• Father of: Andrea Stern, Karen Stern Brenner-Stein

• Grandfather of: Shelly Spiegel, Terry Spiegel Thal, Jamie Spiegel Levick, Brad Spiegel, Wendy Brenner Palat, Mitchel Brenner, Dan Meredith-Stein

• Great Grandfather of: Ben Spiegel, Will Spiegel, Olivia Levick, Harrison Levick, Stephanie Palat, Max Palat, Indy Meredith-Stein, Huck Meredith-Stein, Seegar Meredith-Stein

On March 2, 1997, I interviewed my grandfather, Alfred Stern, about our family history. As you probably know, he was a fabulous story teller. Below are the digital recordings from that day.

On February 25, 2006, "My Granddad's Story" premiered to a roomful of family members. My Granddad's Story is fast-paced presentation, set to music, that tells the story of my grandfather's life. The presentation was shown for a second time at The Stern Family reunion in June 2010 prior to his 95th birthday.

To make the presentation easier to view, I've broken it down into eight very watchable segments.

Alfred Stern was a twin. He and his twin brother, Albert, were born in Kerhonkson, New York on December 20, 1914. At times, people might have thought Alfred and Albert had triplet brother. That's because their oldest sister, Anna Stern Wiezel, had a son, Lawrence Earl Wiezel, who was the same age as them and they (Alfred, Albert, and Lawrence Earl) were always together.

When Alfred was 11 months old, he and his family moved from Kerhonkson, New York to South Bay, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada where they lived for 14 years. In 1929, Alfred and his family moved to Vineland, New Jersey.

Alfred graduated from Vineland high school in 1933. He was third in his class. Upon graduation, he and his twin brother, Albert, attended South Jersey Law School at night while working on their father's farm at night.

While attending law school, Samuel made Alfred and Albert an offer they could not refuse. He asked them to drop out of law school and join him in the farming business. To sweeten the deal, Samuel told them that he would pay them $25 a week, which was a lot of money back then. They agreed and for the next 43 years, Alfred and Albert worked as farmers until they retired in 1979. When they sold their farm business, Samuel Stern & Sons, it was one of the largest produce farms on the East Coast with 200 acres of land.

Alfred was proud to be a farmer. Below are three clippings that resonated with him.

In 1994, Alfred and Albert celebrated their 80th birthdays together in New York City with their families.

Alfred Stern passed away on June 23, 2011 at the age of 96.