05/10/2026
This Mother’s Day feels fitting to finally share more of Martha’s dream.
In the 1970s, a woman often could not get a business loan, buy property, or even build a future without a husband’s signature. When Wally divorced Martha, her choices were limited. She could have gone back to Germany. She could have worked in a factory. She could have remarried for survival.
Instead, she chose courage.
Martha became one of Wally’s wholesale accounts so she could provide for her children and build a life with dignity. She believed everyone should experience fine pastries. Along the way, she became something even greater to the community.
Over the years, I have heard story after story from Manfred and Laurie about Martha. How she always had coffee ready. How she listened to people’s struggles. How she prayed with them. How she gave people hope when they walked through the door.
That is why we still offer free coffee at Wally’s today. It is not just coffee. It is part of Martha’s legacy.
Wally was a Master Pastry Chef. His recipes, cakes, and pastries were world-class. The traditions are worth preserving. But Martha’s story is equally important, because she showed what survival, resilience, and community looked like for women during a time when the odds were not in their favor.
My dream for the future is not simply to have employees.
My dream is to help create opportunities for other women to become wholesale accounts of Wally’s — women building businesses, feeding communities, supporting their families, and supporting each other.
Not just jobs. Legacy.
Women continuing traditions of nourishment, craftsmanship, community, and hope.
That is Martha’s dream.