The First Baird Employee

Mr. Lipps being the first driver for the Baird business is referenced in a few articles about Mrs Baird's Bread.

On the Mrs Baird's Bread website in the story "Meet Mrs. Baird", it refers to him as the company's first employee. The hiring of Mr. Lipps happens on or after 1915 in the inferred timeline.

The first company employee, Mr. Lipps, who was not a Baird family member, was hired to drive the wagon.

In the Star-Telegram in 2002 the article "Bread Firm Asks Texas, Oklahoma Route Drivers to Buy Their Sales Territories" states Mr. Lipps was hired in 1915.

Mrs Baird's announced Wednesday what could be the most radical change in the way it distributes bread since 1915, when deliveries got too much for the founder's four sons and the first nonrelative, a Mr. Lipps, was hired to drive the wagon and its horse, Ned.

Finally, the document "The Mrs Baird's Story" says

A Mr. Lipps was hired to drive the wagon. Whenever he was ill, 13-year-old Hoyt relieved him as driver. Later Hoyt became the regular driver.

Hoyt was born in October of 1896, and would have been 13 in 1909, when the document says he relieved Mr. Lipps as a driver This infers that Mr. Lipps was hired on or before 1909.

As I'm finding with a lot of Baird history, there's conflicting evidence yet again. Two articles, including the official Mrs Baird's Bread web site state Mr. Lipps started around 1915. Then an official document, "The Mrs Baird's Story" shows him starting on or before 1909. The city directories infer him being a driver on or before 1911, and definitely driving for the Bairds by 1914, leading one to believe the old document "The Mrs Baird's Story" was more correct.

Curiosity drove me to check the Fort Worth City Directories to see if I could turn him up. I found his name to be Theodore A. Lipps, and in 1911 he lived at 517 Hemphill, which would have been across the street and a couple of houses down from where the Baird's lived at 512 Hemphill a few years before. The 1911 directory lists him merely as a "driver", but by the 1914 directory, he's listed as a driver for Mr. N. L. Baird. He is shown as living on Concho Street, which was renamed East Myrtle Street. The house would have been near East Myrtle and Yuma today (Allen Street turns into Yuma a few blocks after you cross I35 today).

By 1916, there is no entry for Mr. Lipps, which is also when the city directory lists Hoyt as the driver for Mrs N L Baird.

1909-1910
Lipps Theodore A., r. 1502 E 2th 3.

1911
Lipps Theodore A., driver, r. 517 Hemphill. 4.

1912-1913
Lipps Theodore A., r. 1412 E Myrtle. 3. Ph. Rose-
dale 1960

1914
Lipps Theodore A., driver Mrs. N. L. Baird, res
1412 Concho

1916
No entry for Theodore Lipps