Fleet-footed vendors who get The Herald to readers
FOR the past 27 years newspaper seller Christopher Danster has been putting a smile on the faces of motorists whose daily fix is buying their “hot off the press” copy of The Herald from him.
The paper is turning 170 today and unsung heroes like Danster, and many others, are an integral part of making sure it reaches motorists stuck in heavy traffic every morning.
Danster, 38, of Gelvandale, was only 11 when he began selling The Herald. A regular sight on the street corners of Humewood and at Builders Warehouse on Buffelsfontein Road, he is one of about 60 street vendors and door-to-door sellers covering the length and breadth of the Bay every day.
Despite the challenges and at times dangers of the job, Danster and fellow sellers Riaan Browers and Steven Dennis agree on putting the utmost into their work.
“Honesty is the cornerstone of building relationships with consumers of news,” Danster said.
They brave chilly mornings every day and risk being run over by speeding trucks, motorbikes and cars as they criss- cross the streets to get the attention of prospective customers.
Browers, 33, spoke fondly of relationships forged with readers over the years. “They often surprise me with gifts; some even remember my birthday. I find these gestures remarkable. We are like one big family,” Browers said.
The married father of four from Extension 5 in Gelvandale has been selling The Herald, Weekend Post and Sunday Times newspapers at the corner of William Moffet and Cape Road for 17 years.
Dennis, 53, of Stanford Road, began selling the Evening Post, since closed, and The Herald in what is now Govan Mbeki Avenue 25 years ago.
For Dennis and his colleagues a normal day entails waking up at about 3am and waiting for the delivery vehicle to fetch them at home. They then head for the printing press in Hunters Retreat where they fetch their newspapers.
Hendrick Mphande
From there, Arichat Hendricks, Times Media Eastern Cape’s street network contractor, drops them at various spots.
Hendricks himself started as a street vendor and now em- ploys 17 staff who sell The Herald on his behalf.
“It’s still dark when we start and the guys have to wear their uniforms. Customers will go to the next corner if you’re not quick enough. You need to be alert,” Hendricks said.
Another of Hendricks’s vendors who is much appreciated by his customers is Bradley McKenzie, who gives readers a smiling start to their day at the corner of Main Road and 17th Avenue, Walmer.
When the Gelvandale resident turned 21 in November 2013, customers at his previous spot – the corner of William Moffett Expressway and Circular Drive – showered him with gifts, including meal vouchers, cash, clothing and balloons.
McKenzie was forced to leave school at the age of 16 after his mother died, to find a job to support his two younger sisters.
“I have been a paperboy since I was 16. It’s not a bad job as I’m putting my sisters through school and putting food in their mouths,” he said.
The idea of making McKenzie’s 21st birthday special came from Lorraine resident Sheryl-Anne Jansen van Vuuren, who encouraged people to give back or even just chat to the person who often turned their early morning snarls into smiles – the humble but always cheerful newspaper vendors at the robots.