26. Sole Breadwinner

After the Japanese Occupation, our father Chung Chow worked as a tukang besi (as listed in our birth certificates) or trades-man skilled in working with iron such as cutting, shaping, drilling and welding them into all sorts of implements and equipment. He was also a skillful machinist or lathe-operator.

In the old days, most of the machine parts such as bolts and nuts had to be made by hand. His boss, Mr. Chow operated a private iron foundry cum workshop called Loke Woh situated along Barrack Road which was only a few streets away from our home in Tupai Road.

The rubber estates and tin-mines were reopened and running again and there was a big demand for trailers, tankers, machine parts, etc. He recalled visiting many of the tin-mines, and estates all over Perak to carry out his work.

Father Chung Chow worked hard and he single-handedly brought up his family on his small income. He worked in this place for over 25 years before he retired mandatory in 1975 at the age of 60. The Loke Woh building had since been demolished and in its place is a new three-storey block that houses The Erican Company.

To help supplement the family income, our parents and our grandmother took over the making of paper paraphernalia and images from our great grand-uncle Ying Kau who died in 1945. These paper paraphernalia and images are used in the many Taoist rituals. It is believed that burning of these paper paraphernalia or images will reappear as the actual items in the spirit world and be available for the departed spirits to use.

Some of these paper items that our parents made include yellow paper printed with inscriptions or charms from the various deities and reproduced from wooden printing blocks. Another popular item was a print of the Cowherd and The Weaver Girl. There were also various common items such as cloths, shoes, hats, etc. which our grandmother and our mother Lee Mooi would made with their deft hands. They had cardboard templates to help trace the outline of the items on colour paper to ensure that these items were made to the same shapes and sizes. These outlines were then cut out and pasted together with a special paste concocted by our father. Father would mix tapioca flour with some water and a little alum, and cook the mixture over a small charcoal fire until it becomes a gooey paste.

While our grandmother and our mother Lee Mooi made the small items, father Chung Chow would concentrate on the big items related to Taoist funeral rites such as paper houses, gold and silver hills, bridges, lanterns, servants, cars, etc. He would spend the evenings after his regular job to make these items, and sometimes, he would work late into the night to meet a rush order. When asked, he said he learned these skills by diligently observing other craftsmen at their work.