18
LUMEN | EVENTS
Night of
Nostalgia
By Dr James Chong
It took a year of planning but it was extremely gratifying to see 48 old school friends gathered together . This was the first time all three streams were reunited . Nine came from overseas – from Canada to Australia and Shanghai . We were honoured by the presence of Dr Koh Thiam Seng , current principal of SJI .
You must tell the Principal that I have absolutely nothing but warm memories of reuniting with my buddies from 50 years ago . The two years in SJI provided me with superior education . You ‘ boys ’ were respectful and competitive .” This was the comment made by Maureen Aaron , one of the female students of the 1963 SJI Pre-U 2 cohort who attended the 50th anniversary reunion of the Arts , Science and Medicine classes on July 13 this year at the Singapore Recreation Club Hall .
There were lots of handshakes , hugs and even some kisses as we tried desperately to recognize each other . Most of us had not met for 50 years . A few had changed radically though most retained some physical features of yesteryear . The excitement was almost palpable as faded camaraderie reignited .
There is a spiritual bond between ex- Josephians – a sense of community , of heritage and history . Cultivation of the ethos of charity , work and prayer may have something to do with this .
MC and chair of the organizing committee Leo Tan welcomed the attendees and introduced the guest speaker Richard Tan Kim Yong who was Head Prefect and Sports Captain in 1963 . His extraordinary recall of the Pre-U 2 days was most
entertaining . Among his recollection was playing badminton with Ng Fook Cheong , the genius Peter Hwang and his phenomenal knowledge of science and maths , Wong Toon Book who had the honour of being bestowed with the Queen ’ s badge as a Scout , and Francis Yip who would nip through the Waterloo Street school gates in the nick of time each morning , when lateness meant a trip to the ‘ detention class ’.
As the ice broke , memories of the old school days were eagerly exchanged . It was a night of joy and merriment . We sang , shared memories , and sang again . Many went up to the stage to join the band with song – with varying degrees of musicality .
The school song was sung with great gusto ,
perhaps not as vigorously as when we were much younger , assembled in the school courtyard bounded by the tuck shop / Brothers ’ quarters and school hall , when prayers and the school song started each day .
There was a sense of nostalgia as we all sang “ Those were the days ” with modified lyrics relevant to SJI .
Five hours flew by very quickly . The evening drew to a close and we had to bid each other farewell again . Old memories refreshed , new memories of the reunion night created , we went our different ways again with the hope of another similar reunion within the next 2 to 5 years .
Attendees left with a SJI 1963 Pre-U 2 Reunion Souvenir magazine ( generously sponsored by Leo Tan and produced by Clement Mesenas ) and SJI memorabilia ( thanks to the SJI Alumni Office ). An electronic souvenir of the reunion with photographs and reflections will become available . Many thanks to Cheong Puk Choong for his remarkable effort of keeping an updated list our email addresses and for taking photographs throughout the evening to enhance our memories of the reunion .
Several of us met during the week following the reunion . We took a nostalgic tour of the old SJI , and tried to recall where the classes , labs , chapel , Oei Tiong Ham Hall , library , assembly courtyard , Brothers ’ quarters and tuckshop used to be . There was a tinge of sadness at the many physical changes that have taken place and the acceptance of the inevitability that the old will give way to the new .
This page ( top ): Belting out the SJI School Song
This page ( centre ): James Chong , Leng Hon Kee , Philip Lam , Leong Siew Loong , Richard Tan , Wong Toon Book , Tony Tay
This page ( bottom ): The 1963 SJI Pre-U 2 cohort happily reunited