About this site:

In 2021, PSU public history graduate student S.E. (Sarah) Harris began to research the Milwaukie Pastry Kitchen after stumbling upon a note about the business on the Milwaukie Historical Society’s website. After learning they still lived locally, she reached out to and recorded an oral history interview with Dorothy and Hurtis Hadley. That year, she began to produce her graduate thesis project highlighting the couple’s historic lives.

After graduating in 2022, Sarah recognized that this research needed to be shared on a larger scale. Over the past four years, she has worked alongside Dorothy and Hurtis to write, research, and curate every aspect of this online exhibit.

In 2026, the Milwaukie Historical Society received grant funding to publish this website, and gave us the opportunity to share the history of the Hadley family with the rest of the world. We thank the America250 grant committee for allowing us to do this, and Sarah would specifically like to thank PSU Professors Dr. Katrine Barber and Dr. Patricia Schechter for their encouragement and guidance during the early stages of this important project.