So read the sign on the shop and forge built along the Wallenpaupack by Lambert Frey in 1852. Guest speaker Arthur Frey will talk about his ancestors who settled along the Wallenpaupack in the mid-1800s and established a business that remained in the family for 150 years.
Lambert and Mary Frey moved to South Sterling from neighboring Coolbaugh Township to establish a business and build a home adjacent to two other thriving water-powered enterprises, the Rohrbacker and Haag gristmills. Having previously worked as a blacksmith and wheelwright, Lambert set up his own shop and forge where he engaged in the blacksmithing and wheelwrighting trades as a full-time business. Combining different types of wood, all available locally, he made farm wagons, ox carts, sleighs and carriages, as well as the wheels that kept them all rolling. Designed to meet the stresses of rough, mountain roads, his wheels were feats of good engineering and careful craftsmanship. According to family legend, he operated a water-powered hammer mill and crafted the iron fittings needed for the various horse-drawn conveyances produced in his shop. He probably also found it useful to make and repair his own tools and shoe his own horses.
Following the Civil War, when funeral practices began to change, Lambert Frey went into the undertaking business. His son John later joined him in the business, followed by his grandson Russell, great-grandson Charles and, in 1960, his great-great-grandson Arthur. Art Frey served as funeral director at Frey Funeral Home for more than 50 years, retiring in 2015. He was the fifth generation of his family to hold that position and the longest serving of any of his family members. Art will trace the shift from the small family plots of the early and mid-1800s to the development of Greene-Dreher’s first rural cemeteries, three of which remain active today.
The program is open to the public and will be followed by refreshments. The program will also be offered online via Zoom. Please contact us at info@greenedreherhs.org if you would like to attend remotely and we will send you the invitation link three days prior to the event.
