Sundays at the Bakery, 1940-1965

Many families left Rondout by the mid-20th century, yet the neighborhood’s businesses thrived by catering to the foot traffic of remaining residents. 

Reher's Bakery served local customers newspapers, cigarettes and canned goods, as well as rye and challah breads and their famous “Bumpy” rolls. Every Sunday morning after church, a large group of regulars lined up to buy breakfast.

Willie Reher kept a running list of Sunday regulars so that customers’ rolls would be ready for pick-up when they arrived hungry from church. Catholic parishioners still fondly remember the delicious smell of the bakery on Sundays, not to mention the taste of the rolls, which were the breakfast highlight