B. Barer And Sons--Rags To Riches

If you have been reading my Dad's site, you would know that the story of our family was a rags to riches story. The truth is that it is almost a literal description. B. Barer And Sons had a hand in history that B. Barer could probably never imagined. B. Barer And Sons was named for my Great Grandfather B. Barer and his 2 sons Israel "IJ"(my grandfather) and David. When I was very little my Dad drove the company truck back and forth between home and work. If there was a big job he would bring home the big flatbed. My Dad was out on the road frequently buying. He did not want to be around the store much as Grandfather and Uncle Dave were very demanding. When I was small, I had my mother write "B. Barer And Sons" on my toy trucks and thought that that was as cool as it gets. I loved going on trips with my Dad to Waitsburg, Tri Cities and Milton Freewater. B. Barer And Sons was located in a seedy section of Downtown Walla Walla between a Tavern and a Richfield service station. The tavern was next-door in the same building. Adjacent to that was a parking lot with a black wire fence going up to a brick building that said "Boss of The Road". Old Transient men used to shuffle back and forth on the sidewalks. The store had a counter on one side and a room that served as the office on the other. Next to the office was another desk then the furnace. The last desk had a wall around it but no ceiling. Behind the store was a large concrete building with 2 steel doors. One door went to where they would process hides. The other door opened to a larger section where the steel was stored. In the steel warehouse, there was writing in chalk from years gone by. There was writing about an earthquake hitting north of Touchet. Most of the writing was dated, usually done in the mid-1955. I remember a drawing of a hatchet and the inscription "I Buried The Hatchet." In later years, the service station was torn down and the store was expanded through the 11 N 4th building. An oxygen filling tank was put in place to compliment the Industrial Gas selection. The Business encompassed the entire corner of 4th and Rose. Many of the surrounding taverns were closed and also torn down. There were also a couple yards offsite one with a magnetic crane and also an additional warehouse. In 2000, my dad sold B. Barer And Sons to Oxarc, who had been industrial gas supplier to the firm and that is how it exists today.

The Barer Family Tales.

I just can't get enough of my Father's new blog (already on line for 2 months). I never got the chance to meet my Great Grandfather, B. Barer, the founder of B. Barer And Sons which ruled the steel industry in Walla Walla for the majority of the 20th century.
I loved this story.
"A man came into B. Barer & Sons one day to relate this story. I was walking across Main Street one day many years ago. I saw your Grandfather bend over to pick up a penny from the street. I said to him "Mr. Barer, you are a prosperous merchant why are you bending over to pick up a penny?" He replied that I would only have to know how hard he had worked to earn a penny during his lifetime to understand."

Old Walla Walla Fire Station Picture Also Shows Barer Property

 

This is the old fire station in Walla Walla. It had upstairs sleeping quarters for the firemen and a pole to slide from the sleeping quarters to the trucks.  I don't know how much time was saved by sliding down the pole, it probably saved space, too.  

In the background, you can see the old Richfield service station which I believe was already out of business, that was on the corner of 4th and Rose, along with the B. Barer And Sons steel warehouse. 

Not long after the service station went out of business, it served as a storage facility for our family business, until it was torn down.  The area was fenced in and incorporated into the main yard for B. Barer And Sons, now Oxarc. 

Just a note, before the fire department starting running the ambulance service, Duckworth company operated the service in that gas station on the B.Barer property.  At that time, I believe that ambulances only transported patients. Because of that, I'm aware that the service station was not operating at the time this picture was taken

This is one of many great pictures on the Bygone Walla Walla blog. 

Dad

My father Alan Barer passed away yesterday at 86.  This picture was taken at his winter home in Rancho Mirage.  My dad was diagnosed with cancer last summer and fought it valiantly.
He was a graduate of Walla Walla High School.  He received a degree from University Of  Washington where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Mu Fraternity. 
He served in the US Army during the Korean Conflict.  After working in the Bay area,  he returned to Walla Walla and entered the family business B. Barer and Sons.  After his father's death in 1967, he partnered with his Uncle David Barer.  In 1985, he became sole owner of the firm.  He married my Mother, Jean Granek in 1956, I was the first of 4 children.  When my mother became ill, my Dad took care to make sure the family could carry on as well as run the business.  About this time, his Mom had become ill with Alzheimer's.  It became a real juggling act to keep everything on an even keel.  He did it with a smile and without complaint.
He was a community leader, active in Toastmasters, Kiwanis, Rotary, The Walla Walla Little Theatre and the Democratic Party.  He loved morning coffee in Walla Walla with other business leaders in town. He was a member of Congregation Beth Israel in Walla Walla. 
After my Mom's death, he retired and moved to Kirkland in 2000. B.Barer And Sons was sold to Oxarc.  He met and married Jean Austin.  They enjoyed world travel.  My Dad loved to share memories which he was able to do on his blog. He joined Herzl Ner Tamid in Mercer Island.
A service will be held this week in Walla Walla and there is talk of another memorial service in Seattle.  He leaves three sons, one stepson, one stepdaughter, grandchildren, one great grand daughter, and his wife, Jean Austin Barer.  His daughter passed away last year.

5 More Walla Walla Businesses Of The Past

1.  B. Barer And Sons  Founded by my Great Grandfather, B. Barer (above with my Great Grandmother) and his brother Ike.  On the corner of 4th and Rose, it began as an animal hide purchasing outlet, evolving to scrap salvage, structural steel, and industrial gases.  Began in the early 20th century, it was run by 4 generations of the family, sold to Oxarc in 2000
2. Ben Hunt Mfg  A manufacturing company located in the Eastgate, one of B. Barer And Sons biggest customers, if not the biggest, it was not unusual for the company to do two or three large deliveries in a single day.  It began as a blacksmith company making horseshoes and what not, evolved into a metal construction factory known for truck bumpers.
3.  Derby Electric   Great place to buy a color TV. Located on Main and Spokane, it became Radio Shack. 
4, Chances R   Owned by the same family that owned Wades, sold clothing that was cool in the 70s.
5. The Liberty  The only indoor theatre in town, movies would show months after their release, annoying the locals.  Although it's architecture was spectacular, it was musty and less then pleasant on the inside.  It was owned by a Seattle firm during it's heyday

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

My Brother The Model

In the late 1960s, my father, while partners at B. Barer And Sons, opened his own business, The Fabric Outlet.  It was located on Main near 4th in Walla Walla and eventually expanded to 4th and Main.  My mother loved to sew, so she would be able to work at the store and did most of the buying.  My Dad's uncle and partner at B. Barer, David Barer, was also a partner, but as far as I know, didn't participate in the store's operation.
The picture above is from a newspaper advertisement for the store, featuring my brother, Steve.  The price of 3.88 per yard seems a little pricey to me for the period.
  The store did well for a few years, but new buyers habits and my mom's illness forced it to close a few years later.

B. Barer And Sons In News In Walla Walla

It's been well over 17 years since the family business B. Barer And Sons was sold to Oxarc, one of it's suppliers. However the company has come up in an interesting "guess who" in the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin.  Annie Charnley Eveland, published a picture taken by the Rose Street Steel Warehouse above.  Readers have had fun guessing who the bearded man could be. 
My Uncle Arny (my dad's brother) guessed that it may have been Scotty Cook, who my dad wrote about in his blog years ago.   Eveland wrote a little about what she learned about Scotty and mentioned my dad and Uncle Arny in a recent edition of her feature column "Etcetera".

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.

The Original B. Barer And Sons

From the Whitman College Archives. This is the business from which B. Barer And Sons would evolve. Thank you to Jeff Reynolds for finding this picture.

Oxarc At Night

This building was so essential in my life.  Oxarc was B. Barer And Sons.  A business started by my great Grandfather, B. Barer and eventually owned by my father.  

It sold to Oxarc in 2000.

Dave And Dorothy

In a classic picture, my Grandfather Barer's brother David with his wife Dorothy. Uncle Dave help build the family business, he was one of the sons in B. Barer And Sons. In Shelby Skates book on Warren Magnuson, tribute was paid to David for being an immigrant from Russia who became a successful Walla Walla businessman. David Barer passed away in 1985. Dorothy left us in 2007. Thank you to Cousin Anea Barer for providing this photo.

Historic Family Picture

 This picture (above) was taken after my Grandfather Barer and his family escaped from Russia by crossing the Dniester River, the dad, B. Barer, had already left the country.  

From left, my grandpa, Israel, his brother, David (Uncle Dave),  his mother, Risa (my great grandma), and his sister, Sophie (Aunt Sophie). 

This was sent to me from my Uncle Arny, who apparently got the  picture from my Cousin Leigh's Facebook post. 

As the oldest of my generation, I have some memories of my great grandma. 

Meeting Cousin Steve

This picture, taken at Mercer Island Starbucks last Friday, got an amazing amount of attention on Facebook.

Steve Barer, who came up from the Bay Area to watch his beloved Sharks play the Kraken, had a great grandfather who was a brother to my great grandfather, B Barer.  He also, by coincidence, shares a name with my youngest brother.

Steve is a native of New Jersey.

Revelations at Loon Lake

I sure miss my Uncle Dave,  my was my Grandfather Barer's brother and one of the sons from B. Barer and Sons.  My dad and him were business partners for 18 years.  This was taken from their vacation spot at Loon Lake by Burl (Dave's son), who has lately begun to post some old family videos.

In this clip, Dave is being interviewed by grandson Lee Goldberg.

The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin Hails Burl's Return

 

Right before I graduated from college, Burl Barer moved back to Walla Walla with his wife and daughter.  He had been a DJ in Seattle for many years and operated a production company in Bellevue. 
Burl worked at B. Barer And Sons, and did consulting work at KUJ, a top 40 station at the time.  He would later set up a cable advertising business in Walla Walla and the Tri Cities.  Eventually, he would do consulting work at KEXI, at the time, an FM station in nearby Milton-Freewater. 
Just after he moved, the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin did a feature story in it's Friday TV supplement.
Burl currently resides in the Los Angeles area.  He also has a son. 

Old Walla Walla Radio Remembered Part 30 KISS 101 Appears

Rock music was readily available in Walla Walla when KISS 101 launched in 1986.  Tom Hodgins, a local man known for his radio work, set up the new station with a studio at the top of the Whitman Tower, the city's tallest building and most famous landmark.
Unlike when KUJ switched to pop music, about a decade earlier, stations like KIOK, KSXT, and K-Lite already played music geared toward teens and young adults.
The station was personality oriented.  The picture above features morning crew members Big Jim Schwartz, along with his co-host Shannon, who helped me with info on the station.
 Lyn Daniels, a Spokane native who started at KUJ, would eventually join the staff.  Daniels would go on to become well known in Spokane country music.  Former Tri Cities DJ Chris Bartels also worked there.
In the late 1980s, about the time I was leaving Walla Walla, Burl Barer would take the morning shift, at first working with Shannon and then with another co-host.  Burl gave the station a little bit of a Seattle twist and did some great adlib commercials for B. Barer And Sons, the family business.
A big thank you to Tom Hodgins and Shannon for contributing to this article.

Memories Of The Family Business

A friend of mine found these picture on the Bygone Walla Walla page.  People asked if I was one of the sons in the business title, but I was actually the great grandson of B. Barer.  The sons were my grandfather IJ Barer and his brother Dave.  The business, which was founded in the early 20th century sold steel and welding supplies as well as bought scrap metal.  It was located at 11 N. 4th in Walla Walla.  Shown above is the steel warehouse on Rose Street.
The business was sold to Spokane based Oxarc in 2000.

Walla Walla's West Side Downtown 1960s

Another treasure from the Joe Drazan blog, the northwest corner of 4th and Main in downtown Walla Walla in what is commonly today known as the "Barer Building"  our family business B. Barer And Sons was behind it on 4th and Rose.  My dad eventually bought the building and later would sell it to a wine maker.  The part of the buildings on the left would be torn down to make way for a Goodyear Tire Store in the early 1970s. I'm not sure if the Fabric Outlet, which my Dad and his uncle owned, had started, my guess is that it hadn't. 

This is my cousin Jan, who has been the inspiration to this blog. She offered some great suggestions to me that helped make this page much better. She is a graduate of Walla Walla High School just like me. Her Dad was one of the sons in "B. Barer And Sons" (The other son was my Grandfather Barer) Jan has been fighting cancer for the last 10 years and is licking it like Muhammed Ali, when he took Sonny Liston down with one punch. I am fortunate enough to be a member of her fan club, which is no ordinary fan club. You can read about it at her site.