OUR STORY Skee's Story
(as told to Lois by Skee)
Julius "Skee" Mass was born and raised in NE Brainerd with his parents and sister, Phyllis. His chldhood days were spent enjoying the outdoors, fishing, hunting and hanging out with his "good buddies". Those were close friendships that continued through high school and beyond. Uncle Sam called his name in 1958 and he spent his military years in Germany. After his disharge, he was hired at Polatch Paper Mill in Brainerd, which was his career for 41 years until his retirement.
He was married to Sharon in 1964 and they were blessed with 3 children, Greg, and twins Mike and Shelly. The family enjoyed many camping adventures together, as well as fishing and hunting. In 2006 Sharon passed away from brain cancer. Single life was difficult for Skee. He was involved in a Ham radio club which helped with his loneliness.
2010 was a year of special surprises. God had a plan for Skee and Lois to meet at Lakewood Church in Baxter. It was His plan for them to find love again. We dated a year and were married on a beautiful, fall day, in our yard with our grown chldren. After a brief honeyoon to the North Shore, every day life began for us. Skee was retired and Lois was still cooking at Edgewood Vista, an assited living facility. There were many adjustments since we both had lived single lives for many years and were very independent. We bought an RV and enjoyed camping as often as we could. The North Shore was our favorite place to camp, hiking the trails and walking the beaches of Lake Superior.
In 2015 we were working at Costco in Baxter serving food samples to shoppers. It was enjoyable meeting people and promoting the product samples. We worked 2-3 days a week, which was difficult for Skee being on his feet for a 6 hr. shift.
One day at Costco Lois met a man who owned a bakery in Little Falls, MN. He had a cart full of baking supplies. He stopped at her product sample booth and they began chatting about bread. She told hm about the bread she makes, milling the grain into fresh, chemical free flour. He told her there is nothing like that bread available to people and she should market it. He encouraged her to check with the farmers markets in our area and start from there. We got the required licenses and proceeded wth the plans.
We both quit Costco since the bread business kept us busy as we sold at 2 farmers markets each week.Skee was very involved in Lois' Breads, slicing, and packaging as well as the heavy lifting of the 50# bags of wheat and loading product for the markets. He was my "taste tester" for the fresh-out-of-the oven bread and is the final word on the flavor and texture of the breads.
Neither of us would have believed our lives would take this turn with this business. All the years Lois made this bread for her family since 1976, never thinking one day she would be selling it. We know God has had His hands in this adventure, opening doors for us and giving us opportunity for sales.
Some one asked Lois how long does she plan to do this. Her goal is to have these healthy products, not just bread, but cookies and other goodies, of course all made wth whole wheat flour, as long as her health and energy holds up. She wants the opportunity to have these available for people to experience the benefits of the wonderful nutrients in her products, and to taste a flavor they have never had in bread before.
OUR STORY
Lois' Story
Where does my story begin anyway ? Maybe with "once upon a time." At this point in my life, at 78 years "young," looking back is quite a feat. We can all look back at our younger years and see the twists and turns that brought us to the place we are at presently. As a child, growing up on a farm in eastern Iowa, I never would have believed I would be spending a large portion of my life in Minnesota. Our family enjoyed vacations at a resort near Hackensack, Minnesota, where the call of the loons and the white birch trees created a love and longing in my heart for this part of the country, "God's country " as it is often called. It never occurred to me then that I would be here permanently.
Lois' Breads developed in 1977, living in Littleton, Colorado, as I began making wholegrain bread for the family, milling the grain and making it in the Bosch mixer. Purchasing the Bosch and the mill made me a distributor for the Magic Mill company, which i still am to this day. I made this bread through the years for my family, never dreaming what God would have in store for me in the future.
Over the years, as we spent time in Minnesota visiting family, my husband, Charlie Caughlan, fell in love with fishing here. It created a "mid-life crisis" and his desire to purchase a resort. Wouldn't you know, in 1979, this born-and-raised Denver man had his dream come true. We moved to Birchdale Villas Resort on Lake Bertha, on the Whitefish Chain, in the dead of winter, now owners and operators of the busy resort lifestyle. Little did we know of the hectic pace that was involved. Our son, John, was 7 years old and thrilled with our move. We operated the resort for 8 years and then sold it as an association with private cabin owners. We kept our home and were part of the development.
In 2003 that marriage ended in divorce. Life goes on!
I am amazed how God has directed my steps over all these years, opening doors and closing doors to bring me to this place. My artistic "genes" were quite noticeable, even in first grade. I loved drawing and painting. As it turned out, my painting career was quite profitable. I helped pay for our son,John's, college education with my watercolor paintings, teaching classes, even murals in the Pequot Lakes area. My "claim to fame" is the mural I painted at the Americinn Motel near Jenkins, MN. It is an 60 ft. wrap-around mural in the swimming pool area. That project opened the door for many more murals in cabins and homes in the lakes area. The pictures below are some of my art work I've done over the years.
2010..Julius "Skee" Mass and Lois Caughlan meet at Lakewood Church in Baxter, MN. God gave us a chance at love again late in our lives. Both of us never expected this miracle to happen, but it was part of His plan. We were married in 2011 in our yard on a beautiful September day with our adult children.
2018 Lois' Breads developed into a very busy time of our lives. Skee was involved in the day-to-day aspects of it, helping with slicing and packaging product and of course being the important "taste tester" . We enjoyed doing the farmers markets each week in Brained and our products were becoming more and more in demand. We would completely sell out or have very little left at the end of the 4-hour time frame. We lived a short distance from town and we actually had people follow us home to see if we had any bread left. Sometimes there would be 1 loaf left that I had saved for us, but we sold it.
Skee had not been well in 2022. He had lung cancer diagnosed and treated with radiation in the spring of 2021. He had pneumonia with sepsis a month before his passing July 3, 2022. He never fully recovered from it. I was shocked that he was not going to recover and his days on this earth were done. He had had many health issues during our 11 short years together and he always bounced back to normal.
Life goes on and God led me to Clear Lake so I could be closer to my son and family in Clearwater. Lois' Breads got put on hold and I trusted Him to lead me and open doors for me to sell my wonderful products again. I continued to go to Brainerd once a month to sell bread to my faithful customers. It was very tiring for me to spend all day there after being up at 3:00 a.m making my caramel rolls and then driving back home in the afternoon. I went sound asleep at a stop light outside St.Cloud one time on my return trip and my son had a fit. That was the end of my Brainerd trips with Lois' Bread. In a few months I was baking and selling again locally.
I'm thankful for the opportunities God has given me to make my products available to area customers. I'm seeing more and more repeat customers who are enjoying my wholesome, healthy items. At a time when people are becoming more aware of chemicals and preservatives in the food we consume, I hear how happy they are to have found my natural, healthy, breads.
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Part of the mural in the pool area at the Americinn Motel, Jenkins, MN. It totals 60 feet, a continuous lake scene, wrapped around the entire room.
Some of Lois's art.