Fred, you probably don’t know Fred. Fred was a baker. Fred’s dad was a baker. As a child, Fred would ride on the back of his dad’s horse drawn buggy, as he delivered fresh baked bread to the homes around Sarnia in the early 1900’s. Sarnia Bakery was well known for hand-made bread, buns, pastries, pies and cakes. In the early eighties, Fred decided to retire, he was sixty five. Fred got bored. Then Fred met Will. Fred brought along his wife Abbie. Will bought an oven for Fred and Abbie, they brought all of their recipes and started baking. Fred passed away a few years ago but Fred’s recipes live on. At SUNRIPE we still remember Fred. He was a mild mannered gentleman with great attention to detail. Fred was a special man and Fred’s story is special. Special because it seemed as if he was born to be a baker, special because he loved baking, because he was obsessed with every detail or that he enjoyed the smile on his customers’ faces as they tried warm bread just out of the oven. Another amazing fact about Fred was his last name. It wasn’t Smith or Jones, Fred’s last name was “Ovens,” yes Ovens. Fitting. Amazing. Seems that sometimes your path may be predetermined. Seems Fred’s path was predetermined and at SUNRIPE we are proud to remember Fred Ovens, his wife Abbie, and how they became a special part of SUNRIPE.
