The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1897-06-09
PIES OF DENNY DALE.
ONE IMMENSE PRODUCTION WHICH
WEIGHED $500 POUNDS.

Great Concoction of Meats and Pastry
Made In England at various Periods to
Commemorate Important Events A Dis
nster which Happened on One Occasion.
The pie Of DENLY Dale is of great
| repute in Yorkshire, England, although
even there there seems to he ignorance
as to what manner of man invented
this fenrsome dish.
q. The last DENLY Dale pie was made,
cooked, carved and distributed only
last summer, in celebration of the jubi-
lee of the repeal of the corn laws.
The meats of which il was composed
weighed nearly 1900 pounds. Half a
ton of steel plates went to form the
dish in which il was baked, and the
-four for the crust added an equal
weight. The oven that received this
burden of nearly two tons measured
13 feet in length by feet in width
and . feet in depth. When nicely
Drowned the giant pie, gayly decked
with flowers and guarded by mounted
police, was drawn in procession by four
teen horses to the place of feasting.
Here, at n fixed hour, il was solemnly
carved with knife close upon 3 feet
feet long, and fork of proportionate
size, and served on commemoration
plates to all persons who paid for the
privilege of thus tasting it. The eda-
cious crowd numbered thousands, and
few returned from the scene of fes-
tivity without souvenir. Some of
the old folks came from over the Ian
cashire border, and even farther, in
order to be in at the picnic, and few
announced their intention to dispatch
morsel of the dainty to relatives
abroad as one sends round the wedding
cake.
That was the sixth big pie TO delight
the epicures of DENLY Dale. The first,
which dates back more than n hum
dred years, was intended to mark the
thankfulness of the inhabitants for the
recovery of George III from mental
arrangement. Nearly thirty years
elapsed before another event occurred
worthy of such signal regard. This
was the battle of Waterloo. The old
est inhabitant cannot recall the Water
loo pie; but it was, no doubt, n ia
nous affair, for, when another genera
tion had come to maturity, it formed n
pattern for the great pie of '46, by
which DENLY Dale testified satisfaction
mt the repeal of the corn laws. The
pie of 'i6 attained renown in its day
! Songs were written and sung in its
honor, and they even reached the me-
tropolis. The music halls of the Pc
riod sounded the praise of the 'stun-
ming great meat pie.
The pie of '4G was scarcely sue
| cess. No blame attached to the cook
it was the serving arrangements that
went wrong. A special platform had
been built for the "dlinty DISH" but
it suddenly collapsed, and the con-
tents of the pie were scattered on the
ground. Fifteen thousand people in
stantly pressed forward, and a deliri-
| Gus scramble ensued. "Amid wild
scene of turmoil and riot, says the To-
cal historian, ''the stage was utterly
demolished, and the pie flung to the
| winds"
A long time elapsed before there
was a revival of this form of jubilee.
The jubilee year of Queen Victoria's $
| reign, however, was an opportunity
not to be missed The Dale's folk
had gone forty-one years without "A
pie, and pie they determined to have
at all hazards. But, alas the fiction
of the old ballad singer might almost
have been prophecy, disaster and not
good digestion waited upon appetite,
| No one was drowned in the liquor, it
] is true but some were nearly poi
soned. That is not a matter for won
der, considering the medley with
which the pie was stuffed. In it were
hundreds of pounds of beef, mutton,
veal, lamb and pork, as well as thirty
two rabbits, forty pigeons, various
fowls and 100 small birds.
The official recorder is reticent about
this melancholy business. He merely
remarks that fifth pie was prepared
a month or two later, because the com
mittee felt it their duty to provide the
inhabitants Of the district who were
prevented by the crush from partak-
ing of the previous pie The commit
tee profited by their experience. The
last big pie was mild mixture COM
pared with its predecessors. Never
theless, it surpassed all former pro-
ductions in size and magniticence. 1t
weighed about $500 pounds, and 1920
| naun1s of four want into its ernst