The occasion was the Mathews Historical Museum’s first Old Fashioned Father’s Day Cake Contest, open to all types of cakes, held in the organization’s site on June 19 on Main Street. Eighteen supportive and enthusiastic bakers entered. There were pound cakes, layer cakes, Bundt cakes and angel food cakes in various sizes and shapes. When the judges had tasted their last sample and added up the scores, a lemon pound cake had captured their taste buds. Baker Carolyn South’s cake earned the first-place award, a $50 certificate for dinner at the White Dog Bistro.
Carolyn is a native of Gloucester who grew up on a farm. “There were five in my family. My grandfather lived with us, and my mother was always cooking. When extra help came to help out on the farm she was doing even more cooking. I always enjoyed spending time in the kitchen with my mother; she was such a sweet and gentle person.” Carolyn became the cake maker when she joined in on the cooking, because her mother liked to make the...