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Monday was all about baking for Bonnie Gibeson.

In fact, for the past 30 years, Gibeson has reserved the Monday before Thanksgiving for baking.

Gibeson spent Monday, Nov. 23, in the kitchen of her Kansas City North home baking approximately 40 pumpkin pies, all that she had planned to give away. Many of the pies were baked for the employees of DeBruce Grain, a Kansas City North-based company that her husband, Denny, works for.

She has baked enough pies each Thanksgiving to give at least one slice to each employee at the company’s home office since her husband has worked for DeBruce. This year, Gibeson said there are approximately 140 at the office that is in Briarcliff at 4100 N. Mulberry Drive.

“I think it’s become a DeBruce tradition,” she said about why she continues to bake the pies year after year.

Gibeson said the tradition started the first Thanksgiving Denny was an employee of DeBruce. He asked her to bake a few pies for the small group of employees for the upcoming holiday — he was the eighth employee.

Gibeson made two pies that year — 1980.

A few days before baking day, Gibeson said she was planning to take around 20 pies to the office on Tuesday, Nov. 24. The other half of the pies were for family, friends and neighbors.

Now that she finds herself baking 40 pies in one day, Gibeson has the process down to a science. The number of pies she makes has held steady at about 40 for about the past 10 years, she said.

Gibeson starts the day around 6 a.m. and ends it, 40 pies later, around 8 p.m. She does no preparation work except for purchasing ingredients and clearing her kitchen.

Pies are baked in batches of four and once baked are scattered around the Gibeson’s house in strategically placed storage spots until they are loaded for delivery to the office by Gibeson herself. She delivers the pies complete with whipped topping.

“It smells pretty good in here,” she said about her house after all the baking.

Gibeson tells friends, family and neighbors to drop by on the baking day after 2 p.m. to pick up a pie made just for them. She keeps a growing list up of people who will receive one of the pies. She has also taken pies to people such her dry cleaner and Denny’s barber.

Dianne Feitz, a longtime friend stops by every year to have a slice, although she said she does not stay long because Gibeson is so busy with the baking.

“She is my inspiration,” Feitz said.

Feitz used to live on the same block as Gibeson, and her husband also worked at DeBruce.

Last year, Feitz asked to take a picture of Gibeson giving her pies. She framed the photo and gave it to Gibeson as a gift. The photo of Gibeson with two pies in her hands sits on a table in the Gibeson’s living room.

“It’s remarkable, and she’s just a remarkable person,” Feitz said.

After all the opening of canned pumpkin, mixing of batter and rolling of crust, Gibeson said she still likes pumpkin pie and will continue making it year after year.

“It’s my favorite kind of pie,” she said.

Staff writer Meagan O’Donnell can be reached at 389-6606 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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