Ad Date.indd - Schafer Construction Inc

June 9, 2010
Once Upon a Time at Fairyland
By C.J. Hirschfield
Photo by Maria Rodriguez
Volunteer Rudi Schafer returns to Fairyland after a long absence.
Community service – a Fairyland legacy
Rudi Schafer was six years old
in the 1960s when he first came to
Fairyland. He and his sister were
the park’s original Hansel and Gretel, a fact that pleased his German
parents no end.
“I spent a lot of my childhood at
Children’s Fairyland,” he recalled
– five years at least. Until a few
weeks ago, Rudi hadn’t been here
for 15 years, when his son celebrated a birthday.
Rudi came back as part of a Rebuilding Together Oakland crew
which was here to volunteer for the
day, and the experience brought
back a lot of memories; some a little painful, but most of them, in his
words, “heartwarming.”
You see, Rudi’s childhood was
tough, and Fairyland represented a
safe haven.
“When I walked through the
shoe, I was in a different world,
where nothing could harm you.
Kids could just be kids,” he remembers. He tells of the sense of family
and freedom symbolized by membership in the Fairyland “Personalities, program” and of the many
parades and community events in
which they participated.
Burton Weber, who created and
nurtured the children’s theater program, was very influential in Rudi’s
life, as were the park’s Popo the
Clown, and “Mother Goose” Charlotte Rowe, the park’s director.
“They were always there for me,
in ways my parents weren’t,” Rudi
recollects.
Rudi and members of his com-
pany, Schafer Construction, have
been volunteering with Rebuilding
Together Oakland for years, fixing
up churches, rehab centers, schools
and senior citizen homes. But when
the call came for volunteers to help
at Fairyland, Rudi jumped at the
opportunity to come “home.”
“Wow, of course!” is how he put
it.
We came across Rudi as he was
working with his team to make
magic by re-doing Miss Muffet’s
fence, rebuilding Pinocchio’s roof,
and repairing our horticulturalist’s
well-worn workbench.
“Everything felt right,” he said.
“The work we did is going to be
around a while – it’ll last 50-60
years,” he said with pride.
When Burton Weber came to
Fairyland for a Personalities’ reunion a number of years ago, he
was asked what was the most special part of the years he had spent
with Fairyland’s child ambassadors. Without hesitation, he said
that it was the number of “his” kids
who’d gone on to become involved
in community service once they’d
grown.
“It must be in my blood,” says
Rudi about giving back. He feels
that volunteering with his staff creates a sense of family outside of the
work environment. He’s gratified
that his people are excited to volunteer to make positive changes in the
community.
All of the work, plus all of the
memories – “Man, what a day!”
Rudi said when it was over. The
Fairyland sets he and his team
brought back to life looked amazing.
I know for sure that Burton Weber would approve.
C.J. Hirschfield is Executive
Director of Children’s Fairyland,
which is located next to Lake Merritt at 699 Bellevue Avenue, Oakland. For more information call
452-2259 or e-mail cj@fairyland.
org.