Even before she opened the door of Troy Maid Bakery, Karen Bullard could smell the sweet aroma of bread baking and cookies fresh from the oven.

What Bullard wouldn’t give to open the door of Troy Maid Bakery once again and satisfy her sweet tooth with a fresh-baked brownie or a glazed donut or two.

When she was a high school student, Bullard worked part-time at Stanton’s in downtown Troy.

“I would walk around town and I always seemed to find my way to the Troy Maid Bakery,” Bullard said. “Even then, I had a sweet tooth and Mr. Yohn was the nicest and sweetest man you would ever meet and he made the sweetest things to eat.”

Bullard said she was always fascinated by the architecture and shape of Troy Maid Bakery but it was the sweet smells that drifted from the bakery doors that drew her back time and time again.

“When I got married in 1970, Mr. Yohn baked our wedding cake,” she said. “I’m sure he baked many wedding cakes at his made-fresh bakery.”

H.C. “Houston” Yohn opened Troy Maid Bakery on the corner of Elm and Market Streets on May 28, 1949 and served free cookies and punch to visitors on opening day.

He and his family moved to Troy a few days after he opened his bakery.

Yohn came to Troy from Opp with 19 years of experience in the bakery business. He was a Baptist and president of the Men’s Bible Class at the Baptist church in Opp. Back in those days, it was important to acknowledge one’s religious affiliation right up front.

At Troy Maid Bakery, which was “Troy Maid for Troy Trade,” Yohn offered a complete line of baked goods, including cakes, pies, cookies, fancy pastries, éclairs, donuts and special cakes made with “home-like flavor.”

Yohn’s bakery boasted the finest bakery products that were “fresher by at least 50 miles” and products made with Pike County ingredients whenever humanly possible.

He made a special effort to extend greetings to S.T.C. (State Teachers College) students and faculty from Troy Maid Bakery.

Yohn offered his customers delivery service and free parking anytime at “Troy’s Own Drive-In Bakery.”

Few, if any, who walked through the doors of Troy Maid Bakery will forget the aroma of Yohn’s baked goods or the smile of the man “on the corner” of Elm and Market streets in downtown Troy.