Andalusians who pay close attention to the financial markets might have noticed a familiar face at the closing bell of the NASDAQ stock exchange on Friday.

George and Patricia “Sister” Barnes joined other members of Lancaster Colony Corporation’s Founder’s Circle at the closing bell in New York City.

Mrs. Barnes described the experience as euphoric.

“When George and I walked out of the NASDAQ and into Times Squire, I said, ‘George, did you ever imagine when we started our little company that we would get to do this.’

“He said, ‘No, I did not.’ ”

Mrs. Barnes is the face of Sister Schubert’s Rolls, the company that she began by selling homemade yeast rolls from her grandmother’s recipe at a church fundraiser. The couple grew the company, and in September of 2000 sold the stock to Lancaster Colony, a specialty foods corporation in Columbus, Ohio. Lancaster’s broad marketing system has propelled Sister Schubert’s Rolls into a national brand with distribution in each state in the country as well as abroad.

“We said we would take it as far as we could, and then find someone else,” she said Friday. “We found a partner who wanted us to stay on and keep taking it further. It is a dream come true for me, to keep making this company and these rolls as wonderful as they need to be.”

The Barneses are now part of Lancaster’s Founders’ Circle, a group that includes the founders of other Lancaster companies, including Reames® frozen egg noodles, Chatham Village® croutons, Flatout® flatbread wraps, Angelic Bakehouse® sprouted grain breads and wraps, and Bantam Bagels.

“We have real input into the decisions of the company,” Mrs. Barnes said. “The group at the NASDAQ was the founders of the companies Lancaster purchased who have stayed on and keep running the business.”

Lancaster Colony Corporation  (Nasdaq: LANC) was at the stock exchange Friday to celebrate two 50-year milestones the company will celebrate in calendar year 2019 – the 50th anniversary of the company’s initial public offering date of May 7, 1969, and the company’s acquisition of their first food business, T. Marzetti Company, in September 1969.

Lancaster Colony has evolved from a diversified manufacturer to exclusively a food business with annual net sales exceeding $1.2 billion.