Oom Don Farrand – nearly 90 and still going strong. The Sandstone Heritage Trust is privileged to maintain continuous communications with many interesting people around the world. In the case of Don Farrand (now affectionately renamed “Oom Don” by the South Africans), has had a varied and interesting life. He is a specialist in working horses and spent many years of his life driving and ploughing with heavy horses. In fact Don made a magnificent contribution of a complete set of “The Heavy Horse” magazine to the Sandstone Heritage Trust library.
What is unique about Oom Don is the fact that he is very computer literate. He is currently writing a book and loves to share his memories with anyone who is interested. His entire life has been spent in the agricultural and construction sector. There were not many things in those two industries that Oom Don did not turn his hand to.
While in the construction industry, he spent many hundreds of hours on earthmoving equipment and developed an affinity to Caterpillars particularly. His stories frequently appear in magazines on the subject. His almost complete recall of the events all those years ago make his stories fascinating reading.
He has booked a ride on a D8 for his 90th birthday!
Good on you Oom Don – keep up the good work and thanks for helping us to appreciate the integrity and the sheer grit that characterised working life up to70 years ago.
