Miss McConkey the Matron

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TANJONG LOBANG SCHOOL TEACHERS IN 1964: Back row:(L to R): E.A.Webb, Dato Yusuf Hj Hanifah, Stapleton, Bob Stewart (Peace Corps, U.S.A.), James Foh Chung Nieng, Robert Lynn, Clark (Canada), Hsieh (H.K.), George Ong, John Wanty (N.Z.). Front row (L to R): Mr Sargunam, Miss Loh, Lulu Ong, Mrs. Philips, H.A. Henderson, Mrs. Sargunan, Miss McConkey (Peace corps, U.S.A.), Miss Ellen Liaw, Miss Chan, Mr Dewhurst (N.Z.), Mr. H.A. Henderson — Photo courtesy of Mohamad Abdul Majid

 

IN January 1964, Miss McConkey came as a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) to be the matron at our Tanjong Lobang School and stayed until December 1965.

She displayed the commitment so typical of PCVs around the world and she was also so good at her work partly because she loved Tanjong Lobang very much.

There are 10 things I remember about Matron McConkey.

Firstly, she embodied the full meaning of the word ‘Matron’. Besides being kind and benevolent, she carried out her duties very well and should be the standard for not just all school matrons to measure themselves by.

Secondly, she lived in ‘Penelope’, the PCV quarters next to the Girls’ Hostel. These quarters have long been pulled down to make way for development of the school in the last 50 years or so.

The quarters were assigned to her so that she could be near the girls, which numbered less than a hundred, mainly from the Orang Ulu community and some Chinese from Limbang, Bintulu, the Baram, Kanowit, including Kho Poh Tin whom I remember fondly as she came from Limbang like me.

Thirdly, we called her Matron only, out of respect. I never knew her real name until after I left school.  We grew up in a time when it was impolite to call our teachers by their full names, addressing them as ‘Sir’, ‘Miss’, or just ‘Teacher’ instead.  Perhaps it was because of this, many students did not get to know the names of their teachers.

Fourthly, I can still remember her daily schedule as I observed her unbreakable, sure routine of her role as matron. It was executed with military regularity.

She would come very early, walking to the school, without fail (I think she never took sick leave), check the kitchen and the refectory and then when school started, she would be in her office.

Throughout the day, she would administer to those who fell sick. Her office, which was next to the principal’s office, was the school dispensary. In her room was the cabinet for medicines, ointment, bandages, alcohol, scissors — anything you could imagine for a small clinic.

Then she would take time to check the cleanliness of the boarding houses and to find out who were sick and unable to attend classes. Those who were sick had to be isolated and placed in the sick bay.

I remember one of my schoolmates Robert Madang was down with mumps and poor Robert had to be quarantined in the sick bay.

Despite her strict regimen, those who came under her care would never forget her Florence Nightingale touch, as she was a very genuine and personal carer.

Fifthly, she, together with Mr Nicholl and Mr Bob Lynn shared food with us — a very endearing aspect to us local students. This was partly to ensure that quality of school food was really up to the mark.

We were very conscious of their presence and so we behaved very well during mealtime. Perhaps this was how we developed our ‘fine’ table manners. We were very careful and polite diners.

It’s something that I have carried with me over the years. When I became a teacher and a mother myself, inculcating fine table manners was my top priority. For this, I have Matron and the leading teachers to thank. There is definitely a big difference between dining and “eating fast food”.

Sixthly, Matron was tall and slim. For a woman in her fifties, she looked very fit and very healthy.

She wore nice spectacles and she would ride her bicycle every day too. Her typical attire would be a white blouse and a blue denim skirt that would flutter in the wind as she cycled along the road.

She would wear different skirts, but they were mainly blue. I thought she was very American in her colour choice. Her blue and white became like a matron’s uniform in retrospect. I can still see her with her bicycle as if they were right in front of me.

Seventhly, an amusing incident would always come to mind when thinking about Matron.

It happened one night when I raided the pantry — my first time — with Edward Gella and Empani Lang.

They, along with two others, Tan and Liaw, were having some serious fun trying to get to the lovely biscuits meant for the teachers’ morning tea break.

Once inside, we all ate the biscuit ration which Matron had already carefully laid out for the next day but the boys all agreed that we had to leave one biscuit for her.

It was Empani who said, “This biscuit is for Matron.”

The next day, we peeped into the staff room and sure enough, there was no biscuit for their morning tea. I remember that no fuss was made of it, but Matron ate her one biscuit in a very reflective way.

It was very painful to see, and we never ‘raided’ the pantry again. I am not sure if the teachers suspected any one, but then many attempts had been made to get extra food because food was never enough for growing boys and girls, who did not have any money to buy more.

Eighthly, from three to four pm every day, Matron would join us in our work party. I have very fond memories of the work party because that was how we repaid our beloved school for what it did for us.

We cleaned the school and repaired all the broken furniture. We had a lot of fun working and learning at the same time. We were like a family keeping our house clean, our family being the entire school community, including our beloved Matron. I believe that many of us were indeed very grateful that the school even had a resident nurse to look after our health and well-being.

Ninthly, throughout all the Sports Days when she was with us, she would be there with all her medical equipment ready.

It was very reassuring to have her presence there, and Sports Day would just be another memorable day with nothing untoward. Some of the students would definitely remember how they were given good rubdowns by the Matron and the girls who were given the roles to attend to the “injured”.

Finally, I remember her as a person who never raised her voice at any one of us. Even though she was not what we call ‘the fierce type’, we held her in great respect because she was so firm and fair. I presume that she was very at home with the girls and the girls with her.
I can still see her very clearly now, if I were an artist I could paint a very fine portrait of her. Any school would be excellent with a Matron like Miss McConkey.