Last week Haegele's Bakery celebrated 96 years in business. We had a wonderful week filled with Trivia and prizes and incredible well wishes from so many customers. One of the best parts of our Anniversary week is the exchange of memories across the counter. This year we had a customer proudly share that he's the reason our glass window on Barnett Street is divided in two pieces of glass. He put a baseball through that window as a kid and since it was too expensive for the bakery to replace the window as one, the center bar was installed to fit two panes of glass. He is a part of our history for sure; not just because of the forever changed front window, but because he grew up with us. Haegele's Bakery has always been a "neighborhood" bakery. Folks today still talk about waking up to an incredible smell that eminates from our bakeshop fan and drifts down the driveway. For our family, Haegele's Bakery has never been just a business; it's always been a way of life! Infact, for the first and second generations, Haegele's Bakery was also "Home". Those generations lived out of three small bedrooms upstairs and the household kitchen that sits between our storefront and the bakeshop. Barnett Street was Richard & Erich's (2nd gen) playground. It's a good thing neither of those two boys ever put a baseball through the front window, or we might not have had a 96th Anniversary to celebrate. Can you imagine what it was like growing up at the bakery. Can you imagine what life was like on the corner of Erdrick & Barnett Streets back in the 30's, 40's, and 50's? Well, we have a video to share that answers that very question. It's also straight from Richard & Erich Haegele themselves. Back around 2012 Erich's grandson, Stephen Skeel was planning on going to NYU for Film Production. Stephen had been making home movies since he was a little kid, but with a serious future in sight, he decided to make a short documentary and thought the bakery was a fascinating topic and his Grandfather & Uncle willing subjects. He sat down and interviewed them and captured on film what words cannot. Richard went home to be with the Lord September 2021 and Erich on January 29th this year. How blessed we are to have this glimpse of their story... Life on the corner of Erdrick & Barnett Sts...GROWING UP AT HAEGELE'S BAKERY! Thank you Stephen for sharing.
