Gail clocks up 28 years’ service

Gail Russell celebrated a milestone 28 years at Watson’s Kitchen last week, where the long-standing employee received a delicious chocolate cake and her favourite strawberry Freddo Frog chocolates to mark the occasion.

Thursday, March 14, 1996 is when Gail started working for Terry Miller as a delivery driver on his Moree route.

She’s hard to catch a glimpse of, which might be due to 28 years of 3.45am start times, but she doesn’t seem phased by them as she impresses that ‘the bakers get up much earlier than me’.

The journey has been unreal, but Gail has loved every minute of it, and the team is keen to get another 28 years of Gail on the books.

“Every town needs a small-town bakery, and Watson’s is the best one,” said Gail.

“The team is amazing, they are really good, and I’ve made such good friends.”

It’s hard to imagine a time when she wasn’t at Watson’s Kitchen, but she initially started as a cotton chipper and then full-time mum before she took over the bakery’s Moree delivery route two days a week.

Gail Russell with her congratulatory cake.

“My customers are mainly out in the shops and without them, we’d be lost,” said Gail.

The self-proclaimed ‘non-baker’ loves snacks though and is always keen to play the role of taste-tester for the kitchen.

In her time, she’s seen the build of the backroom store and recalls the upgrade of her white delivery van to a Volkswagen.

Another milestone was when she welcomed Merredith and Michael, who have been her employers and friends for 10 years.

“We love her so much, Gail is amazing, she holds it all together and we’d be lost without her, “said owner Merredith, who is known for spoiling Gail with boxfuls of strawberry Freddo Frogs at Christmas every year.

When Terry Miller passed the bakehouse on to Merredith and Michael, the family-owned business had been going for 68 years before he retired and 78 years since his father came to Narrabri, in 1946, after the war.

“It’s nice to see people love the place and stay on,” said Terry.

“She’s been here longer than I have and has been one of the key people of Watson’s over the years.”