Household Normal? Bake Menagerie Includes Boa By: Joan Meehan Newspaper article found in box of photos.
Mrs. Audrey Bake, a member of the Marylhurst library staff for six years, has, by her own description, a normal household. It includes, however, five horses, a goat, four dogs, five cats (each of the little boys has his own dog and cat), rabbits, chickens, guinea pigs, and a little boa constrictor.
Mrs. Bake, a widow, lives on a farm in the Tualatin area with her five children and her widowed daughter and two children. The Bakes lived in Lake Oswego before moving to the farm two years ago. They find life on the farm different, but enjoyable. Everyone has his own job around the farm and his own pets; they seem to find both rewarding.
The Bakes had monkeys and a big boa constrictor in the past. The large boa constrictor, which left the household just recently, was “really no trouble,” said Mrs. Bake. The boas are very quiet and cause few problems, except for the time the large boa was lost in the house. Mrs. Bake said her daughter found the boa one day when she was cleaning the Venetian blinds. Her daughter was rather upset at finding the animal unexpectedly. The other problem with the boas is that they will only eat live bait. This makes feeding them rather difficult, said Mrs. Bake. The bigger boas can eat small animals such as chickens.
Last May 5th the Bakes had a new addition to their animal menagerie. One of the horses foaled. It was an interesting experience for the family, said Mrs. Bake.
Mrs. Bake finds farm living beneficial in many ways but admits that it has certain disadvantages. Being without water for a whole month while the new well is being drilled is one of them.
Students working in the library say that Mrs. Bake makes delicious cream puffs and that tales of her adventures liven the day. Mrs. Bake, however, was forced to bring proof when she told of a hen that laid tinted eggs. Even after she brought a couple of blue eggs to work, some thought that they had been painted.
Having had no pets as a child, Mrs. Bake decided to let her children try taking care of pets for a while. When asked if they had any plans for more pets Mrs. Bake replied “I hope not,” but one gets the feeling that one more animal would not be noticed.
BAKE MENAGERIE 