Dedicated:
Dec 2008
SPONSOR: The
Koestler family and friends
Koestler's
Bakery:
"Christmas Tree Lane" and Innovative Bakers
In
May 1908, Leo C. Koestler opened Koestler's Bakery on Washington at
Belmont Street. The first ovens were coal fired and
"Mello-Toast Bread" was delivered to households by a
horse-drawn dray.
In
about 1918, Leo became the first
in the state
to deliver in a motor truck, a Studebaker, and to sell bread wholesale
in Vicksburg, the Mississippi Delta, and east Louisiana, to wrap
bread, and to install a slicing machine.
In
1919, a new bakery was constructed at Washington and Bridge streets
and, in 1949, the building in the mural was constructed at Clay and
Hossley streets.
Leo
died in 1923, leaving the bakery to his children: Charles, Leo, Luke,
Ann, and Marguerite.
The
Koestler's believed in giving back to the community and, in 1949, this
commitment resulted in one of Vicksburg's most enduring memories:
Christmas Tree Lane. The bakery lawn was decorated with
evergreen trees and then evolved into the scene above.
Charles
H. Koestler, Jr., built the snowman and, along with family and
employees, decorated the lawn every year.
While
the bakery closed in 1975, the memory of Christmas Tree lives on in
the minds of members of the family and brings smiles to all who came.
Back
to Home Back
to Murals Page