Mighty Fine Bread and Fancy Pastry: Historical Notes on Bakeries in Arnprior

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Most local histories are overviews, a quick broad sweep of the
development and growth of an area, with occasional stops for a more
in-depth peek at unique local features. It is unusual for a town the
size of Ontario’s Arnprior (population 6000) to yield a detailed
examination of one trade.

The book documents the production and distribution of bread in
Arnprior, from the late 1800s to the present day; from the 10-cent
loaves of the turn of the century, through wartime rationing, home
delivery by horse-drawn wagon, and the development of in-store bakeries
in supermarkets. A few families have dominated the bakery business in
Arnprior—Slater, Whyte, Styles. Of these, the name Slater comes to the
fore, as various members of the Slater family were associated with local
bakeries for nearly 100 years.

The book is rich with anecdotes, stats, and facts. The Slaters, for
example, sold bread for seven cents a loaf in the 1930s; in 1960 they
sold 1100 dozen doughnuts; they always made 60 dozen hamburger buns for
July 1st.

A history of bakeries in a small town is new territory for local
historians. While of special interest to those who know Arnprior, the
subject has enough universal appeal to interest anyone looking for
insights into a previously neglected side of small-town Ontario social
history.