A victorious 57 years spent at Rauch Gertenbach
During the 2000s career experts advised that you change jobs often because you would increase your salary, learn more skills and your CV looked good.
Then, after 2010 there were not enough jobs to go around and you had to stay put. Now, in 2020, employment is drastically scarce, with Covid-19 lockdowns having crippled economies. If you have a job, you hold on to it for dear life.
But who ever heard of someone working at one firm for 57 years? Mavis Victor was employed at well-known Mossel Bay attorney firm Rauch Gertenbach for that long - longer than some people's lifetime. Mavis started at Rauch Gertenbach in 1952.
She passed away in 2018, leaving her husband Flippie and three children. Flippie, aged 88, walks about five kilometres a day, usually around the Point area, and does light weights at home to keep fit. He is in good health and an excellent example to his children and three grandchildren.
"Mavis did a bit of everything at Rauch Gertenbach: book keeping, working at reception and as a secretary," Flippie tells the Mossel Bay Advertiser.
She even babysat her boss Chappie Gertenbach's children.
Mavis hailed from Jonkersberg, near Mossel Bay. She and Flippie were married for nearly 65 years. The Victors lived in a house in 21st Avenue for 53 years.
Chappie Gertenbach, who has retired and is no longer at Rauch Gertenbach, says: "Mavis had a good sense of humour and was highly competent in her work. She was truly a pillar of strength for the firm. Those were the days when everything was written by hand in large books. Mavis was really an extraordinary, wonderful person. Also, she loved children."