Freer, Winston H. (?-1981)
Noted inventor of magical effects, many of which have become legendary. He was particularly known for his levitation effect, which could be performed with a spectator in almost any situation or venue.
—T.A. Waters
That entry from the Encyclopedia of Magic touches on Winston Freer’s famous reputation for unusual and creative magic, as well as his career as a performer. It does not mention that much of Freer’s life was spent in St. Albans, Vermont.
Aside from a short but brilliant career performing magic and inventing magical effects, he called St. Albans home. There he was born, married, raised a family, and first learned the art of magic. There he made friends and found inspiration. Although his suffering from mental illness later kept him away from his hometown, his connections to St. Albans and the world of magic remained important elements of his life.
On the shores of Lake Champlain, St. Albans was a flourishing city in 1910. On August 21 of that year, Freer was brought into the world. His family—parents Richard Henry and Serena Freer, and his older brother Richard—continued to live at 77 Congress Street after his birth.
His father was a carpenter and paperhanger whose handiwork may be seen in many homes around St. Albans. He had immigrated to Vermont from England in 1884 and began supporting himself by hanging wallpaper during St. Albans’ first great housing boom. He later established himself as a contractor, imparting vital carpentry skills to his sons, especially Winston, who would find practical applications of his woodworking know-how.
The house on Congress Street was then, and is today, a multifamily home. Richard Freer maintained a woodworking shop in an outbuilding.