HAROLD FAYE IS CELEBRATING HIS 100TH BIRTHDAY ON NOVEMBER 19, 2015 AT SCHAEFER GARDENS, WHERE HE HAS RESIDED FOR TWENTY-FIVE YEARS. HAROLD WAS BORN ON NOVEMBER 19, 1915 IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. HE WAS THE OLDEST OF THREE SIBLINGS BORN TO JOSEPH AND ROSE FAYE. AT 1½ YEARS OF AGE HAROLD’S FAMILY MOVED TO NEWARK, NEW JERSEY. HE HAD A FEW JOBS IN HIGH SCHOOL, INCLUDING THAT OF A GROCERY CLERK AND A DELIVERY BOY.
HAROLD SAYS HE WAS “ALWAYS INTO SPORTS.” DURING HIS SCHOOL YEARS, HE ENJOYED SOFTBALL, BOWLING, BASKETBALL, BASEBALL (OUTFIELDER AND FIRST BASE) AND ICE-SKATING. HE SAID HE EARNED A LOT OF TROPHIES. HAROLD GRADUATED FROM SOUTH SIDE HIGH SCHOOL IN NEWARK, NEW JERSEY IN JUNE, 1933.
ONE OF HAROLD’S PASSIONS IS BALLROOM DANCING AND HE SAID HE HAS BEEN DANCING SINCE THE AGE OF THIRTEEN. HE SAYS THAT HE ALWAYS LIKED DANCING AND WENT TO A LOT OF THE DANCES HELD AT THE LOCAL “Y” AND CHURCH. HAROLD IS SELF-TAUGHT ON THE WALTZ, FOX TROT, LINDY, CHA-CHA, SAMBA, TANGO AND THE PEABODY. HE HAS ALSO WON NUMEROUS CONTESTS AND LAUGHS AND SAYS THAT HIS AMBITION IF HE DIES IS “TO COME BACK AS FRED ASTAIRE”.
HAROLD MARRIED HIS SWEETHEART, SYD BERNKNOPF IN 1937. THEY MET AT A DANCE AND HE SAYS HE KNEW THEN THAT SHE WAS THE WOMAN HE WAS GOING TO MARRY. THEY HAD TWO DAUGHTERS WHILE LIVING IN NEWARK. HE SAID THE KITCHEN OF HIS HOME WAS WHERE THE FAMILY GOT TOGETHER EACH DAY. FOR THEM, MEALTIME WAS AT 6PM. HAROLD ALSO SAID THAT HE TAUGHT BOTH DAUGHTERS TO DRIVE.
HAROLD FOUND HIS SECOND PASSION IN 1934 WHEN HE STARTED WORKING IN A FABRIC STORE CALLED STAR SILK. THE STORE, LOCATED ON HALSEY STREET IN NEWARK WAS HIS FIRST JOB AND HE SAYS HE WAS CHALLENGED IN A GOOD WAY BY WORKING WITH FABRICS AND DRAPERIES. HE ALSO ENJOYED MEETING PEOPLE AND MATCHING FABRICS AND COLORS TOGETHER. HE WORKED THERE FROM 1934 TO 1942.
IN 1943 HAROLD WAS DRAFTED INTO THE NAVY WHERE HE BECAME A MEDICAL CORPS PERSON AND GAVE FIRST AID HELP WHEN NEEDED. WHILE IN THE NAVY HE TOOK A TEN WEEK TRAINING COURSE TO BE A PHARMACIST MATE AT BAINBRIDGE HOSPITAL IN MARYLAND. WHEN HE WAS DISCHARGED FROM MILITARY SERVICE HAROLD WENT BACK TO HIS OLD JOB AT STAR SILK. STAR SILK EVENTUALLY CLOSED IN 1954. HAROLD LATER WENT TO CALIFORNIA AND THEN RETURNED TO NEWARK.
HAROLD CONTINUES TO ENJOY BALLROOM DANCING AND WRITING POETRY. TODAY, HIS DAUGHTERS ARE NEARBY. SHELLI LIVES IN NORTH CALDWELL, NEW JERSEY AND GAIL LIVES IN EASTON, PENNSYLVANIA. HE HAS 4 GRANDCHILDREN AND 3 GREAT- GRANDCHILDREN. IN ADDITION, HAROLD STATES THAT HIS SISTER ELEANOR, A WIDOW IN CALIFORNIA WHO IS 95 YEARS OLD, STILL TEACHES WATER AEROBICS AT THE LOCAL “Y”. HIS BROTHER, SAM, AGE 80 AND HIS WIFE PAT RESIDE IN ARIZONA. HAROLD SAYS HIS SCHAEFER GARDENS FAMILY HAS MADE HIS STAY A PLEASANT ONE. HE CONCLUDES BY SAYING HE HAS HAD A GOOD LIFE. HE JUST TAKES LIFE AS IT COMES, ACCEPTING THE GOOD DAYS WITH THE BAD DAYS.