Trip down memory lane for ZO siblings
This week Gretta (48) and Martin (49) popped into the ZO offices to reminisce about their first jobs
IN the years 1979 and 1980, siblings Martin and Gretta Botha sold an average of 75 copies of the ZO, which at the time produced one weekly paper.
This week Gretta (48) and Martin (49) popped into the ZO offices to reminisce about their first jobs.
Much has changed since the Pretoria-born brother and sister walked the streets of Empangeni selling the ZO weekly to any passersby or news enthusiast.
‘Back then the ZO would sell for 10 cents a copy.
‘We would get tips from the public every time we sold a paper.
‘I remember the one time I walked into a local bar and sold some newspapers and one of the men gave me a R1 tip – that was a lot of money for a 13-year-old at the time,’ laughed Gretta.
She has since made her home in America after having qualified with a nursing degree from the University of Washington State and settled down in Cottonwood, Arizona.
Meanwhile Martin, now a successful lawyer working for a law firm in Pretoria, said while a lot has changed since they left Empangeni for Kempton Park in the early 80s, a lot of the landmarks they are familiar with are still around.
‘Some of the churches and major landmarks are still as they were back then, obviously having been rehabilitated over the years,’ he said.
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