Growing up in Alton, Co-op Member Solutions Representative Laura McCrea learned to bake in her childhood home, a seven-bedroom Victorian with four floors, massive bedrooms, and a commercial kitchen. She was the youngest of six, with eight and a half years between her and her oldest sister.

“I came to baking with my mother,” Laura said, noting that her mother had a few smaller jobs here and there like working in the school cafeteria. “But her big thing was making wedding cakes. She would get calls pretty much from all over New England for her cakes. They were amazing.”

Laura always helped her mom, including delivering the cakes and assembling the five-tier creations. “The cakes, the frosting, the flowers – I just loved it,” she added.

If she is not helping a Co-op member, Laura is probably baking. From cookies and cakes to banana blueberry loaves and pies, her love of baking knows no bounds. She sells goods at craft fairs and regularly donates cookies, including batches her husband Gary brings along while delivering Meals on Wheels.

“His clients especially love the oatmeal raisin cookies,” she said. So much so that he’ll say with a slight edge of nervousness, “Laura, I’m out of cookies.”

On days at home, Laura gets up at 5 a.m. and starts baking to keep up. “I’ll put in five batches at a time and it’s cookies all day,” she said, using her own commercial mixer, a gift from Gary that rests its 150 pounds on a wooden table built by her grandfather.

Laura also enjoys watching Nailed It and Is It Cake on Netflix. But baking, for her, is more than a hobby. Surrounded by her mother’s stove, the mixer, and family recipes, it is an act of comfort and memory.

“If I’m having a bad day or something is bothering me, I’ll just start baking. If I can’t sleep at night, I’ll wake up and start baking,” Laura said. “I do enjoy it because it takes me away from everything. It’s like I’m there with my mom again and that helps me. She was amazing.”