In 1908, with her husband’s health deteriorating due to diabetes, Ninnie Baird, together with her eight children, began baking in her home for the residents of Fort Worth, Texas using a four-loaf wood-fired oven.  In 1915, she had acquired a used 40-loaf oven and began distribution by bicycles and horse drawn wagons driven by her sons. By 1938, the company had established large-scale plants in Fort Worth, Dallas and Houston.  Following World War II, Mrs. Baird’s acquired five more plants and by 1990 the organization had expanded into New Mexico, Louisiana and Oklahoma with 11 plants and 3000 employees becoming the largest independently owned bakery in the United States.

Click on the images below to view .pdf files of the inductee’s biography and plaque.