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Isak Koopman

Isak Koopman is from Heuningvlei and was 65 years old at the time of the interview. He has lived in various parts of the Cederberg region.

Isak Koopman speaks about his movements and work in Kliphuis, Algeria, Clanwilliam and the Cederberg Mountains, and tells a brief story of the Pakhuis earthquake. He has retired on Heuningvlei – his birthplace.

Isak Koopman was 65 years old at the time of the interview. He retired from his job with Nature Conservation in the year 2000. He and his family moved from Heuningvlei to the Cederberg Mountains when he was eight years old. He got married in 1978. Isak dropped out of school after standard 5 and started working at nature conservation in 1971, replacing his father when he retired. He moved to Kliphuis and then to Algeria, where he worked for about 13 years. They worked hard and had difficult times. After Algeria he moved back to Kliphuis, where he was a camp caretaker. When he retired he moved to Clanwilliam, and then back to Heuningvlei (his birthplace), which he describes as a retirement farm. He talks about the Pakhuis earthquake.

I’m Isak Koopman, and living in Heuningvlei. And I’m now close to 65 years old, but also in the year 2000 I retired from Nature Conservation.

Must I tell you something now?

Say “I give permission”.

Yes. I give permission that what I bring forward here, that it may… I mean, that it may happen, and be recorded.

Where were you born?

I was born here in Heuningvlei. I can… I was about eight years old when we moved from here to the Cedarberg, I mean, I cannot say precisely what year it was, but I was married in ’78, there in the Cedarberg. In the area of Nature Conservation, there I was married. ’78.

And I can’t quite remember how, what the… I was eight years old when we moved from Heuningvlei, from the mission, to the Forestry section. That time it was Forestry, wasn’t it. And, I think it was about ’58, if I remember correctly. I was born in ’52 and I think I was about six years old when we moved from here to the Forestry area.

And there I, I went to school from there, and left school with only Standard 5. And, in ’78 I was married there. And also there, and all the time we lived there, grew up, went to school. Every morning we walked down from the, from the Forestry area, down to the school, here to Heuningvlei. Afternoons when school was out, back up again. Like that, until I left school. I only made Standard 5.

And in ’71 I started working for Forestry, in the 70s. And I was married, so… in ’78, ’78 I was married and during that same time I moved to Kliphuis. And there I made my, made my home, worked at Forestry and also, thereafter I was transferred to Algeria Forestry Station. I can’t be specific about the date, but I did, I think I worked about, I fancy I worked about thirteen years at Algeria. Also, there were also many difficult days, worked hard there in the, in the forest, bush. Footpaths, did everything there.

And then I was later transferred to Kliphuis. Also as camp supervisor I was transferred to Kliphuis. And that date I also cannot remember clearly, but it was in the ’80s. I think it was around ’88. Transferred to, again, to Kliphuis. And there I also made my home and continued my work, still with the Nature Conservation, as camp supervisor, and it was a very good time for me, a good living I had there.

My… I enjoyed my work there, in the time that I was there. With my wife and my children, and in the year 2000 I retired. I accepted retrenchment, left Forestry as we call it, Nature Conservation. Yes.

And from there I, I left for Clanwilliam. Lived there for a while. In Clanwilliam. And from there I came back to my town of birth, Heuningvlei. That’s why I’m still here today. And I enjoy it here, the silence. We’re all busy with our own thing here, each one has their own thing with which – it’s actually, one can call it, this is actually a retirement place. To sit peacefully here in nature. Each one is busy with their own little garden, maybe, some people here have a few sheep, cattle, and so on.

But I’m sitting here, very happy and contented, here on Heuningvlei.

Did your father and them ever tell stories that you can remember, like ghost stories?

Yes. We can… There are quite a few stories that we, that I can still… Not really stories, but as we worked together, there are many things that I can remember. I can remember that we were there in the Pakhuis Pass one night with the big, with the earthquake. That year, I cannot remember what year it was that it burnt here in the Ceres area.

And that night… that night when we woke up – now, we always closed that old garage with a riem* because those doors slammed so loudly when the wind blew, and so on. And the old garage had an old  see-through door, window, and that night of the earthquake my pa just screamed, calling to heaven. And we were so frightened, everyone just exited through the window. None of us thought of loosening the riem to exit through the door. All of us just exited through the window. And then we stood outside, everyone looking in a different direction. That was such a wonderful business, I…

No one knew what was going on…

No. No one knew what was going on. Such wonderful things we experienced. It was wonderful.

Did your father maybe tell you about the cedarwood works they did?

Not actually much about that. We lived a long time up here in the mountain, you know, but – they told a bit, but I can actually vaguely not remember much. About that. Because those were actually also difficult and hard times. I experienced that with them in those times. Those years. See, when I started working, we did, actually I, when I started in ’71, my pa was already retired. With the head that he had. I actually took over from the guy, didn’t I. That… it was in ’71. And I can remember very little… about those… times, former times that the guy maybe told us about. See, I can remember very little of that.

Isak Koopman kom van Heuningvlei af en was 65 jaar oud ten tyde van die onderhoud. Hy het al in verskillende dele van die Sederberge gewoon.

Isak vertel van sy omswerwinge en sy werk op Kliphuis, Algeria, Clanwilliam en in die Sederberge en noem ook die Pakhuis-aardbewing. Hy het afgetree op Heuningvlei, sy geboorteplek.

Isak Koopman was 65 jaar oud ten tyde van die onderhoud. In 2000 het hy by Natuurbewaring afgetree. Toe hy agt jaar oud was, het hulle van Heuningvlei af Sederberge toe getrek. Hy is in 1978 getroud. Isak het net tot standerd 5 skoolgegaan en in 1971 by Natuurbewaring begin werk – hy het sy pa vervang toe dié aftree. Hy het op Kliphuis en toe op Algeria gewerk, waar hy ongeveer 13 jaar lank was. Hulle het hard gewerk en daar was moeilike tye. Na Algeria is hulle terug Kliphuis toe, waar hy kampopsigter was. Na sy aftrede het hy teruggetrek Clanwilliam toe, en daarna is hy terug na Heuningvlei – sy geboorteplek, wat hy beskryf as ’n aftreeplek. Hy vertel ook van die Pakhuis-aardbewing.

 

Ek is Isak Koopman, en woonagtig op Heuningvlei. En ek is ook nou so by ’n vyf-en-sestig jaar oud, maar ook in die jaar 2000 het ek afgetree by die Natuurbewaring.

Moet ek nou maar so ’n bietjie vertel?

Uncle, sê ek gee toestemming.

Ja. Ek gee toestemming dat dit wat ek nou hier na vore bring, dat dit ma- … ek meen, dat dit mag geskied, en opgeneem mag word.

Sê waar Uncle Isak gebore is.

Ek is hier op Heuningvlei gebore, ek kan, ek was so agt jaar oud toe’t ons hiervandaan af getrek na die Sederberg, ek meen nou … ek kan nie presies sê watter jaar daai was, maar in ’78 is ek getroud, daar in die Sederberg. Op die Natuurbewaring se area, daar’s ek getroud, ’78.

En … ek kon nie mooi onthou hoe, wat die, ek was ag jaar oud toe ons hier van Heuningvlei af van die sending af getrek het daar na die Bosbou-afdeling. Daardie tyd was dit mos nou Bosbou. Enne, ek dink dit was so ’58 as ek nou kan dit mooi op skatting kry. Ek is in ’52 gebore en ek dink dit was so ses jaar of so oud toe ons hiervandaan af getrek het na die Bosbou-area.

En daar’t ek, ek het van daar af skoolgegaan en ook maar net standerd vyf uit die skool uit. Enne, in ’78 is ek daar getroud. En ook daar, en al die tyd het ons daar gewoon, grootgeword, skool toe gegaan. Ons het elke oggend daar van die, van die Bosbou-area af, afgestap na die skool, hier na Heuningvlei. Middae as die skool uit is, weer hier op. So, tot ek uit die skool uitgegaan het. Ek het toe ook maar net standerd vyf gemaak.

En in ’71 het ek by die Bosbou begin werk, in die sewentigerjare. En ek het so in ’78, ’78 is ek getroud en in daardie selfde tyd is ek vertrek na Kliphuis. En daar het ek my, my tuiste gemaak, gewerk by die Bosbou en ook, is ek weer eens daarvan af oorgeplaas na Algeria Bosboustasie. Daardie datum kan ek nie presies sê nie, maar ek het, ek dink ek het so, ek verbeel my ek het so dertien jaar het ek op Algeria gewerk. Ook maar, daar was ook maar baie moeilike dae, swaar gewerk, daar in die, in die woud, bos. Voetpaaie, alles gewerk daar.

En toe’s ek later weer verplaas na Kliphuis. Ook vir ’n kampopsigter is ek oorgeplaas na Kliphuis. En daai datum kan ek ook nie mooi onthou nie, maar dit was in die tagtigs. Ek dink dit was so in die ’88. Oorgeplaas na, wéér, na Kliphuis. En daar’t ek ook my tuiste opgesit en aangegaan daar met my werk, nog altyd by die Natuurbewaring waar ek as kampopsigter en dit was vir my ’n baie goeie tyd, ’n goeie leeftyd het ek daar deurgemaak.

My, ek het my werk geniet daar, vir die tydperk wat ek daar was. Met my vrou en my kinders en in die jaar 2000 toe’t ek afgegaan. Toe’t ek ook pakket gevat, maar die Bosbou, soos ons dit noem, Natuurbewaring gelos. Ja.

En ek het toe daarvan af, het ek toe vertrek na Clanwilliam. ’n Tyd daar gewoon. Op Clanwilliam. En ek het daarvan af weer teruggekom na my geboortedorp, Heuningvlei. Dis hoekom sit ek nog vandag nog hier. En, ek geniet dit hier, die stilte. Hier is ons elkeen maar met sy eie ding te doen, elkeen het maar sy eie dingetjie waarmee – dit is eintlik, kan ’n mens dit so noem, dit is eintlik ’n aftreeplek hierdie. Om rustig te sit hier in die natuur. Elkeen is maar besig met sy eie tuintjie, miskien, hier is van die mense wat darem ’n paar skapies het, bees, en so aan.

Maar soos ek sit maar nog hier, baie gelukkig en tevrede, hier op Heuningvlei.

Het Uncle Isak se pa-hulle ooit vir Uncle Isak stories vertel of dies meer wat Uncle Isak kan onthou, soos spookstories of …?

Ja. Ons kan … Daar is darem ’n hele paar stories wat ons, wat ek nog kan, nie eintlik stories nie, maar soos ons saam gewerk het, is daar darem nog baie iets wat ek kan onthou. Ek kan onthou dat ons daar op Pakhuispas gestaan het een nag met die groot, met die aardbewing. Daai jaar, ek kan nie onthou watter jaar daai was nie, wat dit is gebrand het hier in die Ceres-area.

Enne, die aand … die nag toe ons nou wakker skrik; nou, ons het altyd daardie ou garage met ’n riem vasgemaak omrede daai deure mos so staan en klap as die wind, en so, waai. En die ou garage het mos ’n ou seetrou(?? 07:16)-deur, venster, en dié nag toe die aardbewing, toe skree my pa net, hier na boontoe. En ons is so geskrik en almal is toe sommer by die venster deur. Ons het nou nie een val toe by om die riem los te maak om by die deur uit te gaan nie. Ons is toe almal sommer by die venster deur. En ons staan nou buitekant, elkeen staan nou en kyk sy rigting. Dit was so ’n wonderlike besigheid daai, ek het …

Niemand weet nou wat aangaan nie …

Nee. Niemand weet nou wat aangaan nie. Sulke wonderlike goed het ons deurgemaak. Dit was wonderlik gewees.

Het Uncle Isak se pa miskien vir Uncle Isak vertel van die sederhoutwerke wat hulle gedoen het?

Nie so eintlik baie daarvan nie. Ons het mos lank hier bo in die berg gewoon, maar – hulle het ’n bietjie vertel, maar ek kan so vaagweg nie eintlik baie onthou nie. Daarvan nie. Want dit was ook maar ’n moeilike tye en swaar tye. Ek het nou by hulle ge-ondervind in dié tyd. Daai jare. Sien, toe ek nou beginne werk het, ons het maar, eintlik het ek, toe ek begin in ’71 was my pa al van die werk af. Met die kop wat hy ook gehad het. Ek het mos eintlik in die ou se plek gaan oorvat. Daai … dit was in ’71. En ek kan so min onthou … van daardie … tye, voortye wat die ou miskien vir ons kom sit en vertel het. Sien. Ek kan baie min daarvan onthou.