The Bakery

Light rye, YUM! Their dark rye was even better!

My first job was at the bakery right behind our house. It was called Wasulauskus Bakery, located at 122nd and Halsted (we lived on Emerald). It was very popular in our neighborhood as it made terrific bread, a light and dark rye. It was so good we always had it around the house and especially on the holidays. And I remember that when Aunt Julie and her family would come to visit, she would stock up on the dark rye as she couldn't get anything as good back home in Algonquin. Anyway, I was 16 and I worked the counter. I worked my butt off there for $1.25 per hour. And I had to wait on customers, which could be unpleasant at times. Sundays were especially busy because everyone would stop in after church. My mother encouraged me to work on Sundays whenever possible. Since the bakery was closed on Mondays, we could take any leftover home at closing. Well, my mother and aunts thought that was manna from heaven. My mother worked nights at Kaiser Aluminum and she would bring bakery goods to share with her co-workers. She became very popular there as a result. I worked there for about 2 years, wearing an ugly candy-stripped uniform I hated. We were all sad when the bakery closed a few years later as we were no longer able to get that delicious bread!