Please help save Spencer's Bakery

Louis Spencer is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

Hello everyone.

My name is Louis Spencer II and I'm here asking for help from all the beautiful GoFundMe-ers out there to help keep our home and business going in beautiful downtown Ferguson, Missouri. (Yes, that Ferguson. But it's a beautiful town. Not anywhere near what you've heard.)

Louis Spencer (Dad) and Louis Spencer II(Me)

First, a brief telling of this place's long, involved history. Followed by why I have my goal set where it is;

Located on 100 Church Street, it was built from 1905-1909(it was built in stages), it first started out as 'Walker Drug Store' through the 1910's.

It was sold to Louis Nemnich in 1921 where he made it 'Nemnick's Bakery, serving the fine citizens of Ferguson pastries and bread for almost 30 years.

The Nemnich's retired in 1947 selling the bakery to the Erwin Sonderegger and wife Mary , who renamed it simply 'Ferguson Bake Shop'.

Erwin Sonderegger

Mary Sonderegger(sorry, best photo I could find.)

They continued serving the Ferguson area for the next 25 years until 1972.

On a side note, Mary passed away in 2010, married 75 years to Erwin,
who passed away himself in 2016 at age 102(no record of Mary's age, but she had to be in her 90's)
May we all be lucky enough to last as long as them.
God Bless.

In 1972 they sold the bakery to Carl and Gladys Henseler , who ran the bakery for 2 years until 1974.

Then they sold it to Louis and Marilyn Spencer (Dad and Mom). Me and my brother Charles coming along(I was 7 years old at the time. Chuck was 5).

Marilyn and Louis Spencer (Mom & Dad)

Where we continued serving great doughnuts(or donuts), pastries and breads to the great citizens of Ferguson. We even did whole sale,
Delivering donuts and breads all over the St. Louis area. And everything was going pretty good.....

Until the winters of 1978 & 1979.

They were so bad -hitting us back to back years like that- that they knocked our business silly. Forcing us to close in January '80 . We still live there(2nd floor) even though we were closed.

After we closed Dad, Mom, and I started working at Winchell's Donut House in Overland on Page Ave. Dad was the manager/chief donut maker. Mom was a sales-person(Dad considered her a Co-Manager). And I worked mainly weekends and during the summer(I was in Junior High at the time).

Dad and Mom were so good running the store that it was the Number 1 Winchell's of the 10 stores in the St. Louis area.

In 1985, after Dad & Mom saved from all savings and profit sharing, they decided to try again. To re-open our place in Ferguson.

So, after some months of remodeling;

On December 3rd 1985 Spencer's Bakery was open for business.

Side note - In 1986 Ferguson declared us a 'historic landmark' because of our 'Historic Significance' to the City of Ferguson. A very, very nice honor bestowed on us. Though limiting in some things and material we can do or use - still a nice honor.

When we were open in the 70's, we were all carry-out. Mainly donuts, pastries, and breads.
When we remodeled in '85, we expanded the front showroom to hold 4 tables with 4 chairs each, so people could sit in and enjoy their pastries with coffee or other assorted drinks(non-alcoholic of course).

The 'Wicked witch' and Marilyn Halloween '88

Marilyn, Ralph, & Lou

Mom, Dad, and me with some great friends.

In '93, we started a cooked breakfast menu that we serve in the A.M. hours.

Dad even became somewhat of a celebrity. Calling in KMOX Radio in the early morning hours to discuss different topics(always keeping it light), he became known as 'Lou from Ferguson' , which was how he was introduced on the air.

He even became friends with 2 of their hosts;

Ralph Graczak

Ralph and Dad

and John Grayson

John, Mom, & Dad

Dad, Mom, & Ralph became best of friends.

Dad also became friends with a few other late night callers; including 'Dr. Ron', 'Gulf-Port Tom' & 'Kathleen from Granite City'.

Everything was going pretty good.

In 2005, we celebrated 2 milestones;

'Spencer's Bakery' had its 20th Anniversary in December, and

Lou & Marilyn celebrated their 40th Anniversary on November 12th.

Dad & Mom ;) Happy 40th guys.

Like I said, everything was going pretty good.

Then, well.... 2006 happened.

I call it 'The year of hell' for our family.

It started off okay.

After the holidays, Dad was feeling a little down. We all thought it was just a 'bug' or something he ate. It was such a gradual thing that, being around him all the time we didn't notice how bad it was getting.

In March, he went to his foot doctor, who noticed how bad Dad was doing and had him admitted to the hospital. When the doctors there told us the diagnoses, it was just...just...

It was cancer.

To say we were stunned was an understatement.

It was in his brain and his lungs.

After spending about 3-4 weeks in the hospital, he was brought home on Friday April 21st.

They had set up a hospice bed for him and showed us how to change his feeding tubes(he couldn't keep anything down), and everything.

Saturday (4-22) a nurse came out to check on Dad, said he was looking good and that the following week they would schedule 'chemo' treatments.

On Sunday, after work, I was in the other room(in our home upstairs) when I heard Mom yell Dad's name(He wasn't breathing well.). We called the ambulance and Mom and Chuck followed it to hospital. I stayed home so that they could call with news and I could start calling our families, just in case.

It just... wasn't meant to be.

Dad passed away on Sunday, April 23rd 2006.

He was 64.

Louis Dale Spencer - National Guard '60s

You can go to mem.com to see his obituary. Just search 'Louis Spencer'

After the funeral - which was a sight to behold because of how many people showed up, like the whole city was paying their respects(Thank you all, again) - things weren't quite the same.

But, as they say, time marches on. And so did we. Staying open and continuing to serve the great people of Ferguson.

Over the next month Mom started getting back pains. At first we all thought it was stress or 'sympathetic' pains from what happened, but they gradually got worse & worse. So bad that the first part of August, she had to go to the hospital, forcing us to close the bakery.

When we got the results of the tests, we couldn't believe it.

Mom had cancer. Not only that. She had a stomach hernia, too.(Why Not??)

Mom had to spend the next month in the hospital undergoing radiation treatments. She also had her right breast removed and the stomach hernia removed as well(believe it or not, the hernia operation knocked her for a loop more than anything else).

But it was different with Mom. She made it through.

After spending August in the hospital, and September & October recovering, we reopened Spencer's in November 2006.
People came back. but after 3 months, It wasn't quite as many as before.

Still we chugged along. With Mom's new norm. Monthly radiation and Zometa(bone strengthening) treatments.

And things were slowly, slooowly, starting to come back around, business wise.

Things were looking up.

Then 2014 happened(I can't believe it's been 4 years already).

I'm NOT about to rehash the events that year, but I will say this.

We still have a great , great group of people here in Ferguson that come in. But because of the 'protests' and - quite frankly - absolutely unfair, incorrect coverage of our city by different media outlets it gave Ferguson a reputation - an image - it didn't deserve.

An image that made - and make - people from surrounding counties not visit our fair city near as much as in the past. Cutting our business by at least a third. Maybe more.

It is still a great place to live with 100% great people here.

We were even interviewed on a local TV station, KSDK(Channel 5) by Art Holliday(A great guy, BTW) in September of '14. And that did help our business - for about 2 weeks. Then it went back to the levels before the interview.
But we kept on trudging along,

Things were going...okay, until Tuesday December 8th 2015.

On that day Mom saw this new general doctor her cancer doctor recommended.

When she got home, she was complaining that the doctor 'tested her left knee's flexibility'. Saying that she felt a little 'twinge' in her upper left thigh.

A twinge... If only....

Mom was still able to work, but she was favoring her left leg more-and-more each day. It got so bad that by that Saturday she had to stay on the sofa upstairs while me and Chuck did the work in the Bakery.

The thing that got me so mad was that on Monday Dec 14th we called the doctor's office at the hospital about what happened and asked for help and/or suggestions on what to do. But, of course he wasn't in. AND NEVER NEVER RETURNED OUR CALLS!!!

Mom's Chiropractor was sweet enough to come over and try to help Mom. But it wasn't working.

Finally, the pain was getting so bad that, on Tuesday Dec 29th, she had to go back to the hospital. When they examined her they found what was wrong.
Instead of a pulled muscle(that's what we thought it was) it turned out to be a broken left thigh bone and cracked left hip.

That $%&$%*#$^ BROKE my Mom's leg!!!

So they sent her to another hospital to get her leg & hip fixed, which they did on Dec 31st.

A few days later, after she recovered enough, they sent her to a rehab facility to start her...well...rehab.

We visited her every Monday & Thursday and called every evening and you could see the steady progress she was making. So much so that, when we went to see her Monday Feb 8th she seems more like her 'old' self than I could remember. She got up from her wheelchair on her own to do something(The nurse was moving too slow for her.)
She was even bossing me around to move stuff here-&-there for her. I asked if the nurses should do that and she just gave me 'the look'. So I just.. did it.(You do NOT say 'No' to Mom!)

We talked on Tuesday(2-9) and everything was still good(food was a little tough, but what the hey).

On Wednesday(2-10) when we talked Mom said her arm was feeling a little sore. We joked about maybe she could use it as an excuse to ease up on the therapy. I wished her goodnight and said we'd see her tomorrow.

On Thursday morning the 11th the facility called to let me know that they were putting Mom under 'palliative' care. Meaning they would be ready for her in a moments notice. I asked what was wrong and they said that, besides her arm, her legs were bothering her and she was having trouble eating. And that she was sleeping well.

After closing at noon, we went to see Mom. I asked the nurses what was going on. They gave me one those non-commital/commital answers(Well, we're not sure but, blah,blah).

We went in to see Mom and there she was just sleeping. Resting her weary body. I tapped her on the shoulder to try to wake her up to talk to her. When she opened her eyes and saw it was me, she just shrugged her shoulders and went back to sleep. It was so cute. So... Mom.

We watched over her for almost an hour, watching her sleep. Watching her rest.

Afterwards, we left to go home. I still had the bag with me that had the little teddy-bear I was going to give her for Valentine's Day. We both agreed to come by tomorrow to see her and give it to her then.

Tomorrow never came for her.

At 4 P.M. the facility called to let us know they were taking her to the hospital. Me & Chuck were getting ready to leave to see her off when, not even 5 minutes later, the phone rang again.
This time they were calling to ask if I wanted them to try to revive Mom.
I just said to myself 'Oh boy. This is it, isn't it?'.
I told them, 'Yes, Please, PLEASE try.'

Me and Chuck tried to get over there as fast as we could, but it's a good 15-20 minute drive without afternoon rush hour.
When we pulled up I went in the head receptionist just looked at me and, with a sad look, just shook her head.

When I arrived at her room the nurses told me what happened. They said they tried every revival method they could. From shock to compression, Chemical too.

Her spirit was more than willing, but her body just wasn't strong enough.

Marilyn Spencer passed away on February 11th 2016.

She was 76 years young.

Marilyn Spencer - William Woods College - late 50s

You can go to legacy.com and search her name to see her obituary.

Sometime after Mom's passing, but before her funeral - a HUGE 'Thank You' to everyone that attended, thank you all - I got a call from Mom & Dad's accountant. Asking to meet.

He informed me of Mom & Dad's financial history.

From working at Winchell's through 2006, they had managed to save - in mutual funds and CDs - around $200,000. Wow..

But then he repeated, they 'HAD' saved.

Because of all the expenses of 2006(Dad's hospital stay & funeral, Mom's month in the hospital, and being closed for 3 months.), plus her monthly cancer treatments over the next 10 years...

Well, when I took out for Mom's funeral - and other expenses - all that was left was around $8,000. yeesh..

Side note: To let you know, I did call several lawyers concerning what happened with Mom and that doctor. They all said the same thing. 'While we sympathize with what happened, we can't really take the case.' What can you do?

After the service I decided to stay open. Business was still down somewhat(Thank you 2014), so I had to dip into the savings Mom & Dad left from time-to-time to keep afloat. But I was determined to keep it open, In Mom & Dad's memory.

You know the saying 'Straw that broke the camel's back'?

That happened in August '17, but started back in 2010.
Back then we found a hole - about a foot wide - in front of the bakery in the street. Right next to the sidewalk.

Beneath the hole - about a foot down - was a sewer pipe(STILL INTACT) running along the sidewalk. We went to City Hall(next door to us) and told them. They came over to look at it and told us it was a Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District(MSD) pipe.

After having a plumber test the pipe to see if it was working(IT WAS) , they told us it was MSD's responsibility to cover and fix the hole. They said they would call MSD and that we should too. The person I got a hold of said something like 'Thank you for letting us know. It will be taken care of.'.

So we waited...

and waited...

and...after a month - nothing.

We asked City Hall if they heard from MSD, and they were told the same message. 'It'll be taken care of.'

This pattern went on... and on...

Once a month City Hall would call MSD and we would check each month with City Hall to see what was said. Which was the same thing.
'It'll be taken care of.'

After about 6 months Mom asked City Hall to just call if they got a different message.....which they didn't.

The only thing that changed was the bright orange-and-white street cone the city was nice enough to place over the hole.(Yay..)

Every so often, I would check the hole. See how the pipe was doing.

Well guess what I saw in 2013?

After 3-plus years of exposure to the elements, the pipe broke(big surprise).

We told City Hall so they could add that to their monthly phone call.
Did that spur MSD into action? Of course not(idiots).

Now we flash forward to August 2017(Still nothing from MSD, FOR OVER 7 YEARS).

City Hall lets me know that they are repaving Church Street, but before they start on our end of the street, because of MSD's stonewalling they had to fix the pipe themselves.

And that, since it's in front of the bakery, I had to pay 15% of that cost. Which, for me was $1300. ??????????

SO BECAUSE OF MSD'S STONEWALLING, I HAD TO PAY OUT 1300 DOLLARS!!!!!!!

Add to that the nearly $1000 from the increase in heating costs during winter - (it's an old building, so winters are always rough, but this?) - and you have a nearly $2300 unexpected pop to my bank account.

So unexpected that, in April, - for the first time - I had a couple of my bills 'not go through'. And that scared the #$^$& out of me.

I can't even afford to do all of the maintenance projects that need to be done around the building.

So I was trying to figure how to raise, to get back, the money our family lost over the years.

I heard on the radio - and one of my customers - suggested here. GoFundMe.
I researched - and remembered - how this site(and all the beautiful people here) has helped(and are helping) so many people and business'. Including here in beautiful Ferguson.

And, hopefully, you all will be kind and gracious to help out our Bakery, too.

To find out more, just google 'Spencer's Bakery' to see more images and - to me - a pleasant surprise.

One of my beautiful customers(when I find out who, I'm giving them a big hug) was very sweet and set up an unofficial 'Facebook' page for us. It's got more customer pictures and pictures of some of the food we serve.
It has some images, further down, of other 'Spencer's' places around the country, but I do not mind sharing at all. It's got me thinking about putting up a 'page' of my own.

So, to summarize -It was the expenses of;

2006 - Dad's hospital stay and funeral plus Mom's hospital stay and being closed for 3 months;

Mom's cancer treatments for over 10 years;

2014 and the way it affected business - and still affects it today;

Mom's hospital stay, rehab stay, and funeral expenses ;

The 'stonewalling' of MSD from 2010 through 2017and repair costs;

and all the maintenance work that needs to be done;

That have me here, asking for help from all the beautiful GoFundMe-ers out there.
And any amount. Anything no matter how big or small would be greatly appreciated in helping me keep Spencer's open to continue serving all the great people in Ferguson.

And also in honoring Mom & Dad's - Marilyn & Lou's - memory.