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sean et ae a" . mid ‘ ‘ & Edwin Fichter, “Rifle Instructor a . _ Services for Edwin L. Fich- ter of 48 Elmwood Rd, Ve- . |» rona, will be held this eve- u ace ue LA, ery r ws VER OA + CED GFE ning at 7:30 at the Arthur K. rown, Ine, (Home for Serv- joes), 620 Bloomfield Ave., Ve- rona, with the Rev. Walter M. Moore, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Ve- rona, officiating, Interment]. will be in Prospect Hill Ceme- tery. Mr. Fichter died Sunday at Mountainside Hospital. He was 65. Though he savas born in!’ Caldwell, Mr. Fichter had liv- ed in Verona 64 years. He was employed as a brushmaker with Keifer Brushes,- Verona, A certified instructor of the National Rifle Association, Mr: Fichter organized the Verona Junior Rifle Club 20 years‘ago. He was a Boy Scout Leader for the Troop at the Verona Presbyteriaa Church for the same number of years, . ‘He is survived by a sister, Mrs. John Keeves of Cedar Grove ve, jt BEST COPY AVAILABLE a OVD Le BER OIF AS, ~! i fe t ] { Verona Jost a “friend” last week, More specific? ally, Veruna boys lost one of their best friends. Ed , Fichter whose entire’ life was devoted: to Scouting and in micre recent years to the Verona Junior Rifle Club has passed from the scene. He was a quict man Gnd until the last retatned that elusive quality which stamps the eternal young. His countenance bore a qulzgical look always. At a moment hfs face could Ught up into a boyish grin. There was something tmp- sh about him. At thmes he resembled a fleeting lepre- " cnaun, ready to reveal hidden treasures to anyone who could keep in step with him, He knew of many treasures that exist in the woods, on mountains, in the trees and in the sky. He had a cabin on a mountain, a tumble-down shack in 2 way,but a magical place where he would take his soys on weekends, By. the light of an old Stove, oil lamps, occasionally candles he would weave ghost Stories to the delight of his folowers as the moon cast eerie shadows outside the clearing and the wind * Whistled through the broken rafters. There were times when he arranged more sophisticated outings to the Maine woodlands. Once we asked him how many boys he could remember having been under his tutelage. He reficcted a few seconds.;“Hundveds,’ he guessed. He was something ke the fabled “Mr, Chips.” He had many boys whose names he could recount one by one, placing them in certain categories, years and eras. Among his prized possessions were letters from _ Some of his “boys "who fought in World War IT, in the Korean War, in the War in Vietnan. They wrote as friends, which they were, and mostly they attested tothe training he had given them while in the rifle erganization. ‘I don’t think I’d be around without hay- ing been privileged to learn everything you taught me,” one wrote whose mastery of guns had saved him ina Vietnam ambush. He never thought of boys as being different in any age. “Outward appearances con’t mean a thing,” he said once in discussing to- Cay's prevailing dress and mannerisms. “Inside a boy is always a boy.” Youngsters who met him for the first thie couldn’t always figure him out But they learned quickly that was because they regarded him as one of the “grown-ups” and when they realized that he was ene of “them,” a bond of affection soon developed. He . made them understand first of all that membership in the rifle club was contingent upon discipline and respect, He stressed care in the handling of all fire- arms and he took pride in the club’s record of safety. Ke had hoped someday to have a clubhouse In the community and an indoor rifle range but his efforts towards this end were not achieved. Some day, per- _ haps, they will be. In recent years. he was succesful in having others help him in his endeavors and the club which he heaced for twenty yeasts underwent more Intensive organization. ‘fhuse wha worked with him are not apt lo abandon his dream. Mis “boys” are nog Hicly to forget. THe was a patient Mean and he probe ably fs sull willing to wall, "When you afin for some. thing like this,” he said a couple of years ago in speaking of the poss.biuily of a club headquarters, to be certian of your sights and then not S) 6Tt Seema certain that those who were most oO huni wilh coutuaue hls ain,