Finding aid for the Hough Bakeries, Inc. Photographs


Repository: Western Reserve Historical Society
Creator: Hough Bakeries, Inc.
Title: Hough Bakeries, Inc. Photographs
Dates: 1920-1979
Extent: 1.20 linear feet (2 containers)
Abstract: Hough Bakeries Inc. was established by Lionel Pile as Hough Home Bakery in 1903 in Cleveland, Ohio. It was located at 8708 Hough Avenue. The company grew to become the largest multiple unit bakery in Ohio, and one of ten largest nationwide. Expansion into the suburbs began in the 1920s. In 1941, the former Star Bakery Company plant was purchased, and Hough operations and headquarters were moved there. The company incorporated in 1945, and the name was changed to Hough Bakeries, Inc. in 1952. Hough Foods, producer and distributor of frozen foods, became a subsidiary to the parent company in 1955. Hough's catering services, begun in the 1930s, became a subsidiary in 1956, when the company underwent corporate reorganization. 48 retail outlets operated into the early 1980s. In 1990, the Pile family sold the business to Amerifoods. In 1992, the company closed all remaining stores, and filed for Chapter Seven bankruptcy. The catering division was sold to the International Exposition Center, Brook Park, Ohio. The company name and recipes were purchased by Kraft General Foods. The collection consists of individual and group portraits of the Pile family; portraits and views of Hough Bakeries employees; and views of employee functions, anniversary celebrations, catering events, production facilities and retail outlets, publicity photographs, Associated Retail Bakers of America meetings and conventions, and cakes.
PG Number PG 476
Location: closed stacks
Language: The records are in English

History of Hough Bakeries, Inc.

Hough Bakeries, Inc.(1903-1992) was established by Lionel Pile as Hough Home Bakery in May 1903, taking its name from the shop's location at 8708 Hough Avenue. In the almost nine decades of existence the company grew to be the largest multiple unit bakery in Ohio, and one of the ten largest nationwide.

Early attempts at expansion were unsuccessful, but with the entry of Pile's four sons into the family business in the 1920s and 1930s, growth into the suburbs began, with stores in East Cleveland and Cleveland Heights opening in 1927.

In May 1941, the former Star Bakery Company plant on Lakeview Road at the Cleveland-East Cleveland border was purchased, and the Hough operations and corporate headquarters were moved there. The company was incorporated in 1945, and the name was changed to Hough Bakeries, Inc. in 1952. Hough Foods, producer and distributor of frozen foods, became a subsidiary to the parent company in 1955. Hough's catering services, begun in the 1930s, became a subsidiary in 1956 when the company underwent corporate reorganization.

In 1973 the company experienced $12 million in annual sales and employed more than a thousand people. Forty-eight retail outlets and three surplus/thrift stores operated into the early 1980s. In 1990, with the company losing money, the Pile family sold the family business to Amerifoods. Rising production costs, stiff competition within the industry and Hough's failure to modernize its production processes, caused continuing financial difficulties. On August 8, 1992, the Lakeview facility and remaining thirty-two stores closed without notice, and Hough Bakeries filed for Chapter Seven bankruptcy. The catering division was sold to the International Exposition Center (the I-X Center in Brookpark, Ohio). The company name and its recipes were purchased by Kraft General Foods.

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Hough Bakeries, Inc.


Scope and Content

The Hough Bakeries, Inc. Photographs, ca. 1920-1979 and undated, consist of individual and group portraits of the Pile family; portraits and views of Hough Bakeries employees; and views of employee functions, anniversary celebrations, catering events, production facilities and retail outlets, publicity photographs, Associated Retail Bakers of America meetings and conventions, and cakes. The collection includes approximately 1,200 black and white and color photographs of varying sizes.

This collection will be useful to researchers studying the history of business in Cleveland, Ohio, particularly the local retail baking industry. Those seeking images of Hough Bakeries employees, members of the pile families, and examples of Hough Bakeries cakes and catering will find this collection useful.


Statement of Arrangement

The collection is arranged in eight series.
Series I: Anniversary Celebrations is arranged chronologically.
Series II: Associated Retail Bakers of America is arranged chronologically.
Series III: Cakes is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.
Series IV: Catering Events is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.
Series V: Hough Bakeries Employees is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.
Series VI: Pile Family is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.
Series VII: Publicity is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.
Series VIII: Retail Outlets and Lakeview Plant is arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.

Restrictions on Access

None.

Related Material

The researcher should also consult MS 4738 Hough Bakeries, Inc. Records.

Separated Material

All negatives have been removed to the WRHS negative vault.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Associated Retail Bakers of America -- Photograph collections.
Bakers and bakeries -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- Photographs.
Bakery and Confectionery Workers' International Union of America Local 3 (Cleveland, Ohio) -- Photograph collections.
Bakery employees -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- Photographs.
Cake -- Photographs.
Hough Bakeries, Inc. -- Photograph collections.
Pile family -- Photograph collections.

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] PG 476 Hough Bakeries, Inc. Photographs, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

These photographs were removed from MS 4738 Hough Bakeries, Inc. Records. Gift of Hough Bakeries, Inc. in 1993.

Processing Information

Processed by Patricia J. Stahley in 1996.

Detailed Description of The Collection

Series I: Anniversary Celebrations 1951-1978

Box Folder
1 1 Forty-eighth anniversary dinner May 1951
1 2 Fiftieth anniversary dinner, including views of store supervisors taken as a group May 1953
1 3-5 Sixtieth anniversary dinner May 1963
1 6-7 Seventieth anniversary, including Shaw High School Rhythm Teens May 1973
1 8 Seventy-fifth anniversary, including cake and anniversary plate May 1978

Series II: Associated Retail Bakers of America 1967-1971

Box Folder
1 9 Associated Retail Bakers of America, including Arthur Pile 1967
1 9 Associated Retail Bakers of America meeting in Washington, D.C. 1968
1 9 Associated Retail Bakers of America planning meeting, Cleveland, Ohio September 1970
1 9 Associated Retail Bakers of America convention, Cleveland, Ohio April 1971
1 10 Associated Retail Bakers of America convention, Cleveland, Ohio April 1971

Series III: Cakes ca. 1940s-1979 undated

Box Folder
1 11 Cakes, anniversary, birthday, and graduation ca. 1940s-1950s
1 12 Cakes, holiday and religious 1950-1951 1953 undated
1 13 Cakes, special occasion, including United States Marine Corps birthday cakes, Great Seal of Ohio, Lionel Piles' fiftieth wedding anniversary, and cakes featuring Mayors Carl Stokes (1973) and Ralph Perk (1977) 1945-1979 undated
1 14-15 Cakes, wedding cakes 1951-1953 ca. 1950s-1960s undated

Series IV: Catering Events 1948-1976 undated

Box Folder
1 16 Catering event, Allied Dealers Smorgasbord 1951
1 16 Catering Event, Allied Dealers retirement luncheon sponsored by Hough Bakeries, Inc undated
1 17 Catering event, Arcade Party, held in Old Arcade, Cleveland, Ohio 1976
1 18 Catering event, Carlin, Mrs. C. J. Carlin 1975
1 19 Catering event, Cleveland Twist Drill Christmas party 1948
1 19 Catering event, Home and Flower Show 1973
1 19 Catering event, Robert S. Pile autograph party for his publication Menu Planning undated
1 20 Catering event, including Opera Week 1966
1 21 Catering event, colored photographs 1962 1966 undated
1 22 Catering event, plant cafeterias, operated by Hough catering, including General Electric and Bobbie Brooks Inc. undated
1 23 Catering event, Supermarket Institute 1954 1956 1968 undated

Series V: Hough Bakeries Employees 1945-1979 undated

Box Folder
1 24 Annual family awards night, including photographs of award recipients and members of Pile family May 4, 1954
1 25 Annual family awards night May 15, 1956
1 26 Annual family awards night May 1957
1 27 Annual family awards night, held in conjunction with Hough fifty-fifth anniversary celebration May 1958
1 28 Annual family awards night May 1960
1 29 Annual family awards night May 1962
1 30 Annual family awards night May 1965
1 31 Annual family awards night May 1966
1 32 Annual family awards night May 1967
1 33 Annual family awards night May 1968
1 34 Annual family awards night May 1969
1 35 Annual family awards night May 1970
1 36 Annual family awards night 1971
1 37 Annual family awards night 1972
1 38 Annual family awards night, held in conjunction with Hough Bakeries seventieth anniversary celebration 1973
1 39 Annual family awards night 1974
1 40 Annual family awards night 1975
1 41 Annual family awards night 1976
1 42 Annual family awards night 1977
1 43 Annual family awards night, held in conjunction with Hough Bakeries seventy-fifth anniversary celebration 1978
1 44 Annual family awards night 1979 undated
1 45 Baseball team 1964 1975
1 45 Blood donors 1966
1 46 Board of directors and officers 1966-1967 1978 undated
1 47 Christmas parties 1946-1951
1 48 Management, office clerks and secretaries 1973
1 49-50 Miscellaneous 1952 1978 undated
1 51 Old time employees 1946 1953 undated
1 52 Sales meetings 1950 1953
1 52 Store supervisors ca. 1970
1 53 Store managers and clerks 1945 1954 1967 undated

Series VI: Pile Family ca. 1920-1977 undated

Box Folder
1 54 Arthur E. Pile undated
1 54 Mildred Pile, (Mrs. Arthur E. Pile) undated
1 55 Arthur E. Pile Jr. 1976
1 55 Carol Pile 1976
1 56 Family group photographs 1945 undated
1 56 Pile family portrait ca. 1920
1 57 Katherine Welker Pile (Mrs. Lionel E.), including captioned photographs from eighty-fifth birthday celebration 1960 1967 undated
1 58 Katherine Welker Pile (Mrs. Lionel E.), eighty-fifth birthday celebration 1967
1 59 Kenneth G. Pile 1952 undated
1 60 Lawrence Pile 1975 undated
1 61 Lionel E. Pile, including nineteenth century portrait and reproduction of 1916 photograph of Pile and his delivery wagon 1941 1949 1952 undated
1 62 Robert S. Pile, including photograph of book cover for his publication, Menu Planning For Every Occasion 1977 undated

Series VII: Publicity ca. 1950-1971 undated

Box Folder
1 63 Brownberry bread promotion, including photographs of store promotions ca. 1950
1 64 Cherry Queen, including visits to Hough bakeries 1971
1 65-66 Golden Indian Bread promotion, including photographs of promotional luncheon at Hough Lakeview plant 1971
1 67 "Here Comes Food," promotion of Hough products for gift giving 1955 1960-1961
1 67 Miscellaneous promotional materials undated
1 68 Pennsylvania Dutch foods, including photographs of food displays in Hough bakeries ca. 1970
1 69 Cleveland Plain Dealer photographs, used in editorial on catering 1966
1 70 Plant tours, including Chamber of Commerce tour 1965 undated
1 71 "Raisin Week" at Hough promotion, including photographs of Arthur Pile Sr ca. 1970
1 72-73 Severance Center first anniversary celebration of grand opening, including pictures of Hough store in Severance Center 1964

Series VIII: Retail Outlets and Lakeview Plant ca. 1930-1970 undated

Box Folder
2 74 Hough Riots, including aerial view of Hough Avenue site of original store 1967
2 75 Lakeview plant, including photographs of equipment and baking procedures 1951 1965-1966 undated
2 76 Lakeview plant, plant expansion plans, including photograph of scale model ca. 1960
2 77-78 Retail outlets, interior and exterior photographs, identified by location or store number ca. 1930 1947 1954-1958 1964 1966 1969-1970 undated
2 79 Retail outlet, May Company "Old Time Store" undated
2 80 Retail outlet, Richmond Mall 1966
2 80 Retail outlet, Beachwood Place ca. 1970
2 81 Surplus store, Lakeview plant outlet ca. 1970
2 82-83 Truck fleet ca. 1960 1963 undated
2 84 Lakeview plant, interior, slides ca. 1968