The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1892-08-11
The BIG BAKE AT KENT.
1t Came OFF Yesterday and Was a
Great Success.
FOUR HUNDRED WERE PRESENT.
It Was Rather Hot and Dusty, hut the
Farmers Were There With Good
Horses and Summer Girls with Tan
shoes.

Ask almost any city man where's
Kenti" and he would say: 'It's one of
the counties OF this state" That's all he
knows about it. Kent is Kent. and it's
place; 1t has a postoffice and people, and
is just as good place as there is made
To be sure, the postofiice is kept in the
kitchen OF a dwelling house, and the tidy,
buxom housewife watches the dinner pot
and stamps letters between times; but
for all that she is smarter than the city
postoffice officials, because they only poke
you out stamp and an ennuied express
sion for two cents, while this good lady
gives you the stamp smile, inquiries for
your family and licks your stamp into
the bargain.
Kent isn't very big: the reason IL isn't
is because it is nestled right between four
hills; you see when it was first brought
into existence it was too little to climb up
snuggled up in the lap OF the vale; when
il got bigger 1t would have been base
ingratitude to have straggled up from
its past protector, and strobe of over the
hills, SO 1t just stayed still and now pro-
tects the vale as a matter OF principle.
other little hamlets Of the region. 1t has
but one day In the year; it would be de-
ceptive to say there were not three hun
dred and sixty-four times when the sun
rises and sets up in Kent, but those are
blank periods which are written upon
the page OK time as prelude TO the Ono
Day.
The one day Is In August, and this year
it came on Wednesday, the tenth.
IL was the thirteenth annual bake held
here. The first one which was given in
1880 was very modest in its demands
| In the financial welfare of the Ken Bap-
| tist Church went down to the sea aud
gathered up few fishes, while the house,
wives furnished the loaves. They made
| bake on the church grounds, and those
| who labored in self-denial to prepare the
meal themselves bought right by ticket
| to eat the viands.
The little band of laborers have yearly
| increased their fame as entertainers and
| now when the annual bake occurs people
! flock from all over to be there. Excur-
| sion wagons are there from all points of
western RHODE ISLAND and hundreds are
| fed with delicious food, those eatables
| not of the bake proper being prepared by
| those magnificent cooks Of homely fare,
| the farmers wives.
The bake of yesterday did not receive
| quite the attention and patronage which
| it deserved, and received last year, the
extreme heat and the unprecedented state
| of the roads, from lack of rain, keeping
some at home. But there were some four
| hundred served with dinner, and there
were probably thousand persons on the
| ground until a late mid-afternoon hour.
There is a pathetic element to the dis
| interested in seeing how bravely the
people of isolated places take their pleas
| ure under adverse circumstances, IL was
jolly, social crowd, and though drive
of oftentimes many miles, in open
wagons, under the scorching sun was to
| be endured, it seemed never TO occur to
| those present that there was anything
| lacking to fill the cup OF their happiness
| to overfowing.
Under long shed such as thoughtful
mankind provides for beastkind at these
| country church places, were stabbed lot
| of horses owned by the farmers. A tour
| of inspection failed to find one old plug,
| or one any man need be ashamed to sit
beyant--a little Compliant as to girth per-
| haps, and sometimes trifie untidy
around the fetlock, but all sound as the
| sermons their master listened to weekly
| in the old church. What could speak in
| louder voice of the thrift and the gooo-
| ness of the sturdy Scituate farmer folks
| than this one fact 7
There was another noticeable thing; the
blue serge summer girl was there, and
| her dress was strictly In style, her sailor
hat the proper caper, her dark russett
| shoes correct, and mighty small in size,
| her face fresh, while she was not The
| Scituate girl Is a success.
| Ii one looked for types they were there.
| One was that of patriarchial old man,
between 20 and 80, who has literally fled
| his way through life. 1t was Arnold
| Weeks, who is known far and wide rs the
veteran fife player of RHODE ISLAND. lie
| stands in musical repute as fifer where
the late Joe Greene stood as q bugler.
| Weeks, with the drum corps, played at
| intervals throughout the day, and some
| how the quaint, weak old airs he blew
seemed ia strict accord with the primi-
| tive surroundings.