Firch Baking Company- 75,000 Pounds of Lard

Old Time Erie Firch Baking ad from Erie Dispatch, Aug. 28, 1927.

The Firch Baking Company was owned by the Firch family in Erie, PA. William Firch founded the company around 1889. He was one of the leading bakers in Erie prior to his death in 1917. William's son George Firch managed the bakery for a few years, and James B. Dwyer became president of Firch's around 1925. They made bread at 1902 Cranberry St. in Erie, PA. John Dwyer was president and Paul Dwyer was vice-president of Firch's in the sixties.

Firch's sold a lot of bread, as you can tell by the amount of ingredients they used in 1926:
30,000 barrels of flour
300,00 pounds of milk
200,000 pounds of sugar
75,000 pounds of salt
75,000 pounds of Crisco and lard
60,000 pounds of Fleischman's yeast

According to this ad, "Everyone knows that Ma-Made bread is clean, because the Board of Health has given this bakery a rating of 99% for the sanitary conditions prevailing throughout the plant and the good health of the bakers...About one year ago we enlarged our bakery and installed modern equipment, including a large Traveling Oven, with the result that it has proven to be a year of great achievement." 

Bread travels along a conveyor system from one end of the oven to the other, hence the name 'Traveling Oven.' I wonder when bakeries stopped using lard. So many questions...

Enjoy more historic facts and photos of Erie, PA at: oldtimeerie.blogspot.com

Top 35 Bakeries in 1965 in Erie, PA

Top 35 Bakeries in 1965 in Erie, PA

Who doesn't love to bite into a warm, freshly baked cookie or pastry? Remember the days when you could walk to the neighborhood bakery and buy a roll of bread or a bag full of rolls? Or a three-tier wedding cake? Let's take a look back at the Top 35+ bakeries in Erie, Pennsylvania in 1965. The list includes:

Baker's Bakery, 118 East 17th St.

Balkan Bakery Company 258 East 2nd St.

Bill's Bakery, 1825 West 26th St.

Boll's Bakery, 1136 East Lake Rd.

Boll's Pastry Shoppe, 1912 East 38th St.

Colonial Bakery, 3717 Pine Ave.

Dolly Madison Cakes, 2440 Buffalo Rd.

Do-Nut Shop, 20 North Perry Square

Firch Baking Company, 1902 Cranberry St.

Frontier Cake Shop, 1650 West 8th St. and 1625 West 26th St.

Jack Frost Doughnut Shop, 2119 Buffalo Road
George's Bakery, 424 East 3rd St.
W.T. Grant Co. Bakery, 18 West 9th St.
H & K Do-Nut Shop, 3712 West Lake Rd.
Haft's Bakery, 915 East Ave.
Omar Hall Baking Co., 1563 West 38th St.
Hess Avenue Bakery, 701 Hess Ave.
International Bakery, 610 West 18th St.
Kuneman's Bakery, 2646 West 8th St.
Lakewood Pastry Shoppe, 3433 West Lake Rd.
Lucas Pastries, 1001 West 8th St.
Majestic Baking Co., 1501 Walnut St.
Marque's Bread, 1140 East 20th St.
Mary Ella Pastries, 3025 French St. (owned by William P. Sontheimer & son)
Morgan Bakery, 1061 West 22nd St.
National Biscuit Co., 2222 East 30th St.
Paramount Pastries, 715 West 29th St. and 2615 Evanston
Rusterholtz Bakery, 3817 West 12th St. (main store), 301 East 12th St. (pastry shop)
     4008 Main St., Lawrence Park (store), Central Mall (store)
Seebachers Bakery, 107 Main Street, Girard
Sontheimer Bakery, 561 West 31st St.
South Erie Bakery, 202 West 29th (corner 29th and Peach)
Ward Baking Co., 1540 West 26th St.
Washington Bakery, 1258 West 8th St.
Wesleyville Bakery, 3010 Buffalo Rd (Wesleyville)
Williams' Pie Kitchen, 1163 West 26th St.
Zehe Bakery, 121 East 21st St.

International Bakery and H&K Doughnuts are still in business. Jack Frost Doughnuts will reopen in the summer of 2012.

The Frontier Cake Shop sold old fashioned German soft pretzels.

Kuneman's had been in business since 1919 and was known for their wedding cakes.