The Treasure Of Being Young At Heart

By: Nelly Roodt

Remember Ol’ Blue Eyes crooning that years ago? Today the recognition could well be for Nellie van Dyk, Stanford’s centenarian, plus two. Nellie celebrated her birthday on 28 February.

Huipie Nadel (87), who was born in the Stanford district, as Nellie was, says her sense of humour was legend. “She’s always had that twinkle in her eyes. She was 15 years my senior, and my mother was 13 years her senior. They phoned each other regularly. It was in the days of the farm party lines. You would turn the phone’s little handle and the switchboard operator would say: “Nommer asseblief”. Often the lines crossed. There was very little privacy – similar to social media today, actually.”

Nellie was a seamstress of note in the Overberg. She made wedding and christening dresses that left folks in awe. Huipie recalls: “Nellie used to say that she would like to have a sewing machine instead of a tombstone on her grave one day. She was indeed an artist.”

Nellie tells us that her skills were honed at Rozenhof College in Stellenbosch after leaving school. There she learnt that sewing was an art. She became equally adroit at decorating cakes.

Born Nellie Lötter, she grew up on the farm Vredenburg outside Stanford. It was only as a young woman that she first met her husband-to-be, Daniël Petrus van Dyk – even though he was raised on the neighbouring farm, Hartebeeskloof – now a 6th generation Van Dyk-owned farm.

The couple lived at Hartebeeskloof for 56 years. When Daniël passed away, Nellie moved to Stanford. She is now a resident at the Herberg aan See Retirement Village in Gansbaai.

Daniël and his Nellie had three children: Jan, Petronella and Glaudina. Petronella, who was Stanford’s previous municipal manager, passed away a few years ago. Nellie has six grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. She, herself, was the oldest of six children and the only one still alive today – “I’m a lonely old owl now and that’s not so nice.”

She does not hanker after any treasures. But she would love to have visitors every day. And, oh, to knit again. “Glaudina has a wool shop in Montagu. I will ask her to bring me some wool.”

Young at heart, she is.