A Tradition of Swirls Continued

PROTECTED CONTENT

If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.

Username

Password

Login

Lost your password?

Username and Password Help

Please enter your email and we will send your username and password to you.

Email

Submit

← Back

By Troy Treasure

     It all began in the late Elizabeth Payne’s kitchen; a special relationship nurtured a little girl’s love of baking.

  Debbie Barrick now operates the recently renamed Bethel Bakery, formerly Das Bakery.

  “My grandmother loved me and those cinnamon rolls were a feel-good thing,” Barrick said recently, “and cinnamon rolls make other people feel good. People enjoy them.”

  Shawn and Annalisa Reed of Bruce, South Dakota bought the bakery from former owner Marilyn Shouse on Dec. 10, 2020.

  Both Reeds have professional ties to South Dakota State University in Brookings that go back more than 30 years.

  How the transaction came about was pretty simple.

  “We went in for a roll. Shawn happened to see the For Sale sign on the window and asked Marilyn about it,” Annalisa Reed said. “Long story short: we came out purchasing a bakery.

  “We like the Bethel community and Shawn has good memories of his time growing up there and we wanted to keep the bakery going,” she continued. “After talking with Debbie about it, the decision was easy.”

  Bethel Bakery is open 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. every other Saturday. The next open date is Feb. 13. Barrick indicated she plans to be open any weekend a festival takes place in the village.

  Shawn Reed was 15 in 1977 when his father became pastor of the Bethel Christian Church. The family arrived from South Dakota on Saturday, Oct. 29. Two days later was Shawn’s first day at North Shelby.

  That morning, he was told to shave his beard.

  “I was not too impressed,” Shawn recalled.

  “The day got better when I was invited to go out on Halloween night by Cephus Payne,” he continued. “I was surprised to see all the mischief that people did down south. Up north, all we did was trick or treat for candy. I decided this might be a fun place to live.”

  Still, moving “down south” was part of his father’s plan.

  “He wanted to move the boys to ‘Bible country’ because they were getting ‘too wild,’” Annalisa said.

  “Bob Perry, the school board president; Leon Shores, the principal; Jerry Culbertson and Nancy Schneblin, the teachers, were all members of the Bethel Christian Church,” Shawn said.

  “I thought it was awful hard to get away with anything at school without my dad hearing about what I was doing,” he continued.

  “Looking back, didn’t realize how lucky I was.”

  Shawn recounted several fond memories last week. One included the previously mentioned school principal.

  “After school every day, racing our cars from the school to Rodney’s (grocery) store in Bethel,” he said. “A few of us would take off out of the parking lot and race back to town.

  “Mr. Shores was going to follow us one day, but he couldn’t keep up,” Shawn continued. “We were all at the store waiting for him when he got there.”

   On a recent Saturday, Debbie Barrick indicated someone was waiting outside the store prior to 6 a.m. By late-morning, customers were still arriving – mostly families.

  Barrick used the word ironic to describe a familial tie of her own.

  “My grandma was so into baking things and then I married into this family,” she said. “I’m going to call it the Barrick Family cinnamon roll recipe. They were very good at making cinnamon rolls. I have the opportunity to continue and I like it.”

  Varieties at the bakery include raisin rolls, caramel and caramel pecan, among others.