Herb Pfuhl
Encyclopedia
Herbert "Herb" Pfuhl Jr. (April 25, 1928 – August 18, 2011) was an American
politician and teacher. Pfuhl was the longest serving Mayor
of Johnstown, Pennsylvania
in history, serving six terms as head of the city from 1971 to 1977 and again from 1982 to his retirement in 1993.
Pfuhl faced major challenges during his two decade long career as head of Johnstown, including population decline
, the 1977 flood and the collapse of the steel industry, which included one of the city's biggest employers, Bethlehem Steel
. However, Pfuhl has been credited with having revitalized downtown
Johnstown's business district and successfully lobbying for millions in aid from the U.S. federal government for economic development
.
, in 1928 to German immigrant parents who had moved to the United States during the 1920s.
Pfuhl's father, Herbert L. Pfuhl, moved to Johnstown from Berlin, Germany. His mother, Anna Schweitzer, moved to Johnstown from a rural
region of Germany when she was 16 years old. She worked as a maid for a Johnstown family, the Suppes. Anna Schweitzer was also a relative of Albert Schweitzer
, a prominent physician
and theologian. Both became students at Johnstown High School, where they learned English
. The couple met while both were attending the Zion Lutheran Church and soon married.
Pfuhl remained a resident of Johnstown for his entire life, eventually settling in the Roxbury neighborhood of the city. He grew up in a home with coal
stove
s heating the room. Pfuhl enlisted in United States Navy
during World War II
. He graduated from Johnstown High School
in 1946. He then earned a bachelor's degree
from the University of Pittsburgh
. Pfuhl was a Presbyterian. He worked in public education before entering politics. He was a teacher
and coach
in the Ferndale Area School District
in Cambria County, Pennsylvania
. Pfuhl also served in the Pennsylvania National Guard
.
. He helped move Johnstown to its present system of governing based on a city manager
.
Pfuhl ran for Mayor of Johnstown during six mayoral elections, winning five of the six campaigns. He was elected as a Republican
, despite Johnstown's reputation as a stronghold of the Democratic Party
. Pfuhl was elected to his first term as mayor in the 1971 election.
Pfuhl was mayor of Johnstown during the July 1977 flood, which devastated the city and the local economy. The flood heavily damaged the facities of Bethlehem Steel
, which was Johnstown's major employer at the time, with 12,000 employees in during pre-flood 1977. Bethlehem Steel lost more than $50 million dollars in the flood, resulting in 4,000 layoffs.
Pfuhl accused Bethlehem Steel of using the flood as an excuse to pull some of its investments from the area. The business district was heavily flooded, closing both of the city's department stores, Penn Traffic and Grosser Bros. Pennsylvania Gov. Milton Shapp
gave Pfuhl a hand-written letter after the flood, authorizing Pfuhl to wave the usual regulations and solicitation process for the clean-up.
Pfuhl lost his re-election bid in 1977 to Democrat Charles "Kutch" Tomljanovic, largely due to the aftermath of the 1977 Johnstown flood, which proved one of the biggest challenges of his political career.
Pfuhl remained out of office for just one term before being re-elected as mayor in the 1981 election and re-took the mayor's office in 1982. In October 1986, Pfuhl appointed Linda Weaver as Johnstown's police chief. The appointment made Weaver the first female police chief in Pennsylvania. She retired on March 5, 1993.
Pfuhl announced his retirement in February 1993, when he announced that he would not seek re-election in the November 1993 mayoral election. In his announcement, Pfuhl told the audience, "I love my family, I love my city, I love this job. And I really feel I’ve been pretty good at it."
Pfuhl died at Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on August 19, 2011, aged 83. He was survived by his wife of 64 years, the former Phyllis I. Meyer, and five children. He was buried at Grandview Cemetery at the mausoleum in Southmont, Pennsylvania
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician and teacher. Pfuhl was the longest serving Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States, west-southwest of Altoona, Pennsylvania and east of Pittsburgh. The population was 20,978 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Cambria County...
in history, serving six terms as head of the city from 1971 to 1977 and again from 1982 to his retirement in 1993.
Pfuhl faced major challenges during his two decade long career as head of Johnstown, including population decline
Population decline
Population decline can refer to the decline in population of any organism, but this article refers to population decline in humans. It is a term usually used to describe any great reduction in a human population...
, the 1977 flood and the collapse of the steel industry, which included one of the city's biggest employers, Bethlehem Steel
Bethlehem Steel
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation , based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was once the second-largest steel producer in the United States, after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based U.S. Steel. After a decline in the U.S...
. However, Pfuhl has been credited with having revitalized downtown
Downtown
Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's core or central business district ....
Johnstown's business district and successfully lobbying for millions in aid from the U.S. federal government for economic development
Economic development
Economic development generally refers to the sustained, concerted actions of policymakers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area...
.
Early life
Pfuhl was born in Johnstown, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, in 1928 to German immigrant parents who had moved to the United States during the 1920s.
Pfuhl's father, Herbert L. Pfuhl, moved to Johnstown from Berlin, Germany. His mother, Anna Schweitzer, moved to Johnstown from a rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
region of Germany when she was 16 years old. She worked as a maid for a Johnstown family, the Suppes. Anna Schweitzer was also a relative of Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer
Albert Schweitzer OM was a German theologian, organist, philosopher, physician, and medical missionary. He was born in Kaysersberg in the province of Alsace-Lorraine, at that time part of the German Empire...
, a prominent physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and theologian. Both became students at Johnstown High School, where they learned English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. The couple met while both were attending the Zion Lutheran Church and soon married.
Pfuhl remained a resident of Johnstown for his entire life, eventually settling in the Roxbury neighborhood of the city. He grew up in a home with coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
stove
Stove
A stove is an enclosed heated space. The term is commonly taken to mean an enclosed space in which fuel is burned to provide heating, either to heat the space in which the stove is situated or to heat the stove itself, and items placed on it...
s heating the room. Pfuhl enlisted in United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He graduated from Johnstown High School
Johnstown High School
Johnstown High School is a high school located at 1 Sir Bills Circle, in Johnstown, New York. The school provides education in grades 9-12, and offers summer school for pupils who fail classes...
in 1946. He then earned a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
from the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
. Pfuhl was a Presbyterian. He worked in public education before entering politics. He was a teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
and coach
Coach
-Transportation:* Coach , an automotive vehicle for long-distance travel** Coach , the mode of transport using such vehicles** Coach USA, an American bus transport company** Coach Canada, a Canadian bus transport company...
in the Ferndale Area School District
Ferndale Area School District
The Ferndale Area School District is a public school district in Cambria County, Pennsylvania. It serves the boroughs of Brownstown, Dale, Ferndale , and Lorain as well as Middle Taylor Township - none of which border on each other.-Schools:...
in Cambria County, Pennsylvania
Cambria County, Pennsylvania
Cambria County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It comprises the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 143,679....
. Pfuhl also served in the Pennsylvania National Guard
Pennsylvania National Guard
The Pennsylvania National Guard is composed of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard and the Pennsylvania Air National Guard. It is one of the largest National Guards in the nation. It has the largest Army National Guard of all the states and the fourth largest Air National Guard. These forces are...
.
Mayor of Johnstown
Pfuhl would serve six terms as Mayor of Johnstown, the longest tenure of any chief executive in city history. He helped guide Johnstown's transition from a commission government to a local government consisting of a strong mayor and city councilCity council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
. He helped move Johnstown to its present system of governing based on a city manager
City manager
A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a council-manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief executive officer or chief administrative officer in some municipalities...
.
Pfuhl ran for Mayor of Johnstown during six mayoral elections, winning five of the six campaigns. He was elected as a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, despite Johnstown's reputation as a stronghold of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. Pfuhl was elected to his first term as mayor in the 1971 election.
Pfuhl was mayor of Johnstown during the July 1977 flood, which devastated the city and the local economy. The flood heavily damaged the facities of Bethlehem Steel
Bethlehem Steel
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation , based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was once the second-largest steel producer in the United States, after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based U.S. Steel. After a decline in the U.S...
, which was Johnstown's major employer at the time, with 12,000 employees in during pre-flood 1977. Bethlehem Steel lost more than $50 million dollars in the flood, resulting in 4,000 layoffs.
Pfuhl accused Bethlehem Steel of using the flood as an excuse to pull some of its investments from the area. The business district was heavily flooded, closing both of the city's department stores, Penn Traffic and Grosser Bros. Pennsylvania Gov. Milton Shapp
Milton Shapp
Milton Jerrold Shapp was the 40th Governor of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1971 to 1979 and was the first Jewish governor of Pennsylvania.- Early life :...
gave Pfuhl a hand-written letter after the flood, authorizing Pfuhl to wave the usual regulations and solicitation process for the clean-up.
Pfuhl lost his re-election bid in 1977 to Democrat Charles "Kutch" Tomljanovic, largely due to the aftermath of the 1977 Johnstown flood, which proved one of the biggest challenges of his political career.
Pfuhl remained out of office for just one term before being re-elected as mayor in the 1981 election and re-took the mayor's office in 1982. In October 1986, Pfuhl appointed Linda Weaver as Johnstown's police chief. The appointment made Weaver the first female police chief in Pennsylvania. She retired on March 5, 1993.
Pfuhl announced his retirement in February 1993, when he announced that he would not seek re-election in the November 1993 mayoral election. In his announcement, Pfuhl told the audience, "I love my family, I love my city, I love this job. And I really feel I’ve been pretty good at it."
Pfuhl died at Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on August 19, 2011, aged 83. He was survived by his wife of 64 years, the former Phyllis I. Meyer, and five children. He was buried at Grandview Cemetery at the mausoleum in Southmont, Pennsylvania
Southmont, Pennsylvania
Southmont is a borough in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,262 at the 2000 census...
.