Reminiscing Childhood
In the interviews conducted by myself, there were a few common traits such as getting a tour of the bakery in grades of 3rd to 5th, seeing the bread getting made, and at the end of the tour, receiving a freshly baked bread, a hat, ruler and pencils- all having the insignia of Richter's Butter Krust. Some remember having book covers that showed Butter Krust in high school, some remember seeing bakery trucks deliver fresh loaves of bread to stores, and some even remember seeing Butter Krust commercials but what everyone remembers is the distinct smell of fresh bread being bake as they would pass the bakery. It is proven that smell is the strongest sense to invoke memories so when talking about a wonderful smell of Butter Krust, the reminiscing of childhood begins of every single on of those interviewed.
In one interview, the gentlemen remembers going through the tour of Butter Krust but remembers everything from the perspective of a 3rd grader; everything was big, seeing the belt buckle of an adult, there was much silver and the walls were white. After much conversation about what he remembers, he starts to research pictures on his own and comes across a picture of an an ashtray with Butter Krust shown from the bottom and remembers his father had it, which led to him remembering a specific barbershop. There he would receive haircuts, see older gentlemen talking while cutting hair and magazines everywhere.
Another gentlemen remembers the tour of Butter Krust, seeing all of the machinery, bread rolling through, and at the end receiving a delicious piece of bread. He also remembers the process of folding the book cover and never getting it quite right in high school. The memories didn't stop there. He recalled having family meals and his uncle walking in with the famous Butter Krust bread rolls. He laughed as he stated one batched always had to get burned. Family is very significant to this individual and Butter Krust could possibly show the stem of that love of family togetherness.
In one of the first interviews, a woman remembers receiving a tour of Buttery Krust, getting bread and other materials but that pretty much all she remembered. One statement she made was she loved the smell of the freshly bake bread while passing by the bakery and started reminiscing about her own childhood. She remembers her A-pa, what she called her great grandfather, giving her and her older brother a dollar each to save and him saying as he handed it to them, "Don't go spend it at the store!" with a sly smile. They'd both reply "Ok, a-pa!" and promptly go walking down the street to the corner store to spend their dollar. She said the process would repeat and repeat but believed that her grandfather wanted them to spend the dollar at the store. She smiled as she remembered her beloved grandfather who passed away.
These are only a few interviews but the patterns are the same; the smell of fresh bread, the tour of the bakery, and then memories that coincide with that time period of when Butter Krust was around. Butter Krust was not just a bakery with tasty bread but a stimulus of invoking memories of those in the older generation now in the present. While driving down Ayers and passing by the run down bakery with the iconic red letters spelling Butter Krust, many remember the company and their own unique person experiences. How often is it that one gets to think back to a time of happiness in their childhood and bread being the trigger? Quite often down here in Corpus Christi thanks to the bakery.
In one interview, the gentlemen remembers going through the tour of Butter Krust but remembers everything from the perspective of a 3rd grader; everything was big, seeing the belt buckle of an adult, there was much silver and the walls were white. After much conversation about what he remembers, he starts to research pictures on his own and comes across a picture of an an ashtray with Butter Krust shown from the bottom and remembers his father had it, which led to him remembering a specific barbershop. There he would receive haircuts, see older gentlemen talking while cutting hair and magazines everywhere.
Another gentlemen remembers the tour of Butter Krust, seeing all of the machinery, bread rolling through, and at the end receiving a delicious piece of bread. He also remembers the process of folding the book cover and never getting it quite right in high school. The memories didn't stop there. He recalled having family meals and his uncle walking in with the famous Butter Krust bread rolls. He laughed as he stated one batched always had to get burned. Family is very significant to this individual and Butter Krust could possibly show the stem of that love of family togetherness.
In one of the first interviews, a woman remembers receiving a tour of Buttery Krust, getting bread and other materials but that pretty much all she remembered. One statement she made was she loved the smell of the freshly bake bread while passing by the bakery and started reminiscing about her own childhood. She remembers her A-pa, what she called her great grandfather, giving her and her older brother a dollar each to save and him saying as he handed it to them, "Don't go spend it at the store!" with a sly smile. They'd both reply "Ok, a-pa!" and promptly go walking down the street to the corner store to spend their dollar. She said the process would repeat and repeat but believed that her grandfather wanted them to spend the dollar at the store. She smiled as she remembered her beloved grandfather who passed away.
These are only a few interviews but the patterns are the same; the smell of fresh bread, the tour of the bakery, and then memories that coincide with that time period of when Butter Krust was around. Butter Krust was not just a bakery with tasty bread but a stimulus of invoking memories of those in the older generation now in the present. While driving down Ayers and passing by the run down bakery with the iconic red letters spelling Butter Krust, many remember the company and their own unique person experiences. How often is it that one gets to think back to a time of happiness in their childhood and bread being the trigger? Quite often down here in Corpus Christi thanks to the bakery.