A century later
A great-great-grandchild was born exactly 100 years after his great-great-grandfather.
BRACKENHURST – June 12, 1912 – 100 years ago, Wouter Kirsten was building ox wagons for the Voortrekkers and on June 12, 2013 the fifth generation was born.
Nathan Mower was born on June 12, exactly a century after his great-great-grandfather was born – the very same year the Titanic sank – something unique to this family who resides in Brackenhurst.
Nathan is the only child from the fifth generation and his parents are hoping that he becomes a doctor, because he cost them so much money since birth. He was a very sick baby and exhausted their medical aid.
Today he is as healthy as a baby can be and loves helping his grandfather work on cars. “Maybe he’ll become a mechanic,” said his mom Bronwen Mower. Soon after building the ox wagons, Wouter started building numerous other things. He started building smaller wagons and built one for each of his nine children.
Wouter also never drove a car or even owned one, he rode his bicycle to work and back… he was just never interested in cars.
Most of his family members said he would live to see 100; however he became sick and sadly passed away in his early 70’s. “He was a very healthy man and was never in a hospital, he also had all his own teeth,” said Wouter Kirsten, the third generation.
They are a very close knit family, sharing in more than just a name.
