2024 Hall of Fame Inductee:
Dick Hafner, Class of 1950 & 1955
After a career as a journalist, including serving as the editor of the Daily Californian in 1950, and helping to start Indonesia’s first English-language newspaper, Dick Hafner joined his alma mater (B.A. ‘50, M.J. ‘55), as UC Berkeley’s public affairs officer in 1961. Hafner served as the voice of UC Berkeley from the 1960s to the 80s, during the historic civil rights and protest movements of the times–including the Free Speech Movement, the Vietnam War, Central America, defense spending and weapons labs, and apartheid in South Africa. In a 1985 interview “Six Weeks in Spring: UC Berkeley Management of Protest Oral History Project”, Hafner recounted that “I happened to be away from here during the actual People’s Park thing. . .so I missed all the drama and glory of that month. But otherwise, I’ve been here for the rest of it.”
In 1967, Hafner and his wife Mary purchased a 100-acre Sonoma County ranch planted with prunes, pears, and a small patch of grapes. When the family decided to convert the orchard to a vineyard a few years later, Hafner himself laid out most of the first 9,000 grape stakes. By 1974, those one hundred acres were planted with premium grapevines. The Hafners relocated to Alexander Valley in retirement, and became full-time rancher-vintners in their 60s. Hafner treasured the time he spent with family in the garden and the vineyard. According to Hafner, every day was his favorite day, but the most exciting day was the last day of harvest. He worked at the vineyard until he died on November 17, 2022, just short of his 97th birthday.