A friend of mine on Fb posted this an image of sandblasted panel that’s in his house.  He mentioned “do any of you bear in mind the glass artist from Canaan, Me., Fred Tenenbaum?  He did this panel.”

My response was, “I positive do, with out Fred, Stained Glass Specific wouldn’t exist.”

Time was, we owned a glass retailer in Winslow, Maine, named Oakes & Parkhurst Glass.  It was a full-service glass store providing industrial glazing, residential glazing, and auto glass.  (O&P is now owned and operated by two of our kids, Soo and Tobias.)

I’m not positive of the date however someday within the early Eighties Fred got here to us and requested if we may get stained glass.  We introduced in a small quantity, made a small glass rack, and put it within the nook.  As we expanded O&P Glass, we additionally put a small quantity of stained glass and provides for the stained glass artist/hobbyist in every of the opposite 5 areas  (Belfast, Skowhegan, Farmington, Glenburn, and Manchester).  Then in 1988 circumstances prompted us to purchase a single location and make it ok for all our prospects to journey to.  We purchased and renovated a constructing in Waterville, Maine at 10 Railroad Sq..  By 2015, our son had purchased O&P and the enterprise we have been doing in stained glass had completely outgrown that house.  We moved to our present property in Manchester which is full flooring to ceiling (it seems like!) with stained glass, fusible glass, specialty cupboard glass, instruments of all of the glass arts and trades, and a lot extra.  All due to Fred’s easy request 40 years in the past!

Fred was a really proficient artist who didn’t solely sandblasting however copper foil and lead got here work.  His studio was referred to as Northern Lights Glass Studio.  Whereas penning this weblog entry, I had not been having luck discovering any extra footage of his work and was feeling disenchanted.  Once I handed over the weblog to be edited by our new Glass Academy Director, nonetheless, she acknowledged a number of the names. (It’s such a small world!) Inside a number of days I had been linked with Fred’s widow, Eve.  She despatched me this photograph of Fred’s first ever piece, and I used to be moved to tears.

Right here is Fred’s obituary, printed on legacy.com by Central Maine on Jul. 31, 2018:

“1941 – 2018

CANNAN – Fred Tenenbaum, 77, of Canaan, died peacefully at house surrounded by his household on July 27, 2018.
Fred was born in St. Gallen, Switzerland, on Might 14, 1941, and immigrated along with his mother and father to Brooklyn, N.Y., as survivors of the Holocaust. He moved again to the land in Maine in 1970 the place he spent almost 50 years constructing a house along with his spouse, Eve, in Canaan.
He was an achieved stained glass artist, creating and restoring home windows throughout Maine and past as Northern Lights Stained Glass. He additionally taught on the Skowhegan excessive and technical faculties for a few years. He liked to backyard and journey, he was a real crafts particular person and was liked dearly by all that knew him.
Fred leaves his spouse, Eve; daughters Marissa and Aliza, sons-in-law Rob and Mike; and 4 grandchildren.”