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Early risers

by Delayna Earley
Sammons' Bakery in Murray is locally loved for their homemade doughnuts and biscuits. Teresa Bast, 50, and her sister, Patty Dedmon, 48, arrive at the bakery between 12 and 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday in order to prepare the baked goods for the day. The sisters use the same kitchen equipment -- from the ovens to the doughnut and biscuit cutters -- that's been used in Sammons' since it opened in the early 1960s.

If you are from Murray, there’s a good chance that you have eaten at Sammons’ Bakery. Located on Chestnut Street, the bakery has been in business since the early 1960s. Everything from the secret recipe for locally famous homemade baked goods, to the ovens they are baked in has remained the same over the past 50 years.

Originally owned by Gene Sammons, the bakery and its traditions were passed down to two sisters employed by him for 13 years. Teresa Bast, 50, and her sister Patty Dedmon, 48, make doughnuts and biscuits with the recipe they inherited from Gene. Their bakery is still heralded for tasty and inexpensive food, but it also has become a popular hangout spot for the locals.

“The people are the best thing about coming to work,” Teresa said.

Daily, during business hours, a group of longtime patrons can be found enjoying coffee, doughnuts and breakfast sandwiches. Customers show up when the bakery opens at 5 a.m. and usually hang out until it closes at 1:30 pm.

“We come here just about every day. … Gotta have some place to loaf,” said Gene Johnson, 76, about his group of older regulars.

“We’ve got little pet names that we call them, like when I tell Patty that ‘Liar Joe’ is here she knows who I’m talking about,” Teresa said about the patrons.

The bakery attracts all types of people, from teenage youth group members discussing the gospel to older men talking about politics. Despite their differences, these males all have one thing in common — they have Sammons’ as a common meeting ground where they can relax and enjoy a good, homemade doughnut.

Patty Dedmon, 48, laughs at a comment made by Gary Harns, 59, while he orders lunch at Sammons' Bakery. He is one of the regulars who go to the bakery every day that it is open. "We generally have a very close relationship with our customers," Dedmon said. "They come here for the biscuits just as much as they do for the company."
Clifton McCallon, 70, a regular at Sammons' Bakery on Chestnut Street in Murray, generally sits alone at the same table, buys coffee and a bag of doughnut holes and smokes his cigarettes. "I'm not big on change," Clifton said. "I've had the same hairdo since the 1950s. I don't care what other people think. I don't keep up with the Joneses. I do what I want to do."
J.D. Rayburn, 97, center, is dropped off at the bakery every morning by his wife so he can hang out with his friends. "They have good coffee," J.D. said. Among the daily Sammons' Bakery customers is a group of men who have been patrons of the bakery for a very long time. These men begin to show up at 5 a.m. and continue to filter into the bakery until it closes at 1:30 p.m.
Teresa Bast, 50, cuts the doughnuts and, after they have time to rise, fries them in a deep fryer and coats them with a homemade glaze. "There is nothing better than a hot doughnut that has been freshly glazed," she said.
Alyssa Belle Shaunesey, 2, eats the filling out of a Sammons' Bakery doughnut. "I've been coming here since I was a little girl," said Amy Shaunesey, 25. "I love that I can bring my daughter here and get the same doughnuts that I've loved since I was her age."
Kory Cunningham, 26, second from right, discusses gospel with friends at Sammons every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 7 to 8 a.m. Cunningham has been a youth pastor in Murray for five years. "I like coming here to talk about the Bible," said Matt McReynolds, one of Cunningham's group. "It helps me learn more and just helps you know Christ better and deal with your problems better."
Gary "Yankee" Harris, 59, makes a face at a co-worker from Murray State University while taking a lunch break at Sammons' Bakery. Gary and his friends eat lunch there every weekday. "We sit in the back of the room, eat our lunch and talk about stuff that other people might not like," Gary said about their lunches.
Patty Dedmon hands a receipt for a sausage to a regular who comes over from Murray State University to eat lunch every day.
Sisters Teresa Bast and Patty Dedmon, sole employees and owners of Sammons' Bakery, open the bakery in the morning, make all of the baked goods and close at 1:30 p.m. "We have tried having employees, but honestly, they are so undependable," Bast said. "This is our livelyhood, so we just do it ourselves."