LOCAL HISTORY: Bruning's Bakery & Carbondale's Winter Wonderland tie
CARBONDALE - Richard B. Smith, best known as Dick Smith, was born and raised in Honesdale, Pa. His song writing career was really taking off once his most well-known work, Winter Wonderland was released in 1934. This was less than a year before his untimely death at age 34 of tuberculosis. This article takes another look at Smith's background, emphasizing his mother's side of the family who came from Germany and settled in Carbondale, Pa.
Smith's middle name was "Bruning," which was the maiden name of his mother, Eliza Bruning Smith. Dick was the youngest of four children born to Eliza and John H. Smith, of Honesdale. Note: An alternative spelling often found in early records and newspaper articles mentioning the family, is "Brunig" without the second letter "n".
Music seems to have some extent run, and still runs, in the family.
His father, who also died of TB in 1908 when Dick was seven, was remembered as having a lovely tenor voice and sang in the choir at Grace Episcopal Church in Honesdale. His mother also played the piano, as did his sisters Marion and Marjorie. The latter lived to age 95 in 1996 and was a close friend of this writer's mother. They also had a son Warren.
Among the Brunings of Carbondale is a second cousin to Dick Smith, Dale Bruning, who was born in 1934- the year Smith died. Mr. Bruning is today a professional jazz musician living in Thornton, Colorado. He shared some of his recollections, for this story.
German immigrants
William Brunig was born August 23, 1830 in Hanover, Germany (Prussia). His wife Augusta was born in Bodemarder, Germany, three years later. William emigrated from Germany in 1852 and first settled at Honesdale.
In 1858 he was married at Honesdale to Miss Augusta Brunig. She had emigrated from Hanover in 1854. In his obituary many years later, their marriage was described as "a happy one" with a domestic life of peace and felicity. "He made a faithful and indulgent husband and father," it reads.
They made their residence at the same address as the bakery. There is some contradiction in the old accounts on when he started the bakery, but it may be the same year they married, if not a couple years before. In 1911 the bakery, however, listed "1862" on the bread wrappers.
Bruning's Home Bakery
The bakery was at 28 South Main Street, about a half block south of City Hall, on the west side of the street. The 1923 Carbondale street map shows that the two-story structure, made of brick, had what was likely a wood frame addition in back, and in the very rear, a brick section labeled "oven."
One photograph of South Main Street has been located showing the site of the bakery, circa early 1900's. The colorized postcard, shared courtesy LackawannaGenWeb, however, doesn't show any business sign to clearly point it out among neighboring businesses.
Five Oaks Floral Shop is located at this address today. Although the street façade has radically changed, the long side view still shows the brick, and one can imagine the second floor easily holding the large Bruning family.
William Brunig was burned out twice but rebuilt each time. One of these incidents was the great conflagration in April 1867 which destroyed over half of the business district and left 90 families homeless.
Dale Bruning supplied a wonderful interior view of the family bakery. We can see from the picture an abundance of baked goods in and on top of glass cabinets, and shelves of what appear to be canned foods. Canned milk is seen, and advertising for tea. The 1895-96 city directory lists William Brunig as a "grocer."
A 1907 ad for "F.L. Bruning's Modern Bakery" (William's son Frederick took over about 1900) promoting "The Best and Only Genuine Hot Cross Buns." They sold for 10 cents a dozen in 1912.
A bread wrapper from the 1910's for "Bruning's Home Bakery" shows their logo and a motto, "Quality is our Watchword." They were both wholesale and retail. The wrapper tells us that bread, rolls, biscuits, pies, plain and fancy cakes were a specialty. On one side it says, "In a clear, sanitary, modern and daylight bakery is where 'Top Notch' bread is made."
An editorial in The Evening Leader, Carbondale, July 18, 1911, notes that Bruning bakery recently began an advertising campaign with good results. They added a second delivery wagon and was considering another. It says that Scranton bakeries were a bigger competition to the Brunings than other Carbondale bakeries.
A curious ad from 1911 offered a free "Fly Killer" with every load of Top Notch bread sold.
It says that many kinds of bread were being shipped here, and were advertised in the Scranton papers. The Brunings took the cue and have specialized on bread inventing a trade-mark and the name "Top Notch." Sanitary conditions were employed, with the bread being promptly wrapped once taken from the oven. Coupons were wrapped with the bread, offering beautiful art panels in exchange.
A Carbondale Leader news item in 1920 states that Brunings have built a good reputation by air dealing, keeping one price and the best quality. In addition to fresh baked goods, the article states that they were selling "everything needed for a meal" including "pickles, marmalade, jam, baked beans."
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In about 1900 William Brunig, who was advanced in years, turned the business over to his son Frederick Ludwig Bruning. Adolph Robert Bruning, Frederick's brother, was a long-time baker there. Adolph also was in the business of making cigars. Adolph's wife Alice was proprietor for many years. His widow worked there as a confectioner for some time after William died.
A news item from March 1897 indicated that a Mr. ___H. Elmer and Hugh Shannon would be starting a new bakery in the Bruning building on South Main Street. This raises questions, because further, later references give the Bruning family as still running the business. The 1910 census lists William Brunig's son Adolph R. as the bakery proprietor, and his brother Frederick as a baker.
A May 1911 news item, however, states that Albert Smith, who worked a bakery in Scranton, would "take charge" of the Bruning bakery in Carbondale. More questions.
Adolph R. Bruning was listed as a baker at 28 South Main Street in the 1914, 1916 and 1920 Carbondale street directories. Frederick L. Bruning was listed as a baker working for Adolph at the Bruning Bakery in 1917; he was listed as a baker in 1920 and in the 1926 Carbondale street directory.
In June 1917, Carbondale police nabbed a couple suspects after a break-in at the bakery where baked goods and merchandise were stolen.
It is not clear when Bruning's Bakery closed, but they were still advertising at least through June 1927. No listing for the bakery is found in the 1929 directory.
The 1920 city directory lists seven bakeries in Carbondale.
Family life
Census records show that William and August had at least 11 children, in this order starting with the oldest: Dora (1859), Bertha (1860), Mena "Minnie" (1863), William C. (1864), Eliza (1866), Augusta (1867), Caroline "Carry" (1871), Louisa (1874), Henry C. (1876), Frederick L. (1879) and Adolph R. (1881). There was also a son John.
Dale Bruning related that there were 13 children in the family.
William Brunig and others in his family were affiliated with the First Presbyterian Church. A March 1901 news brief, however, stated that the Lutheran Ladies' Aid society was holding their monthly meeting at the home of Mrs. Frederick Bruning, 28 South Main Street.
Carbondale's Germania Singing Society, open to any men who had emigrated from Germany or who were ethnic German, was founded in 1886. That October, Prof. S. W. Bachmayer, teacher of German, drawing, music and penmanship, moved to Carbondale to lead the new society. He took up rooms at William Brunig's. It is not known to what extent Brunig or his family were members of this highly popular organization, part of the Pioneer City's rich and diverse cultural fabric. News articles show that Brunig's son Frederick, and daughter Minnie's husband, Carl Schraeder were active participants.
On Wednesday, March 6, 1889, Eliza Smith was married to John H. Smith, of Honesdale. Their wedding was held at the bride's residence at the same address as the bakery. The Presbyterian minister from Carbondale performed the ceremony, The Smiths, as we know, made their home in Honesdale, where the groom's family lived.
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There was another line of Brunings living in Wayne County who apparently were related to the Brunigs of Carbondale, which would help answer how Eliza may have somehow crossed paths with her husband-to-be, whose family lived in Honesdale. At the time of William' Brunig's passing he had a brother Frederick living near Honesdale (Oregon Township). Frederick was a farmer; his son Theodore was a Honesdale grocer.
Theodore had a son named William Henry Bruning who farmed in Oregon Township.
The Carbondale Brunings frequently visited Honesdale, likely taking a D&H gravity railroad passenger car, and starting in 1899, a steam D&H railroad coach.
William Brunig of Carbondale was called "probably the oldest pioneer business man of the city" when he died at his home the morning of April 11, 1903. He had been ailing since August of the year prior. His daughter Carrie had died only the previous December, from typhoid fever.
"He was a warm and generous man and frequently gave of his time and substance to assist those less fortunate than himself," his obituary stated.
His wife Augusta Bruning died at home at age 77, February 23, 1912.
Dale Bruning
Dick Smith was Dale Bruning's second cousin.
Eliza Smith's brother Adolph R. Bruning and his wife the former Alice Wagner, were Dale's grandparents. They married in 1907. They had two sons, Homer- Dale's father- and Henry; Alice had a daughter Audubon from a prior marriage; she took the name of Bruning.
Homer Mallett Bruning was born in 1908. In about 1927 he married Isabel Olive Samson. Dale's father died in 1990 at the age of 82. When Dale's mother died March 25, 2009, she was a few days shy of being 103, he said.
Dale had an older brother Robert, and has a younger sister Donna.
Dale Bruning said he came from a musical family. His father, Homer Bruning, was a professional drummer playing in the Carbondale area, when young. His father went on to become a maintenance supervisor for the Shortline bus line in New Jersey. Later, Dale's parents and maternal grandmother moved out to Denver, where his dad resumed his drumming career, Dale's mother was a pianist; her mother played piano professionally.
Dale said that his father made it a rule that one had to study piano first before going on to any other musical instrument. Dale joined his parents in New Jersey, and went to New York City where he was "absorbed" into music, starting on the piano. For Dale, guitar became his real passion. He said it was in New York that he was inspired to pursue a career as a musician.
He said his father left home in his teens, and didn't share much with him about the Bruning family. Dale said he does recall his grandmother Alice Bruning, whose late husband was Adolph R. Bruning- a brother to Eliza Bruning Smith. They had a farm at White's Crossing, near Carbondale. "Grandma was a 'tyrant,'" Dale recalled.
His father did tell him that his grandfather Adoph was known as "Dolph." He died February 20, 1933, the year before Dale was born. Alice died June 6, 1945.
Although he never met his great aunt Eliza or her family (Eliza died in 1949 when Dale was a teenager), he said his mother told him about his cousin Dick who wrote Winter Wonderland. He did get over to Honesdale and found the Smith homestead at 922 Church Street.
His uncle Henry was a professional auto racer. Brother Homer, being mechanically inclined, was able to assist Henry. Dale said that his father and brother were close. Sadly, uncle Henry died in a racing crash in 1939.
Winter Wonderland state historical marker dedicated
Dr. Heinrich Brunig, who was chancellor of Germany from 1930 to 1935, was a distant relative, Dale said. Dr. Brunig had to flee for his life from Adolph Hitler's regime, and came to America.
While researching well-known composers, Dale said he was pleased to read about Dick Smith, who wrote songs. He noted that his cousin Dick said that the hardest part is the lyrics. As a musician, Dale said he writes the music, but appreciates the responsibilities lyricists face. Not everyone in the music world agrees, he said, on which is harder- the lyrics or the music.
"When writing songs to get published, Dick tried so many times," Dale commented. "I don't think much has changed in that regard... Dick almost gave up (he went through 14 rejections before finding a publisher for Winter Wonderland)."
He said that as a jazz musician their minds concentrate on perfecting our performing art so that what they create will be worth recording. Jazz musicians are thinking how the song will perform instrumentally. He said those who work with lyricists find it a wonderful bonus. He said a jazz musician "breaks fences" if they work with vocalists; you feel you can achieve broader public recognition.
As a child growing up in Carbondale, Dale played piano and moved on to guitar in high school; becoming adept with other instruments as well.
During the Korean War, Dale Bruning was a Navy band musician. His wife, he said, was a nurse (incidentally, as was Dick Smith's wife). He became established as a musician on the East Coast. In 1960, he started teaching music, which he has continued.
In 1964 he moved to Denver. He began teaching and performing with notable jazz musicians including Dizzy Gillespie, Bill Frisell, and Chet Baker.
By the late 1990's his reputation began to spread nationally and internationally, in part due to new albums which received critical acclaim and his book, The Dale Bruning Jazz Guitar Instruction Book Series, the first volume being published in 1997.
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This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: The Winter Wonderland lyricist Dick Smith had ties to a Carbondale bakery.
