Two Friedmans and one Lieberthal:

Another major Jewish business was the Double Crown Yeast Company. The company made, soap, yeast, baking powder and a tick killer (Dodenbossie). According to a 1952 publication on the company preserved by Graham Brodovcky, a turning point  for the business was making soap and the tick killer entity was created in 1939. The brand was recognized far beyond Vryburg. The business was founded by Leopold (Lolly) Friedman, Sam Friedman and their brother-in-law Simon Lieberthal, who was married to Lea Friedman.

 

Simon arrived in South Africa in 1891 from Talsen in Latvia and made it to Vryburg in 1911. Lea Friedman and her brothers were also from Talsen. Phil Toube, a grandson of Simon Lieberthal, assumes the Freidman’s arrived a few months before Simon and Leah. Before founding the Double Crown Yeast Company, Simon sold photographs to farmers in the district, briefly ran a tobacco store in town, then a grocery store in 1915. In 1916 Simon ran a grain trading operation, as evidenced by the above advert in the Northern News. Economic depression forced him out of business and somewhere between 1918 and 1920 the two Friedmans, who according Phil Toube were also traders and Simon launched their new venture, which proved to be a great success.

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The factory was originally located on Market Street, slap bang in the middle of town, diagonally opposite the Grand Hotel. The site of the old factory is where Lewis Furniture Store currently stands. The factory was later relocated to the Industrial area.

 

A family business:

Simon later bought out the Friedman brothers. Nathan Mendelow, who was married to Annie Lieberthal (born in Vryburg on 25 August 1913) worked as a sales rep for the company. Earlier, Charlie Toube married Helen Lieberthal, the older of Simon and Leah’s daughters (born in Vryburg in 24 March 1912) and he joined the business. Arnold Bayer fondly recalls Charlie Toube calling upon his family store in Taung to sell the product and refill supplies. Sam Lieberthal, born in Vryburg in 1918, also joined the business.

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Charlie’s son Phil Toube and Mervyn Lieberthal, son of Sam Lieberthal, recall the pungent odor of the tallow cattle fat being melted. This was done in order to make the soap and it was smelt by entire town. This smell was produced as the “Tallow was cooked in very large boilers with other ingredients.” The boiled fat produces triglycerides, allowing it to be stored without refrigeration. Issy Lieberthal adds, “There was a Jewish lady who lived directly behind the factory who used to complain rather viciously about the smell. I think her name was Sonja Friedman. She also had a Dalmatian dog, named either Tiger or Lion. She thought that if she called dog Lion any intruder would be even more scared, presuming that her pet was a Lion. As kids we were scared of her and thought she was a witch.”

 

Mervyn notes that eventually, following “an agreement with the town council they [Double Crown] never did boiling on Tuesday’s because that was the day when all the country travelers came to town.”

 

Reminiscing on their childhood, Issy Lieberthal recalls “working in the yeast section of the factory either on a Saturday or school holidays, cutting the yeast into circles and placing them on the drying racks. The older kids were given the job of sealing the little packets of baking powder. Pay was about a sixpence. Child labour LOL.” Mervyn and Issy also recall busts made out of soap or yeast, portraying their grandparents and Jan Van Riebeek. Phil Toube recounts that the molds for these figures were made by a black laborer in the factory called Johnny. “He not only made those big molds but also used to make molds of animals like cows, buck and lion, while the soap was still cooling down. It was like clay plasticine and the longer it stood the drier and harder it became.”

 

Phil Toube shared Simon Lieberthal’ s incredible obituary which the Stellelander carried on 19 June 1958.  As a mark of respect, the towns shops closed the afternoon of his funeral.