Kenyon Corn Meal Company

Usquepaugh, RI - This is Kenyon Corn Meal Company aka Kenyon's Grist Mill. The mill was built in 1886 and is still in use. Originally, farmers would bring their corn or "grist"(grain that was separated from its chaff in preparation for grinding*)to be ground and the mill would keep some as payment. In 1909 C.D.Kenyon bought the mill and saw the potential of putting the ground meal into bags and branding it with the Kenyon name. He sold it by horse and buggy originally and in 1919 he bought a Model T truck and expanded to all of Rhode Island and parts of Connecticut and Massachusetts.



They still grind the grains the old fashioned way with these original 2 and a half ton granite stones that were milled in Westerly RI. Hopefully I will get this correct. The way this process works is the grain is feed into the hopper on top of the round wooden thing on the right of the photo, this thing holds the stone which in tern sits atop another stone. The grain falls into the hole in the top stone and goes outward in grooves between the stone and gets ground. The consistency is controlled by how fast the grain is put into the hopper and the distance between the stones. Check out their website for more details.

Across the street is their store that sells their meals, flours, and mixes.They also sell other Rhode Island foods such as Chowders, Indian Pudding, Jams and Jelly's, even RI Maple Syrup.

Behind the mill is a pond at the end of is this dam. In the early days the grinding stones were run by water power, now a days it is run by electricity.

Information and a lot of other good stuff is at their website. Be sure to check it out and be sure to come to their festivals held a few times a year.

Old Narragansett Church

Wickford, RI - This is the oldest Episcopal church in the Northeast. The congregation was founded on 1706 as St. Paul's Church. The church was was built in 1707. The church has box pews, a balcony, and one of the oldest organs in the United States. The organ was built by Bernard Smith in 1680.


There is a small church graveyard, one of people buried there is Frederick Hesley Belden, the 10th Bishop of Rhode Island.


I noticed this stone for two people lost at sea.


The church is set way back from the main road. The stones you see have names and dates carved in them.


Judging from the names and dates, it appears that these are the ministers from the church.


Not all stones are for the ministers, some memorialize members of the church or important dates for the congregation.

Wickford RI Scarecrow Contest

Wickford, RI - Judging from the ribbons on the scarecrows Wickford was having a scarecrow contest. Here is a few that I saw when I was there.


This really tall scarecrow was the champion I believe.


I really like this one, it looks familiar but I can't quite figure out what is looks like other than a bird with a mask. It has a first prize ribbon and a second place people's choice ribbon.


This rather floral scarecrow was just sitting around.


This artist scarecrow was painting a nude modeled by this scarecrow wearing a body stocking or is that a scarecrow with a stocking body?


Now this scarecrow was just hanging around.


There is even a gourd dog.

Whoopie Pies

West Kingston, RI - I ran across this Whoopie Pie stand and of course I had to check it out. These treats were being sold in someone's driveway; stored in a cooler with a cashbox to put your money in on the honor system.


The day I went the flavors de jour were Chocolate and Pumpkin. I've had chocolate before so I went with the pumpkin. It was a good selection, I'm sure the chocolate was just as good. Now if you don't know what a Whoopie Pie is, sorry no photo, I pigged it down too fast, it is two round pieces of cake, each like a mound with a creamy filling between. To tell you the truth, I don't exactly know what was the filling in these. It tasted somewhere between a cream and frosting, but not too sweet. Depending on the recipe, I think you can put anything from whipped cream, to cream cheese, to frosting, to mashmallow cream.

So if you are in West Kingston stop in and try one; I don't know the exact road but it is just around the corner from Kenyon's Grist Mill (a future post).

Allie's Donuts

North Kingstown, RI - I somewhere this week, it might have been Yahoo, that one of the top donut shops in the country was Allie's Donuts in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. I was planning on going to RI anyway so I made sure I stopped there. This photo is deceiving, all the cars are in the large parking lot to the right.



When I walked in there was a line to order, now this was about noon, I would expect a line earlier in the morning. This place must pump out a ton of donuts.



This is the donut case to choose from. My apologies to the worker that I caught as she walked into the shot. With this many people waiting for the delicious donuts I did not dare hold up the line for another photo.



Another thing they do here is make "Donut Cakes". They come in different shapes, this one is a car, I did see others that were shaped like BIG donuts.



If you are in the area, be sure to stop in and sample some of these delicious donuts. I had a glazed which was fresh and and soft, just like a good glazed donut should be. Also, I had cinnamon donut which had just enough crispness on the outside and was dusted with cinnamon mixed with powdered sugar.

Allie's is located at 3661 Quaker Lane in North Kingstown, RI.
You must call ahead to order cakes, 401-295-8036.

Autumn Road

Somewhere in Rhode Island - I was driving down this road and thought I looked very autumn like.

Cabot Farm Tour

Last weekend Cabot Cheese was holding am "Open Farm Tour" of farms that belong to the Cabot Cooperative. I toured two farms in Rhode Island and took a few photos.

The first farm was The Meadowburg Farm in Wyoming, RI run by brother and sister Francis and Rita Kenyon.

One of their barns.


Rita is describing something while giving a tour.



Cabot passed out these, "Poop Booties", if you did not want "Meadow Muffins" on your shoes.



A two week old calf in "Jail".


The other farm I visited was the Panciera Farm in Westerly RI.

Their Barn.



These are their cows, they sold all their cows a few years ago and are starting to build the herd back up.



Oh yes, there was a goodie table with "Got Cheese?" stickers, brochures, Cabot Cheese Samples, and even Corn Chowder.



This calf was born the day before...add one more to the herd.

Moonstone Beach

South Kingstone, RI - As you can see it is covered with these small stones. My family used to camp in Rhode Island during the 1970's and remember this used to be a nudist beach. But it no longer is(read Moonstone Beach the Naked Truth)for the complete story. The beach appears to be closed due to being a nesting ground for the Least Tern and Piping Plover. Also, genital exposure is illegal in Rhode Island.


A closeup of the stones.

Lobsters of Galilee, Rhode Island

Galilee, RI - A lobster boat coming in from a day of lobstering.


Here we buy lobsters right off the boat, it doesn't get any fresher than this. The lobster men have to work especially hard this time of year when the water is cold.

Misquamicut Beach in Winter

Westerly, RI - My friend Dan and I took a road trip to Rhode Island. Here he is walking down the beach while I was busy taking photos.