Wayne County Wanderings: Local legend Doris Day celebrates her 100th birthday
Editor's Note: Doris Day passed away Sunday morning at the age of 100. The much-loved local legend was featured in Kevin Edwards' Wayne County Wanderings column last March.
As most of us who grew up here will happily attest, Honesdale has always been a great place to be a kid.
While many small towns across America represent safe and wholesome spaces to raise a family, I believe that Honesdale stands alone for myriad reasons.
From Irving Cliff to the Dyberry and Lackawaxen, from Stourbridge Primary to HHS, from the Wayne County Fairgrounds to the borough pool, from the Easter Egg Hunt in Central Park to Santa's Workshop on the third floor of Murray's, coming of age in Honesdale really was a magical experience.
And, for more than 60 years, Doris Day was responsible for a little bit of that magic.
Cakes and cookies
As the driving force behind Day's Bakery on North Main Street, Doris brought countless smiles to countless faces for generations.
She worked 14 hours a day, six days a week, from the early 1950s until she finally retired in 2015. Somehow, though, it never really seemed like work.
“I loved it,” Doris said with a smile. “It could be tiring and a little stressful at times, but I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.”
Doris was born at Binghamton (NY) in 1923 and was just 11-years-old when the family moved to a farmhouse near Lookout.
In the summer of 1940, Doris married Maurice “Hap” Day at a church ceremony in Equinunk. The couple became proud parents of four children: Elmer, Edwin, Carolyn and Lois.
By the spring of 1952, Day's Bakery had opened its doors for the first time and was quickly embraced by the community.
While all of her children helped out through the years, it was Eddie who eventually took on a leadership role. Doris and Hap's oldest son graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and handled day-to-day operations until the bakery finally shut its doors.
Doris remained a constant presence, lovingly creating delicious treats that became the stuff of local legend. Be it donuts after church on Sunday, cookies in your lunch box, brownies for dessert, butter rolls at Thanksgiving dinner, birthday and wedding cakes … Doris was the creative genius behind it all.
“I do miss it,” she admitted. “But, it was time. I still bake cookies quite a lot. Anyone who visits or gives me a ride somewhere gets a box of cookies as a thank you.”
Happy Birthday!
On March 16, Doris reached a rare milestone when she celebrated her 100th birthday.
In recognition of this special day, friends and family organized several events to honor Doris.
The first took place on Sunday, March 12 at the Central United Methodist Church in Honesdale.
Pastor Eric Funk oversaw the festivities, which were attended by well over 100 people … all of whom were thrilled to take part in the celebration.
“Doris is one of our most faithful members and it's a blessing to be able to celebrate her life,” said Pastor Funk. “She's always here for worship and Sunday School. Doris just continues to be an wonderful example to so many and an inspiration to all.”
For her part, Doris has never wanted to be the center of attention. She made a happy exception on this particular day, though, since this church has been such an important part of her life for decades.
“It's a really nice congregation,” Doris said. “My children grew up in this church and we've had some wonderful ministers. I've been involved in quite a few things over the years and pretty much all of my friends are here.”
Ann Matthews worked with Doris at the bakery for more than a decade and she wouldn't have missed this party for anything in the world.
“Doris has such a calm demeanor,” Ann said. “It could be crazy there at times, especially around the holidays. But Doris never lost her cool. She's always been such a sweet person and such a hard worker.
“I enjoyed working at the bakery immensely. Doris always made me feel like part of the family.”
Josie Allen is one of Doris' 10 grandchildren. She and her family currently live in Hershey, but didn't hesitate to make the three-hour drive to Honesdale for the party.
“This is such an amazing event and we're so happy to be here,” Josie said. “Any time we have a chance to spend some time with grandma it's a blessing.
Josie treasures the times she spent on North Main Street. One of her favorite memories is the bemused look on her grandma's face as she roller-skated through the bakery on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
“She's a wonderful woman and we're so lucky to still have her in our lives,” Josie said. “She's like a local celebrity. Every time we take her out somewhere, people are always coming up to say hi. It's so great to see.”
Still going strong
Doris may now officially be a centenarian, but she's showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
In addition to being a very active member of her church, she also loves to play cards. There's canasta at the Wayne County Public Library on Tuesdays and hozzie at her house on Wednesday nights.
“I enjoy life,” Doris said. “I still get out quite a bit. I always need something to do.”
As our birthday party conversation wound down, well-wishers began gathering around Doris.
At one point, a beautiful little boy named Isaac was nestled in her lap. She hugged him close and kissed the top of his head. It was an especially poignant moment as the church's oldest member shared the spotlight with its youngest.
There wasn't a dry eye in the place as dozens folks took photos.
“I can't thank everyone enough,” Doris said. “We have such lovely people in this church and community. I'm very lucky, very blessed."
This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Wayne County Wanderings: Day's Bakery matriarch reflects on 100 years
