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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 1994)
Aggielife d$ ' a: would J not inct; , is; 'eported, official: on thee nent toll agency ali ices C;- isolidai ioncies: Tuesday, February 15,1994 The Battalion Page 3 )rit,l ng thee: otofp oiks mil ere's son! y" eakim Secrets Success Photos by Kyle Bumett/THE Battalion Snook Baking Co. owner Lydia Faust flips through a scrapbook of photographs taken two years ago during a trip to her family's homeland, the former Czechoslovakia. Snook Baking Go. enjoys 25 years of prosperity By Paul Neale The Battalion r hen a bakery's business depends pri marily on out-of-towners, either the town is really small or the bakery is really tops. In Shook's case, it's both. The Snook Baking Co., about 15 minutes from campus off Highway 60, is known for its kolaches. A kolache, pronounced (ko'-lach), is a popular Czechoslovakian pastry filled with fruit or cheese. Lydia Faust, the bakery's owner, said the distinctive taste of her pastries, especially her kolaches, sets her apart from other bakeries. "That's one thing about a kolache — every body has their own specialty or variety . . . people can tell the place they come from." Faust said kolaches from The Czech Repub lic, the former Czechoslovakia, are very differ ent from hers. 1 The Snook Baking Co. thrives on business from neighboring communities as well as dis tant countries, she said. "If I had to depend on the local crowd, I would never make it," Faust said. "They come from a long way." Faust's award-winning kolaches have been eaten and exported by travelers from England, Norway, Germany and The Czech Republic. "The people who travel through always take two or three dozen with them," Faust said. Many patrons have discovered the Snook Baking Co.'s kolaches as a result of Snook's proximity to Texas A&M University. "Quite a few students, faculty members, and employees of the University enjoy sitting in here with a kolache and a cup of coffee," Faust said. She draws a good deal of early morning business on bonfire cut weekends in particular. "They come in here all camouflaged," Faust said. "They're a good bunch. I always have a good laugh with them." But travelers aren't the only ones who take Faust's kolaches on the road. Each year, she participates in the Kolache Festival in Cald well. Four of the Saturday morning crowd gather at the Snook Baking Co. for coffee and conversation. "I usually sell anywhere from 600 to 800 dozen kolaches there," she said. "And I never have enough." Faust has won ribbons and trophies for her kolaches throughout the years. Although she is frequently asked for her "heirloom recipe," she's not about to give it. "Everybody has their own way of doing it," she said. "Coke has their own recipe. It's just something you don't want to give away as long as you're in business." Or maybe she doesn't give her recipe out for a different, unwritten reason. "Somebody asked me today if I'd give my recipe," Faust said, "and I said, T can't do that. . . I just don't know it.'" Faust doesn't have a written copy of her ko lache recipe. She only knows the recipe when she is making it. She said even her seven em ployees do not know how to duplicate it on their own. Even so, Faust said she will eventually pass her secrets along to the next owner in written form. Faust herself was an employee before she became owner of the Snook Baking Co. She worked for the bakery's founder, Charlie SeBesta, for six years and then left to raise a family. Faust returned in 1983,10 years later, to buy the bakery. Olda Gloyna, who has worked at the bakery for nearly two years, lays out rows of freshly- baked doughnuts. Althouh her specialties are kolaches .and homemade bread, Faust said the bakery fills to capacity each day for lunch. The bakery began serving lunch two years ago; and depending on the day, it may consist of mashed potatoes with roast beef or chicken fried steak. Faust also makes a variety of cakes, cookies and pies, and takes special orders for wed dings, parties and showers. She begins mixing the ingredients for her pastries every morning around 5 o'clock and starts baking at 6 o'clock. Although Faust does most of the early morning baking herself, she employs two full-time and five part-time workers to help run the bakery. Although Snook may not be en route to your early morning destination, the Snook Baking Co. will be ready at 7 a.m. just in case. edit® editor ditor . Mel® pring*; ihe (#* idveit'* 11 lond*)' 1 The United Nations: Making the Promise Work 5:30 Military Review by Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets 8:00 "The United Nations" • Ambassador Andr6 Erdos, Permanent Representative of Hungarian Mission to the U.N 1 l-'riday. February 18. 1994 9:00 "Financing and Managing the United Nations" • To be presented by an official from the United Nations 2:15 "International Peace and Security" - Panel Discussion • Juergen Dedring, Senior Humanitarian Officer, Department of Humanitarian Affairs, U.N. • Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey, Permanent Representative of Bosnian Mission to the U.N. • Mr. Charles Patterson, Deputy Director of Office of U.N. Political Affairs, Bureau of International Organizations Affairs, Department of State • Moderator Major Jay Parker, U.S. Naval War College Saturday. February 19 1994 9:00 "Sustainable Development: The Integration of Economic Growth and the Environment in Developing Countries" • Iqbal Haji, Chief of Poverty and Alleviation, Hunger and Malnutrition Branch, Africa and Underdeveloped Countries 1:00 "Human Rights" • Curt Goering, Acting Executive Director, Amnesty International 8:00 "Future of the United Nations in the New World Order" • Richard Thornburgh, former U.S. Attorney General and former U.N. Undersecretary General of Administration and Management Open to the public All event* *re in the Memorial Student Center, Room 201 Memorial Student Center c«H Mirers *> Mom. m * Student Cenfcrvoc* mm HmOommi AJTmln Texas A&M University P.O. Box M • College Station, Texas 77844-9081 • (409)845-7625 • Fax(409)845-5117 <uv<zCt<\4ii€n& belly dancers cyclist mu.i.icianiL jugglers tightrope- walker contoxtioniit comedians singers bands PIANIST ventriCoquist Ham mse *t/<zsicetcf, S&o-cv ... cz^f-nLjtfiincj twirlers hypnotist Story Teller &W catting t 79ia*td<zt&ut /4cccLc£tG*t ’TfCeetCtup 7Ved., 0 ?e6. J6, t994 7:00 PM CAREER CENTER PRESENTATIONS February 15 Thru February 21 February 15, 1994 Co-op Orientation, 2:30 p.m., 302 Rudder Job Preparation For Juniors, 3:00 p.m., 301 Rudder "Interview Savvy" Seminar, 7:00 p.m., 201 MSC February 16, 1994 Placement Orientation, 2:00 p.m., 301 Rudder Co-op Orientation, 10:00 a.m., 301 Rudder "Reality 101" Seminar, 5:00 p.m., 301 Rudder Placement Orientation, 7:00 p.m., 144 John Koldus February 17, 1994 Placement Orientation, 10:00 a.m., 301 Rudder Successful Interviewing, 5:00 p.m., 308 Rudder February 18, 1994 Resume Writing, 1:00 p.m., 504 Rudder Placement Orientation, 2:00 p.m., 301 Rudder February 21, 1994 Placement Orientation, 10:00 a.m., 225 MSC Job Search Strategies, 4:00 p.m., 226 MSC Co-op Orientation, 5:00 p.m., 226 MSC Career Education Office, John J. Koldus Building, Suite 209, Phone 845-5139, Fax 845-2979