Lore of the Stevenstown Bakery
Established 2004
Proprietors,
Grandma and Jonathan Herbers
Jonathan Herbers, my first grandson, has always had an interest in the kitchen. Before age two, he learned the word “g e n t l e” by cracking eggs. Grandma held his wrist and helped him with the motion of egg cracking. He soon could crack eggs by sound. He also learned the terms yolk and albumen.
It was always so much fun as we put on our aprons and baking hats. Jonathan and Grandma were always in a dream world as we shared the kitchen. One day Jonathan said, “We should start a bakery.” Thus, the Stevenstown Bakery was born and named by Jonathan. Grandma was the baker. Jonathan held the titles of: Quality Control (taste testing), Pricing (some inflated and some deflated prices), Customer Service (always ready for the customer), and Marketing (how could anybody turn down the request of a little boy to purchase his goods).
As Jonathan grew up, our times of baking together got fewer because school got in the way! In early summer of 2007, Jonathan suggested the bakery needed to have an open house. Grandma acknowledged that, but didn’t figure it would become a reality. He mentioned it again, and again Grandma acknowledged it. Finally in August of 2007, Jonathan phoned and said we needed to set a date because school would be starting soon. Oh Boy! Guess Grandma was committed to carry this out.
Jonathan and Grandma set up a baking date; what was going to happen to all the goodies had yet to be determined. Grandma asked Jonathan, “What should we bake for our open house?” He followed with, “Some cookies, muffins, cakes, and pies.” WOW! More than just family was needed for the open house with this list of sweets from such an ambitious marketer.
We needed another brainstorm session. Being the excellent six-year-old marketer he was, Jonathan said, “Couldn’t we sell it and give the money to help the flood victims?” BINGO! Down to the computer we flew to create some invitations. We invited family, friends, and neighbors. The open house was held the next week. Everyone was invited for hot dogs, fresh garden veggies, beverages, and of course, bakery goodies. We baked all day and filled new enamel bowls with goodies. We enclosed the bowls in cellophane gift bags, tied with ribbons, for the guests to take home. Our generous guests contributed $200 for local flood victims, some of whom had lost their homes. It was heart-warming to know this was the idea of a little six-year-old-boy named Jonathan. Grandma was proud!
I had the wonderful pleasure of making memories with Jonathan. It was fun to nurture an interest of his, encourage him to see the value of helping others, and eat sweet treats together. The bakery held more charitable events in the years that followed. To date, the Stevenstown Bakery helped raise $3175 for charity.
Tags: Making memories with my grandson
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