Hood Bakery

Hood Bakery

DESTINATIONS

WINDING THROUGH MIDdle Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, State Route 230 swings to the south as the white, two-story clapboard building marking the town of Hood comes up on the right. There's not much to brag about in a town of only 225 people. but the folks in Hood have two things to be proud of: the marvelous winding roads leading into town and the Hood Bakery.

Specializing in freshly baked pastries and cakes, the two-year-old bakery is owned and operated by Mary Hood. Her husband, Alvin, is the great-grand-son of the man who founded the town over 115 years ago. But the charm of the bakery, apart from the confections, is that it’s a country store right out of “Petticoat Junction.” It shares a building with Hood’s 101year-old post office, the gas station and the dry goods store. The bakery is the center of Hood and serves as the gathering spot and mini-mall in one tiny location.

So, if you ever find yourself in or around Madison County, Virgina, you would do well to pencil in the town of Hood on your intinerary. Many of the well-maintained roads in the area skirt Virgina's scenic Blue Ridge Mountains, making the drive itself worth the trip. And if you drop in on the bakery, be prepared to over-eat. But don't go on Sunday; postmaster. baker and merchant Mary Hood, whose days normally begin at 4 a.m., won’t be there. As she says, “Everybody should have a day off”

Camron E. Bussard