{"id":297758,"date":"2026-03-04T10:15:45","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T08:15:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/?p=297758"},"modified":"2026-03-04T10:15:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T08:15:47","slug":"ganna-blows-out-106-candles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Ganna&#8217; blows out 106 candles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>There are birthdays, and then there are milestones that deserve a standing ovation. This year the family of Somerset West resident Jeanette Giliam again celebrated yet another milestone with her, this time her 106th birthday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fondly known as &#8220;Ganna&#8221;, she was born on 29 February 1920, a leap-year baby. She has lived through more than a century of extraordinary change and progress. From the roaring &#8217;20s to the digital age, her life has spanned generations and she has remained a quiet example of resilience, grace and strength. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Every year since her 100th birthday<em> DistrictMail &amp; Helderberg Gazette<\/em> has proudly celebrated her remarkable journey. It has become a cherished tradition, one we continue as she reaches this incredible 106th milestone. Ganna continues to inspire those around her with her gentle spirit and enduring presence. Her life is not only a testament to longevity, but also to the power of love, family and community of the passing years. The Helderberg&#8217;s favourite community newspaper wishes her a year of comfort, good health and joie de vivre.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Somerset West&#8217;s Jeanette Giliam, fondly known as &#8220;Ganna,&#8221; celebrated her remarkable 106th birthday this year, having been born on 29 February 1920 and continuing to inspire her community with her resilience and grace through more than a century of extraordinary change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":297759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":"57","_yoast_wpseo_content_score":"90","_yoast_wpseo_inclusive_language_score":"90","_yoast_wpseo_is_cornerstone":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":"","newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_crsspst_to_novanewscoza":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozabloemnewsexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozacityvision":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaeikestadnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozahermanustimes":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakomani-karoo":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakougaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozamthathaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozanoordkaapbulletin":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapaarlpost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeoplespost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaswartlandgazette":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozatygerburger":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaudexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavistanews":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavrystaatkroon":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweskusnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweslander":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaworcesterstandard":false,"_EventAllDay":"","_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":"","_EventShowMapLink":"","_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":"","_EventVenueID":"","_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":"","_VenueShowMapLink":"","_application":"","_batch_id":"","_company_name":"","_company_tagline":"","_company_twitter":"","_company_video":"","_company_website":"","_custom_id":"","_EventDuration":"","_EventOrigin":"","_EventTimezoneAbbr":"","_featured":"","_filled":"","_job_expires":"","_job_location":"","_media_credit":"","_media_credit_url":"","_menu_item_menu_item_parent":"","_menu_item_object":"","_menu_item_object_id":"","_menu_item_target":"","_menu_item_type":"","_menu_item_url":"","_menu_item_xfn":"","_navis_media_can_distribute":"","_navis_media_credit_org":"","_OrganizerOrigin":"","_provider":"","_pum_built_in":"","_pum_default_theme":"","_pum_form_conversion_count":"","_remote_id":"","_remote_name":"","_remote_position":"","_report_frequency":"","_report_reference_dates":"","_send_attempts":"","_site_id":"","_sitemap_exclude":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_sitemap_priority":"","_source_url":"","_subscription_period":"","_subscription_period_interval":"","_subscription_price":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":"","_template_type":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_tribe_aggregator_allow_multiple_organizers":"","_tribe_aggregator_content_type":"","_tribe_aggregator_file":"","_tribe_aggregator_finalized":"","_tribe_aggregator_hash":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_id":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_interactive":"","_tribe_aggregator_origin":"","_tribe_aggregator_post_status":"","_tribe_aggregator_preview":"","_tribe_aggregator_source_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_type":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_hide_attendees_list":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":"","_tribe_ticket_version":"","_type":"","_VenueOrigin":"","_wp_attachment_context":"","_wp_attachment_image_alt":"","_wp_font_face_file":"","_wp_old_date":"","_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":"1","_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw_text_input":"","_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_block-catalog":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"1","_yoast_wpseo_primary_job_listing_type":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_nova_retailer":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_publication":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_tribe_events_cat":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-duration":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-rating":"","_menu_item_classes":[],"_tribe_modified_fields":[],"_wp_attachment_backup_sizes":[],"_wp_suggested_privacy_policy_content":[],"_yoast_post_redirect_info":[],"_yoast_wpseo_video_meta":[],"activation_date":"","archive_insertion_is_repeating":"","archive_insertion_posts_count":"","article_feature_media":"1","article_feature_type":"normal","article_main_image_caption":"There are birthdays, and then there are milestones that deserve a standing ovation. This year the family of Somerset West resident Jeanette Giliam again celebrated yet another milestone with her, this time her 106th birthday. Fondly known as \"Ganna\", she was born on 29 February 1920, a leap-year baby. She has lived through more than a century of extraordinary change and progress. From the roaring '20s to the digital age, her life has spanned generations and she has remained a quiet example of resilience, grace and strength. Every year since her 100th birthday DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette has proudly celebrated her remarkable journey. It has become a cherished tradition, one we continue as she reaches this incredible 106th milestone. Ganna continues to inspire those around her with her gentle spirit and enduring presence. Her life is not only a testament to longevity, but also to the power of love, family and community of the passing years. The Helderberg's favourite community newspaper wishes her a year of comfort, good health and joie de vivre.","article_media_icon":"1","article_template":"news","author_byline":"","background_color":"","block_editor":"1","byline":"","cmplz_hide_cookiebanner":"","competition_end_date":"","contact_advertise_email":"","contact_advertise_phone":"","contact_editorial_email":"","contact_general_email":"","contact_general_phone":"","contact_office_hours":"","contact_physical_address":"","enabled":"","featured_image_custom_caption":"","featured_video_url":"","fields":"","font_body":"","font_header":"","frequency":"","headline":"'Ganna' blows out 106 candles","hide_border":"","icon":"","is_wp_suggestion":"","issuu_download_url":"","issuu_embed_url":"","language_version_url":"","large_border":"","name":"","nm_contact_name":"","nm_contact_number":"","nm_date_lost":"","no_overlay_background":"","node-url":"","obituary_born_date":"","obituary_died_date":"","obituary_memoriam_text":"","origin":"","overlay_color":"","overlay_opacity":"","overlay_size":"","placement":"","plural_label":"","post_author":"","post_id":"","post_language":"en","secret-key":"","sponsored_utm_campaign":"","sponsored_utm_content":"","sponsored_utm_medium":"","sponsored_utm_source":"","sponsored_utm_term":"","start_date":"","utm_suppression":"","video_embed_url":"","wp_pattern_sync_status":"","data_version":[],"enclosure":[],"pongrass_image":["GEN_tcjeanette_P1"],"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"scaip_prevent_shortcode_addition":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[7903,93,7874,7904],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"publication":[],"class_list":["post-297758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-community-highlights","tag-featured","tag-local-news","tag-local-stories"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.8 (Yoast SEO v27.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>&#039;Ganna&#039; blows out 106 candles | DistrictMail &amp; Helderberg Gazette<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Somerset West&#039;s Jeanette Giliam, fondly known as &quot;Ganna,&quot; celebrated her remarkable 106th birthday this year, having been born on 29 February 1920 and continuing to inspire her community with her resilience and grace through more than a century of extraordinary change.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"&#039;Ganna&#039; blows out 106 candles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Somerset West&#039;s Jeanette Giliam, fondly known as &quot;Ganna,&quot; celebrated her remarkable 106th birthday this year, having been born on 29 February 1920 and continuing to inspire her community with her resilience and grace through more than a century of extraordinary change.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"DistrictMail &amp; Helderberg Gazette\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/districtmail\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-04T08:15:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-04T08:15:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/tcjeanette_10618.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1349\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"District Mail and Helderberg Gazette\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@district_mail\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@district_mail\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"District Mail and Helderberg Gazette\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"District Mail and Helderberg Gazette\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a2d643edb30d8c9b5b3d47ab5d6f934e\"},\"headline\":\"&#8216;Ganna&#8217; blows out 106 candles\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-04T08:15:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-04T08:15:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":176,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/tcjeanette_10618.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Community Highlights\",\"Featured\",\"Local News\",\"Local Stories\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\\\/#respond\"]}],\"copyrightYear\":\"2026\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\\\/\",\"name\":\"'Ganna' blows out 106 candles | DistrictMail &amp; Helderberg Gazette\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/tcjeanette_10618.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-04T08:15:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-04T08:15:47+00:00\",\"description\":\"Somerset West's Jeanette Giliam, fondly known as \\\"Ganna,\\\" celebrated her remarkable 106th birthday this year, having been born on 29 February 1920 and continuing to inspire her community with her resilience and grace through more than a century of extraordinary change.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/tcjeanette_10618.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/tcjeanette_10618.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":1349,\"caption\":\"Somerset West centenarian, Jeanette Giliam.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"&#8216;Ganna&#8217; blows out 106 candles\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/\",\"name\":\"District Mail & Helderberg Gazette\",\"description\":\"To Inform, Engage and Empower Local Communities\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"District Mail & Helderberg Gazette\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/district-mail-site-icon.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/district-mail-site-icon.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"District Mail & Helderberg Gazette\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/districtmail\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/district_mail\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/distrikspos\\\/\"],\"description\":\"DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette has been the heartbeat of the Helderberg for nine decades. DistrictMail was established as a newspaper in 1928, with the goal of keeping the communities it serves informed. Helderberg Gazette was founded in 1998, as a free title distributed to the same communities.\",\"email\":\"districtmail@novusmedia.com\",\"telephone\":\"+27218530211\",\"legalName\":\"Novus Media (Pty) Ltd\",\"foundingDate\":\"2025-01-01\",\"vatID\":\"4100318916\",\"taxID\":\"2000\\\/018234\\\/07\",\"numberOfEmployees\":{\"@type\":\"QuantitativeValue\",\"minValue\":\"51\",\"maxValue\":\"200\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a2d643edb30d8c9b5b3d47ab5d6f934e\",\"name\":\"District Mail and Helderberg Gazette\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/40b8a06b228a6e4c9fc59fa596cafeff73f94d283340e109c8224bcfefe7872f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/40b8a06b228a6e4c9fc59fa596cafeff73f94d283340e109c8224bcfefe7872f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/40b8a06b228a6e4c9fc59fa596cafeff73f94d283340e109c8224bcfefe7872f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"District Mail and Helderberg Gazette\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/author\\\/districtmailhelderberg\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"'Ganna' blows out 106 candles | DistrictMail &amp; Helderberg Gazette","description":"Somerset West's Jeanette Giliam, fondly known as \"Ganna,\" celebrated her remarkable 106th birthday this year, having been born on 29 February 1920 and continuing to inspire her community with her resilience and grace through more than a century of extraordinary change.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"'Ganna' blows out 106 candles","og_description":"Somerset West's Jeanette Giliam, fondly known as \"Ganna,\" celebrated her remarkable 106th birthday this year, having been born on 29 February 1920 and continuing to inspire her community with her resilience and grace through more than a century of extraordinary change.","og_url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\/","og_site_name":"DistrictMail &amp; Helderberg Gazette","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/districtmail\/","article_published_time":"2026-03-04T08:15:45+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-03-04T08:15:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":1349,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/tcjeanette_10618.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"District Mail and Helderberg Gazette","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@district_mail","twitter_site":"@district_mail","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"District Mail and Helderberg Gazette","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\/"},"author":{"name":"District Mail and Helderberg Gazette","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/#\/schema\/person\/a2d643edb30d8c9b5b3d47ab5d6f934e"},"headline":"&#8216;Ganna&#8217; blows out 106 candles","datePublished":"2026-03-04T08:15:45+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-04T08:15:47+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\/"},"wordCount":176,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/tcjeanette_10618.jpg","keywords":["Community Highlights","Featured","Local News","Local Stories"],"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-ZA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\/#respond"]}],"copyrightYear":"2026","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\/","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\/","name":"'Ganna' blows out 106 candles | DistrictMail &amp; Helderberg Gazette","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/tcjeanette_10618.jpg","datePublished":"2026-03-04T08:15:45+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-04T08:15:47+00:00","description":"Somerset West's Jeanette Giliam, fondly known as \"Ganna,\" celebrated her remarkable 106th birthday this year, having been born on 29 February 1920 and continuing to inspire her community with her resilience and grace through more than a century of extraordinary change.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-ZA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-ZA","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/tcjeanette_10618.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/tcjeanette_10618.jpg","width":1200,"height":1349,"caption":"Somerset West centenarian, Jeanette Giliam."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/ganna-blows-out-106-candles\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"&#8216;Ganna&#8217; blows out 106 candles"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/#website","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/","name":"District Mail & Helderberg Gazette","description":"To Inform, Engage and Empower Local Communities","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-ZA"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/#organization","name":"District Mail & Helderberg Gazette","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-ZA","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/district-mail-site-icon.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/district-mail-site-icon.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"District Mail & Helderberg Gazette"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/districtmail\/","https:\/\/x.com\/district_mail","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/distrikspos\/"],"description":"DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette has been the heartbeat of the Helderberg for nine decades. DistrictMail was established as a newspaper in 1928, with the goal of keeping the communities it serves informed. Helderberg Gazette was founded in 1998, as a free title distributed to the same communities.","email":"districtmail@novusmedia.com","telephone":"+27218530211","legalName":"Novus Media (Pty) Ltd","foundingDate":"2025-01-01","vatID":"4100318916","taxID":"2000\/018234\/07","numberOfEmployees":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","minValue":"51","maxValue":"200"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/#\/schema\/person\/a2d643edb30d8c9b5b3d47ab5d6f934e","name":"District Mail and Helderberg Gazette","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-ZA","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/40b8a06b228a6e4c9fc59fa596cafeff73f94d283340e109c8224bcfefe7872f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/40b8a06b228a6e4c9fc59fa596cafeff73f94d283340e109c8224bcfefe7872f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/40b8a06b228a6e4c9fc59fa596cafeff73f94d283340e109c8224bcfefe7872f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"District Mail and Helderberg Gazette"},"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/author\/districtmailhelderberg\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/tcjeanette_10618.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":295732,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/somerset-west-resident-90-retires-after-26-year-legal-career\/","url_meta":{"origin":297758,"position":0},"title":"Somerset West resident (90) retires after 26-year legal career","author":"Jamey Gordon","date":"17 December 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Somerset West's remarkable Mari\u00e9 Swart celebrated her 90th birthday and retirement after an extraordinary 26-year career at Miller Bosman Le Roux Attorneys, where she handled nearly R1 billion in commercial bonds while embodying unwavering dedication and resilience through six decades of work.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_2444_04915.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_2444_04915.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_2444_04915.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_2444_04915.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_2444_04915.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"DistrictMail &amp;  Helderberg Gazette","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=297758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297758\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/297759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=297758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=297758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=297758"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=297758"},{"taxonomy":"publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/districtmailhelderberg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication?post=297758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}