The Mrs Baird's Story
They came to Texas in a chair car and brought Fort Worth its first steam popcorn machine. The story of the Baird family and the baking business they started.In 1901 William Allen Baird, then a young man of 33, came to Texas to "look around" and see what kind of opportunities the Lone Star State might hold. Back in Tennessee he and wis wife Ninnie had operated a bakery and restaurant at Trenton and later a bakery at Covington. He liked what he saw in Fort Worth, decided to introduce the first steam popcorn machine in the city, and called his wife in Tennessee and told her to bring the family.
The family boarded the train for Texas in May, 1901. The steam popcorn machine had cost $425, so the family rode in the chair car section. Mr. Baird and his wife Ninnie had four children then. They were Bess, 11; Dewey, 9; Hoyt, 4; and Roland, 1.
Arriving in Fort Worth, the family moved into rented quarters on East Belknap. Mr. Baird set up his steam popcorn machine at the corner of 7th and Main in downtown Fort Worth. Painted bright red and fitted with lots of brass, the popcorn machine had a clown and a steam whistle on top. It was quite an attraction. Eight months later, Mr. Baird bought a second machine and put it at 5th and Main. Dewey, the oldest son, operated this machine.
A restaurant on Exchange Avenue was put up for sale. Mr. Baird, who had operated restaurants in Tennessee, con-
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