Cavendish Old Home Day is Almost Here

Cavendish Old Home Day gets underway on July 3 (Saturday) with the annual plant sale at the Cavendish Historical Society Museum at 8:30 am. This plant sale was started back in the 1970s by Craig Rankin and continues in his memory. Rankin, a landscaper architect, believed that everyone should be able to afford good healthy plants. These truly are the lowest prices for a hosta short of “free.”

Since the 1940’s is the CHS theme for this year, stop in the Museum, after plant shopping, and see some of the interesting WWII memorabilia members of the community have donated for the season.

The weekend long activities continue at 10 am when the Cavendish Green opens with a number of different vendors, including area artist’s organizations, businesses, food vendors, and churches. There will be a chicken BBQ provided by the Cavendish Fire Department and a lot of activities for kids, among them a “bounce house” provided by the Cavendish Baptist Church.

In keeping with the 1940s theme, the Young Historian’s program of Cavendish Town Elementary School will be hosting a “1940s candy shop.” You can learn a lot of history through candy. Named after the surnames of the company founders Forrest Mars and Bruce Murrie, M & M’s were first produced in 1941 in Newark, New Jersey. During WWII, the candies were exclusively sold to the military. They had the distinct advantage of “melting in your mouth and not in your hand.” In 1948, the original cardboard packaging was replaced by the black cellophane packaging many are so familiar with.

Tootsie rolls were another favorite of the military and were standard issue in WWII field rations. This “hard to melt chocolate,” first introduced in 1896 was named for Clara “Tootsie” Hirshfield, the daughter of the manufacturer.

Rounding out the weekend is a Cavendish Quilt show at the Old Stone Church in Cavendish; opening July 3 at noon and going until 4 pm. Quilts featured are those from the Museums collection as well as ones that have been made in Cavendish. If you were in the first grade in 1976, you can see the bicentennial quilt you made that year. There are current quilters, such as Jackie Blanchard, Paulette Martel and Diane McNamara, who will have items in the exhibit as well as examples of community quilts made for weddings and babies. Several of the quilts date back to the 1800s. The Quilt Show can also be seen on July 4 from noon to 4 pm.

One of the highlights this year will be the announcing of the winners of the Cavendish Community and Conservation Association (CCCA) Cavendish Calendar Photography Contest. You can pre order your calendars at this time.