In a section of Gloucester County east of Route 17 situated between the mouths of the Severn and York rivers, many home kitchens will soon be bursting with sugar, flour, eggs, milk, salt, baking powder and soda plus various additives. It’s cake-making time for the annual silent auction of cakes to be held during Guinea Heritage Day, Sunday, Sept. 9.

The cakes made for this special sale will soon come out of the oven to be cooled, iced or frosted and then packed in special containers. They will be taken lovingly to the Abingdon Ruritan Club at Bena where visitors get to ooh and aah before placing a bid. But one must keep a close eye on the bidding. Someone else may have decided to bid on the same confection.

At the recent gathering of some of the cake bakers at Buck’s Store Museum in Bena, they shared special reasons for deciding what cake they will bake or interesting stories about their cooking equipment. 

Rose Marie Smith says, “I’m using Mrs. Rowe&rsq...