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Benjamin Franklin Sands |
There is something truly regal about deploying to the throne
that sits next to the coat of armor in the lobby of
King Arthur Flour (aka The Baker’s Store) in
Norwich Vermont. King Arthur Flour dates back to l790 and by l870 Sands, Taylor and
Wood was the name of the company that created this building block of cake--which is still advertised as “never bleached”
and “pure white as nature intended. The history of the company is recounted in a promotional video entitled
“King Arthur Flour: History in the Baking,” readily accessible on You Tube. And the lineage of the giants who started King’s Arthur including Benjamin Franklin Sands is hung on the wall
opposite the throne. While Benjamin wasn’t an inventor like his namesake, nor a
signer of the Declaration of Independence, this serious bearded chap looks like—
well the CEO of a l9th century flour company. The King Arthur outlet in Norwich in many
ways resembles a Williams Sonoma with its cookware and mixes and free samples
of everything from maple syrup jelly beans to Himalaysian rice with garlic and
Swiss char. But there’s also a baking school on the premises and for those who
are interested in cooking the whole experience is like seeking the Holy Grail
of a certain kind of baking. When you’re done with King Arthur, cross the Connecticut
river over the Ledyard Bridge to Hanover, New Hampshire. There you’ll find, "
The Epic of American Civilization," in the basement of the Baker Library at Dartmouth. The
mural, by the Mexican artist who was a contemporary of Diego Rivera, depicts the evolution of the Americas from Aztec times through the advent of industrialization, though King Arthur Flour is not cited.
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