Harry Venter

 I have had the joy and the honor to interview my grandfather Oupa Harry Venter and our beautiful grandmother Ouma Betty Venter in 2012.  Oupa took much time and patience in giving me as much information as possible.  I am very well aware that in a life as rich and full as Oupa Harry's that it would take many chapters of many pages to full a book of his life.

However, I do believe that these excerpts from his life will serve as valuable memories of his life.  He is still alive at the time of this writing (January 24, 2013) and hope to have a booklet of his life available by his 90th birthday (March 8, 2013) at least as an eBook as well as in the form of this blog.

I do wish to ask all family members to share you input, which I would appreciate very much.  I have tried to contact family members here and there, and asked for the contact information of even other family members.  With this I have had limited success, and will have to make a more exerted effort to contact them.  Please contact me at http://www.joelhitchcock.com/p/contact.html

I do wish to ask you as a reader to kindly peruse my writing below.  There may be corrections to be made, such spelling of persons' names or places.  I would also like the names of all the grandchildren.  En julle kan ook maar in Afrikaans skryf. Please give your input, alert me about any possible spelling mistakes, or relating to historical accuracy, etc.

Yours,
Joel Hitchcock

Front Cover for the book on Excerpts from the Life of Harry Venter (Hermanus Carl Venter)

Excerpts from the Life of Harry Venter,

As told to a grandson Joel Hitchcock, with some input from the family

As I look over my life of almost 90 years, I can see that it has been by grace and by grace alone that the story of my life has unfolded.

Intro:

On the 8th of March 1923 I was the firstborn son of my dad Johan and Anna Venter in Windhoek, South West Africa (now Namibia.)

My dad was a police sergeant and as such was stationed in Rehoboth and then at Witvlei midway between Windhoek and Gobabis, where my brothers Japie and Louis and my sister Ria were born.
Dad was in command of Witvlei from about 1928 till 1938 when he was transferred to Okahanja, which is about 60 kilometres north of Windhoek.  We lived in Windhoek until about 1945 when he retired.

By this time all the children were away from home.  The family was split as follows:
Mom and dad bought a Karakul  farm in the in the Komas Hochland district.
I was a pilot with the South African Air Force.

Japie finished school at the end of 1945 and got a job in the South West African government. He did very well for himself.  He retired from the service and died of cancer in 2003.

Louis was also involved in World War 2, but he left the service and got a job with the roads department of South West Africa where they started servicing tops with salt.  This didn't work out.  He did very well in his job but unfortunately he got involved with the alcohol devil and after two or three rehabs he took his life.

My sister Ria finished school in 1948.  She got a job with a wholesale business in Windhoek.  She met and fell in love with one of the travelers and got married.  They bought a cattle ranching farm in Ochiwarongo and then inherited another one.  They bought yet another one, so there were three farms connected together in a triangular shape.  

With the new government  in South West Africa the three farms were bought from them and sold to prospective black farmers.  Ria and her husband Ulgher then bought a holiday home in Swakopmund.  They already had a holiday home in Cape Town, over and above the home they had bought when they got married.  As of this writing Ria and I are the sole survivors in the family.  We have lived happily for a long long time. 

Now a little about myself:

THE SIX PENCE THAT TAUGHT ME A LIFETIME LESSON

My first lesson about stealing is the one about the six pence, that involved a petrol purchase.  
Dad had to take a friend of his to hospital in Gobabis (80 kilometres away).  I had to go and get four gallons of petrol, which cost 8 and 6 pence (85c).  I kept 6 pence for myself, and gave the change of one schilling to my dad.  After my dad left I told my mom I picked up this six pence.  
Dad told Mom he was very embarrased because he ordered a drink in Gobabis and he was six pence short.  My mom then said "Oh that's funny, Harry came here and told me he picked up a six pence shortly after you left."

Then the questioning started.  And I would not admit that I had pinched money.  It went on for six days, non-stop.  Then my dad pulled out his heavy police belt.  I got a beating every day at lunch time for the next week.  End of pinching!  No more for me!  Hahaha.

ROUGHING IT COMFORTABLY

Every July my dad and all the farmers he knew from Witvlei went hunting.  I of course came along.  It was one of the highlights of my childhood.

The first day was normally the day to settle down, pitch the tents up, and prepare everything for 7-10 days of hunting.  It was very cold in South West Africa in those days.  The way we kept warm was to make a fire at about 2pm and by the time we went to bed there were plenty of coals from the famous South West African "Rooi Doringboom" (Red Thorntree) wood.

The idea was to dig a shallow bed about 120 mm deep that was the size of a double bed.  Then, when it was time to go to bed those coals were removed, put into the ground and then covered with a layer of soil.  By the time we went to bed it was a warm and cozy bed that kept you warm all night.

MY ROYAL ENFIELD

The first time I ever saw the sea was when I went there on a little motorcycle. I had bought a little 125 CC two-stroke Royal Enfield and my friend had a Harley Davidson.  We went to Swakopmund for two days and returned, and swore we would never do that again.

FROM SALESMAN TO PILOT

I got a job in 1940 as a salesman for a clothing firm.  I left after a few months because I wanted to join the air force and become a pilot.  I made the grade and passed as a fighter pilot.

My first flight was done at Kwaggapoort in Pretoria on a German glider.  The famous A-frame.  This was designed in Germany in 1928 or 29, and South Africa bought some of them in 1936 for private gliding clubs.  The SAAF took over when the war broke out with the idea of getting chaps to get initial elementary flying.  I was lucky to be involved with this as well.  It is quite remarkable that people in 1929 could design an airplane that flies like the A-frame.

One day, before we had to leave for North Africa during World War 2, we were called to the parade ground and were told that they were intending to form a mosquito squadron.  Mosquitos were the fastest and deadliest twin engine fighter bombers in the whole of the Allied Forces.  What an opportunity this was for me!

We were asked to consider this.  Those who wanted to join the Mosquito squadron had to step one step foreword.  Well, the whole line did this.  But we were then told that we could only go if we were found suitable by aptitude to fly twin aeroplanes. Only eight of us were chosen and sent to the Cape to do the training.

It was meant to be a three week course, but it turned into three months due to bad weather.  We sadly lost two of our pilots when they flew into a mountain during this time.  I was very fortunate that I passed and qualified as a twin engine aeroplane pilot.

To talk about all the war things will take a very long time and I prefer not to do that.
The last plane that I flew was a DC-3 on January 6 1946.  That airplane has had a checkered career:  As a warplane plane, to an ambulance, and even as a restaurant attached to a hotel in Midrand.  At the moment it is standing in the war memorial grounds.

MY WIFE ANNE

I met Anne whilst I was training in Bloemfontein before I got my wings.  It was in February 1944.  Me and a couple of my air force pals went for a swim,  and Anne and a few of her pals also went for a swim.  We did not know each other, or the knowledge that swimming was on the agenda.  After changing to our swim wear we walked along looking for a spot to park, and in doing so passed Anne and her pals sun tanning on the lawn.

The scene was very tempting, so I put my foot on her behind and when she turned around with fire in her eyes and ready to give me a blasting, I said “I am going to marry you one day – when this war is over”.

We started chatting and went our ways – she to her parents’ home where she stayed, and me to the airport at Bloemspruit.  Two or three weeks later me and my pal Raymond Laird went to see a movie in town.  After the show we bumped into Anne and her pal, and had a chat and took the bus.  We saw them home and then had to walk to our camp 11 miles away, since the bus we had taken was the last one for the day.

So Anne and I saw each other one and off for about a month till I was transferred to Darling in the Cape to do a conversion course to multi engine aircraft.  Three months later I was posted to North Africa where I stayed until October 1945, when the total squadron was transferred to Pretoria.  
We had a few days off during which time I stayed with Anne and her family in Johannesburg.  The third day Anne cornered me in the kitchen and said “You promised to marry me when the war is over – it’s over, so what now?”  I agreed and we got married 10 days later.  Oh, I forgot to mention that whilst I was in North Africa, Italy and Greece, we got engaged.  I sent her the money, she picked and bought the ring and we agreed to a date – she in Bloemfontein and me in Bari, Italy.  We did it by proxy.

The total time we spent together before we got married was probably two months split in little pieces.
With the war behind us – the decision as to what to do to make a living was difficult because there were no flying jobs.    The SAAF pilots sat around.

I left the SAAF  because there were no jobs for pilots due to the high number of pilots available.  We were like "a ticky a bunch" because of the shortage of flying jobs and aeroplanes.

  The planes we used during the war was mostly given to us from America and England for training purposes and war time activities.  I had no idea what civil life was like, because everything was given to us as soldiers - clothes, food, everything - we didn't have to worry about a single thing.

At that time the streets were overflowing with chaps looking for work.  I knew of a chap who was awarded a DFC  for his war operations.  Even he got a job in a parking lot, watching after motor cars.

I won't go into the comings and goings of my civil life too much, as this will be another big and long storybook.  But briefly, the government had employment stations to try to help soldiers to find jobs.  But before this I had contacted my pre-war job as salesman and was welcomed back.

So we went back to Windhoek and my wife Anne got very sick there due to Chrystals in the dust.  Within six months the doctor told us we had to leave South West Africa.  I left my job and came here to Johannesburg in South Africa.

We moved back to Johannesburg and through the government exchange I was offered a job with the South African Railways New Works as an accounts clerk.  That is where the current Johannesburg station is located.  I was there for about a year.  And through the government assistance I got a job with Consol Glass, where I stayed for twenty years.   I got a marvelous offer from a plastic company where I stayed until retirement.

What I found in Anne is that she was very dainty.  She was quite small - a little taller than my second daughter Anita.  Anne always seemed to be on the go and very happy.  I was also young and knew nothing about married life.  But I just knew that this was the girl for me.  She was a good mother and she was a good wife.  She was a marvelous person.

She also had a lovely voice could sing absolutely beautifully.  She even recorded an album and I don’t know what happened to it.  I remember one of the tracks on her album, "Bolandse noointjie".  
We had a tough time, because it was just after the war salaries were extremely small.  But we loved each other.

We had four children, of which I will say more about in a moment.  But then the most unforeseen event happened, that shattered our lives on that fatal day – Good Friday 1961.
Anne and I and all our children went to visit Anne’s brother and family in Lyndhurst.  Before we drove off Anne stood outside the car and said I have to promise her that if anything happens to her that I would give Anita and Leon to her sister and her husband Dick.  I was shattered and told her I do not understand, but if that is what she wants – so it will be.  About ½ hour later a car smashed into our car.  Anne’s neck was broken and she died instantly.  I was knocked out for a day, and by the grace of God I am still alive.

MY WIFE BETTY

This is how I met and later married Betty.  I had been looking for a job and I went to this place where Betty was working.  Her company was advertising for a store-man at their bulk facility.  I walked into her office.  She looked up and her eyes went right through me.  She had the most beautiful blue eyes and I could not keep my eyes off her.  Then I looked at her left hand and realized it was too late - she was already taken.  But we were friends.

She was in a total other area of the company than I was.  We did make work related contact with each other every so often.

Then she left and became involved with real estate in around December 1970.  They moved away and started a property sales business in Magaliesberg with her husband.

Then I heard that they had been involved in this airplane crash. Betty and her husband had been flying over a farm that they intended selling to somebody else.  The airplane was flown by a captain of the South African Airways.  The area of Magaliesberg is very mountainous.  The pilot had taken a dip in a valley area, and when he tried to fly over the other side, it must have been the magnetos in the engine packed up and he lost power.

As he turned around and one wing hit a stone or a bush and the whole thing tumbled down into the valley.  It burst into flames.  Betty's husband Fanie thought she was still inside the plane and he wanted to get her out of there.  He went into the flames breathed those flames.  His lungs became scorched and this is what killed him a week later.

In the meantime, Betty was outside.  She was very badly burnt.  It was quite a long distance to walk from there to the nearest road.  The fluid was dripping out of her hands.  Eventually somebody came by and summoned the police, ambulance, etc, which took her to the hospital.  She was in there for three months.

This is where I enter the story again.  We had a lot of employee problems in the factory where I had been working.  Every second week we had a new worker.  We would train the new worker, and before you know it she would leave and we had to hire and train another worker again.  So I said to the owner of the factory, old Jeff Rubenstein that I knew a woman who would put an end to this nonsense.  I then told him about her airplane crash and her condition.  I told him that I would try to find her and make her an offer, because I knew she was a quality person.  I coerced him to give her a higher pay than he had been paying his old employees and although I thought it was still not high enough, he consented.

I found Betty and was very glad to see her.  This was around the month of June - about six months after the crash.  So the marks of the fire was still very evident.  It was very bad.  But I did not see that.  It did not bother me.  She still had those brilliant, blue eyes and beautiful personality.  Betty accepted the offer.  So I went back to Jeff and informed him of her decision, but I asked him to first get everyone together to tell them in no uncertain terms that if anybody stares at her or makes a remark about her wounds would be fired immediately.  Jeff consented, and soon Betty showed up for work and ran the office with incredible efficiency and excellence.

We had the opportunity of virtually seeing each other every day, and our feelings for each other came unannounced and subtle.  As I am speaking about our relationship right now, Betty reminded me that I had kissed her once and that from that point it was over - there was no turning back.  Betty says about me that "Ek sien nou nog sterre," and she is right - I am indeed still seeing stars - not only in her eyes, but I feel her love in my heart.  I don't think I ever made a sudden shocking declaration of my love to her.  It just came so naturally.

I knew what kind of person she was.  Because we needed a person like her, I set out to find her to find out where she was and what she was doing.  I found her and made her an offer.  Thank God, she accepted it, otherwise she would not be here today.  Thank You Lord.

She had two daughters and I had two daughters and two boys, and all of us never had a fight and happily lived together.  Betty and I have now been married now for 39 years (as of 2012).  Not bad for a second go!  We have lived in a retirement village for the last 21 years after selling our house that had become too big with everybody gone.  We are very happy here and we hope that it will be like this forever more.

It is hard to describe the best qualities of Betty even if I talked about it a whole afternoon.  Betty was willing to marry me even though I had four children.  Betty had two daughters and I had two daughters and two sons.  Betty accepted me without any reservations or doubt in her mind.  Our relationship has been unbelievable!  We haven't even had a fight yet.  It is now 39 years later, and we still can't find anything to fight about. In 2013 we celebrate our 40th anniversary.  I will also turn 90 years of age next year.

MY CHILDREN

I was blessed with four beautiful and healthy children.  Elaine was our first child – born 15 September, 1947.  Then came our first boy Johan (“Joe”) – born 11 March, 1950.  Then our second girl Anita – born 6 August, 1955, and finally our second boy Leon – born 13 April 1959.
Now let me say something about them:

Firstly, about my oldest daughter Elaine.  Her mother - my wife Anne died instantly in the accident.  There was no opportunity to say our goodbyes.  I was also badly injured and had to spend three weeks in the hospital.  Elaine was 12 at the time.  She and my other children stayed with Anne's mother Stienie and her husband Dick.  When I was finally discharged from the hospital, Elaine and my oldest son Joe came home, while my younger daughter and son Anita and Leon continued to live a little longer with Stienie and Dick.  Anita and Leon were 5 years and 2 years old, respectively. My collar bone was broken in the accident and until today it is like the back leg of a dog.  My employer told me to take as long as I needed before I needed to get back to work.  With no mother in the house Elaine took charge and became the mother in the house.

Elaine just reminded me about a grocery incident.  I went to the local grocer at OK Bazaars and told him about my daughter Elaine.  I told him that she would come to him at the end of every month.  (In those days we only shopped for groceries once a month).  Elaine would get the groceries and I would come later and pay for it.  Then one day Elaine and Joe came home with a whole load of sweets, cookies, jelly and other items.  I had to send her back to get some real food!

Elaine got married to Tony Hitchcock, whom she had known since she was 12. Tony and Elaine have four children:  Joel, Jessica, Jonathan and Jolene.

Now about my younger daughter Anita:  She has so many good qualities.  I don't know where to start.  But I would say that she is a very self-motivated person.  She would organize everybody, make their plans, and then sit on the sideline and watch the show!  Anita eventually became a nurse and later a travel agent.  She did quite well in both professions.  Anita got married to a medical doctor, John Mullineux.  They had two children – Christopher and Caroline.

Unfortunately their marriage did not work out, but they separated on good terms.   Later on she met Bill Rock.  They eventually got married and always appear very happy.  

Now about my oldest son Joe.  Joe is a very docile individual.  Joe does not bother anybody, and as long as he is okay, the world is okay. Joe never talks bad about anybody. Joe is just a good man.  I must say he is a good cook also.  He loves making food.  Joe was also an excellent mechanic.  He could take an engine apart and put it back together again with just a few tools.  For example, just the other day my car began to have engine trouble.  Another mechanic wanted to charge me R900.00 just for a little pipe.  But Joe got it for only R200.00.  He installed it and helped his old dad out a lot with this job.  He diagnosed other possible issues related to the main problem, and when he was done with the engine, the car drove smooth and effortless until now. He seemed to be gifted in that area.  
Unfortunately he had a heart attack, and lost all his tools and equipment, and never really pursued building a large mechanic business.  He is married to Debbie and the two seem inseparable.  They have a beautiful daughter Kari.

My youngest son Leon is a very quiet, discerning kind of man.  He has also done very well for himself.  I will never forget how one day after his mother had died, somebody bought Leon a little stuffed animal – a monkey.  Every night he would come lie right against my back with his little monkey.  Leon is a very honorable boy.  He is a God-fearing man.
He married Judy and they have two sons – Kyle and Ryan.

When I married Betty, I also got two beautiful daughters with her:  Mandy and Noreen.
Mandy is a star.  When I met her, I looked at her and thought "This can be my daughter any time."  She accepted me and although I am not her biological father, she is my daughter in every way.

Edit here:  Mandy’ children's names and more information, etc?

Noreen has a very sensitive personality.  She cries easily and I love her dearly.
Edit here: Noreen’s children names and more information?

GOD

Before I met Betty I did not go to church much at all.  I never considered its importance.  I did drop my children off at Sunday school, because I thought that was the right thing to do, but I never prayed or anything.  Then Betty came into my life and everything changed.

You know, when I was little, when I was in school, from Standard 2 until Matric - eight years I lived in a boarding school. Then on Sundays we had Sunday school in the morning, and then we went to the church for a 2-hour service.  Then at night there was another one-hour service.  We walked together as a group - almost like a bunch of soldiers.  We had a very dry old preacher, whose sermons were very predictable.  You almost knew exactly what he was going to say next.

He always harped on the same old stuff.  I could care less about what he preached about.  I was bored beyond words and said that this was for the birds.  Then, when I left school I was actually very thankful for that I did not have to go to church anymore.  And I didn't go at all.

Then, one day during the war I ran into that same old Dominee de Wet.  I had walked into my tent and there he was - looking right at me, and bringing me greetings from my mom and dad.  I thought that was very nice.  Just that little gesture made me think that perhaps there was something about this religion thing. But, I dismissed it - Easy come, easy go.

But when I married Betty I began to develop a sort of personal relationship with the Lord.  She never put any pressure on me to do so - It just happened.  Today I talk to God about 20 or 30 times a day.  I talk to the Lord a lot - really a lot.  The Lord has become my best friend.  Absolutely.  He is not just a religious figure to me.  He is my friend.  He has been so good to me.

WISDOM

I was asked by someone if I could share any nuggets of wisdom with him.  I don't pretend to have all the wisdom in the world, but immediately I thought of the following:  Never get involved with drugs or alcohol.  Those are the two main things that I have observed in people's lives that are absolutely destructive.  Not that I was ever bound up with it, but I have noticed that alcohol and drugs are the destroyers of human life.

Betty and I agree that there are two things that will truly help people if they would do it.  Wysheid en insig.  It is when we sincerely pray for wisdom and insight that we begin to see God's hand in our lives.  Those two things - wisdom and insight, will help us in our decision making.  We cannot live our lives in our own abilities.  We need wisdom from above.

The Bible even says that "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 9:10).   It also says "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths" (Proverbs 3:6).  Another translation of this verse says “Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take” (NLT).

Photo Album

Harry Venter in the South African Air Force

Ann Venter - Harry's first wife

Harry Venter on a postcard from the 2nd World War time in North Africa

Harry and Ann Venter on a postcard from the 2nd World War time in North Africa

Harry and Ann Venter

Harry with daughter Anita at Bill & Anita Rock's wedding

Harry Venter

So lyk 'n man wat in die botter geval het: Harry en sy mooi vrou Betty Venter - almost 40 years without a single argument