Hirschs celebrate golden anniversary
The Hirschs both agree that they have been truly blessed with being able to see as much of the world as they’ve wanted to.
ALLAN and Margaret Hirsch recently celebrated fifty years of marriage. Not only are they great life partners together, they also make fantastic business partners and have run their home appliance franchise since 1979.
The power couple told the Northglen News about their journey over the years.
Allan said he met Margaret in 1971 at a cricket dinner, and it was hard not to notice her.
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“She was wearing boots that came up to her knees and a skirt that was nowhere near her knees. I obviously noticed her, and she noticed me, as well. We were married eleven months later,” he said.
But it wasn’t as easy as that. At first, Allan’s family detested him marrying Margaret and even sent him to Israel to find a wife when they found out about the couple’s plans to marry.
“Luckily he didn’t find a wife in Israel. He came back to South Africa, and we told my family we wanted to get married. They were also against the marriage, and in fact, I was told to wait until I was 21 – which I did. I turned 21 in December, we got engaged in January and married on the 7 April 1972,” said Margaret.
Allan was in the final year of his apprenticeship as an appliance mechanic, and Margaret was a secretary for a building society. The couple agree that they had a great courtship and that their marriage was fantastic and still is.
“I got frustrated as an appliance mechanic because I could not see where I was going. When I found out I was dyslexic and not stupid, I believed I could do anything, and I wanted to open my own business. At that stage, we had R900 saved. We had to buy a bakkie, get premises, and without even blinking, Margaret said, ‘Let’s do it’. That was the start of Hirsch’s,” said Allan.
In 1976, their son Richard was born, and 17 months later, their daughter Luci arrived.
“At this stage, we owned our own home in Glen Anil and decided on 31 January 1979 to open our own business. We found premises at 169 Umhlanga Rocks Drive, and Hirsch’s was born. We worked very hard and diligently but soon outgrew the premises, so when the old butchery down the road at No 27 came up for sale, we bought that, and so started our property business,” said Margaret.
Fast forward to 43 years later, after Hirsch’s opened their first branch, they still cannot believe that they took the only R900 they had and started their business.
“That was a fantastic decision, and we made it because we believed in ourselves. We believed we could do it, and there was no doubt… The people we have employed and our customers have taught us so many lessons, and so have our suppliers, and we are grateful to them all. They have all helped us grow in so many ways,” said Allan.
“Our greatest joy is when team members come forward and say they have bought their own home or their children are going to a good school or university – or things of that nature – that makes our journey worthwhile,” said Margaret.
The Hirschs both agree that they have been truly blessed with being able to see as much of the world as they’ve wanted to.
“We have both learnt a lot from each other about the business and life itself,” said Allan.
“Although we are both very different people, we both enjoy each other’s company, have fun together and work together incredibly well,” added Margaret.
