Sweeter Days Ahead: How Baking Transformed Janie Deegan’s Life

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In 2009, Janie Deegan returned home from college with a serious alcohol and drug problem. Eventually, she found herself homeless and living on the streets of New York City.

Fast forward to today…she is the owner of “Janie’s Life Changing Baked Goods,” a thriving business with three, NYC bakeries and booming e-commerce division. At the center of her success is the “pie crust cookie” — essentially a baby pie that comes in five, different flavors. Her company and her cookies have been featured on Good Morning America, The TODAY Show, CNN and The New York Times.

The company is dedicated to helping other young women through mentorship and second chance employment. As Janie shares in the podcast, “The person you show up for at the interview is the person we’re looking at. We’re not doing background checks…we have formerly incarcerated employees, homeless staff and those with addiction problems. It’s been really beautiful to see how people blossom when they are given a chance.” 

Janie and the team at “Janie’s Life Changing Baked Goods.”

Interested in trying Janie’s pie crust cookies? They come in apple, pecan, triple berry, chocolate and cherry and can be ordered from www.JanieBakes.com.

Like her second act story, Janie’s “pie crust cookies” are truly amazing.

 

Meet A “Salvage Angel”…Hair Stylist Cuts A New Path In Restoration

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After graduation from high school, Carolyn Curtin enrolled at the Wilfred Academy and received a degree in cosmetology. For years, she worked as a hairstylist. But her path changed in 2002 when she purchased a 100-year-old, Victorian house in Asbury Park, New Jersey and set about restoring it to it’s original glory.

The city was in the midst of a major revitalization and historic buildings were been “clear cut” to make way for progress. Carolyn saw both beauty and historical significance in these structures and she started to extract items of value in advance of the wrecking ball. She began offering items she didn’t need for her own restoration — columns, railings, doors and reclaimed lumber — to others around her. Local Asbury Park Historian Helen Pike gave her the moniker of “Salvage Angel” and that ultimately became the name of her new company.

Carolyn Curtin is Asbury Park’s “Salvage Angel” having saved thousands of historical items from the junkyard.

Today, “Salvage Angel By The Sea” has hundreds of thousands of items for sale — moldings, exterior doors, custom made rugs, stained glass, lighting, plumbing fixtures, tile, furniture, nautical fittings, bathtubs, mantles and housewares. And it’s all things that were headed to the junkyard but Carolyn figured out a way to reclaim and save it for others. It’s housed in a 20,000 square foot former Canada Dry warehouse which Carolyn acquired in 2014.

“Salvage Angel By The Sea” is housed in a 20,000 square foot building that used to be a Canada Dry Warehouse.

In the past seven years, she has also begun renting items to the television/film production industry and her wares have been featured in shows ranging from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel to West Side Story to Pretty Little Liars. Production crews now represent 70% of the company’s revenue.

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Grateful Ted: A Second Act In Psychedelic Rock Poster Art

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Ted Bahr’s career in magazine publishing and trade show management spans 35+ years. He held senior management positions at publishing giants Ziff-Davis and Miller-Freeman before launching his own firm, BZ Media.

When he sold BZ Media in 2017, he returned to an early passion: the collection of psychodelic, rock poster art. Ted launched the world’s first art gallery to focus on this narrow niche of first-printing posters primarily from 1966-1970. Via the Bahr Gallery, Ted collects and sells works of art designed to promote the concerts of the Grateful Dead, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane and others. Beautifully framed in museum quality glass, the posters range from $1,000 to upwards of $20,000.

Ted Bahr and renowned, psychedelic rock poster artist Stanley Mouse at the Rock Poster Society Festival in San Francisco

According to Ted, “When I sell these posters, they’re going to somebody who is filled with joy, Probably 35% of my sales are gifts. So people are buying these posters for somebody in their life that has no idea they even exist. They are getting this gift of Santana poster from 1968 — an original poster with the screaming colors beautifully framed. I get massive psychic reward from this.”

 

You can view his amazing collection of 600+ posters online. But the best way to see this art and get a personal tour by Ted, is to visit the Bahr Gallery in Oyster Bay, Long Island (just an hour outside of New York City). A sampling of six posters from the collection are shared below.

A special shout-out to Carl Landau and the “I Used To Be Somebody” Podcast for connecting us with Ted Bahr.

Leap of Faith: Greg & Pam Ayers Quit Their Jobs To Answer God’s Call

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Greg and Pam Ayers were living the good life in Salt Lake City, Utah. They were living the American Dream…senior management positions with  significant salaries, a nice home and two young children.

But the loss of a close friend caused Greg to question his own life and ask “Am I really making a difference in the world?” And the couple decided it was time for a change.

Both Greg and Pam quit their jobs, relocated to Tucson, Arizona and started a new organization called GAP Ministries. Over the past 24 years, they have built an amazing non-profit that is focused on foster care, reuniting families and breaking the cycles of poverty and abuse. With a staff of 120 people and an annual budget of $10 million, the group is having a significant impact in Southern Arizona. On more than one occasion, they have “emptied” their own retirement savings to keep the organization moving forward.

Click here to learn more about the inspiring work of GAP Ministries.

How To ROAR Into Your Second Act: 21 Minutes with Michael Clinton

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Michael Clinton is a uniquely-talented individual. A former president and publishing director of Hearst Publications (which includes Cosmopolitan, Esquire, O The Oprah Magazine, Redbook and Woman’s Day), Michael is also an accomplished photographer, marathon runner, philanthropist, author and private pilot.

When he finally decided to step down from his publishing career, he was looking for advice on his next stage of life. “Everything I read was about winding down. And I wanted to just the opposite. I wanted to wind up and do lots of new things.” And that’s when the idea for his new book, “ROAR Into the Second Half of Your Life (Before It’s Too Late),” was born.

ROAR is an acronym that outlines an empowering path for embracing your future. The four, important steps are:

  • “R”…Reimagine yourself
  • “O”…Own who you are
  • “A”…Act on what’s next
  • “R”…Reassess your Relationships

Click here for more about the book and Michael Clinton, It’s a terrific read and we’re happy to add it to our “Best Books About Second Acts” list.

“ROAR Into the Second Half of Your Life (Before It’s Too Late)” is now in its third printing.

Hats Off To Deborah: At 60, She Became A Milliner

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Deborah Kase Lillian always loved hats. She played dress up with her mother’s and grandmother’s hats as a child. And she always loved rummaging through thrift stores to find unique hats.

But it was the combination of an earlier move to Paris and her 60th birthday that convinced her to go back to school to learn the amazing craft of hat making (or millinery) late in life. In 2020 in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, she launched her own hat-making company called “Harris Pat” (which comes from a spoonerism in a Cole Porter song with the line “If a Harris Pat means a Paris Hat, okay.”)

As Deborah shared in this episode: “Elizabeth Zimmermann is a noted knitter and knitting teacher. And I will never forget that she said once, ‘People will put something on their head for, it seems to me, two reasons. Either it keeps them warm or it makes them feel cute.’ And I like my hats to make people feel attractive and pretty and cute and seductive and alluring.” 

Click here to learn more about her work and hats.  Or you can follow her and her designs on Instagram @leharrispat.

 

Animal Rescue Is Dr. Peter Rork’s Second Act

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Dr. Peter Rork was a highly-successful, orthopedic surgeon in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. But at the age of 59, he unexpectedly lost his wife Meg and grief took hold of him. He quit his work. He stopped eating. And he and his dog Doyle retreated to a remote vacation home in Montana for three months.

At the urging of a concerned friend, Peter refocused his life on animal rescue. He is the founder, president and chief pilot of “Dog Is My CoPilot,” a not-for-profit group that transports animals from overcrowded kill shelters to adoption centers where families are waiting to welcome a new pet. His story has been told on CBS Sunday Morning, NBC Nightly News and The Washington Post.

Dog Is My CoPilot has saved over 25,000 animals. Click here to support their the important work. .

After the White House: A Speechwriter Finds Joy Teaching

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Cody Keenan started working in the White House at the age of 28 and rose up to the role of Chief Speechwriter for President Barack Obama. In terms of his chosen profession, he was at the top of the mountain at a very young age. But after eight years, the Obama Presidency ends. What does he do next?

Cody Keenan’s new book, Grace: President Obama and Ten Days in the Battle for America” is available on Amazon.

After the White House, Cody has accomplished a lot. He has collaborated with Barack Obama on his best-selling, presidential memoir, A Promised Land. He’s now completed his own book, Grace: President Obama and Ten Days in the Battle for America, which debuts on October 4, 2022. He has joined Fenway Strategies, a strategic, communications firm that helps write speeches for others.

But according to Cody, the most rewarding part of his second act is teaching the next generation of political speechwriters in a small class at his alma mater Northwestern University. “It’s the best thing I do. It pays the least but it’s the most fun. I get to watch these students grow and improve and get excited about politics and its possibilities.”

In this episode of Second Act Stories, we go behind the scenes at the White House to learn the story of the eulogy which President Obama and Cody wrote for the funeral of Reverend Clementa Pinckney and eight other congregants at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. During the service, President Obama surprised the congregation by signing Amazing Grace.

Day With M Night Shyamalan Inspires A Second Act In Filmmaking

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Melissa Davey was a senior, corporate executive turning 65 and facing a key decision point in her work life — Do I stay or do I go? At the same time, an odd series of events resulted in her winning a charity auction to spend a day on a movie set with director M Night Shyamalan.

Shadowing Mr. Shyamalan for a day put her on the path to becoming a filmmaker. She completing her first feature film in 2018.  Beyond 60 is a documentary that profiles nine, vibrant women and their “after 60” accomplishments. Now 72, Ms. Davey will release her second film, “Climbing Into Life” in early 2023.

 

Recipe for Success: A Red Truck, Amazing Pies & Barack Obama

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Brian Noyes was an art director for 30+ years with top publications like The Washington Post, Smithsonian, Architecture and House & Garden. He loved his work. But he also loved baking. And he regularly took week-long courses at schools like the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY and L’Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, MD.

After the September 11th attack, he decided to buy a weekend house in rural Virginia — an escape from his design work in Washington, DC. As a hobby, he started making jams and pies for a local country store under the name the Red Truck Bakery. He quickly developed a devoted, local following.

His big break came in 2008 when legendary New York Times food columnist Marian Burros tried some of his baked goods at a friend’s 4th of July party. She later wrote in a holiday, round-up article:

“One of my favorite discoveries is Brian Noyes, the owner of the Red Truck Bakery in Virginia, who has a deft hand with pastries and an unerring sense of flavor balance.”

Brian’s website went from less than 25 visitors per day to 57,000 visitors on the day the article appeared. And it was the push he needed to quit his job as an art director and open the Red Truck Bakery in Warrenton, Virginia in 2009.

““I like pie. That’s not a state secret. And I can confirm that the Red Truck Bakery makes some darn good pie.” President Barack Obama

Today he has stores in both Warrenton and Marshall, Virginia and a staff of 50 people. He ships dozens of pies, cakes and granola each day. He also has a devoted fan in former President Barack Obama who wrote a salute to the Red Truck Bakery in his final year in office. Special thanks to Cody Keenan, President Obama’s chief speechwriter, for coming on the podcast and sharing this story with us.

You can sample their baked goods for yourself by visiting www.redtruckbakery.com. You can also order Brian’s first book “The Red Truck Bakery Cookbook” and his second book, “The Red Truck Bakery Farmhouse Cookbook” (which comes out on August 2, 2022). And if you find yourself passing through Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, make it a point to drop by one of their stores. You won’t be disappointed.