Gerhard - Forest District Manager a.D.

As Flash is again suffering with the heat, tried the shaded Bannwald forest route in Ottobeuren. As we got out at the carpark had a quick "normal" greeting and a few comments about the leaves at last coming down with the, clearly of pensionable age, man sweeping up the leaves.

Then set off and had a lovely relaxed warm walk having to pause for a minute to allow the State forest workers to cut down a tree to help shore up the path slowly being eroded (Extra photo). Took the opportunity to ask the chainsaw operator about cutting down leaning trees as I had forgotten the third, final and most dangerous cut. He put me right but warned, just as the guy did eight days ago at the EVG demonstration, that it was a dangerous task and to take extreme care.

Finally got back to the carpark where the pensioner was loading gravel in to a wheelbarrow to replenish the surface. We got talking again and when I said where I lived, mentioning only the commonly used name for the house but not documented or used by any than real locals, he immediately knew exactly where. He had been the State District Manager for the forest directly adjoining the house which at one corner is less than 2 meters from the forest boundary.

He is 86, started his apprentiship on 16th September 1946, learning the trade in the Bannwald itself. He then became Distict Manager for the forest near us and finally retired on 31st October 1991. The forest and forestry was his life and he still exudes his enthusiasm for it. He was also a town councillor where he was noted for his "emotional" (his word) approach to the forest and other matters. He had trained and then on retirement, handed over his patch to the current holder, Mr Fackler, who has been mentioned and even Bliped in the past.

As we do, he did regret much of the modern day pressures on the State Forestry workers who now only work on the basis of short term profit. Keeping streams free, maintaining paths, clearing up, using horses in boggy ground were daily routine, nowadays forgotten. He is standing in front of a sign on the left praising the work of the state forestry department leaving much of the ground unmaintained - as he said it's all cynical PR to try and show them as caring for the environment when in fact the longterm future is being ruined. As he said ground compacted by machines with ruts the size of rivers is not helping anything "natural". He wasn't though angry, more sympathetic for the pressures on his successors. He said in his day he was put under pressure to do things he didn't like, such as using pesticides which he managed to resist and was to be later proved to have been right when they were banned.

It was probably still him to thank that when we moved here in 2002 we could drive out the back gate through the forest with horse and carriage. Within a few years this was no longer possible thanks to the damage done by machines. Nowadays we even struggle simply on horseback without a carriage and I have long abandoned cycling down the path as walking on foot is a challenge.

A charming man and still very active at 86. I have actually seen him several times clearing the streams meandering along the signed walking trails through the forest. I suspect he is nowadays employed by the town council to do this work as the paths form a notable attraction for the spa town's tourist office.

PS .... Son Jonathan - please note the website mentioned on the board Gerhard is leaning on. Some nice photos of tree houses and your nephew and niece say they aren't too fussed what colour bathroom porcelain you choose but please not avocado green.

PPS In the title the "a.D." is the way Germans show someone in retirement (ausser Dienst) . So Tony Blair would be "Prime Minister a.D. or should that be "PM o.o.o." - out of office!