I often woke up in the early morning by the clapping sounds of horse feet down the cobbled streets of Congress and River when I was a young boy in the early 60's. It always brought a smile because I knew it was the Freihofer man delivering the morning's fresh baked goodies. If I had the energy, I would pop up from bed to get a glimpse of the horse drawn red and black wagon passing by the window.

Those child hood memories are as vivid as driving to work each day. There is something to be said about the sounds and smells of yesteryear. There are no more horse-drawn Freihofer delivery wagons, and for all practical purpose, there is no more Freihofer in Troy where this 87 year old bakery began. If a proposed development is approved and built there will be no physical sign of this historic bakery as well - only memories. It is scheduled for demolition like the fate of so much Troy history before it.

I can't think of a greater symbol of Troy's entrepreneurial spirit. The Freihofer story is typical of so many stories of hard working men and women who came to Troy to live their dream and become successful.

As history writes it, the Freihofer saga began as a result of a train trip to Montreal in 1911 with a layover in Troy. Charles F. Freihofer and his sons, successful Philadelphia bakers, were travelling to Canada to examine a new line of ovens.

After learning that most of the female population of Troy worked in the collar and cuff factories- hence too busy or tired to bake - the three sons, Charles C, Edwin H, and Frank A, felt it was a great opportunity to create a commercial bakery to fill the void.

On Wednesday, March 12, 1913, the brothers opened their new baking company in Lansingburgh where they stayed until the company consolidated all of their Capital District bakeries into a new Albany plant a few years ago (a Schenectady bakery was built in 1914, and one in Albany in 1915).

Sometime shortly after Freihofer's business boomed, they purchased the old Riverside Club next to the bakery for their offices. This mansion was purchased by the Riverside Club around 1900 and is one of the last remaining examples of Shingle architecture in our area. The Shingle style was an outgrowth of the late 19th century Queen Anne style, although Shingle style was truly American - born in New England - and found from Long Island all the way to Newfoundland. This too will be demolished.

On that first Freihofer morning in 1913, Trojans woke up and found free loaves of bread on their doorsteps. They could order home delivery for five cents per loaf.

The Freihofer man and his horse drawn wagon delivered hot fresh bread each morning before dawn, and made a second round later in the day bringing cakes and other specialty items, like their famous raspberry pies, and even fresh ground coffee. This was also the time when you took a few sugar cubes, apple, or carrot to feed the horse as it stood patiently waiting for the driver to return.

In the winter time, it wasn't uncommon to see kids hanging on the back of the wagon and standing on their sleds as they hitched a ride, albeit a slow one down the street. The horse nor the driver gave it a second look. I am told that the horses knew their route so well that they would often walk ahead of the driver stopping at the various points along the way while the driver walked along the sidewalk to his deliveries.

The Freihofer man took orders, or you could call, or simply leave the Freihofer Bread Sign in your window. He knew what to do. He also knew that if a family could not afford to pay for the bread, it was delivered anyway and a bill was never issued. Try that at your local supermarket today and see how far you get.

But how many baby boomers can remember watching , or being on, the Freddie Freihofer "Breadtime Stories" television show on WRGB, Channel 6 from 4:45 to 5 PM? Host Jim Fisk would create a "Squiggle" from some kid's doodling tacked onto the side of a cutaway Freihofer wagon (was it a real wagon cut in half?). The show, which was the first to be broadcast in color in the Capital District, was built around your birthday and celebrated with other kids your age sharing a cake, hats, and a group photograph (any of you have one?). The show ran from 1948 to 1966.

As Freihofer grew and prospered the horse and wagons were slowly replaced by trucks. The last horse route ceased in 1962 (I'm told the horses were getting hurt or killed by the increase in traffic). Home delivery ended on January 22, 1972.

In 1987, General Foods bought Freihofer but later sold it to Best Foods in New Jersey and the bakery has been theirs ever since. The Troy and Schenectady plant became distribution centers and all baking moved to Albany.

We are fortunate that Jim Macey grew up in Troy. This fellow Trojan knows a great deal about the Freihofer Bakery (and trolleys but that's a later column). Jim is a one man Freihofer museum. He has been collecting Freihofer memorabilia for more than 20 years. He has in his possession original bread wax paper wrappers from the 1920's and 30's, original decals that went on the wagons, original home bread boxes, bread window cards, a board game Freihofer put out in 1955, aluminum bread trays, advertisements, promotions, articles, cookbooks, over 20 metal and plastic banks from the 50's and 80's (in the shape of a wagon of course), and even the proverbial watch that they gave to their employees for outstanding service.

But Jim's greatest prize is a 1942 Freihofer wagon he meticulously restored. I would love to see the Rensselaer County Historical Society borrow his materials (and wagon) for an exhibit. Better yet, having the wagon on display in a lobby or storefront in downtown would be great. Any takers?

The demolition of the Freihofer bakery has not occurred yet. A meeting of the Planning Board will be held on the proposed Freihofer demolition/development project this Thursday at City Hall at 7 PM.

Best Foods may own the Freihofer name, and the developer may tear down the physical structure, but the people of Troy own the history and individual memories of the Freihofer Baking Company. That they can never take away.

©2000 Don Rittner