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Hillsboro, OH – September 23, 2026 – Retired bakery owner Gayla Sears is encouraging families to take a closer look at the handwritten recipes, cooking notes, and food traditions that may already be sitting in their kitchen drawers.

Sears, who spent more than 35 years running her own bakery, has long viewed recipes as more than a set of instructions. Many of the recipes she still keeps today were passed down through her family and include handwritten notes, adjustments, and reminders added over the years.

“Some of those recipe cards are really pieces of family history,” said Sears. “You can see someone’s handwriting, the changes they made, and sometimes even little notes about who liked something or when it was made. You can’t replace that once it’s gone.”

Born in Savannah, Georgia, Sears learned to bake alongside her mother and grandmother. Her grandmother gradually taught her everything from measuring ingredients to preparing complete recipes, while also showing her the importance of patience and learning by experience.

Those lessons eventually helped Sears build a career in baking. After studying food service and hospitality and working in local bakeries, she opened her own neighborhood bakery in the early 1970s. Over the next several decades, she became known for traditional baked goods including cinnamon rolls, biscuits, pecan pie, apple cake, pound cake, sugar cookies, and cobbler.

Throughout her career, Sears continued writing recipes by hand and making notes as she worked. She also taught younger bakers many of the techniques she had learned from the women in her family.

Now retired and living in Hillsboro, Ohio, Sears has been organizing and protecting her collection of family recipes. Some of the cards have become fragile with age, making preservation increasingly important.

She believes families do not need an elaborate system to begin protecting their own culinary history.

“Start by asking questions,” Sears said. “If someone in your family makes something everybody loves, ask them how they do it. Write it down. Ask where the recipe came from. Those conversations are just as important as the ingredients.”

Sears also recommends keeping the original handwritten versions whenever possible, even if a recipe is later typed or stored digitally. She believes handwriting, food stains, margin notes, and small corrections can tell part of the story.

For Sears, preserving recipes is also about keeping family connections alive across generations. She continues to bake for family, friends, community gatherings, and special occasions, and she hopes younger generations will continue adapting and sharing the recipes she grew up with.

“Recipes are meant to be used,” she said. “I don’t want mine sitting somewhere untouched. I want somebody to make them, change them if they need to, and then pass them along again.”

About Gayla Sears

Gayla Sears is a retired bakery owner based in Hillsboro, Ohio. Born in Savannah, Georgia, she grew up learning traditional baking techniques from her mother and grandmother before pursuing studies in food service and hospitality. She later opened her own bakery and operated it for more than 35 years. Sears is known for her love of traditional Southern baking, handwritten family recipes, and preserving culinary traditions. In retirement, she continues to bake for family, friends, community events, and local causes while organizing her personal collection of recipes for future generations.

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Company Name: Gayla Sears
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City: Hillsboro
State: Ohio
Country: United States
Website: https://www.crunchbase.com/person/gayla-sears