The cake just after it had been fully installed in late December. The candles were lit in a ceremony celebrating the new year and the beginning of the city’s 350th birthday year. (Photo by Peter Currier)
WESTFIELD- The iconic Westfield 350th birthday cake is now gone from the town green after having sat over the water fountain for the better part of a year.
The cake was taken apart throughout Wednesday morning by crews from Westek Architectural Woodworking, Inc., Elm Electric, and Westfield Gas and Electric. Police temporarily blocked off a part of the rotary so that the pieces could be moved out of the green in trucks.
“It’s a sad day for me,” said Harry Rock, Westfield 350 Committee president, adding that he believes the cake was the defining symbol of the city’s 350th birthday celebration.
The cake will be delivered to Hatfield, which will be having its own 350th birthday next year. Rock joked that while the city will be keeping the cake’s topper, they could have simply replaced the “west” in Westfield to “hat” to make Hatfield and it would have worked. Hatfield will be making its own, similar topper for the cake.
Rock noted that taking the cake apart was easier than putting it together in the first place. The initial thought was that it would be taken down over the course of two or three days, but the crews were able to remove it in just hours on Wednesday.
A crane was needed to remove the individual pieces of the cake from the fountain. (Photo by Peter Currier)
“It’s like taking down a Christmas tree,” said Rock, “Putting the tree up and putting all the ornaments on takes longer than taking it all down.”
Representatives from Hatfield were present to observe the process of dismantling the 17-piece cake so that they have a better idea of how it should be put back together in their own town.
Before it is delivered to Hatfield, the cake will be brought back to the Westek headquarters in Westfield, where most of the cake’s pieces were first built. Rock said that, while the cake is in surprisingly good condition considering the elements it sat through, it still needs to be cleaned and the inside naturally grew some mold.
Rock said that he loves the generosity of the Westfield community in making the cake happen. The entire structure was a collaboration of many different local companies who provided materials and labor to make the cake. All of the labor and materials for the cake were donated.
The design and construction of the cake was a collaboration of Westek, Kleer Lumber, Atlantic Plywood Corporation, the Lumber Center, Elm Electric, Betts Plumbing and Heating Supply, Westfield Gas and Electric, and the Westfield Department of Public Works.
The “recipe” for the cake began forming last June, when Rock approached Westek to begin designing the cake. Justin White, the project manager from Westek, said that designing the cak,e based 1969 version for the 300th birthday, was difficult due to lack of reference.
“There are no plans left over from the 1969 cake,” White said as he was building the cake on the green in December, “No drawings, no plans, nothing.”
The individual pieces of the 25-foot tall, 16-foot wide cake were constructed in Westek’s workshop. The small wooden beams inside the cake that hold much of the structure together were donated by The Lumber Center. The exterior white “frosting” of the cake is made of pvc materials and painted wood donated by Kleer Lumber.
The 349 electric candles that line the edge of the cake were donated and installed by Betts Plumbing and Heating Supply. The 350th candle was represented by the wooden topper.
Paul Asselin from Elm Electric volunteered his own time to do the interior wiring of the cake and connect all of the candles.
