About Page

Okay here it is.  Some of you may have some questions about how we got here and why, so here goes:

  1. Why farberbrothers.com? When my grandfather came over from the old country in the early part of the 20th century he started a lumber yard and hardware store in Linden, NJ by the name of (you guessed it) FarberBrothers. My daughter, Audrey, exhumed the name, paid for the domain registration, and generally got this started.  I am now co-opting the blog portion of the site. Many thanks to Dan and her for making this possible.
  2. Why second generation? Well My grandfather was the original immigrant, my father is of the first generation, and I am the second generation. In the true American tradition, my grandfather was wildly successful, my father and his siblings not so much, and our generation has left the original business and gone out into the uncharted waters of professional careers. With few exceptions, the streets have been paved with gold.
  3. Crossroads, what crossroads? Besides being a lifelong blues fan, I graduated college in a different era when finding a job seemed to have been easier than it is now. I fell into a job writing software and have been moving from one thing to the next without much thought about where it was all heading. This is not to say it has not been a pretty good run, nor that I will not return to that world. Rather, it is time to take a look around and see what else may or may not be ‘out there’. Therefore, I voluntarily left my position and am now embarking on a conscious choice where to apply my energies while there is still time, energy, and resources.

I guess that about covers it, I will be adding blogs probably irregularly and we will all see which direction I take.

Thanks for reading,

Fred

14 thoughts on “About Page”

  1. I came across your site by accident tonight. I grew up in Linden, graduated from Linden High 1973. My first job was at FarberBrothers. I worked 3 days a week while attending Union College. I have only fond memories of the store and the people I met there. I remember learning to cut glass, mix paint, and make keys. I loved going to work!

    • That is so cool. Of course it was my first job as well:) I wish I had one of those key machines lying around the house. Besides the link to FarberBrothers, my mother was the librarian at Union College.

      Fred

  2. It was my first job, too (circa 1958-1962). I helped out with office work, bills, and remembering customers’ name – Sam Dorio, the builder et al. My favorite memory is the egg sandwiches we brought in for breakfast on Saturdays from the Lin-Den, back when soda fountains were “in” and there was penny candy!

    Florrie (Fred’s much older sister)

  3. I got to work at the lumber yard for a few weeks one summer. I was 16. I got to size lumber and make deliveries of fencing (“Take your time going, and hurry back”) I ate lunch with the yard men who were very friendly. One I recall to this day was Foy Johnson.

    • If we get any more employees we can plan a reunion:) Yes, the guys in the yard were great. Foy used to come up behind you and ‘grip up’, easier demonstrated than described. He was quite strong…Eddy Stratford’s kid wound up as a running back for the Miami Dolphins for a couple of years, Troy Stratford.

    • By my calculations you are the first generation. Your parents were the zeroth generation but that might be my math major coming through. Thanks for the kind words.
      Fred

      • I think the cigars were such a novelty for us ‘country folk’ that they stood out. Still, I’m looking for the answer to the million dollar question: the ice cream scoop and the shoe? We used to serve our ice cream with that scoop.

  7. Fred, I was thinking of you because a fellow named Josh, who is now a famous Jazz musician is playing by my home on tuesday. I remember that you and Josh were friends at Deerfield #9 before he left for Pingry (Did you go there also?). So I did some web searches and found this web site. In any case I hope all is well with you. Best regards from fellow Deerfield Alumn.

    - Ed

    • Ed-

      Thanks for posting. I remember your name but can’t picture you. However, yes Josh and I both went to Pingry. I knew that he was a successful musician but have completely lost track of him. Did you or are you going to see him?

      Fred

      • Fred –

        A friend told me that Josh was playing at Whole Foods Company in West Orange on tuesday 1/17. But looking at the Jazz schedule there for this tuesday, there is a Brazilian group playing. So now I am not sure he will be at Whole Foods on Tuesday, unless he is in that group. Anyway I thinks his website is http://www.joshuabreakstone.com/ . Is that him? If it turns out that I am at Whole Foods, and if he is there, and if I get to talk to him (a lot of ifs) then I will tell him about your web site.

        Regards, Ed

Leave a Reply