It was Jefferson’s July 4th celebration where Tom and I fell in love with this wonderful small town. We were sitting and watching all of the festivities in Ostott Park in downtown Jefferson and marveled at this Mayberry on the Bayou celebration. It was unlike anything that we ever experienced in the big city of Dallas. The locals were all sitting under the trees with fans fanning themselves, drinking lemonade and sampling home made ice cream. Unlike the big over the top events in the big city, this small intimate event bred community and civic pride. There were bicycle parades, duck races, and a firework display so close that it made your ears ring.
It was Jefferson’s July 4th celebration that charmed us, but to be more exact, it was the pie and cake auction that really got our hearts pounding. You have no idea how competitive this auction is in Jefferson. That first July 4th, Tom and I sat in awe as pies and cakes went for thousands of dollars. We kept muttering under our breath, “you have got to be kidding me…how much?”
The good news is that every penny that is raised goes to support the Carnegie Library in Jefferson. We have the only fully operational Carnegie Library in the state of Texas and one of the few left in the nation. When you are in town, you must stop by and see the place. It is gorgeous.
So last year, our first as locals, I proudly entered my cake into the Pie and Cake auction. I wanted to do something really creative so I made a gator cake. I thought my cake was appropriate for my new life in the swamps.
The cake took three tries. The first one was my practice run and it ended up as a birthday cake for a friend. Everyone oohed and aahed so I knew I had a hit.
The second was eaten by Dixie, the Golden Retriever. Tom came into the kitchen. Looked at the counter where the missing red velvet cake and cupcakes used to be and without ever saying a single word he put Dixie in the car for a trip to the emergency vet. The Dr gave Dixie some medicine to make her throw up. He put a trash can under the table, leaned Dixie over the edge while Tom held her ears back. The Dr was relieved to know it was Red Velvet cake since everything coming out of her was bright red.
The third cake made it to the auction. I had some VERY tough competition but I am proud to say that my cake brought in $400. YAY.
I have big plans for this year’s cake auction already. I will get my favorite photographer to get some pictures of it for me and I will post them next week.