Gone but not forgotten!

In our lifetime we have had the opportunity to meet many people. Some famous but many not really, at least not in the grand sense of the word. All were fortunate that they were part of the Fred's family from it's inception and passed long before its' demise. You knew they were famous and well liked because all the generations of "Fredsters" spoke of them often, each with a story of their cherished memory.

Of course we must start with "the brothers". Fred left his mortal life way to soon. While driving home one evening he suffered a massive heart attack and died. There were no goodbyes, no time to think about death, it just happened. Shock and sadness filled the restaurant but true to Fred's personality of moving on, everyone told stories from their memories of his life. He had touched many. He knew many influential people, he loved to play tennis and yes he loved to gamble. In his later years, his knees hurt and he had a bad heart but tennis was his love. He even gave lessons. However, his passion was to bet on the game, his game! His serve was wicked but his gait was slow. Fred's theory "don't give them a chance to return the serve!" Was he a ringer, probably. Did he loose any bets? If he did he never said. Did he make money or settle an argument with a tennis game? Absolutely! At Fred's graveside service some of his closest friends threw some dice into the grave before it was sealed. The games must continue!

Emil was the last one of my "famous" people that passed away. Yes, he was one of "the brothers", a man with a medium build, dark rimmed glasses and shocking white hair. Always a twinkle in his eye, but strictly business. He too loved to gamble and was a master of his dice game. Emil and Fred had purchased many of the "mill homes" over the years. This was just one of the many facets of the "family" business. With Emil's passing the "family" business was turned over solely to the "great nephew". That in itself is a whole other story! Emil lived well into his eighties, his exact age I can't recall. In his earlier years he had suffered a heart attack and had by-pass surgery. Much luckier that his brother Fred, he took the doctor's advice concerning exercise. One could see Emil walking everyday, rain, snow, wind, hot or cold, at least five miles. His gait unlike Fred's was quick and precise with a sense of purpose. Neither brother had married, both had longtime girlfriends. Their only "child" was the great nephew. Emil groomed that man to take over the business. The great nephew did everything for his uncles and was Emil's sole caretaker to the very end.

Jim alias Old MacDonald was another of the Fred's News regulars. Jim had moved to Sprague in his teen years and quickly became a regular at the place. He was close friends with "the brothers". Jim played a good game of tennis, very competitive and did not like to loose! His personality was such, that people either loved or hated the man. Those of us who knew him well loved him. Although he was often the center of a heated argument, he was a genuine family man who loved his wife Lu and his children. Jim would do anything for you if he liked you. If he came into the restaurant after "the rush" he could be seen clearing table for us. My most cherished memory of Jim was when our beloved collie "FRED the DOG" was dying. My husband Bill knew it was the end and FRED had to be taken to the vet and put to sleep. I stayed at the restaurant, Jim stayed with me. When Bill called to say it was over, Jim and I cried together. Thank you Jim!

Then there was George. A fairly short, barrel shaped man, he had been born and raised in Baltic. If memory serves me correctly he lived his whole life in the same house. George was retired by the time we had met him, but he too was a regular at the place from it's inception. In the morning it was coffee, in the afternoon it was iced tea. As a regular, it was his job to get the conversation rolling. George started many a heated argument then sat back and with the lively twinkle in his eye, you knew he was a master at his job! George used tell all who came in that him and I were twins. Same birthday same anniversary day, all on April 19th just about twenty five years apart. For a long time after George passed, no one sat in his chair at their afternoon gatherings.

Lucille affectionately known as "loose wheel". No rhyme or reason for the name just that everyone of the regulars had a nickname. Lu lived diagonally behind the restaurant in what was known as the old ice house. Actually it was a real ice house in the days before refrigeration. She lived alone, never married. Some called her a spinster. Lu was well just Lu. She had suffered from breast cancer many years before and in her later years osteoporosis. She never drove and could be seen walking everywhere in Town. My friendship with Lu had begun many years earlier. Lu always came into the restaurant for one egg and toast. She was a pencil thin woman with a definite opinion, born on Halloween and by her own admission looked like a witch. One year on Halloween I had put two rather large papier mache witches at either end of the counter as decorations. Lu stopped in later in the afternoon. When I looked up to greet her she was staring at the witches. I asked if she was okay, she looked surprised and smiled saying, "Oh my God, they look just like me!" From that point on they were called Lucille and her sister Lucille. Every year people used to ask "isn't time for Lucille to sit on the counter!"

Perhaps one of our grumpiest regulars was "Happy" better known as "Hap". An old bachelor he and his sister lived across the street from Fred's. Hap really wasn't a grump he just didn't smile much. Oddly enough he had a wickedly dry sense of humor. That man could tell some stories! There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for you. Sometimes Hap needed protection from those who took advantage of him. He knew this and when he'd had enough he sought our opinion on what to do. One winter he asked us to drive to Florida with him in his van. Bill and I obliged, the kids ran Fred's News for one week. We had a great time with Hap. Bill and I did all the driving and we made it to Lehigh Acres in less than twenty four hours. As we headed to Fort Meyers beach Hap announced that he hadn't brought his bathing suit. He ducked into a surf shop and purchased a suit slightly larger than he needed. That was the first and last time he wore the thing. Said his sister made curtains out it when he got home.