The history of my very special 1957 Air-cooled Volkswagen beetle and a tribute to a special person.

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Rudi02
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The history of my very special 1957 Air-cooled Volkswagen beetle and a tribute to a special person.

Post by Rudi02 »

Today is one of the sad days of my life. I'm very lucky to be the owner of a very special beetle. This beetle was bought in early February 1957 by my father in law from Lindsay Saker Krugersdorp. It was the first vehicle sold by this franchise in Krugersdorp.

In 1963 he (my father in law) sold this car to his aunt (My wife's grandmother's sister). She was the custodian of this car until December 1996. This old lady, Mrs Biemie Vermooten, owned and used this Oval window beetle for 33 years and cherished it and cared for it in a very special way. A man with the name or surname of Shlorky was entrusted with the mechanical care of this car. She only sold the car to me because of the family connection. Her husband, Dr Ferdinand Vermooten, was an inspector in the Dept of Education but died in 1995. After his death, and my petition to her to buy the car, I was offered the opportunity to own this special car.

The reason for this history lesson and my sadness, is that Mrs Biemie Vermooten passed on this morning at the age of 102, yes you read correctly, 102. She stayed on in her own house on her own until this morning at about 2h00 when she suddenly fell ill. Her neighbor took her to hospital, where she passed on at about 4h00.

We as a family, but I especially as the next custodian of a very special 1957 Oval Beetle, say thank you to someone who made an impact on our lives, but also left something to the next generation. I salute you.

This beetle is cared for and cherished and will probably be passed on to my son.

Rudi.

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Tony Z
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Re: The history of my very special 1957 Air-cooled Volkswagen beetle and a tribute to a special person.

Post by Tony Z »

Awesome story and very sad news indeed.
The fact that it was the first vehicle sold by Lindsay Saker Krugersdorp would make a good story and you'd probably get it into the newspapers too. Every now and then a good news story in a newspaper is a good thing to have.

Thanks for sharing

Now we need some pictures ;-)
Terry Phillips
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Re: The history of my very special 1957 Air-cooled Volkswagen beetle and a tribute to a special person.

Post by Terry Phillips »

It is sad to loose a person who had the energy to keep going for so many yrs and still have the love of her Beetle in her life it is truly amazing.
I am sure the Beetle will be cherished by you and the family,I hope you have many happy yrs of driving.
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Rudi02
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Re: The history of my very special 1957 Air-cooled Volkswagen beetle and a tribute to a special person.

Post by Rudi02 »

Some photos of my father in law, the first owner with the Beetle. I took these photos on Christmas day 2017. He is 84 years old now. ImageImage

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Tony Z
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Re: The history of my very special 1957 Air-cooled Volkswagen beetle and a tribute to a special person.

Post by Tony Z »

I like the way the house is colour coded to mach the beetle
great pictures!
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Rudi02
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Re: The history of my very special 1957 Air-cooled Volkswagen beetle and a tribute to a special person.

Post by Rudi02 »

On a lighter note. My wife had the house painted to match the Beetle!!

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Haans
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Re: The history of my very special 1957 Air-cooled Volkswagen beetle and a tribute to a special person.

Post by Haans »

Be a happy custodian,...and use it wisely!
Document as much as you can about it
Train your son to be a good custodian

Great story,.... Haans
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