“When I got out of the military, this was the first place I looked,” Fraley said. “Mother and dad were here, so I drove to Dayton, put in my first application at Frigidaire, and that’s where I stuck for 42 years.”
RELATED: Couple eloped to avoid newspaper marriage notice
Fraley worked in quality control in plants in Moraine and Dayton as the company shifted focus a few times. He and his wife Hazel raised a family in Kettering and were married for 63 years until she passed away in 2016.
At 87, Fraley said he’s fairly computer-savvy, but he still prefers to read a printed paper.
“I’m sort of curious what’s happening locally and around the world, and I like to keep abreast of it,” he said. “I have more time to read now at 87 than when I was raising my children. … Now I have six great-grandchildren. I’m sure they don’t read like I do.”
Fraley was right in the mix of one of the big stories of his youth, working as an operating room technician in Army evacuation hospitals — much bigger than MASH units — in the Korean War, including one near the famed battle of the Chosin Reservoir.
RELATED: Subscribers track history through newspaper’s coverage
He said he didn’t often get news sent from home because they were always on the move — setting up the full hospital 17 times in the year and a half he was there.
Almost 70 years later, Fraley said he still likes to follow world news, but keeps up on local stories, too.
“I love the paper, which keeps me in touch with my community and nation,” he said.
About the Author
