A TIME FOR EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN

My last seventy working days are about to commence at the Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT). As the Holy Bible states, there is a time for everything under the sun. I suppose also a time to come and a time to go. My friends are all asking me what am I going to do to keep myself busy with? Fortunately, I am a researcher and already have small academic assignments to keep my mind on the "ongoing" instead of the "ceasing" in a cul de sac. In England, the British Government decided to do away with the traditional 65 years of age concept. Also in France, 60 was raised to 63. Yes, for socioeconomic and well fare reasons, however, it also forces "old timers" to think new about their own values and talents that could still be worth their while as that of the society at large.

Subsequently, I advertised my academic research skills on my Face book as well as submitting my curriculum vitae to relevant institutions. To my surprise, I already got a bite or two in the huge dam of academic waters ! I hope to share my experiences very soon after my final date for pension at the CUT.

COEN DE BEER, DIAMOND DIVERS

GRADUATION CELEBRATIONS AT CUT

With refrence to the graduation ceremony of the National Institute for Higher Education, Northern Cape (NIHE) and which is in the process to become a type of "open university" of the Northern Cape, students of the Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT) sharing their student cards with that institution, will no longer receive their academic certificates / degrees at the CUT graduation ceremony, but at NIHE's ceremony (See previous blog. (Dr KJ De Beer, responsible for the NIHE New Park Campus management, sits in the second row on the attached photograph).

GRADUATION AT DE FACTO OPEN UNIVERSITY OF THE NORTHERN CAPE

The brochure of the graduation celebrations of the National Institute for Higher Education, Northern Cape (NIHE)shows how the Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT)part time learners at NIHE's New Park Campus will receive their academic certificates, National Higher Diplamas and B Tech degrees as soon as the merging process develops along the organic growth of this institution into a fully fledged university system. However, it may remain a type of an "open university" model.(Kallie de Beer of the CUT is standing in the second row at the back).

JALEEN DE BEER

Because I get such a large number of enquiries about the De Beer family genealogy, I decided to publish the contact details of the best researchers on the DE BEER family. I must tell the readers of my Blog that I am only publishing very fragmented information and anecdotes of my De Beer family tree for the sheer fun of it. I am not - and I repeat - not a scientific genealogical researcher. The De Beer photo's et cetera on my Blog may be intersting to close family and maybe for a very few de Beers outside our roots, but not for taking it all as true scientific research or historical facts.

UNCLE "CAREL" DE BEER

My uncle KJ De Beer, who's names I also carry, was a builder per excellence. He, like his other two brothers, Flippie and Willem, was very talented in designing, creating and building of new things in life. Their works are all over the Free State and Transvaal provinces, from passenger coaches to furniture and railway bridges and stations respectively. Uncle Karel, in this photo, carried originally the name "Carel" with a "C". He changed it to Karel with a "K". He was a very individualistic kind of man who played rugby and loved all kinds of sport. I can still remember how he lifted me on his bicycle to rugby matches at Springbok Park when I was still a very young boy. He was a family man and a church going person, however, the best part of him was his love for the veld and hunting. He coocked every kind of animal that he could hunt with his whippet dogs. From hares to pocupines ! I enjoyed the few trips that I went with him to the farms in our Bloemfontein district. Whether at night time or early in the morning, it was always excting to see how the dogs track and hunt their prey. A man to remember around the camp fire...

FLIP DE BEER THE CABINET MAKER

There is a definate talent in my family genealogy for woodwork since the first De Beer, Mathys, landed in the Cape of Good Hope. Mathys was also a woodworker in the Dutch navy. The Dutch of those days were globaly famous for their woodcraft in the ship building industry. I am also a woodwork teacher as well as my brother Ben de Beer. My cousin, Johan de Beer, also became a woodwork teacher and we all share the same admiration for our ancestors who were carpenters and cabinet makers such as uncle Flip and his brother Willem (see previous Blog on Uncle Willem and Aunt Audrey). Uncle Flip was especially blessed with most extra ordinary talents. He started off with his woodwork career while he was still at school in Petrusburg. I still have a little stinkwood chair that he made for one of his projects. A photo will be soon published on another Blog.

THE STORY OF DE BEERS DIAMONDS

DE BEER, BAKIE

DE BEER FAMILY ROOTS BEHIND THE MAGALIES BERG

HARTEBEESPOORT DAM DE BEERS

MAGALIES MOUNTAIN DE BEERS

DE BEERS IN BRITS DISTRICT

BK DE BEER-FAMILY ROOTS

BK DE BEER-FAMILY ROOTS

MORE DE BEERS BEHIND THE MAGALIES

MAGALESBERG DE BEERS

DE BEER's FAMILY ROOTS IN BRITS, SOUTH AFRICA

BAKIE DE BEER

Kallie De Beer

DE BEER's BEHIND THE MAGALIES MOUNTAIN RANGE

KAREL J DE BEER'S ANCESTORS, SOUTH AFRICA

From left to right in the front are my aunt, Hannetjie with our grand mother, Ouma De Beer. In the back from the left are my uncles, Carel, Willem and my dad, Barend Petrus de Beer in their house in Petrusburg (circa 1940).

AUNT HANNETJIE VAN DER BERG (Née De Beer)

My father, Barend Petrus De Beer's sister in her late eighties with my wife Christa in an old age home in Bloemfontein (2010-03-13). Aunt Hannetjie is the second eldest sister in the family. She was born and baptized in Petrusburg and married Willie van der Berg. Initially they lived in the East Rand, Johannesburg, where uncle Willie was a miner in the goldmines to save money and to buy a farm. Eventually they moved to their farm, ALFA, between Bloemfontein and Verkeerdevlei until uncle Willie died in the middle ninetees. When her sister Dolly was born, my grand father, Karel J De Beer and his wife were very poor due to economic conditions in South Africa. They gave the little baby to a wealthy family on the farm Voigts post next to Petrusburg to look after. (I was surprised that the indigenous Indian families of the very cold northern parts of Canada, still have this practise, that is to get their off spring adapted by wealthier families to ensure that their children will be carrying forth their blood line.) As my grand father became a permanent railway worker, the family got a sink cottage next to the railway line near Petrusburg. Little Dolly then moved back to her parents and later on helped to raise her sister, Hannetjie, and her four brothers, Barend, Philupus, Willem and Carel. When my grandfather won a lottery ticket in the Rhodesian Sweep Stakes, he build a permanent house for the family in Petrusburg. Aunt Hannetjie has three sons and one daughter. Some of her grand children are living in New York and elsewhere in the Free State.

FAURESMITH NG CHURCH BUILDING, SOUTH AFRICA

In the background of this photograph one can see the original NG Church of Fauresmith where my first De Beer ancestors were baptized until the Petrusburg parish also build their own church building.

FREE STATE DIAMOND ROUTE, SOUTH AFRICA

Some more road signs to the Jagersfontein De Beers mine and http://kareldebeer.blogspot.com

DE BEERS DIAMONDS AT JAGERSFONTEIN, SOUTH AFRICA

With reference to my previous posts about the De Beers of Fauresmith, one can take the road on to Jagersfontein and visit the deepest hand dug diamond mine in the world. It has a Little museum to view the interesting photo's and artefact's of this historic site in diamond history. The guide told us that this mine delivered the very scarce blue diamonds which the DE BEERS company keep in its possession as part of the group's assets.

Also see http://kareldebeer.blogspot.com

TRAIN STOPS IN MAIN STREET OF FAURESMITH, SOUTH AFRICA

With reference to my previous publication about the De Beers in the Fauresmith NG-Church parish, this interesting little town has a railway track running in the centre of the main street !

FAURESMITH NEDERDUITSE GEMEENTE, SOUTH AFRICA

Fauresmith is a little town in the South Free State province. The first De Beer trekkers (my De Beer roots) who moved deeper into the hinterland of South Africa from Graaf Reinette and Colesburg in the former Cape Province settled round about 1840 (circa) in this region. They wer mainly farmers who helped to establish the Fauresmith community. Barent Petrus De Beer and some of his offspring were born and christianed in the Nederduitsse Parish (NG-Church) of this town. Registers of the NG-Church could be consulted in the archives of the church in Bloemfontein, however, the building in the photograph above, is also a cum museum/church office in Fauresmith. My great ancestors got farms from the sovereign rulers of the day to settle themselves on farms surrounding Fauresmith. They eventually build their farm house on INHOEK (near Petrusburg in the free State) and occupied a salt pan with lots of grazing for their cattle. Their graves could still to be identified at INHOEK next to the salt pan.

SANMARIé SCHLEBUSCH (Néé De Beer), SOUTH AFRICA

Sanmarié is the sister of Johan and Christo de Beer in the previous blog publications. She also commenced her school career at Onze Rust and attend the Hennopspark primary school in Centurion. She completed her grade 12 at the Fichardtpark Secondary School in Bloemfontein and holds a National Diploma in Office Mangement of the Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT). She is a qualified judicatory in Free Style dancing and runs an online web site for dancers in the Free State. Sanmarié is married to a businessman, Louwrens Schlebusch. They have two daughters, Elrie and Sané. In the photograph she holds Sané as a young baby while Elrie's balet photo's are published elsewhere in my blog. ( www.danceonline.co.za)

CHRISTO AND LARA DE BEER, SOUTH AFRICA

Christa's and my second oldest son Christo with his wife Lara (néé Probert) are picking grapes in a Western Cape vineyard for the winery. They run a Christian outreach service in Stilfontein next to Klerksdorp near Potchefstroom in the North West Province of South Africa. Christo was born on 19th July 1976 in Bloemfontein and commenced his primary school years in Onze Rust Primary School, Gen. De Wet, Bloemfontein. He completed his primary school years in Centurion near Pretoria when after he attended the Fichardtpark High School in Bloemfontein. Christo hold a National Diploma in Ceramic Science of the Central University of the Free State (CUT). He has provincial colours in gymnastics both for the Free State and former Northern Transvaal. To view his works of art and Lara's outreach , see www.chosenbygod. za

LAKE LOUISE, ROCKIES, CANADA: JULY 2009

Christa and I at the beautiful Lake Loise in the Rockies national park during the summer of 2009. This lake gets its pristine water from the glacier in the back ground. We experienced a very relaxed atmosphere, however, the weather changed several times during the day. As South Africans living in Bloemfontein in the Free State which has specific seasons --dry and hot sunny summers, soft autumns, short brisk frosty winters (without snow most of the time) and a short introduction to spring, the weather pattern in Beautiful British Columbia (BBC) was very interesting. That is, never a dull or a sure moment. After our camera session next to the lake, we went up with a hiking trial several thousands of meters up the mountain to view the lake from above. In the little wooden tea cabin high up in the mountain, we enjoyed original Rooibos tea. All the way from South Africa ! Down hill we met two Afrikaans speaking couples who are living in Canada. Subsequently we experienced the new globalized South Africa...

GRADUATION OF KALLIE AND CHRISTA'S ELDEST SON

Christa and my eldest son, Johan Barend de Beer carries a double name, namely the Johan part of his grandfather from his mother's side, Jan Johannes Booysen Van Wyk, and that of his grandfather from the father's side, Barend Petrus de Beer. Johan was born in Boemfontein (1973-09-13), schooled in Onze Rust primary school and attended respectively the Technical High Schools in Bloemfontein and Swartkops in Centurion near Pretoria where he matriculated. Johan received a bursary from the electricity company, ESKOM, to complete his National Diploma in Engineering: Electrical Heavy Current at the Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT). In 2009 he completed a Baccaulareus Technologiea: Management in Engineering at the Durban University of Technology in KwaZulu Natal. Johan is married to Henriette (néé Reinders). They have one son, Reinhardt and one daughter, Kalista, and lives in Polokwane (Pietersburg) in the Limpopo province. Johan is keen of fly fishing and hiking.