Farewell

Me Hannetjie Boshoff retires after 27 years - May 2017

Hannetjie began her career at Merensky on 2 January 1990. She retired at the end of May 2017.

She worked for 7 years as a book receiver while also working on Saturdays in Mingebruik and Repography. She then worked for a year at Onderstepoort as a book and journal receiver. Back at Merensky she coordinated Ariel for the scanning of articles for Interlending. She tested the feasibility of the process and later trained colleagues in the Ariel process.

She then moved back to receiving journals for a year. After several requests by lecturers and students she moved back to Interlending where she worked for the next 15 years, mainly in Engineering and Natural Sciences. She gained a lot of experience in different subject areas and worked for 4 years at the Law Library during this time. The last 5 years before retirement she worked in the Open Scholarship Office as an administrator.

Hannetjie was born in the East Rand and went to school in Pretoria. She obtained a diploma in Education with specialization in school libraries at the Pretoria Education College. She taught Music, Art and Sewing for all grades, before coming to work at Merensky Library. She has 2 daughters and a son and is blessed with 2 Canadian grandsons , aged 9 and 11 years respectively, whom she visits regularly.  Humour and being there for one another are very important aspects of her family life.  Children are precious to Hannetjie and therefore their potential must be fully developed. They must be loved and cared for.

Prof Gerryts played a very big role in her life at Merensky.  Merensky is seen by Hannetjie as one big family where birthdays, happiness and sorrow are shared by one another. Through the years multiple colleagues enriched her life in their own unique way and she feels they helped her become the person that she is today.

Hannetjie sees retirement as a wonderful opportunity to focus on things that are meaningful in her life. Visiting her children in Canada, helping her eldest daughter with her mission work, helping and encouraging sick people and being involved in church activities. She sees life as too short to waste on trifling things.

We wish Hannetjie all the best for her retirement.

Author - Hendriette Jansen van Vuuren

André van Rensburg retires after 40 years - August 2017

On 1st September 1977, a young man of 17, fresh from school, started a career at the UP Bindery, not knowing that it would last for 40 years. André van Rensburg will leave the employment of the University of Pretoria on 17th August 2017 and we would like to salute him for his loyalty and diligence of many years. It is hard to envision the Bindery without André’s warm smile.

André was born in Durban but the family moved to Pretoria to enable him to attend the Trans-Oranje School for the Deaf. He lost his hearing when he was two years old after complications when he had measles. Attending that school had a big impact on his life and career, as he not only started binding as a school subject but also met his future wife, Hanna Bergh, 48 years ago. They have two children, Jonathan and Andrea.

As an apprentice in the UP Bindery, André started with the basics and at the bottom of the ladder. He worked himself up until he became the supervisor and team leader in the Bindery. He has fond memories of many mentors and previous colleagues, such as Willie Porter, Dawie Hughes, Rassie Erasmus, Julie Luus and many others.

Although many things have changed over the forty years, certain things still remind him of his apprentice days. One such object is the tree trunk in the Bindery which was used to shape the back of the books with a hammer. He estimates that he used that trunk to shape more than 100 000 books. He also remembers the pressure to keep the production line flowing as each staff member’s output was necessary for the next step in the work process to proceed. The current block machine in the Bindery had been there from the start and is still in a good working condition. What makes it even more special is that it can be used for sheets bigger than A3.  André believes that if you look after your equipment it will outlast you and the block machine is proof of that.

André is grateful that he can retire so that he and his wife can spend more time together. They are keen caravan campers and are planning long holidays as members of a caravan club. He plans to start a herb garden and is currently busy adding a flat to their property. Although he is intensely grateful for his career and all the opportunities he had, he lives by the motto that you keep on looking forward as the best is yet to come.

We wish André all the best for his retirement.

Ms Ditebogo Mogakane who resigned end of June.

Ms Zandile Chansa who resigned end of July.