( Reprinted with permission from The Parsons Advocate .)
By Heather Clower
The Parsons Advocate
Starting out in the kitchen with her Late Grandma Cornell Knotts, Lindsey Knotts fell in love with baking at a very young age. After graduating from Tucker County High School in 2016, Knotts continued her education and received a bachelor’s degree in sustainable agriculture entrepreneurship (SAGE) from WVU Potomac State College. During her time there, she was assigned the task of a capstone project relating to a business she would be interested in with the option of starting the business to meet the requirements for the course.
“I started my business plan and then I decided to just go ahead and go with it,” said Knotts. She explained that a set amount of hours are needed each semester to go towards the capstone; however, if the business is started it can go towards the project. For Knotts, it just made sense to start the business, as she could bake from home while still being in school, something she loves, and also used it towards the completion of her degree. Around Christmas of 2018, she began baking as a trial run, officially opened in 2019, and applied for a business license in 2020, thus Sugarlands Old Time Bakery was born.
Knotts reflected on her early days in the kitchen and shared, “Whenever Grandma’s health got down in the later years, I kind of picked up some of the baking.” Events such as the Tucker County Fair, family reunions, and holidays began having Cornell’s recipes carried out by Knotts offered as desserts. “I do most of this in dedication to my Grandmother Cornell Knotts,” she said, “She was the one who instilled this passion within me to bake.”
The bakery offers pies, fried pies, cookies, cupcakes, muffins, fruit bread, and brownies. “Since I’m a home baker, I don’t really just make things for people to just show up and buy, I take orders and sell any extras,” she stated. During berry season, the blueberries used in her products came from the blueberry patch on their farm started by her grandparents when they first wed. Knotts attempts to get her supplies from local sources with the maple syrup coming from Oakland, Md., some ingredients come from the Amish, and strawberries from the Tucker FFA Annual Spring Fundraiser.
Due to Covid-19, Knotts was unable to set up at any vendor events such as fairs or festivals. However, she’s hopeful to do so in 2021. She plans to take a variety of baked goods to offer for sale while taking custom orders from those interested.
“Just freshly out of college, I plan to just continue on with the home bakery,” Knotts said. However, her dreams, (and business plan) does not stop there. Her ultimate dream for the business would be to open a breakfast- and lunch-type cafe in a brick and mortar.
For anyone interested in viewing a brochure of delicious offerings from Knotts or to place an order, a Facebook page has been developed dedicated to her business. When on Facebook, simply type Sugarlands Old Time Bakery into the search bar to be directed to her page.