Girls and their Sunday Best in Sibu Pre War

My aunts starting from Aunt Lily 1918 to Aunt Gui Sieng 1940 attended Yuk Ing Girls School in Sibu. So did some of my mother's cousins like Mrs. Lau Pang Hung, and her sister, the mother of Wong Meng Lei.

I have pieced together their stories about them attending Church Services at the old wooden Masland

Mr and Mrs. Lau Pang Hung

Church in the old days. My Aunt Pick Sieng has also told me a lot of stories about her life with Mrs. Hoover, who she revered to this day. Mrs. Hoover to her was a strict mother, full of good values and great knowledge. She truly trained asll the students to be better women with good Christian love and values.

Sunday was a rest day, a real Holy Day for the girls from Mrs. Hoover's school, Yuk Ing.

1932 The first batch of Junior 3 girls students.  The tallest one is my oldest aunt Lily.

The girls would get up early and clean up the hostel before getting ready for church. Mrs. Hoover would come on the dot to line up the girls.

It was her discipline that was foremost and all the girls from age 6 to 16 would be prepared and be on their toes regarding their own grooming for church.

My 4th Aunt, Ngiing Sieng and My 5th Aunt Ging Sieng, standing from first left and second left. This was their graduation photo, wearing their white Sunday Best. Pre War Photo,

All the girls would be wearing their white blouses and white trousers. Mrs. Hoover had taught them to make their own clothes. The girls had started to wear the European collar, or the Biek Lian (folded colour) and not the Chinese collar. All the materials used were cotton.

My aunt Chiew said that they had to make sure that they could iron their clothes well. Years later when I visited one of my aunts, I saw that she could fold her clothes really well and her cupboard was very very neat.

She gave me one remark which I remember to this day, "Mrs. Hoover taught us really well. This neatness is from her."