This section looks at the commercial activities of the Vryburg Jewish community.  

 

Vryburg was an important town in South Africa. It is best known for beef and widely regarded as the Texas of South Africa. It also once housed the largest butter factory in the country. The town’s most illustrious Jew, Max Sonnenberg founded Bechuanaland Dairies, later taken over by Royal Dairy Limited. Max also founded a prominent cold chain business, called De Beers Cold Storage. Farming, of cattle and maize, was a big part of the local economy. This meant that the economic fortunes of the town were influenced by rainfall patterns. Indeed, the mood of the town and our parents was affected by rain. Periods of drought were specially taxing and affected dynamics in our home. Felicia Perel captures the role of rain in our lives ever so succinctly:

 

There was a saying in Vryburg that when you met someone in the street, you didn’t look them eye to eye, instead you both looked heavenwards to see if – maybe- there was a sign of rain!! Rainfall was minimal annually and the heat intense as we weren’t too far from the Kalahari Desert. 

 

Jewish families ran businesses in manufacturing, trade, retail, services and hospitality.  In this section I seek to describe the main businesses run by Jewish families and the commercial ventures of the community. 

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Reflecting on the Potchefstroom community after the first Anglo-Boer War, Paul Cheifitz explains (page 13) the professions the Jews took up:

 

From mid-1882 a few Jews began to trickle back into the town. As before, the majority of Jewish inhabitants were storekeepers. Roadside hotels began to spring up within the district, many of which had Jewish proprietors. These were essentially trading stores, which catered to weary travelers who needed refreshment after a long journey. Sleeping quarters were usually behind the store. Inn keeping had been an age-old occupation practiced by Jews in Eastern Europe which they were able to bring with them to their new land. Many of these roadside hotel proprietors went on to become respected hoteliers in the small towns throughout the country. By 1885 there were fifteen of these Jewish owned establishments in the Potchefstroom district. The peripatetic nature of these immigrants allowed them to successfully adapt in their adopted homes and provide services to fellow travelers whom they encountered on their way. As more immigrants began arriving and working as smouse these roadside hotels were popular places to meet up with old friends, reminisce about der Heim, and build new relationships with locals."

 

Vryburg, though smaller, followed a similar pattern, and if we add Taung, Madiboegoe, Kuruman and other towns, we see a similar picture emerge at the district level.

 

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