Waterbury Democrat., 1901-08-24
STATE BUSINESS MEN.
Ate, Drank, Made Speeches and
 Played Games at Compounce.


 Played Games at Compounce.
 The annual outing of the State Busi- ness Mems association was held yester- day afternon at Lake Compounce, in Bristol, and was attended by about 2oO of the leading business men of the state.
 Business men from all parts of the state continued to arrive until about 1:30, when representatives from the following towns and cities were on the grounds: Hartford, New Britain, Mer- iden. Waterbury, New Haven, Bridge port. Ansonia, Bristol Derby, shelton, Seymour, Glastonbury, Worcester, Mass. New London. Providence, R. l., and Brooklyn, N. Y.
 They were q representative lot of men and all seemed bent on having as good a time as possible. As they ar rived they were cordially welcomed by State President Rufus H. Jackson and President ID. V. Hewes of the Hartford association. The first thing they wanted to see was the place where the sheep are baked and pre- pared for the table. This dish has made Lake COmpounce famous and the peculiar manner in which that is done is q matter of much curiosity to vis- itors.
 
 building. northwest of the Casino, and watched the cooking of the sheep. In the center of the arena was a long, deep pit in the ground, and at the bot tom of the same was a wood fire. The eight sheep were strung over the hole and tended by Mir Bailey, who has done that kind of cooking at the lake for some time. The meat was slowly turned over and cooked slowly. so that it retained all of the original flavor. The sheep are baked for many hours before they are ready to be served. At 1:30 the members went to the second floor of Pierce & Norton's 1 pavilion on the south shore of the lake. where four long tables were arranged lengthwise of the hall. The visitors were soon doing justice to the tempt ing dinner, which was in charge of Mir | Sunshine, formerly of Hartford. There was baked sheep, the famous | fried corn which has made many housewife envious. baked potatoes, chicken, baked bluefish. steamed clans and vegetables. All declared it to be one of the best dinners they had ever eaten, and considerable time was spent at the table. The table at the south | side of the hall was occupied by the | officers of the state association and numerous members of the press. Music was furnished by an Italian | stringed quartet brought from Meriden l by Frederick Hotchkiss, well known wholesale grocer of that city. Three men from the same city. L. s. Averill, | A. E. Smith and l.. A. Porter. dressed as regulation southern plantation | darkies. danced and sang to the enjoy ment of the big crowd.
 When the last course had been dis <~CT n t<.lxA T. as toastmastef. arose and said he wished. to thank all those members of the association who had assisted in making the outing the great success it , was. There was present, he said, a gentleman who held leading position in the city of Hartford and man whom the business men of the state had elected to their highest office. That l man was Rufus H. Jackson, and Mir Hewes said he had the great pleasure of introducing him for a speech. Mir Jackson was received with ap- plause. He expressed great pleasure in meeting such large body of the representative business men of Con- necticut and congratulated them on the outing they were holding. It had been publicly announced that there were to be no public speeches and he had no intention from departing from the pro- gram. He wanted. however. to thank the members for the cordial support they had extended him during. the seven months he had been president of the State association. He said he ex- pected to visit all local organizations during the next few months and would then address them at greater length ''This feeling of goodfellowship, said MT Jackson, speaks we'll for the as- f cnafafinT +r11es away with us this same good feeling. and that it may help to enroll many new members during the coming | year"
 | TOastmaster Hewes then called for the president of the New Britain as sociati0n, the baby of the state organ ization, 4. Howard Abbe MT Abbe said it was hot and he would follow the example of President Jackson and make his speech brief. He said the New Britain association was organized in May and now had considerably over 100 on it's roll of membership. MT Abbe explained that he was not a l speechmaker, but he could say the mem bers of his organization were never sorry they had joined, and were happy to be at the gathering today.
 MT Hewes then read a telegram from Edgar F. Burnham of Hartford, dated ar Bethlehem, N. H., in which he said he was sorry not to be present aud sent his best wishes for those mem- bers who were there.
 Toastmaster Hewes then announced ! that they had with them a second Chauncey Depew, a gentleman who Il was always ready to respond for a | speech, a great musician, leader of a band. an all around good fellow. Ed ward I. Atwater. president of the New l Haven association. MT Atwater said he was more than pleased to see the success of the outing and could assure his fellow members that the mer- chants of New Haven were as much interested in the organization as any body. As many of the New Haven members were absent from their city. they could not attend. The New Ha-
 ven association is the oldest in the state, he said and the time is not far distant when the influence of the state association will be a great power in the business interests of the common wealth.
 When the dinner was over MT
 Hewes announced that a base ball
 team of Hartford men would play a
 game against the rest of the state.
 Then the crowd assembled at the ball I nd af I3o AL.