A famous song once stated, “Time Marches On”. It certainly does, and we can confidently say we are now fully in the last half of 2025. Summer vacation and holiday barbeques are now just a memory. We have Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas to look forward to along with the opportunity to make more memories before we bring 2025 to a close.

Next year is a monumental year. The USA will be 250 years old, Route 66 our first transcontinental highway celebrates 100 years, Duke Bakery will be 75, and Duke Bakery Granite City will turn 20. So many memories and so many changes.

We have spent the last several months recalling memories of the past as we prepare for our 75th Anniversary in 2026. Many of these bakery memories are ones we have personally created and date back 20, 30 or 40 years. But many of the memories we have dating back to the early days of Duke Bakery, are stories that we have been told, along with a handful of pictures that have been passed down. We are fortunate that we have the second generation, Michael and Karl, here by our side to share and pass on so much of the past and stories of the early days.

For us here at Duke, researching 75 years has been a great learning experience. I have learned that memories are much like baking, it’s a process that is fun, stressful, difficult and satisfying all at the same time. In baking, especially when developing a new product, we document every step as well as take many pictures. I leave you with one piece of baking advice: if you want to mix memories to perfection, document! Take many pictures, write everything in detail, and the future generations will appreciate it. I hope your memories are as sweet as a Duke’s chocolate chip cookie.

Until next time, Baker Ben