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Royal Mothers Keep Miss Chinatown Hopefuls in Line

By Jennifer May Yuen | Special to AsianWeek

It is 8 a.m. and a pleasant voice chimes over the phone, “Good morning, this is housemother Lily. I just wanted to let you know you can have breakfast here … and please be ready to go by 9:15. ”

Lily Yee Smith, a first-time housemother for the San Francisco-based Miss Chinatown U.S.A. Pageant, proceeds to make a chain of identical phone calls from a suite in the San Francisco Holiday Inn. The calls are just one of her many responsibilities as a housemother.

The pageant contestants are 13 young women of Chinese descent, ranging from 18 to 26 years of age and visiting from all around the country, from Hawai‘i to Georgia. They came to San Francisco to compete in the 45th annual Miss Chinatown U.S.A. Pageant on Feb. 8 at the Palace of Fine Arts, organized by the San Francisco Chinese Chamber of Commerce. They will also be a part of various Chinese New Year celebration events, culminating with the New Year parade on Feb. 15.

However, before and during these major events, the contestants are housed in a hotel for a two-week period — isolated from family and friends — to prepare for the festivities.

Enter the housemothers.

“They are the mothers away from home. They really care,” stated Donny Pusawong of San Francisco simply. Pusawong is in his third year as a pageant escort.

The average age of housemothers is 60 years and the majority of them are retired. Qualifications range from being able to multi-task to having consideration, initiative and of course, that motherly instinct. Most housemothers have been involved with the Miss Chinatown U.S.A. Pageant for quite some years, as housemothers or in pageant areas.

Beatrice “Bea” Wong, a retired San Francisco resident, is the veteran housemother. She has not missed fulfilling her commitment as housemother in over 30 years. With all this experience to share, Wong still remains modest but committed to her decades of involvement in the community.

She started as a housemother when her daughter was a teenager. “I wanted to know what was out there, find what it’s like and understand more from that age group [like her daughter’s],” Wong said.

This year she co-chairs as ‘head housemother’ with Constance “Connie” Chan of Martinez, who has been a housemother along with Wong for many years. Both Wong and Chan concurred that being a housemother for the two weeks is a nice “change of pace.”

“We can also socially see each other once a year … catch up on families,” Wong added.

Chan agreed with Wong and said, looking back at years of being housemothers, that she “doesn’t know why we were chosen, but we always have a good time. It is work, but it’s enjoyed, with no complaints.”

While the housemothers work behind the scenes of the pageant, their presence is essential.

“As housemothers, we give the girls and their families assurance that we’ll take care of things,” explained Wong. “We have the responsibility to make sure they are safe. The parents are happy that we’re here to take care of their daughters.”

For the contestants, with all the stresses of preparing for the pageant and other New Year events, living in a hotel for two weeks is hardly inviting. No matter how nice the room, it is probably not enjoyable to have to run down to the corner market for a drink, hop to the bakery for breakfast everyday, or hunt for medicine.

What the contestants do not want to worry about, the housemothers take care of. They act like an extended part of the contestants’ family and as a liaison between the contestants and the pageant organizers. The thoughtful presence of the housemothers leaves the contestants time to focus on their pageant preparation and also to enjoy their stay in San Francisco, especially if they are not local.

The ‘housemothers’ room’ in the hotel is a meeting ground for the contestants during the day and night, and whenever they need something. It is where calls are taken and where scheduling happens. This is the main area for both business and comfort for the contestants.

This year, this high-traffic room has a rotation of 11 dedicated housemothers volunteering their time, ready to provide breakfast, field incoming phone calls, confirm appointments, relay schedules, dispense medicine and even mend a broken seam.

Maria Mei-Sien Kang, a contestant from San Francisco, thinks the housemothers “are so helpful and are always there for you.” When she was sick with the flu, they gave her proper medicine and tea.

“Having housemothers is quite reflective of Chinese culture. Although the men are usually the ones seen at the center, the women are holding things together,” Kang pointed out.