"Let's go Burschn!"

Great-great-grandpa (100) has been a firefighter for 78 years

Celebrating 100 years: District fire brigade chief Ewald Edelmaier (left) and grandson Markus Ebner (center), who is now commander of the local fire brigade, congratulated Alois Ebner on his milestone.

(Bild: Feuerwehr)

Waldviertel native Alois Ebner, who turned 100 on May 28, has 30 descendants (!). For 78 of those years, the man from the Zwettl district served the community as a firefighter. On his big anniversary, he surprised everyone with his fitness. He still enjoys a glass or two of spritz wine.

Alois Ebner from Eschabruck near Zwettl can already look back on an extremely eventful life - this week he celebrated his 100th birthday. He was congratulated by many of his comrades at the celebration, where the jubilarian, who is very fit for his age, was present for around four hours and enjoyed a light splash of wine or two.

Marriage produced 30 (!) offspring
He joined the Friedersbach fire department in 1946, having been injured in the leg by a grenade launcher shortly before the end of the war in 1945. Four years later, he married Ernestine, from whose marriage he now had five children, ten grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

He and his wife then ran a grocery and country produce business in Eschabruck before he lost an eye, could no longer drive and retired as a sawmill worker in 1984. In 2010, he and his wife celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary, but Ernestine passed away in 2014 after a serious illness.

78 years as a firefighter
Despite all his work and caring for his family, Alois Ebner also found time to get involved in the community. As early as 1952, the firefighter moved to the Eschabruck fire department, where he worked as an administrator for six years from 1956 to 1964 and where his grandson Markus Ebner is now head of the fire department. District Commander Ewald Edelmaier paid tribute to the jubilarian: "Thank you very much for 78 years of membership!"

Splashes as a fountain of youth?
Ebner was more than fit at his 100th birthday party. When they called for a photo, he said "Let's go lads, let's take a photo!", got up from his chair without help or a stick or anything like that and walked to the meeting point. "He goes for his little walk every day and always has a drink or two," a guest told the "Krone".