56 / April 20, 2010 Milling & Baking News bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

2010 Baking Hall of Fame

The three Lewis broth-ers had to mortgage their mother’s house in 1925 to

purchase a bakery in Anna, Ill. The acquisition began a Hall of Fame career for the youngest of the three brothers, Jack Lewis Sr., then 16.

“Through entrepreneurship and hard work, he ran a business and developed Bunny Bread and truly touched the lives of many, many people,” said his son, Jack Lewis Jr. “He was my partner and my friend through the many years we worked together.”

Now, father and son are togeth-er in the 2010 class in the Ameri-can Society of Baking’s Hall of Fame. Jack Lewis Jr. accepted the honor on behalf of himself and his late father March 1 at A.S.B.’s BakingTech 2010 in Chicago.

“Dad would have been absolutely thrilled,” he said. “I am absolutely thrilled to receive this honor.”

Lewis Bakeries, known for its signature Bunny Bread and openness to innovation, now employs about 2,200 people and delivers fresh bakery products in 13 states. The work and vision of father and son sparked the 85 years of growth.

Jack Lewis Sr. worked at a department store in 1925 while Amos and Armold Lewis worked at a bakery in Harrisburg, Ill., about 60 miles away from Anna. The three brothers bought the bakery in Anna and started daily horse-and-wagon bread deliver-ies to homes nearby.

The brothers kept the business alive during the Great Depres-sion. The bakery survived World War II, when sugar, needed for baked foods, and tires, needed for delivery trucks, were rationed.

Armold Lewis served in the U.S. Navy during the war and then left the family business. When Amos Lewis died of can-cer in 1944, Jack Lewis Sr. and his

wife, Josephine, purchased the bakery.In the late 1940s, Jack Lewis Sr. began putting rabbit

head graphics on Butternut brand bread, Jack Lewis Jr. said. People began asking for that “rabbit bread” or that “bunny bread.” The “Bunny Bread” name eventually was copyrighted.

Jack Lewis Jr., born in 1938, took part in the bakery’s growth. While in elementary school, he stacked boxes on

Jack Lewis Sr. and Jack Lewis Jr.

In 1955, Bunny was introduced by Guisti Baking Co. in New Bedford, Mass. From left, Bunny Girl, Joe Guisti and Jack Sr.Jim Henley, left, and Jack Sr. at the Anna Bakery in 1959.

58 / April 20, 2010 Milling & Baking News bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

Saturdays. When he turned 15 and received his driver’s license, it was time to run truck delivery routes.

After graduating with a de-gree in economics from Florida State University in 1959, Jack Lewis Jr. came back to work for the family business. He asked his father what was expected of him. His father pointed to the financial books and told him to increase sales by 10% and de-crease stale products by 50%.

“I said, ‘Dad, if I can do that, I’ll fi nd a better job,’” Jack Lewis Jr. said.

Instead, he stayed and helped Lewis Bakeries become known for innovation. The com-pany pioneered the use of liquid fermentation, polyeth-ylene bags, the continuous proof and bake system, the development of six strap bread pans, and the use of I.T. systems in alternative bakery distribution.

Acquiring other bakeries extended the company’s geo-graphical marketing reach. A bakery acquired in Evans-ville, Ind., in 1963 became the company headquarters.

“I bought a number; dad bought a number,” Jack Lewis Jr. said.

The company’s product port-folio expanded, too. Lewis Bakeries in 1991 introduced Healthy Life Bread, a line of fat-free, reduced-calorie and high fiber bread.

While the family business grew, Jack Lewis Sr. stayed in Anna and served on its city council from 1952 to 1980. He was a member of the boards of directors of Anna National Bank, the Illinois State Cham-ber of Commerce and Southern Illinois, Inc., a regional organi-

zation that worked to attract industry to southern Illi-nois. He resided in Anna when he died at age 95 in 2001.

Within the industry, Jack Lewis Sr. was a founding member of the Independent Bakers Association and worked with the American Bakers Cooperative.

“He loved the bakery business to the very last,” Jack Lewis Jr. said. “He was a true self-made American.”

Like his father, Jack Lewis Jr. has given his time to baking industry causes. He has served as chairman of the American Bakers Association, the International Bak-ing Industry Exposition, the American Bakery Coopera-tive, and as a board member of the WE Long and the Quality Bakers Association.

“My experiences with the American Bakers Associa-tion in the 1980s were meaningful and exciting and re-warding,” Jack Lewis Jr. said.

He looks forward to the I.B.I.E. in Las Vegas in Sep-tember.

“I think the Expo is going to be an ongoing, meaning-ful event for the industry, even more so that it is bring-ing all the different parts of the baking industry to the Expo,” Mr. Lewis said.

In 1997 he was selected as Indiana Entrepreneur of the Year. Jack Lewis Jr. now is president of Lewis Baker-ies. His wife, Peggy, is executive vice-president of mar-keting.

The family-owned company has stayed alert to tech-nological and computerized progress. Bunny Bread and Healthy Life Bread each have their own respective Face-book pages. The baking company uses scan-based trad-ing that allows it to own product until it is scanned at the check-out counter of retail outlets.

“We own it all the way through,” Jack Lewis Jr. said.The Lewis family, judging by the number of members

attending the Hall of Fame ceremony, seems ready to stay involved in the baking business.

“The third generation is in (the business) pretty heavy,” Jack Lewis Jr. said, while adding fourth-genera-tion members attended the ceremony, too. MBN

2010 Baking Hall of Fame

Gary Brodsky, right, presented the award to Jack Jr.

Jack Jr. and Jack Sr. on the cover of Bakery Production and Marketing in 1974.