Longtime volunteer Linda Fredericksen reflects on life of service

Linda Fredericksen has been helping the West Milford community for many years and in various capacities.

Fredericksen was born and raised in the Bay Ridge area of Brooklyn to Norwegian parents. At the time, Bay Ridge had a large Norwegian population. Growing up in a Scandinavian neighborhood, her childhood was filled with treats such as lingonberries on crisp, dried waffles. Her father was a ship steward on a yacht named, “Warrior.” Her mother, child No. 10 of a family of 13, came to U.S. when she was 17. Both her parents immigrated through Ellis Island.

Fredricksen spent her summers on various family farms in Norway. Her aunt still has a dairy farm that sells milk to the manufacturers of Jarlsberg cheese. She has many fond memories of Norwegian summers and recalls the pranks her cousins would play on her. For instance, they convinced her eating grass would curl a pig’s tail causing her to spend a lot of time trying to witness this phenomenon herself.

Fredricksen met her husband in Norway. After living in Brooklyn, Albany and Connecticut, the family moved to West Milford where her husband found work as a surveyor. When her two sons and two daughters reached school age, she took college courses offered by West Milford High School. Not knowing how to type, she had her children type her hand-written papers. When her children tired of this, she learned to type.

She took classes at Passaic County College and then went to William Paterson University with the goal of becoming a nurse. When her husband was laid off from his job, she decided to quit her studies because of the extra expense. Her mother came to her aid and paid her tuition, allowing Fredericksen to graduate in 1983 as a registered nurse and a member of the International Honor Society. While working as a hospital nurse, several friends convinced her to enroll in a Bachelor of Science (BSN) degree in the Ramapo College/UMDMJ joint program. Although her friends dropped out, she graduated.

Fredericksen has served the West Milford community in many ways. She started the Parent/Teacher Organization (PTO) at the Maple Road School, represented the Girl Scouts as the community chairperson and was district commissioner for the Boy Scouts. For about 10 years, she aided the town by pronouncing the dead when called upon by the police or emergency services. She recalls one time she had to travel by boat to Fox Island and trudge through the brush to pronounce an unfortunate man.

During the low morale of the COVID-19 pandemic, she and other members of the West Milford Presbyterian Church met in the church yard to share coffee and fellowship. After COVID abated, the group continued to meet. During one coffee klatch, someone asked the pastor where he bought the sweater he was wearing. He replied it was from a thrift store.

Fredericksen thought, “We can run a thrift store” and Aunt Jenny’s Thrift Store was born. The congregation and community rallied to make Aunt Jenny’s a reality. She chuckled when recalling the Confirmation Committee only painted the center of the floor, requiring others to finish the job. Mayor Michele Dale cut the ribbon to open Aunt Jenny’s in September 2015. The thrift shop is posthumously named for a woman affectionately called Aunt Jenny who raised funds for the church through rummage sales.

Today, the shop proceeds are used for the Presbyterian Church’s overhead and to sponsor a yearly senior’s luncheon. The shop’s inventory provides coats for coat drives, gowns for the high school prom, and clothing for those in need. The shop serves as a community center where people both shop and visit. A few examples of the shop’s other contributions to the community include a 90-year-old woman folding clothes to feel useful and a woman who lost her dog finding sympathy from a kindred soul.

Fredericksen attributes her many accomplishments to her Norwegian stubbornness and bossiness. She looks forward to a July family trip to visit relatives in Norway, which is a gift to her from her children.