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Sat October 30, 2021
Ed Meyer is awarded the 2020 Chuck Pfeiffer Award - in 2021


On the occasion of the October 10th opening dinner of the 39th Annual Zane Grey's West Society Convention in Tucson, AZ, Society President Terry Bolinger presented the Charles G Pfeiffer Award to ZGWS Member Ed Meyer. From the award ceremony:


“Charles G. Pfeiffer.

Those of us who are lucky enough to have known Chuck Pfeiffer will remember him for his snow-white beard, his ready smile, and for his encyclopedic knowledge of Zane Grey.

But he was more than that! He was a Sunday School teacher, a camper- van mechanic, an American geographer, a photographer, a writer and researcher, especially field research, a share-er of information . . . and a gentle . . . man! Not many people know that it was when he served as a Chaplain aboard the Navy’s USS Ranger aircraft carrier that he first encountered Zane Grey.

As Chaplain, his job included being ship’s librarian, and when the ship’s Captain asked for a book one evening, Chuck randomly pulled a ZG novel from the shelf. He said later that he thought he better check out the book himself before giving it to the C. O., and Chuck’s ZG adventure began.

Six decades and 400,000 road miles later, many of us either knew him well, or if we were newcomers, were just getting to know him. And whenever we looked for him during our annual conventions, all we had to do was find the largest crowd—and he would be there at the center of it. Questions flew at him from all corners, and amazingly, he answered every one. No one can remember a time or a question about Grey- that Chuck couldn’t answer. Even Joe often deferred to him! He was phenomenal!

The Charles G. Pfeiffer Award is the Society’s most prestigious and most important award. Its purpose is to remind us of our friend Chuck- for all he was, but especially for his high standards in research, in writing, and for his willingness to share with anyone and everyone- whatever he knew about Zane Grey . . . and to be an incentive for others to do the same.

The award was created in 2011, to be given biennially- to that person- whether a Society member or not- who exhibits the highest standards of research and writing on any aspect of Grey’s life or work. The first recipient, in 2012, was Kevin Blake. Zen Ervin was the second recipient in 2014, followed by Victor Carl Friesen in 2016, then Alan Pratt in 2018. The recipient was selected for 2020, but as you will remember, we changed our convention from a live meeting to a virtual one, and deferred everything that was important until this year.

So -- Our 2020 awardee is someone who . . .
- has tackled some of the more challenging of Grey subjects. He is . . .
- a researcher, both in the field and in the library,
- an author of more than a dozen articles for the Review and Explorer and other publications, and
- has written at least three books.
- He has prepared untold scores of social media postings for our Facebook page.
- His work has answered many questions about Grey’s relationship with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, known commonly as the Mormon Church, and
- in some ways, has opened new avenues of approach and support between Grey and the church.
- He has identified potential sources for several remaining questions about Grey’s travel, timing and relationships with historical Utah and Arizona figures.
- He has led an effort to produce a series of finding aids for Grey research material housed in the major library collections, and
- has successfully advocated for a Society owned and operated on-line Grey research center that already houses hundreds of journal articles, essays, and photos, all of which will soon be available to members and the public for research.
- He is himself a collector of certain Grey research material, including oral histories, and has,
- like Chuck, shared what he has discovered about Grey with all of us.

I speak, of course, of Lincoln Edward Meyer, better known simply as Ed Meyer. So, Ed, if you would come forward, please-- at the recommendation of the Pfeiffer Award committee, I am pleased to award you this fifth

Charles G. Pfeiffer Award

the Society’s most prestigious and most important award. Congratulations, Ed.”



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Historical images of Zane Grey used with permission of Dr. Loren Grey