More on Ernie's Reopening Drive
Ernie Pfanner's effort to reopen Fairfield School following its closing in 1978 is described in this article from California Farmer shared by Carolyn Pfanner at the Fairfield 150 celebrations (see below).
Photo of article highlighting Ernie Pfanner's effort to reopen Fairfield, leading "Ernie's Army" of supporters. Ernie is seen as a Fairfield student in the class photo at the bottom (he is in the back row on the right).
The articles depicts the unique rural school element to Fairfield that has been a source of diversity and connection to the agricultural heritage of Davis.
It also highlights the rural "can-do" spirit that has often guided Fairfield's parent participation and efforts to get things done to improve the school for its students. For example, Pfanner was able to cut the cost of a reopening the school by doing things like bringing in his own pump repairman to look at a broken water pump that was budgeted at $2,200 to replace: it turned out it only needed a new $10 valve.
“Pfanner says that if rural people are left alone they can work things out for themselves. There are still rural people in California who can get the job done within the system. ‘We faced a solid wall of opposition to the school when we started, but through dedication the job was accomplished,’ Pfanner says. ”
Having grown up in a small rural town in the Sierras, the rural element and its can-do spirit were also a big part of what my mother loved about Fairfield.