‘Soda Can Man’ leaves gift for OCC

For more than a decade, it was hard to picture a day at Orange Coast College without Armin “Bucky” Pofahl making the rounds with his plastic bag and gloves.

Pofahl, who worked for 40 years in the lumber industry before retiring in 1982, began stopping by OCC in 1990 to gather bottles and cans from the campus’ trash bins, then recycle them and fuel the money into charities. One of his main beneficiaries was the OCC Foundation, which he provided with $8,780 over the years.

Now, the longtime benefactor, who died last September, is a campus institution once again. The OCC Foundation received a $4,063.30 bequest on Monday from Pofahl’s estate — which will continue funding the scholarship that the “Soda Can Man,” as he was known to many, created to aid students who pursued community service.

Tonight at Honors Night, OCC plans to award the latest $500 Bucky Pofahl Recycling Scholarship. Campus spokesman Jim Carnett said that Pofahl, who began giving money to OCC after retirement, would be pleased to see his legacy continue for a younger generation.

“He loved the interaction on campus,” Carnett said. “He really did. He was a very social guy, and even though he was in his 80s and the students were considerably younger, he really enjoyed associating with them.”

Almost daily for 12 years, Pofahl covered the grounds of OCC and Costa Mesa High School, rummaging through the bins for cans and bottles and dropping them off at the OCC Recycling Center. The community showed its gratitude more than once. In 1992, the student government gave Pofahl its annual friend of the students award, and the college presented him with an honorary associate’s degree five years later.

Foundation executive director Doug Bennett said Pofahl’s scholarship would be permanently endowed.

“He was one of those truly unique individuals,” he said. “He was a true giver.”