New Bedford Freestones Wooden Block Mystery Solved

Just about a month ago, Freestones City Grill in Downtown New Bedford began renovating the interior of the restaurant. That's when two wooden blocks were discovered behind a large mirror. On the wooden blocks were two signatures: Mike Faber and "Jumpin Joe" Days.

This is their story.

Back in 1995, Faber and Days worked together at Glaser Glass in New Bedford before the company closed down. Faber had been with the company for about 30 years while Days, who was much younger, was employed for a little over 10 years. They often worked together and installed mirrors for numerous companies around the SouthCoast.

If you're familiar with Freestones, then you know that there are mirrors strategically placed throughout the restaurant. The reason behind this design was to make the place appear larger than it already is, almost like an optical illusion of sorts. Those mirrors were installed in the 90s by Glaser Glass.

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Spacers are sometimes placed behind the mirrors to level them out and that's when Faber and Days decided to leave a little legacy of their own behind the glass, only to have that legacy discovered accidentally 26 years later.

Shannon Lyonnais, the daughter of Faber, reached out to her father to let him know that Freestones found his "John Hancock" and his response was perfect.

"I honestly thought no one would ever find those," said Faber, who now resides in Florida. He moved from the SouthCoast around 2013-2014.

As for Days, who is currently in his late 40s, his brother Chris was able to connect with Freestones, which gladly returned the tiles to the former installers.

"Together they worked hundreds of jobs around the area," Chris Days said. "My brother started working there in high school in the early 90s and was often partnered up with Faber."

Days will be keeping his tile as memorabilia and Lyonnais plans on sending her father's tile to him down in Florida.

Another SouthCoast mystery solved.