“YOU will never understand what community spirit is until you have lived in a small town like Penola, Tantanoola, Millicent or Nangwarry.”
Those are the words of young-spirited Mount Gambier resident Edgar “Fred” Pfeiffer who has been recognised for his community service on a national level with a prestigious Order of Australia Medal (OAM).
First moving to Penola in 1953 due to his heavy involvement in forestry, Mr Pfeiffer became a member of the Penola Hospital Board.
“I was in charge of the Comaum forest at the time and our neighbour who was chairman of the board suggested I take up a vacant position,” he said.
“You do not realise what is behind running a hospital until you are involved.
“It is like the old saying you stop saying ‘they’ when you become involved and start saying ‘we’.”
Mr Pfeiffer said while in Penola he also had the opportunity to win a football premiership with the Eagles.
“I moved just in time to play in the grand final for Penola and won the premiership flag two years in a row,” he said.
“I played there for five years and retired in 1958, you just know when you have had enough.”
With his job taking him all around the South East, Mr Pfeiffer then joined the Millicent Lions Club while working in the Tantanoola forest in 1967.
“I joined the Millicent Lions Club and then after 10 years there my job took me to Adelaide,” he said.
“I think a highlight for me was the social involvement and making life-long friends.”
Mr Pfeiffer can remember “pouring the cement and paths” for the Millicent Lions Road Safety School precinct.
“I was also in charge of the Millicent safety school and every Saturday we would get the local kids in with their bikes and teach them road safety,” he said.
“The involvement was very rewarding as some kids would not have the opportunity to actually learn something and look after themselves.
“You do not realise at the time that you get something out of it but all that hard work and it is still standing today.”
Mr Pfeiffer’s career led him to Adelaide where he joined the Campbelltown Lions Club.
“Those days you were transferred whether you wanted to be or not,” he said.
Although after a year, Mr Pfeiffer returned to the South East to become the South Australian Woods and Forests Department regional forester.
“The job took up a lot of my time so I left the Lions club for a bit,” he said.
“When I first came to Mount Gambier I was very impressed by the rolling country area, especially around the airport,” he said.
“It is funny how your first impression sticks with you and ever since I have always admired the area.”
With involvement in the 1983 Ash Wednesday fires, Mr Pfeiffer’s ultimate “lowlight” is something he will remember forever.
“Believe it or not I was the state forest fire control officer before I headed the South East forests,” he said.
“I remembered the fire started from a single earth return powerline out in the northern area.
“My old boss always used to stand up and say one day a fire would start here and it will come all the way south and the wind will change and it will come back and that is exactly what happened.”
Mr Pfeiffer said the eastern side fire “blew out like a candle” which fascinated him most.
After a few years back in the region, Mr Pfeiffer was then approached to become involved with the Lions Club of Mount Gambier.
“My friend who was a logging contractor said I needed something to keep my mind occupied,” he said.
“I joined in 1987 and the camaraderie you find in a club like Mount Gambier Lions Club is something you can not get anywhere else.”
Through his 20 years of involvement, Mr Pfeiffer has been involved in the presentation of the graduate of the year award.
“The award is presented to one primary school female and male student who is not necessarily academic but shows qualities of a future citizen,” he said.
“I stick up for the youth of today because I think they were just as good as we were, just different.
“They are much more sophisticated and educated than we ever were.”
