Fairlands resident celebrates her milestone 101st birthday
FAIRLANDS Old Age Home had a very special birthday on Tuesday, celebrating Olga Augustine Victoria Meier’s (born Hempel) 101st birthday.
This impressive milestone was celebrated with a festive singing of Happy Birthday and a delicious cake with Olga’s daughter, Eunice Olga Hein, and daughter-in-law, Teresa Meier, joining in the festivities.
Born on April 17 1917 in the Macleantown area, Olga married Kenneth Meier in 1940 and the couple then moved to Welcomewood.
Olga is a proud mom to two children, a son Hubert Meier and a daughter, Eunice. Sadly, her son passed away in March 2015.
Eunice married a farmer and still lives in the East London area. Olga is also a grandmother to seven grandchildren and a great-grandmother to 15.
Olga and her husband lived on a smallholding and started growing fruit and flowers which they sold at the German market.
She grew many different herbs in her garden and studied them for their medicinal uses.
After some years, the family moved to Bon Ami in the Fort Grey area, where they continued their gardening.
Unfortunately, this venture was short-lived as the couple were victims of a horrible armed robbery in June 1978.
The couple were both beaten and tied up. Olga managed to cut herself loose with a piece of glass and ran for help.
The family decided to move to Greenfields, where Ken passed away in June 1998.
Thereafter Olga moved in with their son and daughter-in-law in Nahoon where she resided for many years.
Knitting, crocheting and music are Olga’s favourite hobbies and she continued to make blankets for charity at her much-loved Lutheran Church up to the ripe age of 98, also working at all their fundraisers and bazaars.