Farewell, Freddie

Last week, Saratoga lost yet another person who was a long-time fixture of the area.

In my experience, there were very few people who didn’t know Fred “Freddie” Williams. It was never difficult to spot him as he made his way around town, with a cup of coffee in one hand. He was, in a way, the one-man welcoming committee of Saratoga. I think you could truly feel you were welcomed to town if you crossed paths with him.

My first experience with Freddie was way back in 1999. My parents had just moved us to Saratoga and they were building our house outside town. With no washer or dryer, we’d make t...