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SPENCER – Spencer’s celebration for America’s 250th took place at the Richard Sugden Library on July 16th in collaboration with the Spencer Historical Commission. With an assortment of foods and games, the community gathered for connection and patriotism.
Picture yourself as George Washington on Oct. 22, 1789. You are president of a new country after winning the Revolutionary War and you’re taking a tour of New England. Seeking a place to sleep after being turned down in the Brookfields, you find Jenks Tavern in the small town of Spencer for lodging and a meal.
Having enjoyed your stay, you compliment Mrs. Jenks’ bread and head on your way to continue the tour. This is the historical event the Spencer Historical Commission based their celebration of America’s 250th on.
“We have this long history of George Washington and the Jenks Tavern,” Mary Baker-Wood, the chair of the historical commission, explained. “We felt this was a way of marking it as a Spencer event.”
A bread baking contest was held as a nod to Mrs. Jenks. Out of four contestants, 7-year-old Nathan Seck’s Irish soda bread won.
Hope Seck, Nathan’s mother, said her son had been excited to bake bread. “He had a little bake sale in front of our house the other day,” and she explained that he became interested in baking from his dad who bakes as a hobby.
After two judges declared the winner, the bread was sliced and passed around the room for everyone’s enjoyment.
Sarah Anderson, one of the bread contest judges, said she got involved through Paul Gleason, a member of the historical commission and an organizer of the celebration. She said her preference for brownies and cupcakes is likely why a sweeter bread won over the more savory options.
“It’s always important to keep the traditions alive,” Anderson said. “I think all these little 250th celebrations are great.”
Aside from homemade bread, a long table in the library’s reading room was covered with hors d’oeuvres, desserts, and beverages. Cheese, corncakes, and ‘Independence Cider’ with an emphasis on ‘no tea’ being available were among the options. Wooden block numbers were arranged to make 250 in the middle of the table display.
Gleason, a member of the historical commission for nearly 5 years, said putting on the event took a lot of research on the Jenks Tavern and meetings to organize the bread contest. He wore a colonial hat and a button down vest to play the role of a colonist.
“[Dressing as a colonist] was cool because my family came over here in 1630. My family actually came to Spencer in 1763,” Gleason said. “To leave and declare war on one of the biggest powers in the world—that took a lot of courage.”
In honor of the colonists’ success against Great Britain, the Declaration of Independence was read aloud in its entirety to the crowd with a cheer at the end.
Among the activities at the event were a colonial dance where participants stepped forward and back, lifted their arms up, and held hands while walking in a circle. People laughed and smiled while dancing to traditional music.
Cribbage, checkers, and other traditional games were available to play on long tables where people sat in the reading room. One child knocked down miniature bowling pins as his mother watched.
Carlyn Bain, a resident of Spencer for 74 years, heard about the event through attending historical meetings at the library and came because of her love for the library.
“[People] just don’t have any idea of how alive this library still is,” Bain said.”It’s very important that we keep these things going in the library.”
Having baked since she was 19, Bain entered her Anadama bread, an 1800s recipe, into the competition. The name originated from a man whose wife named Anna could not cook well, leading the man to say “Anna, damn her,” as he threw flour and yeast into one of her meals to turn it into bread instead.
Librarian Denise Farmosa, in charge of programming and adult services at the library, said a lot of the work was done by the historical commission.
“I just think it’s wonderful how the whole thing brought history down to a level of people stories,” Farmosa said. “Just building community is so important.”
After the reading of the Declaration of Independence, attendees could be found talking to each other in group discussions and were brought together by the event.
As Baker-Wood said at the beginning of the night to attendees, “This is why small towns rock. To enjoy each other’s company.”
