The Harris Bakery business
did not happen overnight.
It took years of hard work and patience beginning in
1916
when Sam Harris, Mr. Harris' father, of New York
City,
set up a tiny shop at the rear of South Market
Street.
Within that period, the bakery's reputation grew as
it
did, and the need to expand became evident.
Two years later in 1918, Mr. and Mrs. Sam Harris
purchased a building at 222 W. Centre St., from
Thomas
Manley and converted it to a substantial sized
bakery.
Within another two years, the business continued to
grow rapidly, necessitating the purchase of a
six-family dwelling from Mrs. Theresa Macrees. An
annex structure, 30x75 feet, was erected, affording
Sam
Harris his long awaited adequate space.
Finally, on April 12, 1937, the dream was complete-a
new, modern bakery constructed of steel and brick,
with
fireproof walls of tile that could be kept
meticulously
clean.
The business continued to grow after World War II
when Sam Harris' son Emmanuel, known by many to this
day as Mendel, came home from the service, working
closely with his father in the business.
Baked bread, baked goods, the fanciest of wedding
cakes and the start of making a variety of donuts,
in-
cluding the notorious pretzel donut, a long-time
favorite
in the community, which still remains today.
The pretzel donut, the brain-child of Sam Harris, who
wanted to expand the line and automate the famous
donut, but because of the consistency of raised dough
as
opposed to pretzel dough, each and every one of the
tasty-twists of fluffy sweet treats are made by hand.
It was the final dream of Sam Harris to expand again
and the decision to move to its present, .........
location at 11 W. Coal St. was made.
Yes, Sam Harris' dream came true, but he never lived
to see it materialize on West Coal Street.
At the present location for 26(?) years, the
enterprising
roots of Sam harris reached out to the community
before, continuing to grow through integrity and
ambitions of his son, Mendel.
As`Mrs. Harris pondered the change of hands, she
confidently said. "The baton has been passed to
a
wonderful family - the Alshefskis."
So how do the new owners feel about "their"
dream
coming true and good fortune? "Very
excited." said
Mrs. Alshefski.
The warehouse and distributorship will be retained,
along with the guarantee that Harris baked goods will
remain the same, with the anticipation of expanding
with some additional specialty items in the future.
They will sell regular coffee and decaffinated, hot
chocolate in the winter, tea, including herbal, to
take out
and they will even offer a line of potato chips and
pretzels.
The Alshefski's children are quite familiar with the.
business Mrs. Alshefski said. "After school they
all had
chores" in helping with the distributorship.
The Alshefski's have five children, Jerry Jr. .....
Joseph, who work closely with their father; .....
Gabriel, who operates the House of Bargains store in
Hazleton. Linda Kurczewski and Loretta, who look
over the office duties at the Alshefski Enterprises
warehouse. Last but not least, there are three grand-
children. Also pitching in a helping hand with the
business are Jerry Jr.'s wife, Barbara Anne and
Joseph's wife Barbara Grace.
Mrs. Alshefski, in reference to the town of
Shenandoah
and its people said, "We both like Shenandoah -
wa...
the people and feel safe."
The Harris bakery crew will also remain the same.
Those responsible over the years in keeping ...
the business operating are: Joseph Cooney, Helen
D....
Phillip Dubiansky, Al Endrick,Judy Heffner, R...
Karahuta, Jane Katotick(?), Marlin Keiter, Joseph
K....
Christine Koncaler, Mary Krivitsky, Ed mack, Do...
Miller, Sam Natalo, Gale Nicholas, Benjamin Og....
Ronald Ogonek, Ed Perlinsky, Charles Rakum (?), ...
Sadusky, Allan Salter, Isabelle Schlitzer, Camill...
cavage and Carmella Toborowski.
A warm and friendly invitation on behalf of the
Harris
and Alshefski families is extended to everyone to
participate
in the grand opening celebration planned for October
2..
23.
