MacKenzie Dayne Hall

From the Heart

As Lorraine stood on her tip toes and peeked her little head over the kitchen table, spread before her was an array of seven different birthday cakes. A grin from ear to ear spread across her face as she admired the freshly baked goods she was going to devour. At the mere age of three, Lorraine Mcswain’s love for baking began. Growing up, she was surrounded by a family deeply rooted in their love for baked goods, but most importantly, each other. Today, she shares this love of family and tradition with the city of Arkadelphia at her bakery, Ludwig’s.

Ludwig’s Bakery began in Germany where most of Lorraine’s family still lives. In the early 1920s, Lorraine’s grandparents, Herman and Emma Ludwig, emigrated from Germany to a small town in South Dakota in search for a better life. It was here that Herman opened the first Ludwig’s Bakery.

Although her immediate family lives in the United States, her grandmother, aunt and cousins still live in Germany.

“All my family was German, and my immediate family were the only ones not living in Germany, so we were kind of isolated from the rest,” Lorraine said. “My aunt and all my cousins still live there; we communicate mostly via email.”

Throughout her life, Lorraine visited Germany several times to see her extended family. She remembers these visits with cruises down the Rhine River and koffeeklatsch-a German custom to have coffee and cake every afternoon. Her fondest memories though were trips to the butcher and bakery for the daily grocery run.

“You’d walk to the baker, walk to the butcher and go get the stuff you needed and then bring it home for dinner. Since you’re walking and carrying all your groceries, you only bought what you needed,” Lorraine shared. “It was cool because you got to see everyone at the butcher and baker. It was a real active community. You would get to see all your friends and the people at the butcher shop. The bakery is very reminiscent to me of the way things used to be done in Germany.”

Ludwig’s in Arkadelphia was truly an accident. Lorraine is from Dallas where she lived for more than 30 years. Her parents and sister have lived in the Arkadelphia area for over 20 years. In 2011, Lorraine lost her husband to cancer. Her kids were grown and moved out, so she was living in Texas alone. In 2019, her mother needed a hip replacement and came to Dallas for the surgery. She lived with Lorraine for eight months and wished to return back home to Arkansas.

“I sold my house and put everything I own into storage and moved into my mother’s house in Bismarck. After her surgery I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. I was trying to decide if I wanted to go back to Dallas, where my kids and grandchildren were, or stay in this area which I had really grown to like,” Lorraine said.

What she thought was the end of her stay in Arkansas turned out to be the beginning of a new chapter.

Right when she was about to pack up and leave, a friend called her about a bakery that was for sale and asked if she was interested. She gave it very little thought and the idea never crossed her mind again until she saw it listed on Facebook. After seeing photos and the price, Lorraine was intrigued. She toured the little bakery and spoke with the owners. Soon everything seemed to be falling into place that Lorraine would stay in Arkadelphia.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about it! Everything after that kind of fell into place. The Big Man upstairs had a plan for me. The rest is history,” Lorraine said.  

On March 7, 2020, Ludwig’s opened and Lorraine shared a piece of her heart with the community she had grown to love. Her family traditions and fresh baked goods brightens her customers day and brings a smile to their faces.

“One of the things I love to do is to create something different and delicious and share it with everyone I know. I enjoy cooking and baking for others. It’s how I show my love for my family and friends,” Lorraine said. “I am always excited to share some pastries from old family recipes or even some of my own creations with people.”

Her gift of baking was passed down by her mother. Known for her cakes, Lorraine grew up watching her mom put lots of labor and love into her birthday cakes. She also credits her dad for her baking knowledge as he grew up watching Herman Ludwig bake in the South Dakota bakery.

When reminiscing on her baking skills Lorraine explains, “She’s [her mother] also the one who carried on with all the German traditions that we do as a family. My father was also a happy participant. He often told me stories of watching his dad in the bakery as a youngster, but he did not follow in his dad’s footsteps. So, my knowledge is really passed down from both sides of my family-both Mother and Dad’s.”

Made fresh daily, customers can find the bakery shelves stocked with family recipes and traditional German baked goods. Lorraine’s favorite traditions to share are at Christmas. During the holidays, customers can purchase: Stollen, a bread sprinkled with powdered sugar containing nuts, spices and dried fruit; Linzer Cookies, shortbread cookies between a layer of jam; and her favorite, Rum Balls, a sweet bite of chocolate and pecans.

No matter the season, Lorraine is always baking from the heart. Each bite bears the taste of hard work, detail, love for her family, German heritage, traditions and customers.

“When you put effort and love into something, it is so much better than anything you can get at the store. Every single thing that I bake, I have it in my mind that I want it to be great and never let anyone down,” she said. “I want people to feel happy and the effort and love that went into it. I do bake from my heart and that is the most important part of production.”