My Dad From 1986.

Another picture from B. Barer And Sons.  My dad poses near where the oxygen filling plant would soon be built.  This picture was taped in my dad's office.  A clean up in his and Jean's condo recovered many historical artifacts. Jean, whom he married in 2000, died earlier this year.  My Dad passed way in 2016.

From The Wayback Machine

My Dad and his Uncle Dave at their business B. Barer And Sons.  Dave was one of the "sons" in B. Barer And Sons.  The other son was my grandfather who died in 1967,  The firm sold steel and industrial gases and bought scrap metal.  It was located on 4th and Rose in Walla Walla with a warehouse on West Main and yards on 4th and Sumac and Rees Avenue.

Advice From My Father

No, my dad wasn't General Patton, but he did use a phrase from either the General or the movie or both.  It was in paraphrase "no one ever won a war dying for his country, you win by making the other guy die for his" what he meant is to not sacrifice what belongs to you in an effort to get ahead.

Happy 85th To My Father!

Last Friday, we celebrated my father's 85th birthday with a party at the Bellevue Club.  His birthday is actually this Friday.  Pictured above is my Dad and me in the back with my brother Steve on the right and his wife Dawn on the left.

Checking Out History

Thank you to my brother, Steve for this vintage check from our family business, B. Barer & Sons, eventually incorporated. The business was founded by my Great Grandfather, B. Barer and his two sons, IJ and David, early in the 20th Century. The business would last until the year 2000, allowing grandsons and great grandsons a place for summer employment. The business was sold to Oxarc in 2000. Steve still works at the location.

This check was signed by my Grandfather, IJ Barer in March 2nd of 1944. IJ Barer passed away in 1967, and my Dad bought into the partnership with my Uncle Dave. You can read bits and pieces of the company's history at my Dad's abarer blog

Published!

Thanks to my brother Danny's hard work, my Father is now a published author. You can get Alan Barer's ABarer Blog Posts 2006-2009 by clicking this link. It is a series of funny and touching anecdotes of a family's journey from oppression in Russia to starting a growing business in Southeastern Washington. Even if the book does not turn up on the "bestsellers" list, the publishing of this book insures that the writings will endure through time.

Happy 80th!

A contingent of family and friends filled Kirkland's Anthony's Homeport to help my Dad celebrate his 80th birthday. Many in attendance were friends from college coming as far as Los Angeles. Also there were my brother, Danny and his wife, my brother Steve, my Dad's brother Arny and his wife Carol, my cousins, Joe and Sam and of course my Dad's wife, Jean who planned the party. My Dad's friend Aaron Epstein made a beautiful presentation.
The birthday cake pictured above referred to my Dad's passion of world traveling. Lorrissa, a friend of my wife, provided piano music and lead a sing-a-long.

Alan L Barer Hits 80

My father turns 8o tommorrow, we will celebrate with a party next week. My Dad was born one month before Black Tuesday, an irony since he has always enjoyed following the stock market. He is a graduate of University Of Washington and Walla Walla High School. He retired about 10 years ago from the family business in Walla Walla to live up here in the Puget Sound area. He is a history buff and loves to share his experiences and the family's unique history on his blog.

More On Aunt Dorothy

My Dad has another nice tribute to Dorothy Barer. You can also click here for the notice in the Seattle paper.

From The ABarer Blog

My Dad has another one of his stories of days gone by....

The customer is always right
As we plugged in the final computer entries I had a flashback probably sixty or more years ago.The main store front at our place was sixty feet from the front door to the rear. Behind was a driveway between the store and the warehouse.In those days a popular product was steel wire rope cable used for loading hay.I was standing in the driveway with my dad and Uncle Dave when a man approached. Throwing a role of cable on the ground he asserted that the cable was no good and he wanted his money back.Uncle Dave examined the cable and responded that there was an appearance of abuse while being used.The man flew into a rage. "I knew you Jew Sons of ----". He didn't finish his statement.Uncle Dave spun the man who was at least as tall as he was. Picked him up by his belt and collar and "bums rushed" him the sixty feet to the front door propelled him out where he lost his balance and fell. As the man gathered his wits, the roll of cable came flying out after him and the door slammed behind him.The other onlookers present began debating as to whether the guy should have been beat up on the premises or whether there was a liability incurred by throwing him out on a public street.I, of course, was taken aback this was totally out of character but it was explained to me that the merchandise was purchased prior to haying season and now that the season was over and the cable had been used and abused the guy wanted his money back.The ethnic slur was not to be tolerated.

My Dad's Writings--Mother's Illness

My Dad has been writing a series on his blog about struggles of our family through the long illness that my Mother suffered from 1970 until her death in 1997. What my Dad leaves out is how both of them kept an even keel, no sign of panic, almost to the point where we did not even grasp how serious the matter was. It is amazing looking back at my Father's life at that time. In addition to my Mother, my Grandmother Barer had a then little known disease called Alzheimer's that was progressing rapidly. My Dad's Uncle Dave, who was his business partner, was having heart problems. On top of that, my sister and I were going through the turbulence of adolescence. Oh, and did I mention my 2 little brothers?

He's Writing Again!!

After a 2 month hiatus, my Dad is writing again. This story about his old employee Matt is a scream!

Waitsburg Welding Works On Abarer

My Dad has just wrapped up a series on my Grandfather Barer and Uncle Dave's purchase of Waitsburg Welding Works, a 20 some year venture that culminated in selling it to the foreman in the mid 1960s or so. The story was excellently written and brought back lots of memories. The picture above is Main Street of Waitsburg, WA, about 20 minutes east of Walla Walla.