started the business himself. At least now you see the linkage of these `Boon' goldsmith shops.

Arm Chek Kong (Kim Sai) had 3 sons and 5 daughters, all with their middle name `Beng' just like kung kung's siblings. Their names are Beng Chui, Beng Lai and Beng Soon for the boys and Beng Khiaw, Beng Kee, Beng Choo, Beng Yin and Beng Yuen for the girls. Beng Yuen, the youngest of the lot, is one year my senior, so the rest are much older. Arm Chek Kong's wife (I called Chim Poh, as distinct from Kia-Chim Poh, the `Little Feet' Chim Poh I mentioned in an earlier article)was an amicable lady that always wore a smile on her face. She sported permed short hair and always wore a blouse with a pair of trousers made from matching material. In those days, the blouse of married ladies came commonly with short upright collar and the buttons in the upper half of the garment were lined up inclining at an angle, a bit like the wrap-around garment these days except that the blouse was short-sleeved and more like a short tunic that reached only to the waist, covering the top part of the trousers.Being younger and born after the Ching Dynasty, Chim Poh's feet were spared of being bound. She spoke very refined and pure Kim Men Hokkien. I recently realised, after hearing Taiwanese karaoke CDs, that her Hokkien was not unlike that spoken by the Taiwanese public (Min Nan Yu or Tai Yu). For your information, Kim Men (or Jin Men) is an island just off Taiwan, very closed to Xiamen or Amoy in Fujian Province. I regret that I was too young to learn or pick up the true dialect from her though grandpa's ancestor came from Xiamen. Chim Poh and Cho Cho used to visit one another. You can say they were the best of friends if not sisters-in-law.

Arm Chek Kong used to be the proud owner of a black, 2-doored Ford Anglia (possibly model E494A) with registration plate K 253. This car with its sloped, twin-lobed vertical radiator grille and two pronounced `humps' over the front wheels would fittingly came out of the movie set of `Bonnie & Clyde'. I used to marvel at this shiny black vehicle. One evening after dinner, Arm Chek Kong decided to take Ta Ker and I for a ride. Without informing Pa and Ma, we went for a long `makan angin' (joy ride), possibly to as far as 8th Mile area which was a long way back then. We returned home only after nightfall to the chiding of Ma. There went our last outing with him.

Probably after knowing we liked to travel and `makan angin', Pa bought his first car soon after (Registration plate K 701). It was exactly the same 2-doored Ford Anglia but with a funny, almost lemon green colour. I remember when sitting in front (no seat-belt required then), I liked to adjust the triangular-shaped quarter-window and tilt it at an angle so that it channeled the air-flow directly onto my face. It was cool!! Don't forget cars had no air-conditioned in the 50s. The only thing I did not like about that car was the `hump' from the axle that traversed the middle floor-board from the back seats to the gear-box in front. It divided the car into left and right. However, another gadget that fascinated my childhood innocence in that car was the orange signal-stick on each side of the exterior. With the press of a button depending on the direction you were turning, hey presto, the orange stick initially well-hidden and flushed with the side rose to the call. What an engineering feat! You were right, cars had no direction signal-lights at that time. Before the advent of orange sticks, you had to stretch out your right arm and hand straight to turn right. What about when you intended to turn left? Well, still use your right arm and hand, rotate it in an anti-clockwise direction several times to motion a left turn. It was logical not to stick out your left arm and hand (or even leg) through the left front window or else you would end up in the longkang (ditch). Mind you, these hand-signals were part and parcel of the driving test in those days.

I was not sure how long Pa had that vintage Ford Anglia (I called it a `Bonnie & Clyde Model)before he changed to another newer Anglia, possibly a dark grey Model 100E Prefect if it had 4-doors or a 101E if 2-doors. That car had registration plate K 2102. I remember we were still riding in it in the early 60s. That Mitsubishi Colt (KA 3037) that Lim,Swee and Khoon remember was our third car before Khoon's Proton Saga that lasts till today.

Am Chek Kong liked to tease children. Many a time, he would stealthily get behind my back while I was playing on the`five-foot-way'in front of his shop Boon Sen. Releasing his middle finger held back under pressure by the thumb, he would target my ear-lobe with such force as to cause me an outburst of tears! To pacify me and stop me from crying, he would then dish out a 10-cent coin from his pocket with a comforting but guilty smile. I had to reluctantly wiped away my tears.


Beng Chui, Chek Kong's eldest son, was a keen body-builder and very enthusiastic about gymnastics. I was always in awe each time I visited his place and saw him swinging high up on the two rings suspended from the ceiling of his house. His outstretched muscular arms with pronounced biceps and triceps were my envy of the day.

One morning perhaps several years after the war ended, I saw everyone was in a sad mood and Chim Poh was crying in the arms of Cho-Cho for the first time. She was really distraught. I later learnt that Arm Chek Kong had passed away after committed suicide by drinking a bottle of White Summer Oil, an insecticide the night before. Apparently the pressure was too great for him when the Japanese currency that he stockpiled all these years had come to naught, due to its sudden devaluation.
That was a severe blow to the family. With the abrupt passing on of the sole bread-winner and lots of bank mortgage to pay, Chim Poh who was a housewife all this while with 8 children had no choice but to forfeit her properties. That was when Boon Sen closed down and the shop space subsequently sold to Kok Wah, an electrical shop. We had to vacate the living quarters at Carpenter Street to move to Nanas Road.

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