Editor’s Note: The following item is reproduced from a 1983 Bellefontaine Examiner article on the history of early bakeries in Logan County. Not included in the historical account below is the critical role played by Bellefontaine bakery owners during the Blizzard of 1978. At that time, local bakery operators worked nearly nonstop for several days, producing hundreds of loaves of bread to supply local grocery stores and Mary Rutan Hospital while roads were impassable and other vendors were unable to make deliveries.
Bakeries abounded in early 1900 Logan County – four in Bellefontaine, two in Lakeview, two in Belle Center and two in West Liberty.
Most of the bread was made in one pound and one pound-eight ounce round and long loaves. The baked round loaves were placed on a sheet in wooden boxes with up to 24 in a box. The boxes were then shipped to groceries where the loaves were either sold in boxes or placed in paper.
The bakers made most of their bread dough in troughs measuring 18″x18″x 8′. Ingredients would include 12 gallons of water, eight pounds of sugar, four pounds of lard, four pounds of yeast, 3½ pounds of salt and 196 pounds of flour. After mixing by hand, the dough would stand for an hour after which it would be punched down. After standing for another 15 minutes, the dough would then be divided into loaves and shaped. All work would be done by hand.
Around 1919 Keller Bakery of Bellefontaine, located on Maple Street, baked mostly bread and buns which were shipped by rail. Richter Bakery, on north Main in Bellefontaine, prepared mostly cakes, pies, cookies, doughnuts and some bread. Stuber’s Bakery was located on west Columbus and made a full line of baked goods, which were sold over the counter and by way of a horse drawn wagon, which went from house to house. Jackson Bakery on west Columbus also made a full line of baked goods and only sold over the counter. A smaller bakery was located on west Auburn and known as the Ansley Bakery.
Stephen Moore, who had one of the bakeries in Lakeview, eventually purchased the Richter Bakery in 1920. The Richter Included a small front-fired oven, fueled by wood, that could reach 400 degrees and maintain that temperature for five to six hours.
In 1921, Stephen Moore purchased the Keller Bakery. By 1922 he installed a 300-pan oven that was fired with coke. This oven could hold the heat all day and night.
In 1925 four men were working in the Maple Street shop. Their average day was eight to 12 hours, with no breaks. The pay scale was $12 to $18 a week, six days a week.
In 1926, the Moores began transporting baked goods via truck to groceries in the city and to county villages. The 1921 county directory notes there were 35 groceries in Bellefontaine and 31 groceries located throughout the county. A country route was also begun and grew to as many as five routes which brought baked goods to farm homes.
1922 saw the first dough mixer put into the Maple Street shop. The mixer could handle 400 pounds of dough at a time. This was the same year that uniform bread pans were incorporated into the system, thus making one pound, 24 ounce loaves. All dough was still cut and shaped by hand.
In 1930, Moores bakery installed a wrapping machine and in 1932 bakeries began wrapping and slicing bread.
Following the death of Stephen Moore, his son, Robert, continued the family bakeries withethe industry continuing to modernize.
In 1939, Robert purchased the Detrick Building, 116 N. Main and moved his cake shop into the improved building which to date houses a bakery. The main feature at that time was a new gas-fired oven with four shelyes that revolved. Moore would demonstrate it by standing nickels on the edge of each oven shelf and then revolve the shelves, thus demonstrating the smoothness of the operation.
Moore operated the two bakeries until 1952 when he sold the Maple Street shop to Nichol’s Bakery of Lima and that firm closed it. The Main Street shop was sold in 1954 to Winnan Brothers of Piqua.
