Memories of a signature blue-and-white, string-tied cake box filled with a streusel coffee cake, hot cross buns, sticky pecan rolls, coconut chocolate bars or an Easter "daffodil" cake evoke pure food nostalgia for anyone from northeast Ohio who fondly remembers the legendary Hough Bakeries. In almost nine decades, from 1903 to 1992, founder Lionel A. Pile and later his sons, Arthur, Lawrence, Kenneth and Robert, built a family business that grew from a single shop, located at 8708 Hough Avenue, to the largest multiple-unit bakery in Ohio, and one of the ten largest nationwide.

Through the years, Hough expanded into the suburbs, establishing branch stores in the Greater Cleveland area and neighboring communities in Cuyahoga, Lake, Summit, and Portage counties. Operations and corporate headquarters were at the old Star Bakery plant at 1519 Lakeview Road, which the family acquired in 1941. Despite the company's enormous success and diversification, its rising production costs, lack of modernization, and stiff competition caused continuing financial difficulties. On August 8, 1992, the Lakeview facility and the remaining 32 retail stores closed without notice, and Hough Bakeries filed for Chapter Seven bankruptcy. The catering division was sold to the I-X Center in Brook Park, and the company name and its recipes were purchased by Kraft Foods.

But that was then and this is now, and the Hough name and baking tradition live on at Archie's Hough Bakery at 3365 Richmond Road in Beachwood. When Hough Bakeries closed, Archie Garner was head baker in the company's catering department. He knew that there would continue to be a market for all of the delectable confections, with or without Hough Bakeries. So, Archie opened his shop, which is dedicated to all things Hough, from the "secret" recipes and bakery equipment to the gallery of historic photos, authentic counters, and display cases. True to his predictions, cake-lovers drive from near and far for one of Archie's creations. Those tastes and smells associated with birthdays, weddings, and special occasions of times long past are being perpetuated for a new generation.

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One morning in 1906, in the small kitchen of Dora and Joseph Schwebel in Campbell, Ohio (near Youngstown), the couple was working together to mix, knead and bake the family's famous bread. Known for its outstanding taste, unmatched freshness and superior quality, the bread was carefully baked each day, and delivered -- still warm from the oven -- in wicker laundry baskets to a growing number of customers, including immigrant steel workers from Youngstown and neighboring areas. In just a few short years, the reputation of Schwebel's bread spread far and wide. Its customer list continued to expand, and delivery operations began to rely on horses and wagons instead of wicker baskets.

In 1914, Dora and Joseph entered the world of retail sales by expanding their customer base to "mom and pop" stores. To ensure that fresh bread was in the stores when customers requested it, the couple added more bakers to assist the family and even hired the company's first driver/salesperson to assist with deliveries. The strong economy of the 1920s kept operations moving along, and more people experienced the taste and quality of Schwebel's bread. In 1923, the Schwebels invested $25,000 and built a small bakery -- complete with a store front -- for retail business. The family could bake and deliver 1,000 loaves a day, using six delivery trucks. The future looked bright.

Tragedy struck in 1928, however, when Joseph Schwebel died suddenly, leaving Dora with six children and the family's business to run by herself. During this era, many people believed that the baking business was no place for a woman with young children. Dora Schwebel was told she should sell her bakery and stay home with her children. Instead, she stared down her critics and decided to continue with the business that she and her husband had built. Against all odds, Dora forged ahead to keep her family thriving.

Today, Schwebel Baking Company, still based in Youngstown, is the premier wholesale baking company in the region. However, in recent years the company has consolidated operations to remain competitive. In 2014 the company closed its Cuyahoga Falls plant where this story is mapped. Five years later it closed its Solon plant, leaving plants in Youngstown and Hebron, Ohio, still operating. For more than 110 years after its humble beginnings in a suburban Youngstown kitchen, Schwebel's continues to produce the breads people ask for by name.

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