Bull Baker Making Homemade Syrup in St. Helena Parish

Bull Baker
Photo Credit: Antoinette Harrell

Those that know him call him Bull Baker. Bull is a native of St. Helena Parish, Louisiana. He is also known for his gray mustache and his love for overalls. In addition to his gray mustache and his love for overalls, he is well-known for joking and teasing folks. He studied at Southern University N.O. and his retired.

A real country boy at heart, Bull is proud of his roots. He comes from a very large family in St. Helena. One of the largest African-American families in St. Helena is the Baker family. I should mention that Alphonse Baker and he bear the same surname however I am not sure how closely related they are. But rest assured, they are somehow connected through bloodlines.

Bull worked alongside the other men in order to make the delicious homemade syrup from scratch. He fed long stalks of sugarcane into the loud sounding machine that squeezed the naturally sweet juice out of each stalk.

Each man and his helpers are responsible for collecting the waste from beneath the old mill shed. All of the ground was covered with shredded cane.  As soon as every container was filled with the delicious, savory syrup and packed. It was now ready to be transported to the homes of those who placed orders. He was finished working at the old mill shed for the day. 

Fresh hot homemade buttermilk biscuits right out of the oven and homemade syrup make and excellent breakfast for the following morning with a hot cup of coffee. The smell of frying bacon and homemade biscuits always reminds people of their mother waking them up in the morning as the smell of fresh bacon wafted throughout the entire house. What a way to start your day off?