“I’ve never seen a Blue Crane again” – a miner’s story of his love for cranes
A number of South African companies have a Blue Crane in their logo. But it’s not often that we find out just how a company came to feature a Blue Crane on the logo. And even less so that we’re told the story via a handwritten, posted letter.
The story of how Optimum Collieries changed their logo to feature a Blue Crane was told to us by miner, Johannes Mkhaliphi. He wrote a letter to the Overberg Crane Group – requesting that cranes and all endangered species be protected.
His story dates back to 1979 – only 9 years after Optimum Collieries started operating, and long before the mine started making headlines regularly, as it has in recent years.
Johannes writes:
“The Blue Crane logo began when I was 21 years of age. In 1979 I started working at a mine called Optimum Collieries Ltd in Middelburg in Mpumalanga Province. I remember a day when one of the management (team) had brought two Blue Crane chicks into the hostel office entrance. I saw one Blue Crane chick had broken a leg. The mine had both of them raised and from that day Optimum Collieries changed the logo to Blue Cranes.
I then moved to be employed by an Anglo American mine for more than 26 years and 8 months. But over those years and months I didn’t see even a single Blue Crane. I love them and miss them very much.
I request for you (the Overberg Crane Group) to protect all endangered wildlife in general.”
The OCG has subsequently reached out to Johannes to share information and photos of Blue Cranes with him.
Perhaps one day we can even facilitate a visit from Johannes to the Overberg, the home of the Blue Crane, so that he can see them again.
Images: Sharon Brink