Texas in South Africa:

Needless to say, the district had its fair share of Jewish farmers. It was, after all, the Texas of South Africa. Vryburg was famous for its Friday auctions (vendiesie), which saw well over a thousand head of cattle being sold. It was the apex of the week, which followed daily auctions in remote places like, Reivilo (Olivier spelt backwards), Aansluit, Oliefantshoek, Tosca, Delerayville, Schweizer-Reneke, Ganyesa, Coetzersdam, Kuruman (every Thursday) and many other places. At every auction, the day’s proceedings began with the small livestock: pigs, sheep and goats in smaller pens, away to the side. Then the real stuff began - the cattle! The charismatic auctioneers were mesmerizing to watch and listen to.

 

Wat se julle? kom on begin met 200 rand?  ............. What do say chaps, shall we start with 200 Rand?

Het ek 'n bot?  ............. Do I have a bid?

Nog 'n bot?     .............Another bid

Alles klaar!!     .............Its all over

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There were legends. Andre Kock of Karoo Osche and Oom Hendrik van Niekerk of Slabbert Verster and Malherbe (SVM) agency. The latter was deliberate, tall and imposing. His signature Stetson hat only added to his presence. Andre Kock was, literally, the Sarel van der Merwe of Vryburg. Nay, our Jody Scheckter! Like Sarel van der Merwe, Andre was an avid off-road rally driver. Andre was also a racy auctioneer.

 

Later, the two agencies fused into Karoo. Each week a different agency ran the auction. There was an element of party loyalty. We Sussman’s, for example, were less inclined to attend sales run by Noordkaap Afslaers during the week. On Fridays we went. The bidding was done with a wink or a nudge of a finger. False bids were taken and when the ask and bid price failed to meet. a little bit of psychology and arm twisting followed. More often, the deal was consumated. The auctioneers took a cut of 3%. There were the stubborn - proud - farmers who refused to relent and went home empty handed. The sold items were marked by silver paint with a number. Major buyers had their own numbers. My father, Isaac, used the number 3. Sometimes, the farmer and the buyer would cut a deal on the side and were sent to the bakkie (pick-up truck) to get the chequebook: no commission for the livestock agent.

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The auctions were a major social event and farmers and their families came to town for the day. Politics, weather and sport were discussed. Skinner (gossip) was spread. Shopping was done. Ruth (Jocum) Tyfield recalls: "Being a farmer’s daughter I spent many hours with my father at the Vryburg cattle auction and then doing the weekly shopping in town before the trek to the farm." In the evening, the farmers went to the kroeg (bar). Meish Arenson recalls wives and children sitting in the car for hours outside the International Hotel, waiting, as the husbands became sufficiently inebriated before calling it a night. 

 

We loved the jaffles, pannekoeks (pancakes) and other boerekos (farmers food) that was on sale in the cafeteria at the auctions. We happily binged on the account of the livestock agents. Catering was laid on by the various churches in order to raise money. Maurice Joffe recalls a time when his mother, Leila, marshalled the Jewish effort. David Rauff reminiscences that his mother Esme would "wake up very early to prepare moer koffie (coffee) in big urns the shul had, as well as prepare meals when the Vryburg Jewish Ladies Society catered at the stock fair." No less merry for us kids, was picking up the stompies (cigarette buts) that the farmers threw down from the stands. We youngsters would emulate them and take a puff. Everything went in - Rothmans, Winston, Lucky Strike, Benson and Hedges (for wussies) and Gunston Toasted (for an egte boer - real farmers). Races were, of course, kept separate. The black attendees had one quarter of the seats and black cattle fetched a lower price. The economics of separate development.  

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Jews in the meat industry:

There were many Jews in the beef industry - as meat traders (Gerry Gluckman) and wholesale suppliers (the Schneiderman family, who own Federated Meats), and traders in spices (Freddy Hirsch) and hides and bones. As we already saw, Woolf Friedman, Abe Lax, Chanan Poliak and Morris Wald dealt in hides and skins. The Double Crown Yeast factory used cattle fat to make soap. Bechuanaland Malt and Milling manufactured cattle feed. Vryburg also had its Jewish butchers. 

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Then, there were the Jewish speculators or smouse. They were a vital and potentially lucrative link between the farmer and the butcher. Though this was not quite the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, it was exhilarating. Speculators needed to make two important calls. One calculation was where they saw prices trending in the large abattoirs - understanding seasonal demands and local movements. The price of beef in the major abattoirs in Johannesburg (City Deep), Durban, Cape Town and even Kimberley was keenly followed by our father. He would make a daily pilgrimage to town in order to sit with Oom Adam Willemse at SVM to get the prices at the various abattoirs. Adam meticulously listed the prices by grade and abattoir on a chalk board in his office.

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Then there was a subtler, micro, verdict for speculators. They had to be more accurate at guessing the weight, the grade of beef and the resultant price of the livestock than the farmer selling, in order to make a margin. A good speculator had an uncanny ability to guess the weight of a large parcel of cattle in the ring. Like his father, Benno, my father Isaac Sussman was a smous. He was sublime at estimating weights and grades. Based on this calculation, he would know how far to take his bid. He would either fatten the cattle he bought on our farms, or sell on what he purchased to other Jewish buyers in Joburg or send the cattle to be slaughtered at an abattoir. This required a permit. Hustling for these permits was also part of the trade. In order to be an effective smous, one had to have farms to fatten the cattle. It was part of the business. Vryburg was the place to have such farms. Moreover, the speculator had to have great soft skills and build a network of farmers who liked dealing with him - both to secure permits and do off-market deals. 

 

Interestingly, our father's maternal family, the Engelberg's, were butchers in Joburg and cattle and meat traders in Tukums and Riga. Later, our father Isaac became was a buyer for Beefmaster. His main competitor was a Hans Koster - who represented Khanhym Estates. Khanhym belonged to the Hyman and Khan families. Hans marked his purchases with an HK mark. Prior to charting his own course, Hans worked for Bokkie Niselow. 

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Other speculators:

Vryburg had other Jewish speculators. Woolf Friedman was listed as a cattle speculator on his 1927 wedding certificate and a vee boer (cattle farmer) on his death certificate. His (presumably) brother Sam Friedman and their cousin Louis Sher, farmed at Bankspoort, on the Stella Road and were also apparently smouse. Max Muskat's father Solomon Muskat was also a cattle farmer and speculator – though from Lichtenburg. Another Jew, who according to Joe Davidovitz also farmed in the Molopo, was Nachman David Schapiro. Knows as Nathan, he apparently lived alone on a farm and later in a local hotel, whilst his family were in the Cape. Schapiro died on 6 July 1953, aged 61, a month after his daughter was married. His surviving family have are unable to confirm a Vryburg connection. From his estate we glean that Nathan David Shapiro (also known as David Shapiro)was born in Rieteva Lithuania and the son of Israel Ber Shapiro and Mary Averbuck  and a Director of National Meat Supplies (Pty) Ltd. His wife  Sylvia Schapiro (born Singer)  and he were married in Cape Town 12 June 1927and had four children; Aaron Myer Shapiro, Mere Ginsberg (married Jack Ginsberg) and Morris.

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On 25 September 1946 an Abraham Benjamin Schapiro, who is listed as a buyer, died in Vryburg. Abraham Schapiro was originally from Porterville in the Cape and then moved to Krugersdorp and later Cape Town. From his estate's liabilities we glean that he paid the Grand Hotel (where he stayed) and Drs. Getz and Hoffman. From the assets statement, we learn that he to was a shareholder in National Meat Suppliers. It would seem that the two Shapiro's were brothers and in June 1921 Nathan petitioned the Supreme Court of South Africa applying  to be Curator ad litem for Abraham, who was at the time in Valkenberg Mental Hospital. Both brothers are listed as being from Piquetberg.

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Another Jewish speculator who passed away on an auction day in November 1962 was Nathan Kopelowitz from Frankfort. His family were from Pokroi in Lithuania. Max Lowitz was a cattle speculator and presumably still had connections with Vryburg after selling his farms in the district. Morris Greenberg is listed in his death certificate as being a Vryburg based storekeeper and speculator. 

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Growing up, I recall the major Jewish buyers, notably Bokkie Niselow, coming to town from Jo'burg. Andre Kok fondly summons names like Mike Gladstone, Harry Nochomovitz, Panty Pantanovitz and Michael Kropman. The latter three were from Klerksdorp. ​

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