Hanford Insider

Hanford Insider: How A Historic Bakery Shaped A Town And Sparked A New Chapter In Community Business

• Rob Bentley • Season 3 • Episode 23

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A bakery that once fed a town now feeds a different kind of hunger: connection, service, and shared memory. We follow Maccagno’s from a 1949 brick landmark with 20‑foot ovens and loading docks to a living hub for local business, events, and civic pride.

We start with Hanford’s roots—six bakeries in the 1920s, immigrant craft shaping taste, and bread as a public good—and trace the Maccagno’s expansion from 200 loaves a day to more than 4,500. Economic shifts and new shopping habits eventually dimmed the neighborhood bakery model, but the stories lingered: a rumored rum cake recipe made by feel, friendly faces behind the counter, and a building that held a Cold War secret in its 12‑inch concrete basement walls. When Jeanette Sasser stepped in to acquire and restore the space, she found ovens, racks, and even fallout rations, then transformed the site into a creative engine for JH Tackett Marketing.

Jeanette and new owner Amory Marple open up about preserving artifacts, curating photos, and treating the building as a public trust. When the pandemic upended daily life, the team kept printers running late, supplying restaurants, hospitals, and schools with clear signage and launching print‑pack‑ship programs to honor graduates and frontline staff. Their story shows how local businesses can evolve without abandoning their mission to serve. We also preview Maccagno’s role in the Carnegie Museum’s Hanford walking tour and a countywide exhibit celebrating the architecture, industries, and people that shaped Kings County.

If you care about local history, small business resilience, and the power of place, you’ll find plenty to savor here—no oven mitts required. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves hometown stories, and leave a quick review to help more neighbors discover the show.

You can find the Hanford Insider at www.hanfordinsider.com and on social media at @hanfordinsider
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SPEAKER_00:

On this episode of The Hanford Insider, Rob goes deep into the history of Macagano's Bakery with the current owners of this historical building. We'll get a look at some of this week's community events, and I'll be back with your sports report. This is the Hanford Insider for Monday, february second.

SPEAKER_01:

I'm your host, Rob Bentley, and each week we shine a spotlight on our community. We celebrate local successes and share what's happening around town. Thanks for joining us. Let's get started. In community news, the Hanford City Council will meet again on Tuesday, February 2nd in the Hanford Civic Auditorium Council Chambers. In the afternoon study session, they'll get their annual report from Main Street Hanford and they'll interview finalists for the vacant seats on the Hanford Planning Commission. At the general meeting, which begins at seven, items on the agenda include recognizing members of the Police Activities League Boxing Club, they'll accept a bid to repair the slide pool at the plunge, and the transient occupancy tax or hotel tax, as it is sometimes called, will be on the agenda again. The council will now decide whether to put it on the June primary or the November general election. Don't forget, if you can't make it to the meeting in person, you can watch online live or later on the city's website. Now let's take a look at this week's community calendar. The Little Brick Theater is hosting their whatever open mic night on Friday, February 6th. Visit their website at HanfordMTC.com for more information. Saturday, February 7th is a very busy day. Some of the things going on that day include the Valentine's Vendure Fair at the Hanford Ball, the Kings County Art League Artisan Market at the Fast Credit Union, Off the Vine is holding a charcuterie class, there's a couple's karaoke night at Tipsy Canvas, the movie Pretty Woman is showing at the Hanford Fox Theater, and on Saturday evening, the annual Hanford Rotary Club Crap Feed will be held at the Hanford Civic Auditorium. And on Monday, February 9th, Hanford West High School will be holding a Mini Huskies Cheer Camp. If you have an event coming up, large or small, and you'd like some help getting the word out, let's work together. Send your information to HanfordInsider at gmail.com. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter to get a complete calendar of events. It's the most comprehensive community calendar available. For much of history, bakeries were more than just a place to buy bread. They were lifelines for a community. Bread was a daily necessity, and before modern kitchens and grocery stores, most families depended on local bakers for their meals. During wars, depressions, or disasters, bakeries were critical to feeding populations. Governments sometimes regulated bakeries closely because bread shortages could cause unrest. A town bakery often became a gathering place where neighbors caught up on news, shared stories, and built relationships. The smell of fresh bread drifting down the main street was a sign of comfort, stability, and home. Bakeries also reflected a town's identity. Immigrant families brought treasured recipes with them, shaping local tastes and traditions that were passed down through generations. So when we talk about the importance of early bakeries, we're really talking about the heart of the community, feeding people, creating connections, and helping towns grow one loaf at a time. Today's feature story is as much about the history of bakeries in Hanford as much it is about the company honoring the past while moving into the future. During my research, I found that in the mid-1920s, Hanford had six bakeries. Hanford Bakery, Rollers Bakery, New French American Bakery, O'Brien's Bakery, City Bakery, and Quality Bakery. Over in Armona, Michael McConaughey, with the help of his three sons, John, Frank, and Louis, opened up the Armona Bakery on 14th Avenue. They had a reputation for quality baked breads and pastries. In 1933, Frank left to open up his own market on 14th Avenue. Michael later retired, leaving the bakery in the hands of his sons, John and Louis. In 1946, they purchased Quality Bakery in Hanford in the two operations combined. Quality had been in several locations prior to the merger. A new brick building was constructed in 1949 at 329 West 7th Street. The building was built in an L shape and included a physical plant for the bakery and back and a storefront for its goods. The inside of the L was built for a finance company which later became Finance and Thrift. In 1950, it was rebranded as Macano's Bakery. The plant grew from 200 loaves a day to over 4,500. It was a huge operation at that time, and that's why the building is so large. You can still see the loading dock doors on the Phillips side of the building. There isn't one single reason for the decline of the bakery, but a combination of economic, cultural, and technological shifts has made traditional neighborhood bakeries less common than they once were. The plant portion of the bakery was leased out to the bus companies, taxi cabs, and even a motorcycle shop over the years. John McConaughey retired in 1965, and Louis operated it until 1973, when he sold it to Gerald Dean and Lawrence Hines. Over the years, their venue grew to include a breakfast and lunch counter, and in later years included a gift shop that sold stuffed animals, cards, candy, and other gifts. The bakery was later owned and operated by Charlie and Sonia Castellani for 19 years. It was sold to Santiago Tavares in 2010. He had owned the La Nueva Bakery in South Hanford, and he moved his operations into the Macanos building. He promised to deliver the same quality, but that proved to be easier said than done, and the bakery closed its doors in 2013, ending an 89-year run for Macano's name. The building was still owned by a relative of the Heinz family, and in 2014 she sold the building to Jeanette Sasser of Sasser Specialties, a rising small marketing business in Hanford. At the time, Jeanette's company had a shop in the old Kmart Center next to Inshape City, but saw an opportunity to own her own building and resurrect a piece of Kings County history. To put this story together, I leaned on members of the You Might Be from Hanford, if you remember this, Facebook page, articles from the Hanford Morning Journal and the Hanford Sentinel. During my research, I also had the wonderful opportunity to speak with Louie McConaughey's granddaughter, Kim Bishop. She shared with me that the sought-after recipes of the popular treats such as rum cake are nowhere to be found. It's often imitated, but the exact recipe people are probably looking for isn't in print because it was truly made from scratch each time. She did say that she's heard that Max's Cookies in Visoia makes a great rum cake cookie that seems to taste like the favorite that so many in Hanford remember. And it's so great to have with us now uh Jeanette Tackett, who was the person responsible for acquiring the historic Macanyos building in downtown Hanford. And uh welcome to the show, Jeanette. Thank you. Great to be here. So, Jeanette, before we get to the actual history of the building, uh let's back back it up just a little bit because you and I have been friends for a long time. Uh, when I was band director at Pioneer School, we started our band program and we needed shirts and uh we were using several vendors in town, but you were gracious enough to work out of your shop there on Grangeville Boulevard, and that's really where you got your start, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

It is many years ago. That would be uh 2006.

SPEAKER_01:

Hard to believe. So you grew past that stage of the shop that you had there in Grangeville, and you moved to a spot in the uh old KLARNT building next to Inshape City.

SPEAKER_02:

We did. That transition took place in 2010. We quickly outgrew the Grangeville little shack that we had going on there, so we had to find a bigger place.

SPEAKER_01:

And what attracted you to the building downtown? I know uh you have some roots in town and uh you've done a lot for the community, but this you saw this as a great opportunity.

SPEAKER_02:

I did. I had a business coach that um was nurturing me along in in business and helping me with a business plan. And in that business plan, it was a dream to own my own building and then run the shop and then someday hand it down. Um, so I acquired, started looking, looked at many buildings in the downtown area just because that's where we wanted to stage ourselves to be part of the Main Street community. Um, so in 2013 we sought out this building, it had become available, and by 2014 we were the owners.

SPEAKER_01:

Fantastic. So when you got the building, it was not empty, was it? By no means. What kinds of things did you find?

SPEAKER_02:

Um well, let's start with uh ovens. There was uh nine walk-in refrigerators, there was the raising puffing station that went all the way across the building and the top because heat rises to rise the dough. The dough would come down, go into the two large ovens. They were 20 foot wide. Uh, we had uh lots of bakery tables, so there was a lot of oil in the floor and the wood floors, and we had to remove all of that. We had pots and racks and pigeons, both dead and alive. So that was not fun. They I I don't even know how they got in the building. I guess somebody had left the building open at one point, and the pigeons made themselves at home. Uh, there was a lot of um storaged items, whether it was desks and chairs and cabinets, the um cooling cabinets in the front for the bakery were all there. There was tables and just a plethora of other smaller items that had to all be removed. The basement was full of starch, flour, and sugar, because they would just pour it. It would come down the the slide in the basement and they would just pour it out of the bags onto the floor. So the floor was super slick, and there was um piles of chocolate, so stacks of chocolate bars down there, and some varmits like to eat on that chocolate. Chocolate. Uh there was uh there were there was just a lot of baking. So any baking paraphernalia that you can think of, it was in the building and aged very well.

SPEAKER_01:

And you were telling me something else about the downstairs that not too many people know about the security and the strength of that portion of the building.

SPEAKER_02:

That portion of the building is 12-inch thick concrete walls, because in 1962 and three it was a fallout shelter. Oh so we have the original sign of the fallout shelter down there. Um, don't know that it ever got used, which and we have the rations. So there was there's about 10 or 12 boxes of the rations that are available as well.

SPEAKER_01:

That's fascinating. So you got the building remodeled and you know, kind of configured as to the way that uh Sasser specialties at that time was. Tell us about the process of the transition from COVID. You said that it was a huge boon to the to the market, the way that you had to handle orders and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_02:

We uh transitioned in 2018 to JH Tech at Marketing, and with the help of my husband Jeff, we went into COVID very cautiously, just as many of us did. We got very creative on how we were going to reach the community and how we were going to continue to serve the customers. There was uh, you know, the clause, if you were a um necessity, then you could stay open. And so we made ourselves a necessity in that we um provided signage regularly to the restaurants industries, uh, our safety officers, we uh had the uniform contracts for them. So we had to keep them dressed and able to get uniforms. Our restaurant community fed us well because uh the governor was changing the rules weekly, and so we were changing signs weekly, whether it was billboards on the freeway. Uh we went through I don't know how many pallets of A-frame signs because that was the most popular way because people had to put up tents. So they were directionally trying to get everybody in the right locations. So we would buy A-frames by the pallets. And we had our little sign company uh supply out of Fresno so busy we were they were bringing us truckloads constantly of all this signage that we had to print and get out of here. So the large format printers just really never stopped. And some mornings we were here till one, two o'clock in the morning because these restaurants wanted to open the next day, and so we were constantly feeding them the signs as the signs needed to be updated. Then we ran into graduation. So, graduation, we served uh Lamore College and Kalinga College, which was West Hills at the time. They needed to do something creative, and so we collaborated with them and created the drive-thru graduation process. And in that, we created um boxes that they were gifted. Each graduate was gifted during their drive-thru process to receive their diploma and their graduation.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I remember the yard signs too. Uh people would put yard signs, proud parents. Proud parent, yeah. Hanford High Graduate or Pioneer Graduate, those uh graduation signs were a big thing.

SPEAKER_02:

They were a big thing, and we we printed them all here. Um then we had, you know, some of our bigger customers, like Adventist Health, you know, uh they have um Nurses Week every May, and they had to figure out how are we still going to make sure these nurses who are working day in and day out uh feel appreciated. And so we did a we started developing the print pack and ship. And so the print pack and ship became a big thing, and we were servicing and packaging, printing all these products. We would package them then and then ship them to employees. Um, and so that was probably the largest project that um our small little company ever did, and it went and it went off really well. So we're very thankful for those customers who kept us alive.

SPEAKER_01:

Definitely, definitely. So you worked hard for all those years, and something special happened not too long ago. You and your husband found some retirement activities, yes? We did.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, we did. We have uh purchased an RV park and we are enjoying that. Uh, it's a fairly new park out of state, and that park is in developmental stages. Uh, we do have some spots available, um, but we're adding to the park as well as we speak.

SPEAKER_01:

And I understand that in 2025, and you I have to tell this story about how I found out about this. I'm announcing at the Hanford Christmas parade, and I'm reading the script, and it says J.H. Tackett Marketing with new owner Amory Marple. And I knew that Amory had worked here, but now she's actually owner of the business. That is correct.

SPEAKER_02:

We uh we handpicked her, if you will. Uh I sought after her um after a lot of prayers of wanting to transition and wanting to retire and do something different uh from this industry. So um I just began praying and she came to me and so I went to her. I knew of her, but I didn't know her. And so I presented to her and she got a look on her face that was um why me. Um and so after about a year, she came back and revisited and she's like, I'm ready. And so we started the dance together and trained her, and she worked alongside of me for uh 80, I don't know, almost two years, I think. And then she we transitioned the business right over to her, and and it's been kind of a seamless because the customers know her and she's part of the community. She has that same passion that Jeff and I did to serve and have um have that face of of service and quality still going.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, that's fantastic. I know uh Jeanette, you have been a guest on one of my podcasts before with the uh music teachers uh podcast that I did several years ago. We did a couple episodes about uh fundraising and that kind of a thing. But Amory, you have been on the show as well, but you've been on the Hanford Insider when you were a part of the Hanford Chamber of Commerce. So welcome to the Hanford Insider in 2026 as the corner of Chage Tacket Marketing.

SPEAKER_03:

Thank you. I think that episode was on the Christmas parade, too. It's made me pretty popular.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. So Amory, tell us about your journey in uh in Hanford and uh how this all came about and why you're so excited about this.

SPEAKER_03:

My journey in Hanford. I'm born and raised here in Hanford. Um, I did move away for college and just tried to expand my horizon and I ended up coming back. Um my heart was just here, and I grew roots here with my family and marrying my husband, so we stayed local. My family has always instilled in me the belief that you need to give back. And I went to private school McCarthy, I went to San Joaquin Memorial, and part of the curriculum was you had to do hours of service. So I started in my freshman year gleaning fields, uh, and I was not cut out for that. So then I switched to uh donating my time each week to the children's hospital. Um, so I've always been involved in the community and serving. Um, when I moved back after college, I got more involved with joining Suro Optimist, and that just became a regular thing I did. And that led me to being the CEO for the Chamber of Commerce, and that led me to joining Rotary and Cap C, and now being part of EDC and the homeless collaborative. So it's just become something that I love now doing.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, those connections are so important. Um, we have seen kind of, I would say, kind of the decline of some service organizations that would traditionally put on events in town and stuff. And um it's so brightening, you know, it brightens the day of someone to see these community organizations doing so well. Suroptimist, Rotary, Lions. And I'm no I'm I'm gonna stop there listing them because I know I'm gonna forget a bunch. But um, that's that's inspiring to see all the work that um that the adults in this community get involved with to help make it a better place.

SPEAKER_03:

Also joining Suroptimist when I was barely 20 years old. I've been in it now for over 16 years. So I kind of also am a representative for a younger generation to be involved in the community. Um, so I understand that responsibility as well. And I hope more get involved because it's something that is so needed.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and local businesses are very important to helping uh sponsor events and uh make the town a better place. We think of your involvement with uh the Christmas parade, uh being to sponsor that and other things that you've done. So, how do you see JH Tacket Marketing moving forward in community involvement?

SPEAKER_03:

Well, we serve a lot of local businesses and events and nonprofits and schools and teams. So we have historically given back to those who support us. And then it's word of mouth just grows because the quality of service that comes with the whole package. So it's just continuing to expand and grow, and the stuff that we're involved in um is growing. So there's a return. You support us, we support you, we support you, you support us, and it's growing. And I'm trying to keep up with that.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Definitely. Well, we're so excited for you, and we're excited for uh Jeff and and uh Jeanette. Um, everything that's been done and uh will be done in the future, and uh we're we're just grateful that we still have this building as a lover of historic buildings. Um, I can say that uh I especially like this one. This is one that I have a long history with. Uh funny story I always tell is that the the first paying gig I got as emotional. Musician was at McConaughey's Bakery. I got paid 20 bucks to come in and play happy birthday in my trumpet for one of the workers here. So there's a lot of people that remember the recipes. I think probably most people recollect the friendly faces that were there. And there's certainly a lot of friendly faces here at uh at J Tech at Marketing. And I know that in the future, perhaps you're going to have a little area set aside with maybe some historic pictures, just kind of a shout-out. And uh I'd like to thank all the people who responded to my request for information and uh memories about the building, uh, because it certainly holds a special place in so many people's heart in Hanford. And I want to wish you the best of luck and uh thank you so much for all that you've done.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes, thank you. And I just wanted to add that uh there is a responsibility to preserving this history of this space. And I didn't really realize that as first that that was included in the package. Kind of like when I was involved with the chamber and my office was in the old courthouse. Uh after the fact, I realized that people come in and ask you questions about the building. It's just part of being downtown. Um, so I'm starting to learn more. Um, I've made promises to preserve some of the pieces like the uh the tables and and the drying racks out there. Um, so I'm excited to add that piece with it too, because I'm sure many people will start to come in asking me about Macanos in this space as well.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, people come and they they will ask me uh because they know I'm very involved in local history, and they'll ask me about the history of some building, and they always say, Oh, yeah, ask Michael Seamus or Ra Bentley or, you know, uh Bruce Bentley or, you know, one of these people that have spent so much time researching. And this is actually going to be, I'm working on the next stages of the historic Hanford Walking Tour. And the research that I've done on this building uh will be included in the next edition, which will probably come out uh sometime this summer. So uh thank you for doing that. And Jeanette, I'd like to thank you and uh wish you a well-deserved happy retirement.

SPEAKER_02:

Thank you so much. Glad to be here.

SPEAKER_01:

That was a great opportunity to be able to sit down with Jeanette and Amory and talk about the building and talk about the business of J.H. Tacket Marketing. And I'm really impressed with the vision that Amory has for the building and continuing to serve the community and honoring the past of the Macanos Bakery. As you can tell, I love history, and I'm so excited to share with you that the Macanos Bakery story will be added to the historic Hanford walking tour sponsored by the Carnegie Museum. It'll also be featured in the Carnegie Museum of Kings County's 2026 exhibition, Building Kings County. Part one will open on February 21st and will feature the founding cities of Kings County, historic downtowns of Hanford, Lamore, Corcoran, and Avenel, the impact of the railroad, historic homes, schools, churches, fraternal halls, and builders and architects. This story of Macanyas will be featured in part two, which opens in September. That exhibition will feature highways 198, 43, and 41, businesses and restaurants, NAS Lamore, Hitachi Palace, hospitals, prisons, fairgrounds, airports, emergency services, and oil fields. For more information about the museum, you can visit our website at Carnegie Museum of Kingscounty.org. Now let's go to Eric for a recap of this week's high school sports action.

SPEAKER_03:

And now it's time for Hanford Insider Sports with Eric Bentley.

SPEAKER_00:

At 5-2, the Bullpups have a favorable schedule the rest of the way at Tularie Western on Wednesday and home versus Michinok on Friday before a season finale showdown with Lamore next week that could have WIL title implications. The Sierra Pacific girls' basketball team sits in second place with three games to play in league action after falling to league leading Emmanuel last week before bouncing back with a drubbing of Hanford West. The road to a fourth straight Tri-County Kings League title for the Golden Bears will require some losses from Emmanuel down the stretch, but after picking up a big 60-54 non-league win over Bakersfield Christian last Saturday, the resume continues to add quality wins, which are always valuable come playoff time. And the Sierra Pacific boys basketball team probably saw their chances at a league title slip away after Thursday's loss to Kingsburg, but with Senior Night on Tuesday versus league leading CVC and at Selma on Thursday, the 14 and 11 overall Golden Bears will more than likely see playoff action and like the girls will rely on the strength of their non-league schedule to carry experience into the playoffs. Let's stick with Sierra Pacific, but out to soccer, where the Sierra Pacific boys' soccer team sits atop the Tri-County Sequoia League with a perfect 6-0 record after taking down CVC and Emmanuel last week. The Golden Bears have dominated league playup until this point, tallying a plus fourteen goal differential in their six league matches. A win versus Kingsburg on Wednesday would clinch a second straight league title for the Sierra Pacific Boys. That game kicks off at 6 PM. And it's a heated battle atop the WIL for the Hanford High girls soccer team, currently in second place with a 6-1 league record. The Bullpups have won four in a row, their last loss, a 1-0 defeat to their opponent this week, league leading to Larry Western. Should the Bullpups avenge that earlier season loss, there would be a tie atop the WIL at 7-1 with two games to play, though with a 13-2-2 overall record, league title or not, the Hanford High Girls Soccer team is definitely looking to make noise this year in the playoffs. As always, if you have a score report or a team update from any level, please let us know by emailing HanfordInsider at gmail.com. I'm Eric Bentley, and this has been your Hanford Insider Sports Report.

SPEAKER_01:

And that wraps things up for this week's show. Join me next week for a candid conversation with local writer Caitlin Donahue about the Riders Haven Project. If you enjoy this podcast and you'd like to show your support, you can go to buymeacoffee.com slash Hanford Insider to make a donation. If you'd like to join the Hanford Insider email list, stop on my website at HanfordInsider.com to sign up for updates. You'll also get an exclusive copy of my newsletter in your inbox each week. Also need your help getting the word out about the show by liking and sharing on social media or telling a friend. For more information about the show, you can find this podcast on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, and YouTube at Hanford Insider. If you have a show idea, be sure to email me at Hanford Insider at gmail.com and I'll look into it. Thanks for being a part of the Hanford Insider Podcast family. Have a fantastic week!

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Rob Bentley

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