EGLON — For nearly 80 years, the Eglon community has made the trek, with baked goods in hand, to the annual bake sale at the schoolhouse. Once there, they whip up a special, local recipe — full of love and plenty of cinnamon rolls.

Anyone walking near the building was enticed by the heavenly aroma of pies and cookies Saturday.

Once in the great room, where local residents had tables full of goods and goodies, one could feel the warm embrace of community folding around them.

“This has been going on for many, many years,” said Helga Husby, an Eglon pioneer as her friends call her. “Being with the people here is the best part of the bake sale. People start bringing baking bright and early in the morning, and it just starts from there.”

The baked goods table started out piled almost three pies deep, said helper Dana Dukes. By about 11 a.m., it was showing significant open spaces, and residents were still buying cookies by the dozen.

“We’re expecting another load in about an hour or so,” Dukes said. “It’s incredible how fast these cookies and pies sell. Hopefully, the next batch will hold us through for another few hours.”

Also for sale were wares which various community members had made themselves, from colorful hats and scarves to clothespin reindeer perfect for any Christmas tree. The reindeer makers, Nick, 10, and Sophie Woltersdorf, 7, worked tirelessly to create the little red-nosed decorations.

“This is our first year doing it,” said their mother, Tiffany Woltersdorf. “They did all the clothespins themselves. They are selling really well, but the important thing is they had a good time doing it.”

If reindeer didn’t strike a shopper’s fancy, there were also homemade ornaments, and numerous other holiday adornments for sale. Everything from cement snowmen, perfect for the yard, to doilies, just right in the dining room, were waiting for local shoppers who wanted to add a personal, neighborly touch to their gift-giving.

“We raised a little under $1,000,” said event organizer Bonnie Bryant-Headman. “All that money will go to upkeep the schoolhouse. We took 10 percent from what the tables made, and all of the money from the bake sale went to the cause. It was really wonderful.”

Eglon residents seemed more than happy to oblige supporting their community meeting space, especially when pecan pie was involved. Dukes said there was one woman, new to the area, who wanted to participate but was going to buy something from the grocery store.

“We politely told her, it has to be handmade,” she said. “Otherwise it just isn’t the same.”