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Some of our older readers still remember the Van den Bergs fondly

A special bond: Tannie Ingrid and Tannie Jo's friendship

By Andries van Zyl • 26 July 2025
Some of our older readers still remember the Van den Bergs fondly

Readers share fond memories of Oom Willem van den Berg and his family, recalling a childhood bond over flower arrangements and a wedding attended by Oom Willem himself, highlighting the lasting impact of this beloved figure.

Most of our readers were introduced to Oom Willem van den Berg for the first time through his exploits captured on 16mm film and now brought to life again in our weekly column about his travels over the past few weeks. But some of our older readers actually knew the Van den Bergs and still remember them fondly.

One of them is 86-year-old Tannie Ingrid Vittinghoff of Louis Trichardt. She says she really enjoys Oom Willem’s weekly travel recaps in the newspaper as they fondly remind her o...

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