Williams Bakery (Scranton, Dunmore, Blakely: buy, school, live)

[nkotb]

Does anyone know the history of Williams Bakery in Scranton or Dunmore ?? We had a discussion the other night at the 'bar' and there
were lots of different stories about WHO started it or owned it ???
Or, perhaps there was more than one Williams Bakery !!! I'm going back -
maybe - more than 30 years !!!

[FightinPhils]

All I know is that it was at the corner of S. Blakely St. and Grove St. in Dunmore. A toy store recently opened up there.

[helenthemelon]

Originally Posted by nkotb

Does anyone know the history of Williams Bakery in Scranton or Dunmore ?? We had a discussion the other night at the 'bar' and there
were lots of different stories about WHO started it or owned it ???
Or, perhaps there was more than one Williams Bakery !!! I'm going back -
maybe - more than 30 years !!!

Hi, My Grandfather Ed O'Hara drove truck for Williams bakery for years I was 14 when he retired and he passed away 2 years later he hauled flour from Binghamton NY to Scranton. it was a large tanker truck. This was A large industrial bakery they baked and smaller trucks delivered the product. you could not go in and purchase baked goods. I remember he had a friend their Jim Thomas he was also A long Haul Trucker not a delivery trucker and there was only the plant in Scranton. Don't know who started it. that's what I was trying to find out when I stumbled on this site. They maid bread ,cupcakes,and pies.My Grandparents raised me and I remember for my 4Th grade field trip they arranged with the company and school for a trip there I was so Proud Grandpa held my hand the whole way Thu the plant we all had to put on hair nets and we all got cup cake. I never new until I was grown that I was a poor unwanted kid left to old people who already raised their family because they always made me feel so special. Also it was down behind what is now Scrantons welfare office and the SteamTown mall. If any one get any more info on this matter i'd love to hear about it thanks [EMAIL="irishlady1962@gmail.com"]irishlady1962@gmail.com[/EMAIL]

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by helenthemelon

Hi, My Grandfather Ed O'Hara drove truck for Williams bakery for years I was 14 when he retired and he passed away 2 years later he hauled flour from Binghamton NY to Scranton. it was a large tanker truck. This was A large industrial bakery they baked and smaller trucks delivered the product. you could not go in and purchase baked goods. I remember he had a friend their Jim Thomas he was also A long Haul Trucker not a delivery trucker and there was only the plant in Scranton. Don't know who started it. that's what I was trying to find out when I stumbled on this site. They maid bread ,cupcakes,and pies.My Grandparents raised me and I remember for my 4Th grade field trip they arranged with the company and school for a trip there I was so Proud Grandpa held my hand the whole way Thu the plant we all had to put on hair nets and we all got cup cake. I never new until I was grown that I was a poor unwanted kid left to old people who already raised their family because they always made me feel so special. Also it was down behind what is now Scrantons welfare office and the SteamTown mall. If any one get any more info on this matter i'd love to hear about it thanks irishlady1962@gmail.com

The original post was back in 2008. However maybe you'll find someone that has joined since that original post?

I started a thread on the Old River Road Bakery: //www.city-data.com/forum/north...-me-about.html I know that it is not the Williams Bakery (that you want information about) – but maybe you will find the thread interesting or helpful?

[jimazee]

Originally Posted by helenthemelon

Hi, My Grandfather Ed O'Hara drove truck for Williams bakery for years I was 14 when he retired and he passed away 2 years later he hauled flour from Binghamton NY to Scranton. it was a large tanker truck. This was A large industrial bakery they baked and smaller trucks delivered the product. you could not go in and purchase baked goods. I remember he had a friend their Jim Thomas he was also A long Haul Trucker not a delivery trucker and there was only the plant in Scranton. Don't know who started it. that's what I was trying to find out when I stumbled on this site. They maid bread ,cupcakes,and pies.My Grandparents raised me and I remember for my 4Th grade field trip they arranged with the company and school for a trip there I was so Proud Grandpa held my hand the whole way Thu the plant we all had to put on hair nets and we all got cup cake. I never new until I was grown that I was a poor unwanted kid left to old people who already raised their family because they always made me feel so special. Also it was down behind what is now Scrantons welfare office and the SteamTown mall. If any one get any more info on this matter i'd love to hear about it thanks irishlady1962@gmail.com

I just noticed this post after I posted a link in the Cici Pizza thread near here, to a resurrected Williams bakery in the hamlet of Milwaukee, Ransom Township ... near the 'Abingtons' area Williams Country Store and Pies

This is the bakery, probably then called Williams Pies, that was in West Scranton and Dunmore (at Blakely and Grove St). It specialized in 'home made' pies and (reportedly) had a thriving business between 1946 and the 1980s. Many Dunmore area folks still pleasantly recall these pies and this business.

...not to be confused with another larger Williams Bakery, IIRC located near where the Steamtown complex is now. This was a more 'commercial' enterprise and sold more standard fare in many retail outlets, like very white sliced breads and 'Happy Cakes' (cupcakes like Tastykakes (well sorta like 'em...)). These products were carried in many area stores and there were many Williams Bakery delivery trucks. This sounds like the one that helenthemelon remembers.

[Mr Yuk]

I'll have to try them out sometime...I have heard of the Williams Pies that used to be in Dunmore, people rave about them.

[jimazee]

Originally Posted by Mr Yuk

I'll have to try them out sometime...I have heard of the Williams Pies that used to be in Dunmore, people rave about them.

If you have a specific pie in your mind's eye ... consider calling ahead and ordering it. Since they have recently restarted and building the business back, and they are a few minutes out in the farm country...they only carry a few pies 'in stock' daily. Since they often sell fast, the selection varies (all are good anyway, but just sayin').

I think at the holidays they plan to go into heavy production mode. I have heard stories of long lines in Dunmore waiting for pies fresh from the oven at the holidays. They didn't take 'special' orders at these times, just cranked out out as fast as they could...

It's also a nice spot to just buy a hoagie or bakery item and sit inside or better, on the porch. Pretty relaxing and 'different' than any fast food place by a mile.

The web site has more info.