cont’d. on

“I think that was something that my grandfather came up with. I think he just decided that he wanted to do something different,” Anderson said of the cookie, which she has made and taken to vendor shows.

Jelly and preserves from Leyden Country Market. Submitted photo.

Anderson is also ready to do something different. She looks at the recipes that have been handed down and wonders how she can put her own twist on some of them. Instead of using a beef smokie in the classic smokies, she wonders what else could be used. And what about adding a different flavored filling - like lemon or apricot - to the traditional Icelandic vínar-

Leyden, N.D., early 1930s, submitted by McCurdy family archives

terta cake with prune filling? Burke’s donut staples included long johns. While those will be on Anderson’s menu, she might try them with maple frosting and bacon crumbles on top.

Shortly before opening her homebased baking business, she established Leyden Country Market as a business. This is her handle on Facebook as well. She wanted to honor where she’s from, and her farm is right near what used to be Leyden, N.D., southeast of Walhalla. The town of Leyden no longer exists, but it was located on the railroad line between Backoo and Walhalla just off of Pembina County 1 about five miles east of Highway 32.

“Back in the day my grandparents talked about the town having a grocery store, post office, bar and hotel all because of the railroad. I wanted to keep that name alive,” Anderson said. “The Heaven Scent Bakery part - I believe the Lord has given each person a unique gift, and I believe mine is baking.” Anderson wants to grow the Leyden Country Market so people can get their produce from her farm. She hasn’t established the details yet, but she may sell picked produce or introduce a “pick your own” produce option.

Under the Leyden Country Market brand, Anderson creates jellies and preserves, including crab apple, chokecherry, peach preserves, cranberry, grape and plum. All jellies are made from fruit harvested in her farmyard or from trees growing wild near her farm.

Anderson now lives where she grew up, with her paternal grandparents living in the same yard. Whenever she wanted to go to grandma’s house, she would just walk across the yard. They had a big garden, and the whole family helped take care of it. She thought about family history as she launched her businesses.

“I wanted to mesh both experiences of my childhood into one - being with my mom’s side of the family in the bakery and with my dad’s side of the family in the garden and the canned goods. That’s the whole drive behind the two names. I wanted to honor both sides.”

Anderson said building two businesses is proving to be difficult as she still has a full-time job. She is eligible to retire in 7 years, and she is setting these businesses up as her retirement gig, but business is gaining traction quicker than she thought it would.

“It’s been a lot of time since there’s been any Burke’s bakery products made. I was anticipating it being a little slower,” Anderson said. “The younger generations would have no connection. I was expecting a slower start, but I’m thankful people have supported me as much as they have.”

Before the holidays Anderson shipped her baked goods to people in Arizona and Washington with North Dakota connections.

“The support I’ve gotten and people saying it’s taking me back to my childhood, so that is very rewarding to me,” she said.

Fresh picked raspberries from Leyden Country Market’s 2021 harvest. Submitted photo. The biggest surprise that’s popped up with running a bakery is finding the ingredients. It’s challenging not only because of supply chain issues but because Anderson runs a small bakery. Most of the big suppliers want weekly minimum orders that Anderson can’t meet because she doesn’t have the business built up yet.

“It’s been a challenge to find the proper ingredients,” she said. “I’ve managed to do it, but it’s been like an Easter egg hunt.”

Anderson anticipates her service area will be Pembina County. She delivered Christmas goodies to Pembina, Neche, Walhalla and Cavalier, and she may add Drayton to the mix. If customers want to pick up their orders on Anderson’s farm, that can be arranged as well. She does not have a regular storefront; she makes orders ahead of time or watch her Facebook page (Leyden Country Market) in case she has extra to sell from an order.

People can contact her through Facebook, and she is in the process of establishing a website where people can order.

“It wasn’t until I got older that I realized how hard (Grandpa) worked – how much work went into that,” Anderson says. “He won awards and to see that being carried on and seeing it carry on in future generations is very special. I hope I do him justice. I hope I do the name justice even though I’m not using the name.”