Life After Tappan Zee

Fred Tietz - "Fred"
   
1957 Graduation Picture
Recent Picture

I first went to work pumping gas on the New York State Thruway in Sloatsburg, New York. I lasted 1 month. Pumping gas 8 hours a day was not what I wanted in life.

I started working for my father in September, 1957 as an apprentice auto mechanic. Went to many automobile mechanics technical schools evenings and some days. In 1959 & 1960 I had a Sportsman Stock Car I raced at the old Polo Grounds in New York City.

In 1961 I got married. My wife got sick and passed away 2 years later. I was still at the service station and also tending bar at the Dugout in Piermont, New York on the weekends. I think it was Hurban's old place; at this time my uncle owned it. Had to pay medical bills that were piling up. After 2 or 3 years I married again and had 1 daughter Tammy Lynn. This marriage ended in divorce.

In 1974 my father passed away and Chevron Oil Company let me keep my dad's lease as we were going to form a partnership. In 1980 Chevron informed me that they were going to sell the 4 bay gas station which had been my life all these years. I had the right of first refusal to buy the station or move on. I bought the station. One day during the early eighties a car came in for gas and when I went to the pumps the woman looked familiar. It was Ellen Schikle Lynch. From that time on until I sold my business, Ellen and her husband Bob were one of my best customers. In 1982 the A & P Real Estate Division offered to buy the land, but not being ready to retire that young, I didn't sell. In 1986 they made me an offer I couldn't refuse. I was getting kind of burned out & decided to go for it. Best thing that ever happened.

In April, 1987 I went to work for Ramapo-Indian Hills Board of Education in Oakland, New Jersey at Indian Hills High School. In 1988 I bought & built a new home in the Pocono's in Dingmans Ferry, Pennsylvania. It was my weekend getaway for the next 12 years. Didn't want to retire & live there, so I sold it.

Married wife #3, Virginia, and am very happy. I retired from the school system on October 1, 2003 after 16 years. We built a new house in Kittrell, North Carolina. We enjoy traveling & working around the house & yard. My hobbies are NASCAR & dirt track racing and I am a big Dale Earnhardt fan. I have a lot of collector items & memorabilia. We include in our travels the NASCAR race tracks and enjoy taking the track tours & pictures for our album. I have also started a new hobby of making hooked rugs, which I really enjoy.

Contact Information

EMAIL: Vbft157@aol.com

Snail-Mail: 46 East Pasture Drive, Kittrell, NC 27544

Phone: 252.438.1720