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11/09/2022 08:30 AMA lifelong carpenter, Gary Takach was educated in the industrial arts in both formal and informal ways. Concerning the latter method of learning, he picked up the trade skill from his father, a residential house builder, who groomed him to follow in his footsteps. For Gary, occupationally taking after his father was an example of the hoisted social narrative of having respect for one's elders.
“That was a way of moving forward in the family,” he said. “Dads and moms, they instilled a good work ethic into their children.”
His formal training took the form courses in carpentry and other similar trade skills and crafts while attending Masuk High School in his hometown of Monroe and then advancing into higher education thereafter.
“After high school, I very quickly did different aspects of the carpentry trade,” Gary says. “I went to Northhampton Junior College [Northampton Community College] and moved on with business courses. I eventually started my own business which was based on finished carpentry within a home.”
With his business, which lasted for 40 years all without the need for advertising, Gary worked for half a dozen architecture firms in Fairfield County, which saw him work in the home of some big-name clientele. Included on the list was Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, whom Gary met several times in the process.
“He was a great guy, a very sociable guy. He had a four-and-a-half acre estate that we were building. His father also had a house on the property. When he was around, they played cribbage all day long,” Gary remembers.
Even after retiring from his company, Gary felt a need to remain active, being compelled to prove his dedication to his life’s work and craftsmanship. He joined a carpentry union, working with its members for 10 years.
While still with his original business, Gary relocated to North Haven in 1986, where he has resided ever since. He currently works as an Uber driver, his occupation for the past seven years.
“I met more people in town that had a need to move around. That’s why I was moving seniors and people that have a need for a driver,” he says.
Gary has also demonstrated his commitment to the people and organizations around him, going back to being a member of the Boy Scouts. Since living in North Haven, he has been involved with Corinthian Masonic Lodge 63, where he held an office for 13 years. He says he is also always ready to participate in any activities with the North Haven Senior Center.
Additionally, he belongs to the local chapter of the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy, being married to his wife, Gale Iannone, who has been a lifelong resident of North Haven. Gary himself is of Hungarian ancestry through his paternal grandparents.
“I very much value community. Between the Italians and the Hungarians, we have a very good way of living, and we belong to different national organizations that we feel strongly about and we support that with activities,” Gary says. “I am very family-oriented. I would like to believe I’m [not] very spendthrift. I like to hold onto our family money and all,” he says.
As a well-traveled man, Gary has been to nearly all corner of the globe, visiting the Caribbean, embarking on a cruise in the Scandanavian region and Northeast Asia. Regarding the latter area of the world, Gary witnessed a different approach to the industrial arts while in Japan.
“I saw outside scaffolding which was built by women. They strapped together lengths of bamboo to make stagings out of. We had metal stagings, and here they were these women taking apart stagings and passing it down woman to woman. You don’t see things like that happening in this country. I found that totally amazing,” he says.
Differences in technology and its use has been hugely noticeable for Gary, remembering the first computers of the late 1960s, using a heavy bag phone that required being a specifically location for solid cellular reception and the fervor surrounding the introduction of color television.
“I remember going with my family to a family friend’s [house] to watch Bonanza in color! That was a big item,” he says.
He recalls while Uber-ing being ear to people’s youthful unfamiliarity of gadgets and their parent companies before today’s tech corporations.
“I heard a conversation, they were talking about computerization. One of the gentlemen I worked for sold patents to IBM. Out of the back of my car, this young girl said, ‘Who is IBM?’”
Ultimately, having been an involved, active, attentive, traveled person, and as a father and grandfather, Gary tries to inform the youngest of his family on the valuable lessons he learned early on in his life and from experiences, and especially for the modern world of technology.
“If you have good health then you’ve got everything. Save, because it will make your life easier later. Be respectful,” he said.
“Don’t let a computer run your life. Use it as an accent to your life. I think there’s other avenue other than being tied to a computer. They could be outside enjoying a lot more of what the community offers, sports they could be doing, applying themselves by reading books.”