On 15 March 2001, Arthur died at the age of 92, probably one of the last of Lahr’s real “characters”. Everyone knew him by his first name, which is most unusual for Germany. He is much mourned by the regulars at his “Stammtisch” and by the many local people who appreciated his eccentric nature and enthusiastic music-making. This pub landlord was also well-known to many Canadians, for whom he had a soft spot. He displayed postcards from Canadian friends, especially those who enoyed wonderful evenings at the “Gasthaus Brünnle” in the Sixties and Seventies when he was still very active and sociable.

There were two good reasons for visiting Arthur: the ancient atmosphere of the old Gasthaus, which had probably never been renovated since he had inherited it from his parents, and the personality of the man who entertained his guests. He sang his own songs, full of the joys of life, about his love of his beautiful home town of Lahr (he wrote both the words and music). For Canadians he sang popular international folksongs that they would recognize, always accompanying himself on the piano despite his crippled hand which had been partly blown off by an exploding shell during the Second World War.

In the course of the Eighties and Nineties things grew quieter at Arthur’s place but he never actually closed down. For the last few years he actually lived in the Gasthaus itself; which was his bedroom and livingroom, into which he allowed selected visitors if the weather was warm and he was in a good mood. Opening times were therefore unpredictable, and only during the day: as you drove or walked along Lahr’s main street, you just had to observe whether the front door was open or not. When you entered the dark room with wooden panelling and furniture and with stained glass windows, you felt as though you were walking into a time capsule. The grand piano was an outstanding feature and the camping bed was hidden in a corner.

My final memory of Arthur was one sunny day last September when Lahr’s new cultural office and tourist information centre opened in the Old City Hall (Altes Rathaus). I walked there with my Business English class from the Adult Education Centre (VHS) and noticed the open door, so I said we’d visit on the way back (he knew me from my work as a Canadian representative). The men in our group arrived first and he politely but firmly told them they were not welcome because he didn’t know them. When we “ladies” arrived, the situation changed completely! He lifted the covers off the piano to play and sing several songs for our benefit, including “Amazing Grace”.

Of course I didn’t know then that I wouldn’t have another opportunity to experience this strange but touching situation. However, last November, there was a special exhibition of black-and-white photographs taken by Arthur’s grandson on view at the Villa Jamm in Lahr’s Stadtpark that made me think about his historic heritage. The display concerned the history of the disused brewery which had been in his family for generations, showing nostalgic pictures of dusty bottles and machines covered with cobwebs. The name “Brünnle” means “little fountain” - source of alcohol, not water! Actually the brewery and distillery constituted the bulk of the building because inns nearly always had to make their own beer in the past. This production ceased when it was no longer economically viable but Arthur used to make his own schnapps in his younger days, and could still demonstrate how for the TV cameras when a regional television team filmed him for a program some years ago. He was the last in a long line of tradition. The magnetic attraction of the Brünnle brewery is that he left it untouched for so long. Time has stood still there. But that is also its disadvantage: the neglected building is delapidated, with a birch tree growing out of the roof. His heirs will probably be tempted to sell the valuable downtown site for demolition and redevelopment - how sad......

Trisha Cornforth