Burt McGlynn

Burton James McGlynn (Burt) was born on November 16, 1923 to Mary and JT McGlynn. He had two older siblings, Dick and Jeanne, and a younger sister, Peggy. They lived at 2009 James Ave So in Minneapolis, MN .

In 1929, following the stock market crash, Burt remembered many of the houses in the family's neighborhood were empty or for sale; some people were renting. He remembered people talking about handed down clothing. JT had the bakery business at that time, so he earned a living - more people were struggling much more than the McGlynn's were. He would bring fresh baked bread home in the afternoon from the bakery; Burt and his older brother would pull a wagon around the neighborhood to sell the fresh bread. The family was middle class, and always had plenty of food on the table. JT would buy new cars and the children heard talk of poor times, but didn't feel it themselves.

According to the 1930 census, the McGlynn's had moved to 4024 Upton Ave S in Minneapolis - sort of between Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriett. Burt would live there with his family until he was about 22 years old. Lake Calhoun had the better swimming beach. Along the western side of the lake was hilly terrain. There was what the kids called an Indian trail - it ran for two or three blocks along the hills. Every now and then they would gather a group together and run through there. One year they built pushmobiles (cars) with wagon wheels and a steering wheels and a broomstick for a shaft, wrapped with rope to the wheels. There was a steep hill nearby and they would race there.

Burt went to kindergarten at Lake Harriet School. The school was two blocks from his house. First through eighth grade he went to St. Thomas Elementary School on 44th Street and Vincent Avenue in south Minneapolis. In the wintertime, there was a park about three blocks away and young Burt often ice skated there. There were five parks that held joint speed skating competitions. Burt had long blades on his skates, and played some hockey. He also played road hockey in the winter. In those days there wasn't much car traffic, so the streets would get covered with snow and stay that way for 3-4 weeks at a time, so the neighborhood boys would play road hockey, stopping when cars came by. Chunks of snow were the goals. There was an ice hockey rink at the school and some of the older kids played hockey, but Burt got into the speed skating. He even participated in a big race at Powderhorn Park. By about fifth grade, most boys were a lot taller than Burt - one Saturday at the beginning of the race season he got into a race and was beat badly - everyone was six inches or a foot taller than him! He intentionally fell down so he could say he fell … instead of losing. After that he quit speed skating, he did not like losing!

Summers were full of Annie-Annie-over and kick the can. In the neighborhood there were 20 or 30 kids up and down the block. Many would go down to Thomas beach at Lake Calhoun and swim. One time when Burt was just barely learning to swim he went out to the corner ropes at the swimming beach and dove in to deep water that was over his head (he could dive pretty well but did not swim as well). He thought he could swim underwater and when Burt came up he thought he would be able to touch the bottom. However, he came up and could not touch the bottom. He went up and down three times, opened his eyes underwater, and saw a lady's hand by her side. He grabbed her hand and pulled himself to the shallower water where he could stand up. Burt was always a little cautious of water after that … because he might have drowned that day.

In his growing up years, Burt shared a bed with his brother Dick. The family house had three bedrooms; the two sisters shared a room, the parents had their bedroom, and the two brothers shared. There was a screen porch on the second floor, where the family would often sleep during the warm summer nights. Young Burt would sit in the front window and wait for his dad to get home from work. Burt's dad always called him Skipper. They were very close - he ended up working for his dad and eventually running the bakery business.

As a young boy, Burt and his siblings had birthday parties and cake. When he was 10 or 12, JT invented a handheld little doughnut machine - it had a little plunger and it would squeeze out a little doughnut. He would experiment with those doughnuts and fry them at home. He would put the donuts out in the porch and the kids in the neighborhood would visit and enjoy fresh donuts.

St. Thomas Church was right next to Burt's school. To fulfill the family's obligation, they faithfully attended church every Sunday. Burt was confirmed when he was 12 years old. He remembered this well because at this time there was a major drought, causing a dust bowl that made some of the pictures hazy and difficult to see.

Burt's mother had a twin sister who lived on a farm in Dickinson, North Dakota. The family would go there every other summer or winter. The farm was a five hundred mile drive from Minneapolis - it was their biggest road trip of the year. Burt remembered one trip especially, they were going to North Dakota for Christmas and he still believed in Santa Claus. JT would talk about how the family had to be ready for a snow storm when they got to North Dakota - there were often terrible snow storms in North Dakota. JT hooked a hose up to the air heater - it was under the floor on the passenger side - he had the hose running to the backseat to keep the kids warm. They all bundled up and got in the car at about six in the morning - and Burt and Dick had their big jackets and warm snow boots on even though it was a nice warm day. About 20 miles out of Minneapolis, Dick was sitting in the back seat in his jacket, sweat pouring off his face. He finally said, "Dad, can I take my jacket off?" All the way to Dickinson, the weather was perfect. Their aunt lived right near downtown, around the corner from Montgomery Ward. Burt received a wind-up train for Christmas and set it up. In about 10 minutes, Burt was bored with it. The next day JT brought it back to Montgomery Ward to get more track for it. Burt said, "Dad, I thought you said Santa Claus brought it!" The family arrived home from that trip never having seen even an inch of snow.

Often when in North Dakota, the family would go to the Badlands and have picnics in Montana (while visiting cousins) - their uncle worked at a lumberyard there. Their uncle had an old Model T Ford and a contract to change the highway billboards on the edge of town. The kids would ride along and watch him put the paste up to change the billboards.

Burt attended DeLaSalle High School, a Christian Brothers (Catholic) high school. It was located on Nicollet Island, on the Mississippi River, near the Train Depot. The island was, at that time - in the 1930s, full of tenements and a red light district. The school is still there. His father would take Burt and his older brother, Dick, to DeLaSalle in the morning, and they would take the streetcar home after school. Years later in his 70s, Burt was elected to the Board of Directors of DeLaSalle.

Burt while at DeLaSalle

Burt at DeLaSalle Graduation (on right)

Burt at High School Graduation Party

Burt and six guys hung out together during high school - some attended DeLaSalle (it was an all-boys school then), and some went to West High School. They started going to dances, sockhops, dances at the ballrooms in Excelsior and the one near Mound. They would go out in crowds, not particularly with any girl. But Burt met a girl, her name was Catherine Prichard, and he dated her. She lived 3-4 miles from the McGlynn's.One day Burt asked his dad if he could take the car to visit Catherine. He remembered walking all the way over to her house. The boys and girls went out in groups - occasionally horseback riding out near Buck Hill ski area.

JT often played billiards with his bakery competitor. One day after graduating from high school Burt was working at the bakery. His dad called. He said, "Burt, how would you like to be a Navy flyer?" JT had met someone who said they were in need of Naval Aviators. Burt liked the idea. Burt had to be in the top half of his high school class and he was right on the line, however, next thing he knew, the Navy called and said he was drafted. He took the physical with all the guys, and a couple days later he received a call to report to the Navy at the Minneapolis recruiting station. The next day he was shipped to St. Olaf to begin Naval training.

During World War II, Burt attended a school for cooks and bakers in New Orleans and served as a baker in the Navy, stationed in the Philippines. After the war, Burt returned to Minnesota and helped run his father’s growing bakery business, which, at the time, had 11 downtown shops and several wholesale routes. But Burt had planned that he would go to college. He applied to the University of Minnesota and/or St. Thomas College in St. Paul, Minnesota [story is unclear]. But there was no room for him because of all the post war military veterans already enrolled.

Burt in the Navy

See more Navy pictures here

Burt's sister, Jeanne, married in 1939 when she was 19, about the time that World War II began. Jeanne's husband, Stan Perry, went into the military as a pilot and flight instructor. After the war he moved back to Minneapolis, had trouble getting a job, and went out west and started an airport. The airport did not do well, so Stan went back into the Army as a B-52 pilot. One day he was on a training mission in Corpus Christi, Texas, and he was killed in a crash. Jeanne had six young children and moved in with Burt and his young family for three or four months.

Mary Jeanne Peggy JT

Burt Dick

Nine months after Jeanne's wedding, Burt's other sister, Peggy,married Don Bowman. He was from southern Minnesota and his uncle was one of early barnstormers (air show stunt pilots) who flew and gave people rides. Flying was in Don's blood. He joined the Navy, got his wings and was sent overseas so Peggy moved back to Minneapolis to be closer to her family. Peggy had three kids and was pregnant with her fourth at the time. Don was flying out of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean. On July 20, 1955, Don was killed when the plane crashed Naples, Italy. Burt went with JT to inform Peggy that Don was killed. Peggy's fourth child, Mary, was born the day her husband was buried. Both Burt's widowed sisters became residential real estate agents. Every time one of the sisters' business' was slow, Burt would buy a new house from one of them.

Burt married Patricia Ann Jones (Pat) on October 23, 1948 when he was 24 years old and Pat was 21. Pat was born on March 17, 1927 (St. Patrick's Day - hence the name Patricia). Her parents, Lloyd and Margaret Jones, lived in Duluth, MN when Pat was born. They moved to south Minneapolis prior to 1935 and in 1940 lived at 4225 France Ave So in Minneapolis - less than 1 mile away from where Burt was living. When they were asked how they met, they both mumbled something about "the bushes" and began to laugh. Everyone knew them as lovebirds. Pat grew up sailing a small boat on Lake Harriet and always had a passion for the water.

Announcement from Star Tribune Oct 17, 1948

Burt and Pat Married Oct 23, 1948

Pat and Burt in New Orleans on their honeymoon

Burt was busy thinking about ways to grow the business as things were looking bleak. In 1956, JT was going to close the bakery and he came to Burt and said, "Burt I think we need to close the bakery." Burt said, "I've got some different ideas; do you mind if I buy the business and keep it going?". Burt bought the business just as his only daughter, Molly, was born. It was really a struggle early on. There were 13 retail stores when Burt bought the business - eight or so were located in downtown Minneapolis.

Burt McGlynn realized that the expansion of more supermarkets could open the door for someone to supply them with fresh baked goods. "In 1956, I bought the business from my dad. Then, we started going after different types of business. I figured I could get fresh bakery products into the bigger stores in the suburbs." Thus, McGlynn Bakeries switched gears from a primary retail focus to more wholesale distribution.

Burt circa 1960

But, by 1958 the business was still struggling. So Burt sold the bakery for an undisclosed sum to a competitor.

And in the same year, Burt built a new six bedroom home in Edina and moved his family of seven along with his father-in-law to the suburbs. All this while going to work for Emrich Baking Company. This would have to be a risky time for Burt, but time would show that risk and rewards usually came together for Burt.

By 1961, Burt made the decision to leave his job because he didn't enjoy working for someone else. He started anew with Molly Ann Bakeries - named after his daughter. Again, this had to be a very risky move. Even his old boss told his employees that Burt would be broke in two weeks. But Burt prevailed.

Molly Ann - How old were you when the family business was named after you?

Burt and Molly many years later

Burt made friends easily. By working with the Applebaum's supermarkets when he was working with Emrich, Burt established a great relationship with several of the Applebaum's family. So when Applebaum's began working with Target to be the grocery market side of the new Target stores, it was only natural that they called Burt when they needed to find a baker. Once committed to starting new, Burt was going to need a lot of money to finance his new bakeries. And it is difficult for new businesses to get loans from a bank. Burt's relationship with a neighbor down the street became the jumpstart that Burt needed. Burt met with his neighbor and persuaded Jerry Rauenhorst to invest in the new business by purchasing much needed bakery equipment and leasing it back to Burt. Burt's friends provided a pathway for Burt to start with confidence.

In these early days, the business office was in the basement of Burt's home. Eventually, there was enough paperwork to warrant a larger location. It was a small office located about 2 miles from his home. He hired someone to answer the phone do some paperwork. As business continued to grow, the office was moved to Southgate Plaza, across the freeway from the old office. This office had room for about four employees and lasted until 1975. Burt always worked six days a week. He knew working on Saturday, the busiest sales day of the week, was vitally important to success. He used to say his success was because of luck, and the harder he worked, the luckier he got.

From the early days, Burt tried to find time for sports. He played 9 holes on a par-3 golf once a week or so with a couple employees. He later began to play tennis and in about 1969 joined a country club as a tennis member. He played tennis with men, but also played with his wife, Pat. Also in 1969, while he was out of town on business, Pat signed a purchase agreement for a new home in Edina. While a little unexpected, Burt loved the home and they lived there for about seven years. Over the years, Burt and Pat lived in 5 different homes in Edina.

In the 1960's, Burt was working six days a week and had a heavy travel schedule to bakeries in Denver, St. Louis, Dallas, Houston, Tulsa and Milwaukee. Yet, Burt was a constant figure at his children's events. He even helped coach a youth hockey team for one of his sons.

Burt Coaching Dan's Team

Burt's children learned to snow ski. There were numerous trips to Buck Hill in Bloomington as well as about one trip a year out of state to ski at Telemark in Wisconsin. It was after one of these ski trips that son Dan witnessed his father open the mail and immediately become very upset. Dan was curious and asked what was wrong. Burt explained that he had paid and sent all the bills from the bakery business prior to leaving town. Now, his vendors were returning the checks because they were unsigned. Burt was furious that his vendors may think he had done this on purpose in order to delay payment - a reputation he did not he did not want or deserve. This struck a chord with Dan and he never forgot the lesson to pay his debts on time.

Burt Skiing in the 1960's

In 1973, Burt's love of tennis sparked his interest in World Team Tennis, a mixed-gender professional tennis league startup. Eventually, Burt bought the majority stake in the Minnesota Buckskins just prior to the season starting. Despite the Buckskins' success on the court and the large crowd for a the match against the Freedoms (featuring Billy Jean King), the team was unable to generate enough revenue for McGlynn to consider it viable. He tried to sell the Buckskins to local investors after the season ended. On November 26, 1974 World Team Tennis announced that the Buckskins were the first WTT team to fold. The experience left the Buckskins with a lot of debts. Burt did not have an obligation to pay those debts, but paid them all personally so no one was left feeling cheated.

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In the 1970's, Burt and Pat joined a new country club and began playing golf as well as tennis. The country club posed a relaxing place away from work and they met a lot of new friends there. Some of these friends began spending several weeks in Florida, in particular, Sanibel Island. Soon, Burt and Pat were joining them for weeks away, sometimes bringing son Tom with them. This led to a love of the islands and in they eventually purchased several weeks of timeshare on Captiva Island. As the bakeries became more successful, Burt continued to purchase new residences on Captiva and eventually they became residents of Florida.

Even though Burt did not finish college, he made education a priority for his children and grandchildren. As Burt's children matured and attended college, Burt paid for all their tuition and living expenses - enabling them to leave school debt free. In addition, Burt and Pat assisted with down payments as their children bought their first homes. And when his grandchildren attended college, he paid their way as well.

When a nephew of Burt's had finished flight school, he found it difficult to get a job as there were so many airforce pilots from the Viet Nam war entering the market. Burt wanted to help him. Burt had met the Don Nyrop, the CEO of Northwest Airlines. Burt took it upon himself to contact Don and see if he could make an exception and hire his nephew. While Burt's effort didn't work, it showed Burt's fortitude in helping others. Note: The nephew moved to Hawaii and was a pilot for his entire career.

In fact, Burt was the go-to guy to help many of his nieces and nephews. As his sisters were both single mothers for many years, he was always ready to lend a hand when he could.

Some things that many didn't know about Burt. He had a good friend that died an early death. His friend had made a totem pole that inspired Burt after his passing. Burt decided he was going to make a totem pole in his honor. With most of his children snickering about the project, Burt learned the art and finished a very tall totem pole. Yes, he totally made this:

Burt with his hand made Totem Pole

Burt always took incredible financial risk to grow the business. The craziest of risks were from 1980 to 1992 as the frozen business began to grow - especially the croissant business. In order to produce the best croissants at the fastest pace, millions of dollars were needed to invest in equipment, refrigeration and warehousing. When plans were proposed to invest in new equipment to increase production, Burt never said no. Most of these requests were $4 million or more at a time. Burt would continuously go the bank, sign for more debt on the business and proceed to grow the business. The amazing part was that Burt was ALWAYS personally guaranteeing the loans. If anything failed and the loans went into default, the banks could come after Burt for all of his possessions and leave him penniless. It was this risk that set the passion for the management team to strive for success and profitability. While most employees knew little of the personal risk to Burt, everyone worked towards being the very best bakery.

Burt's risks paid off, especially monetized by the sale of the frozen products business to Pillsbury / GrandMet. The rewards from selling the frozen business also gave Burt a unique opportunity. Glen Taylor, the owner of the MN Timberwolves, heard that Burt loved hockey and approached him about buying into... the Minnesota Timberwolves. The proposal from Glen was that after a Timberwolves success he would try to get the NHL to approve a new hockey team for Minnesota. And if Burt was to invest in the Timberwolves, he could be first in line to invest in an NHL team. The idea of being a part-owner of an NHL team was overwhelming bait for Burt. He bought a small percentage of the Timberwolves in 1994 to bet on the NHL. The MN Wild was eventually franchised, but Glen Taylor and Burt were unfortunately not part of it. Burt sold his stake in the Timberwolves in 2013. Burt enjoyed many years following and getting to know the team.

Burt shooting a free throw on the Timberwolves court with

coach Fiip Saunders looking on - nothing but net

Shortly after the sale of the frozen business to Pillsbury, Burt and Pat deposited a substantial amount of their assets to create the McGlynn Family Foundation. This offered a formal way for Burt to put his philanthropic desires into action. Burt began to give to charities in earnest.

Since his Catholic upbringing guided so many of his morals and business decisions, the church became a focus. Burt and Pat gave very generously to Catholic Charities, The Basilica of Saint Mary and his local churches. Since Pat had attended St. Catherine University, they donated to the school. Molly, Dan and Tom attended The College of St. Benedict, St. John's University and the College of St. Thomas respectively. Burt and Pat added them to the list of charities to support. And Burt always held his alma mater of DeLaSalle High School in his heart and gave generously there as well. Burt once said, "Those that don't give their fair share are afraid they're going to end up poor themselves before they die, so they hang on what they have. But, they never use up all their money, and Uncle Sam ends up taking it. Instead, people should give it away to worthwhile causes and discover the satisfaction you get by helping someone else. It is better to give than to receive. It feels great to give." Burt even joined The 1% Club, a group dedicated to giving away 1% of their net worth annually.

And charitable donations were not the only gifts that Burt made. He also gave his time. Besides being the Chairman of the Board of his businesses, Burt was also served, at one time or another, on the boards of:

The McGlynn Family Foundation

Catholic Community Foundation

American Bakers Association

College of St. Catherine

The Phillip Orth Company

First Bank Southdale

Harmony Brook

Project Jeremiah

DeLaSalle High School

In 2011, the foundation (due to its structure) became less restricted providing a method to increase charitable gifts. Since Burt's passing was now being managed by four of Burt's children. The foundation is still active and continues the legacy of giving that Burt and Pat began so many years ago.

Burt was also honored by organizations that knew him well. His Honors included:
Entrepreneur of the Year, Dunwoody College of Technology
Doctor of Philanthropy, St. Mary's University
Affiliate Member of the Christian Brothers
Trustee Emeriti, College of St. Catherine, May 31, 2004.

Burt had a work hard, play hard attitude. He lived life to the fullest. And Burt was grateful. When asked what he was most proud of, he would always say he was most proud that he was able to provide an income for so many. Included in the thousands of dedicated employees that worked for Burt throughout his career, it also included many related family members (in no particular order): Dick McGlynn (brother), all his children - Mike, Tim, Dan, Molly and Tom; John Perry, John Wesenberg, Carol (Perry) Sauro, Betsy (McGlynn) Stephenson, Emily (McGlynn) Bruesehoff, Andy McGlynn, Megan (McGlynn) D'Alessandro, Kelly (McGlynn) Frybarger, Amy Moe, Ben Goodin, Amy (Goodin) Cennamo, Leo Varley, Brigid Varley, Patrick McGlynn and Charlie McGlynn.

Burt with many of his extended family (Burt's sister Peggy Bowman's funeral)