Juanita’s Soul Classics, Inc
“Loving What You Do and Doing What you Love”
By Rodney Yearby Sr.
I first met Juanita Bass in the late 1960’s. I was invited to the family farm in Frankfort, N.Y. to ride horses with her son, Kim, my newly discovered friend. But the reason I accepted Kim’s invitation wasn’t solely just to ride their horses; it was partly because I had an adolescent crush on both of his slightly older and extremely attractive twin sisters Janice and Joyce. Mrs. Bass and her husband Clarence were more than hospitable to me. The entire Bass family made me feel very welcome and at home.
We had so much fun riding the trails on their 48 acres of land. I learned the different gates of a horse and was taught not only how to gallop and trot on a horse, but also how to get the horse do a special horseshow-style prance called a ‘canter.’
I returned that winter accepting Kim’s invitation to ride snowmobiles and, once again, we had a blast. Being a young kid from the Projects in Utica, I never forgot those warm memories of good wholesome country life in Frankfort.
But what I remember most is that Mrs. Bass cooked just like my mom. My mother, Ethel, was from Valdosta, Georgia and she always prepared the best food I ever tasted in my life. Growing up, everyone raved about my mom’s cooking and people always requested “Ethel May” to make them a sweet potato pie, or ribs, or neck bones, or chicken, or catfish, or chitterlings for some special occasion or function. They would buy the ingredients and pay my mom to cook these special dishes. Young mothers were always calling my mom on the phone, in a panic, requesting advice about how to cook this or that. Ethel had a huge batch of handwritten recipes that she kept tucked away in the pages of her Bible.
Juanita is exactly like my mom. But what Mrs. Bass has done with her similar cooking skills since I last saw her is absolutely amazing. In 1988 she purchased a Victorian-era home in Bridgewater, N.Y., refurbished it, and opened a restaurant and Bed and Breakfast and named it The White House Berries Inn and ran it until 2001 when she sold the operation. It was nationally known for its classic American Soul Food cuisine. Her culinary excellence has been written up in dozens of magazines from across the country including Bed and Bath, Country Victorian and American Vision.
Mrs. Bass was born Juanita Lorraine Holmes and grew up in the rolling hills of Bridgewater. Her father, Everett Holmes, was elected Mayor of Bridgewater in 1979 which made him the first Black mayor in New York’s history. She married Clarence Bass and settled in Frankfort, NY. They were together for 47 years and had six children. Clarence passed away in 1999.
After her father passed away she opened Ye Ole Willow Country Store an antique shop which launched a 45 year career in antiques. Today, in her spare time, she operates the successful Berry Patch Antiques enterprise providing expertise in antique appraisals and estate sales. For a time she taught Antiques through MVCC where students would come to her shop for hands on instruction.
Today Juanita’s Soul Classics, Inc. is her main endeavor. This minority owned, local business success story has emerged from her ongoing efforts through WISE (Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship) Women’s Business Center. WISE is a product of the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University.
In February 2007 Juanita was the guest speaker at the WISE Center when they hosted a special screening of the film, “Two Dollars and a Dream”, the autobiography of Madame C.J. Walker, the child of Slaves freed by the Civil War who built a fortune on skin-and hair-care products and became America’s first self-made millionairess.
In that same vein, Juanita’s Soul Classics Home-Style Barbecue Sauce and All-Spice Seasoning can be found at Green Hills Market, Syracuse, NY; Country Convenience, Bridgewater NY; Melrose supermarket, Frankfort NY; Michaels Fine Food & spirits, Waterville NY; Nelson Farms Country Store, Nelson NY; New Port Market, New Port, NY; Parkway Drugs, Utica NY; Chanantry’s Market, Utica, NY; Peter’s Cornucopia, New Hartford NY; Price Chopper in , Utica, Rome, Hamilton and Richfield Springs NY; and Tom’s Natural Foods, in Clinton NY.
Go online to: www.JuanitasSoulClassics.com to learn more about Juanita’s Products and Recipes.
Juanita won 2nd Place in a WCNY Reality-TV Show called “Mind Your Own Business” competing against 9 other Business contestants. The prize for second place was a $50 thousand dollar grant that included services and other helpful perks for running a business along with supportive information that turned out to be better than winning the 1st place prize of $50K in cash.
In ‘millennial speak’, the day a recording artist starts selling an album, they call it “Dropping an album.” Things on their internet “Go Viral.” And when a business is about to take-off and make a lot of money, ‘millennials’ say, “It’s about to Blow-Up.” Well, I’m excited to let you know that Juanita’s Soul Classics “Is about to Blow-Up”. More developments for Juanita’s Soul Classics Inc. have been approved by the Department of Defense.
With co-packing plants in Rochester, NY, Oneida, NY and Oneonta, NY, Juanita’s small business is pushing to go national. A huge deal for her sweet potato bread has been approved by the U.S. military. She regularly ships hundreds of cases of product overseas and has an order for 3-to- 400 cases of her 10”inch sweet potato pies to be shipped to our troops in Dubai.
Juanita has received numerous honors and awards including the New York State “Woman of Distinction” Award in 1999, Mohawk Valley Frontiers Outstanding Achievement Award and the 2006 “Women in Business” Award. She is active in her community and serves on several boards of directors, including the newly created Mohawk Valley Regional Economic Development Counsel, The Allocations committee of the United Way, and the Morrisville College Foundation.
My BFF, Ted, gave me a ride out to Frankfort to interview Juanita…but I never got to ask her lots of “interview” questions. She is too selfless a person to toot her own horn. Instead, we just talked over an hour and a half. She was more interested in how “I” had been and what “my” story was.
We talked about what was most important to her…her children. In addition to Janice, Joyce and Kim, she told me all about the three siblings I hadn’t met, Crystal, Kyle and Carla.
A special moment was spent reflecting on her only grandchild…her “very intelligent” grandson Jordan. Nine year-old Jordan is Kim’s son. Juanita pushes education and proudly stated that all six of her kids are college graduates. Her eyes sparkled when she added this, “With children, education is the key…without it, you are going nowhere.”
I asked her what advice she would give to a young entrepreneur wanting to get started in business.
She said, “To follow your dreams, it takes a lot of energy and creativity. You have to have passion and love for your product.” Deep in thought, she added, “But in order to be successful, you first, have to love yourself…You have to love yourself first, and then you can love others.”
“We’re given only so many minutes here on this Earth and I’m not going to waste any.”
My mother once told me “If you are lucky enough to find a job you love doing, you’ll never ‘work’ a day in your life.” Juanita’s motto is very similar, “Loving What You Do and Doing What You Love.”
The Lord helps those who help themselves, but He blesses those who use His blessings to help others the way Juanita does.
We are proud of you, Juanita and we are rooting for you!
The post Juanita Bass – A Soulful Classic appeared first on The Utica Phoenix.