Ho Hung Yee – 70 years umbrella maker and repairer – stall preserved
HF: The SCMP of 6th April 2016 contained an article about the preservation of Ho Hung Yee’s umbrella stall. It will be dismantled and “may” be permanently exhibited at the Hong Kong Museum of History.
The article begins: “Atop the slopes of Central’s Peel Street, a modest crowd stood admiring a historic umbrella street stall for the last time on Wednesday as it was dismantled to be taken away for preservation.
Source: SCMP
The stall was the workplace of the late umbrella maker and mender Ho Hung-hee, who died last year at the age of 87 after working there for almost 70 years.
Along with the tools and umbrellas inside, the stall will be taken in by the Hong Kong Museum of History and may become part of a permanent exhibition on local history.
“It’s quite emotional. My father worked here for over 60 years,” said Ho Hee-kee, the umbrella master’s 58-year-old son.
“After working, we would go down the street and drink cane sugar water together before going home.”
The stall was removed because it did not meet the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department’s fire safety requirements for hawker shops. Ho said it will be replaced with a similar shop run by himself.
As the contractors hammered away, the green metal sheets adorning the walls of the tiny stall were removed to reveal wooden planks with a message handwritten by Ho, who was identified as a master of his craft on the city’s intangible cultural heritage list. It reads: “Repairs umbrellas from all around the world”…
See:
- Historic HK umbrella stall is torn down for preservation SCMP 6th April 2016
This article was first posted on 24th July 2016.
Related Indhhk articles:
- Ho Hung Yee – 70 years umbrella maker and repairer, Peel Street, Central
- Leung So Kee – umbrella manufacturer
- Umbrella production in HK – late 1950s