David: “We opened this bakery seven days ago and are pretty new at it. My wife has fired me three times, and I’ve quit twice. We were retired and had a pretty good life. We weren’t interested in opening a bakery, but the Lord had other plans. We were selling crafts with our church youth group in downtown Lucedale when we saw the ‘For Sale’ sign in the window. That was November. We made an offer and asked our bank for a signature loan, each time telling the Lord that we are good if He didn’t want us to do this. But the lady took our offer for the bakery, and the bank loaned us the money. I think the Lord wanted this bakery more than we did.

I’ll be 69 and Lorri will be 65 in March. We’ve been married 45 years. Lorri baked cakes at home for 40 years to help pay the bills. We wanted a bakery thirty years ago but couldn’t afford it. Our pastor recently preached about Elizabeth wanting a son; God gave her a son 40 years later. That’s what happened to us. The Lord answered our prayers when we were close to 70.”

Lorri: “I started selling cakes for $10 to help pay our bills. I didn’t know what I was doing, so I bought a Wilton book for cake decorating. I was so bad at it that I would stay up until midnight in my mama’s kitchen trying to get it right. I thought I could do anything if I learned to make a rose. Mama stayed up late with me those nights then went to work at Ingalls Shipyard early the next morning. I finally conquered that rose and went from there. Mama would be proud of this bakery.

Watching people, especially kids, enjoy my treats is the best part of baking. I make strawberry, chocolate, and lemon cupcakes for our church on the first Sunday of each month. The little kids call me ‘Pink Cupcakes.’ I also took cupcakes to work, and the girls kept telling me to open Short Cakes Bakery-our last name is Short. They named our bakery years ago. 

Opening Short Cakes Bakery happened fast, but our friends and neighbors painted the walls and made curtains. They decorated the store and the Christmas tree.  My cousin made this apron for me. Our daughter, Tricia, and grandchildren, Natalie and Cody, have also helped. We wouldn’t be here without all of them. We opened December 2, the day of the Lucedale Christmas parade. It was supposed to rain that night. We didn’t know if the parade would be canceled, but we baked like we had no sense and made almost 700 cupcakes. We sold out of them before the parade started.

I started with cupcakes, but I am trying to make bigger cakes. Someone wanted a Chantilly cake. I had never heard of that. I found a recipe, and a friend helped me whip one up. The big cakes and everything else are selling like crazy. These empty trays were full this morning. We’ve been here until midnight each night trying to keep up. A neighbor heard about our late hours and is helping me bake for the next day.”

David: “We also have a cow farm and now feed the cows about midnight or 5 AM because of the bakery. We tried getting into the cow business when we first married, but couldn’t make it happen. We worked public jobs and saved enough money to get started. We didn’t know much about that business either. It’s a long-term investment, but it’s gone alright. Our calves are being born right now. Lorri and I work well together in the hayfield. We’re on tractors on different sides, or she’s raking and I’m baling. There’s a lot more space in the pasture than in this bakery. 

We met when I ran a Coca-Cola route and Lorri worked at Piggly Wiggly in Leakesville, MS. The produce counter came up to the coke rack. Lorri walked over in a pair of overalls, a t-shirt, and that big, pretty smile. The first thing I said to her 46 years ago was, ‘Do you mind if I set my Co-Colas next to your potatoes?’ I returned to my truck and worried she thought I was an idiot. Not long after that, we were riding in the backseat of her family’s Chrysler, and I asked her to marry me. We met in May and married in October.  It was 35 years before I knew she had two rs in her name.”

Lorri: “David worked at Ingalls Shipyard for 29 years. I worked for a bank and an accounting firm. We retired eight years ago. I was driving a school bus but quit abruptly when we opened the bakery. I loved driving the bus because the kids were so sweet.”

David: “We were getting tired and lazy in retirement, spending too many hours watching TV. We were also eating too much ice cream, candy, and bread. We had a physical last March. Our sugar was up so we cut out sugar and bread. I lost about 40 pounds. Then we opened a bakery.”

Lorri:  “I am scared to see my doctor now. I can’t bake this stuff and not taste it before I sell it.”

David: “We are still tired, but this is a wonderful kind of tired. We want our bakery to be something we can play with and give back to Lucedale what it has given us over the years. We love where we live.”