Willi Huf, the unofficial mayor of Johnson Lane died in his home on Aug. 16 at the age of 81. He and his wife Nanny lived at the east end of Johnson Lane for the past 47 years.
Huf was born and raised in Germany and at the age of 9, he said he was brainwashed by the Nazis and became a member of Hitler's Youth. During World War II he enlisted in the German Navy and was stationed on a submarine. He was wounded twice, losing two fingers and getting shrapnel in his leg.
At the end of the war he was held as a prisoner in London where he signed a two-year contract to be a mine sweeper for the British government under the Royal Navy. The British government sponsored him to come to America in 1952. He worked as a tool and die maker in San Carlos and then transferred to Bently Nevada's R&D department and worked there for 25 years.
The Hufs bought five acres of desert land for $2,500 from early homesteaders, the Dudleys. Besides the Dudleys, there were only six other homesteaders there in 1959: the Christensens, Downs, Hofers, Edwards, Yowells and Claphams. The Huf's property was 3 1/2 miles from Highway 395-and there was just a one lane, rutted dirt road.
It was many years before telephones reached their house, and then they had a "party line." The Hufs had three children, Birgit, Rony and Bruno and they had to walk a 1 1/2 miles to the school bus stop every day. But the kids got to see lots of wildlife, including the mustangs.
Huf was an avid skier all his life, starting when he was a child in Germany. In 1960 he was an Interpreter and also worked in security for the Eighth Winter Olympics when it was held at Squaw Valley. He got to raise the U.S. flag and present trophies to some of the participants. His parents back home in Nuremberg, Germany watched him every night on television.
For 25 years, Huf was a volunteer for the National Ski Patrol System. He patrolled Heavenly Valley, Mammoth Mountain and Mt. Rose. He taught hundreds of skiers how to recognize an impending avalanche and how to survive if caught in one. He also was an instructor for the Douglas County Junior Ski Program for 35 years.
Huf was a charter member of the Johnson Lane Volunteer Fire Department. He said he joined when it was first organized because he wanted to save lives. After 35 years of volunteer service he became a lifetime member.
The fire department was very different in the early days, according to Deputy Fire Chief Bobby Wartgow.
"There was a tone-out for a wildland fire in the nearby Pine Nut Mountains and Willi's whole family-and even a visiting friend from Germany-jumped on the water tender. They were dressed in sandals, shorts and tee-shirts. Willi drove the old brown Army truck that held 3,000 gallons of water up one flank of the fire. And then an air tanker dropped a load of slurry right on top of them. Willi said it was so heavy it felt like a sandbag hitting you."
Huf entertained the community every year at the Johnson Lane volunteers' annual Octoberfest. He wore his original native Bavarian Lederhosen and played the accordion. Huf always entertained friends and family at parties. He rode the original Pony Express Trail for 12 years. He and a friend once rode for 16 straight days, beginning at St. Jo, Missouri and ending in Sacramento. Then they carried the mail back over the mountain to Woodfords.
Son Rony Huf adapted an often quoted and rarely attributed phrase from the Internet to describe his father's life.
"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intent of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to come in skidding sideways with three flat tires, a blown motor, used up and worn out, yelling whoo-hoo! What a ride. whoo-hoo Willi!"
A memorial service officiated by Pastor Rich Lammay will be 3-5 p.m. Sunday at Mormon Station State Historic Park gazebo in Genoa.
