\u201cYou just blink your eyes and then you are old,\u201d says Nellie van Dyk, arguably the oldest resident of the Standford\/Gansbaai district. On 28 February she turned 102 years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\u2019s talkative, curious . . . wants to know about visitors . . . who they are, where they come from. It\u2019s definitely not all about her. \u201cEvery morning when I wake up I pray that I will have a visitor. It gets boring just sitting around,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Life has been good to her. Born Nellie L\u00f6tter, she grew up on the farm Vredenburg outside Stanford. It was only as a young woman that she met husband-to-be Dani\u00ebl Petrus van Dyk, even though he had been raised on a neighbouring farm, Hartebeeskloof, which is now sixth-generation Van Dyk-owned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The couple lived at Hartebeeskloof for 56 years. When Dani\u00ebl passed away, his widow moved to Victoria Close in Stanford. The family decided she could no longer live alone when she was nearing the 100 year-mark. She is now a resident at the Herberg aan See retirement village in Gansbaai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Van Dyk went to school in the Stanford district and then attended a finishing school in Stellenbosch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There she learnt the fine art of making christening and wedding dresses and cake decorating. She became a seamstress of note in the area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her fingers are still itching to create. \u201cMy daughter Glaudina has a wool shop in Montagu. I think I will ask her to bring me some wool . . . then I can knit again,\u201d she stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She and her beloved Dani\u00ebl had three children, Jan, Petronella and Glaudina. Petronella, who was Stanford\u2019s previous Municipal Manager, died a few years ago. Van Dyk has six grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She was the eldest of six children and the only one still alive. \u201cIt does make me forlorn.\u201c \u2013 Nelly Roodt<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cYou just blink your eyes and then you are old,\u201d says Nellie van Dyk, arguably the oldest resident of the Standford\/Gansbaai district. 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