1970s – SIA formed, National Stadium completed ...
COMIC BOOKS
"I was clearing my storeroom of some old stuff in September when I stumbled upon a pile of old comic books about WWII combat adventures.
It immediately brought back memories of my good old secondary school days (between 1970 and 1974) where I saved my pocket money to buy these secondhand comic books. I think I have about 80 of these books and if you look in the inside, the pages are all black and white (as seen above). I have decided to put them into a camphor wood chest for storage." - Wong Soon Hong, 58
RESTRICTED PASSPORT
"Many of us may not be aware that about 50 years ago there was a need to have a restricted passport for entry into West Malaysia. This practice was terminated in the mid 1980s. The fee was S$5 at the initial years and was raised to S$7.50.
Travelling to West Malaysia then, to Malacca, Kuala Lumpur and Penang were luxuries. There was no North-South highway, and travelling by the old trunk road and trying to overtake the slow timber trucks was hazardous."
- Tan Peng Ann, 68
GLASS CUP
"This was 1978 when I was a member of the 3rd Singapore Division (this is a military division of the Singapore Armed Forces). It comprised of infantry brigades and had its support elements of artillery, signals, combat engineers, armour units and other assets. I recall that I was posted to the headquarters as the Division G1 in charge of personnel.
They made these cups only that one year and I decided to keep them. I have six of them with me still. These were actually made for souvenirs for visitors who came to the division then."
- Tan Peng Ann, 67
CALLIGRAPHY CHARACTERS
“My father wrote these calligraphy characters on newspapers in the ’70s. There was no need for proper paper as he believed in reusing items. When a customer wanted something (on Chinese embroidery), he had to write it. Every time there was a common character, he would write and keep only the ones he liked. He would write and keep sometimes two to three of the same characters. He told me not to throw them away and that it was my zhua-zi (which means paper notes or money in Teochew), so must keep.
I use them to trace the characters (Jeffrey continues the trade that his father was in, helping put special touches on Chinese embroidery). If you search for these on the computer, it is different. My father’s characters come alive on a tapestry. It is all human touch.”
– Jeffrey Eng, 54
CALENDAR CARDS
"Nobody uses these calendar cards these days as you use the calendar on your smartphone. We would get them in a set (some have four in a set) from different companies. When we got them, we were so happy as we would give them out to our friends as each in the set had a different picture in the front." – Goh Siew Geok, 66
SHIP SOUVENIR
"I have kept this sailboat as it is significant in my life. This boat has been with me for 40 years. In 1976, I went on my honeymoon in Taiwan. Group tours were rare those days. The group comprised mainly of honeymooning couples.
To keep us occupied on the bus journey to Hualien, the tour guide gave a mathematical quiz, which required us to do mental calculations; the prize being this sailboat. I was quite quick and got this prize, which represents now our anniversary. It is placed on my cabinet.”
- Tan Peng Ann, 67
CHILD'S MATCHING CHINESE OUTFIT
"My mother came from China and was very traditional. She made this for my son (with the Chinese buttons and all) and it was to be worn when he was one or two years old in the early '70s. There is no elastic on the loose trousers so there was a string to tie it. The matching outfit was made of cotton.
My son never used it as I am not very traditional."
- Wong Hup Kheng, 80
MATCHBOXES (with matchsticks still inside)
“These matchboxes are from the 1970s and taken from nightclubs, hotels and restaurants in Singapore. Every time I went to these places, I would pick up a matchbox. At these places, there were many people smoking and in those days, cigarette lighters were not prevalent so they had these matchboxes instead.
Even if I had duplicates, I would still keep as I would feel very sayang to throw away. I have approximately 200 matchboxes, including from other countries like Bangkok and Malaysia.
I also keep them so I can remember that I went there. Some of the places are no longer around or they may have changed." – Geen Choo, 69
NUTCRACKER
“This crocodile nutcracker belongs to my mother. She bought it for Christmas specifically for cracking the hard shells of the walnuts and also for crabs. It isn’t an antique, but I kept it in memory of her. I think she bought it in the 1970s when she was in Africa.”
– David Pattiselanno, 81
ROCKING CHAIR
"This is a rocking chair that is made in Scandinavia. I think I bought it in the early '70s and it was used by my son. I have pictures of him sitting on it when he was a little boy. The chair is joined together and there are no nails.
I almost threw it away but I didn't as I thought it was cute. It didn't take up much space so I decided to keep it."
- Wong Hup Kheng, 80
CHILD'S MATCHING CHINESE OUTFIT
"This was meant to be worn on the full-moon celebrations of my son's birth. He wore it when he was a month old in the early 1970s. My mother made it and she followed Chinese tradition in sending gifts when a child is born."
- Wong Hup Kheng, 80
NEW YEAR MAGAZINE
"This was a New year magazine dated 1978 from China (which was circulated in Singapore). Inside, there are a lot of photos and on the centre page, there is a huge calendar of the new year.
I keep the magazine because I like the different craftwork pictures inside as well as the pictures of the stage performances."