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ORAL HISTORY

Lawrence Faldyn

Lukas Bakery

Born and raised on a farm in Fayette County, Lawrence Faldyn has been the force behind La Grange’s historic Lukas bakery since picking up the reins from his father-in-law, Raymond Lukas, in 1972. One of the few remaining small town “scratch bakeries” in the state, the elder Lukas took over this charming space on La Grange’s courthouse square and re-christened it in his name in 1947. Eventually, he took Larry on as an apprentice after Larry started courting his daughter, Carol. Larry’s father-in-law left it in his and Carol’s hands after his death. More than fifty years later, when asked if he thinks he’d be baking today if not for Carol, Larry bluntly says with a smile, “No.” Carol died in 2020, and while his stepson and daughter have stepped in to provide needed help, baking duties have fallen squarely on Larry’s shoulders. He starts his workday each morning at 12 a.m., generally works until 11 a.m., goes home for a nap, then returns to the bakery to prep for a few hours around 3 p.m. before retiring to bed and starting over again. This is a routine Faldyn has maintained for decades, but having reached his seventies, is eager to sell the building and retire. For now, he’s holding on and still rising early in the hope he can train an apprentice willing to continue the business as a scratch bakery and carry on the traditions created here for the past seventy-six years.