Jake Pfeifer

Washburn man: 91 and playing strong By Leann Erickson- Washburn, N.D. Newspaper

Longtime musician Jake Pfeifer enjoys playing the accordion for family and friends.
When Jake Pfeifer of Washburn was injured in a work-related acci­dent some 24 years ago, he had to give up playing his first musical love, the violin. However, as a person who had always enjoyed listening and playing music, he had to find something else. He found himself turning to the ac­cordion.

Though he still maintains that the violin is his first love, the 91-year-old musician has now come to enjoy playing the accordion.
He started playing about 20 years ago, off and on, using an accordion passed down through the hands of his brother, brother-in-law and sister. His brother had bought it second hand in Minneapolis, though it had never been used, he said.
"This Titano can really play," he said about the accordion that has be­come a treasure to him.
Pfeifer claims he's different than other accordion players in that he plays chords instead of single notes, making the music sound nicer, he said. "Most accordion players only use one or two notes and an amplifier. I use regular chords," he added.
Of all the music he plays, Pfeifer enjoys playing hymns and waltzes mostly, "played like they should be,
slow and nice," he said.

As a former band player in an orchestra he doesn't like the new ways the old songs are played these days. He considers the music is played too loud and fast. "They don't play (the songs) right any more, those younger ones," Pfeifer continued.
He predicts that when those kids get older they will regret not know­ing the old music.
When Pfeifer starts playing songs on the accordion they are usually played from memory, though he still reads music occasionally. "When I start playing this all comes back to me," he said about his music. Though he admits that some days he can't remember all the songs that he wants to play.

With cataracts slowly worsening his eyesight, he is careful about how long he reads. He said that he is scheduled for cataract surgery next year, but by then he will be nearly 93. He questions what good his improved eyesight will do him when he gets that old.
As a youngster Pfeifer taught himself how to play the violin. He later started taking lessons at the church so he could learn how to read music. He can play most instruments, he said, including the guitar, banjo and piano. He played for many dances throughout the area, as well as or­chestras in Bismarck and as far away as Kansas.
"I played against a all the big orchestras in Bismarck," he said, thinking back to the depression years. "Though I didn't get a lot of money those days, cause their wasn't any," he laughed.

But mostly he likes to sit around and play, Pfeifer said. "It's wonderful to have the accordion."
He often sits back in his chair and plays the old hymns and waltzes. "I don't have to play too loud," he said.
Although he has to use a walker to get around, you can still find Pfeifer out riding his homemade four-wheel bike during the mild summer weather. In the winter months, he rides his stationary bike, preparing for the warm weather ahead that will allow him outdoors.
His wife, Edna, also enjoys walking and participates in aerobic exercise Mondays and Thursdays at the Lewis and Clark Senior Citizen Center.

Pfeifer regrets that the days of the orchestras and waltzes are past, although the music still plays in his home in Washburn.
"I wouldn't give it up for no price," he said.