Norwich bulletin., 1909-06-26


Ssusalito was the place appointed
fo- the bake. The forty bags of sea-
weed were gathered from the shores
of the bay, and the cobblestones were
taken from the city. AS none but
trembers Of the grand lodge were rx-
pected to be present except those who
as sZisted in preparing the bake, had
ally number of volunteers, so that
i.y labor consisted in seeing that 9TH
ers did the work. At twelve o'clock
on Wednesday of the grand lodge
week, the lodge adjourned and all
marched in a body to the wharf,
Were a spacious steamer, chartered
fol the occasion. was in waiting to
re- Give them. Upon arriving at the
leach those six hundred Past Master
Giasons were arranged on the slope,
where they witnessed the moduS
o.ierandi of building up a clanbake.
When all was in readiness the fires
were raked from the cobbles and they
ere covered with seaweed to a depth
of a foot and a half. Then, over the
seaweed was spread a sheet of mus
I'm. in the center of which was
cUmped eighteen bushels of soft-shell-
ed clans. There were also the fol-
lowing: Large quantities of several
and seasoned, wrapped in white pa
ard seansoned, wrapped in white pa
per, lamb and pork chops, chicken,
sausage, green corn, the husks hav-
ing been stripped down, butter and
and the ends fastened. A large guam
t'Iy of sweet and common potatoes
refunded out the wonderful collection,
and it was covered with another
sheet of muslin on the top Of which
we're piled several feet of seaweed,
and over all were placed the empty
seaweed sacks, and thus ended the
building up of the clambake.
At this juncture anxious inquiries
we're made as to how long 1t would
IT cuire in the cooking. When told it
wtdild be an hour and forty-five min
ntes they thought it a long time to
V ait as they were beginning to feel
tie pangs Of hunger. But when re-
GUested to be seated at the tables, as
| three large kettles Of the incest kind
OF fish chowder were ready to be
sc'ved to them, this was a revelation
that raised their dropping spirits,
an6 the preliminary repast was most
I earthly enjoyed. In a little shady nook
not far removed from the salient
point, liquid refreshments could be
lac for the asking, and this, l may
say, added materially to the pleasures
OF the joyful occasion.
When time was IN. and all had
| assembled to witness the unwilling Of
the Clambake and when Grand Master
| Brown had called everybody to order,
t ere was brought within the circle
table upon which was a lovely cask-
| e. When the table was put in place,
T sest Grand Master Charles L. Wiggln.
| il his own eloquent way of doing
those things presented me with the
caEket which contained a splendid set
| If table cutlery. That l was over
whelmed goes without saying. 1,
however. got myself together suffi-
| Ci ntly to accept the memento and
respond to the address. and then pro-
ccCded to unveil the clambake, and l
venture to say that not one of all
| those who witnessed that unwilling
VIII ever forget it. nor shall I ever
| forget the encomuium so lavishly be-
stcwed by everybody upon everything
sct before them: We all arrived in
| the city without one feather droop-
| il e, and as a result, all knew each
other as intimately as though we had
| been acquainted since childhood.
| At the request of the grand secre-
| tary, l wrote up the calling of the
erand lodge from labor to refresh
n ents fo' publication in the procced-
| ings of the grand lodge. consequent
! ly all the grand lodges of the United
| States came to hear about it, and that
is one of the reasons why l have
| CIV en- it so much space in this vol
Un'e.
| In 1895 I went to Boston with CAL
| hernia Commandery No. 1, Knights
| T1m plar, as a past eminent command
| er Of that coTnmandery, to atten6 he
Triennial conclave which was TO be
! reid in that city. The commandery
tad a special train, a special con-
| ductor, four special Pullman cars, a
special dining car, and four special
| freight cars filed with fruits and
| wines for free distribution. With a
riost charming and delightful COM
pany of ladies and gentlemen. it was
| beyond a doubt the most wonderful
special train that ever crossed the
continent.
| Arriving at the Parker house, Bos-
ton, it was found that the whole ho-
It'll had been engaged for the accom-
me dation of California commandery
and the lady guests of the Sir Knights
After signing the register. being
somewhat fatigued l inquired the way
to the bar, and on entering I recog-
rized a gentleman whom l had known
for many years as being connected
| with Wells Fargo & Co.'S Express
1 went up to him and said:
How do you do?"
He took my hand and said he was
Wei.
How long have you been here ?'
why. 1 have always been here"
said he.
@The deuce you have!" said L
| We'll l wish you could see the man
I took you for, and l don't BELT re
yor could tell which was which"
What sort of fellow is hep said
he.
well" said 1. they don't make
J them any better