Foochow speaking Rev MacGraw was the first Principal of the Methodist Secondary School from 1948 to 1951. In fact he was remembered by many local Foochow leaders as a man who was a good builder.
When the school first started in 1948 many rural boys were invited to study in the school and room and board was provided. In 1949 the Summer Memorial Building was ready due to the diligent work of the contractors. And it was also due to the determination of the church leaders and other community heads who decided to pull resources together to raise funds for attap, wood, nails and other hardware.
Rev MacGraw was good with the saw and the hammer.
A former student Ling Teck Duuk now residing in Miri recalled that his parents did not want him to stay as a boarder in school but he was asked to cycle to school from Ern Moh Long every morning in the early hours.
The first classrooms were all attap roofed buildings and he studied well especially when taught by Miss Wong Hie Ding who was good in English Literature. Miss Wong and the Principal spoke in Foochow!! It was sad for Ling to leave school after Jr Three because his parents could not afford to send him to school and he had to start working.
Many of the first batch of the students of the school graduated under the fine and able management of Rev MacGraw . The early teachers according to Ling were good in pedagogy and he remembers that they were well trained to help students like him learn well.
They had no textbooks to refer to and the library was actually non existent. What the teachers knew was passed on to them.
Discipline was good.
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