Had I known all that is involved with the ICARE pancake
breakfast, I may have elected to take the path of
avoiding a day of hard work and a bit of added stress.
However, the benefits of assisting with this now annual
event compensates for those things.
I first became involved in volunteering with this event
in the early 90’s.
I was then working at New Pioneer and was asked to
replace John Higgins on the ICARE board. By that time,
there were several breakfasts that provided a track
record of what was to be expected. However, the first
planning meeting I attended I was lost in the talk of
amount of oranges to squeeze, strawberries to clean,
tables to set up, cans for oil, pitchers for batter and
on and on.
I quickly learned more information, both from the ICARE
side, but also from planning with the New Pi staff. If
someone expressed concern for a particular process, a
smile and a nod would be given along with something like
“Don’t worry, it will all come together.”
We would gather at New Pi with as many trucks as we
could beg, borrow or…well, I don’t think we ever had to
steal one, load them up and proceed to the Ped Mall,
looking a bit like the Beverly Hillbillies. It was then
a process of setting up tables, getting the griddles
started, strawberries cleaned, juice squeezed, batter
mixed, sausage cooked and all the rest. There were
always frantic trips back to New Pi to retrieve
something that had not been loaded. Tempers ran short,
patience all but disappeared, sweat would run, some
swearing, some praying. But in the end, just as we had
been assured, it all came together. Pancakes were
flipped, syrup flowed, coffee was brewed, strawberries
were sliced and all the generous volunteers could be
heard asking, buttermilk or 7-grain? Everyone would work
to keep it all going and by the time we closed, we were
ready to collapse. Then the clean up portion of our
program would tap us on the shoulder and remind us we
needed to keep going. All that had been trucked down
earlier was now loaded to be taken back to the Coop and
cleaned. We all were tired, thirsty, covered with grease
from head to toe, but we had finished another year and
were curious how many tickets had been sold.
Some of the process has changed over the years. We
have many more sponsors that generously provide support,
the individuals involved have come and gone, but there
have always been constants, the volunteers that make it
all work and the generous support of the community. At
the end of the event, you are physically exhausted but
know you would not have missed it. The banter with other
volunteers setting up, seeing friends, relatives,
co-workers come through the line, seeing city, county
and state officials helping flip pancakes. It all made
for a good experience. However, the one thing that made
it all worth while was at some point a client of ICARE
would slide up next to you, squeeze your arm, shake your
hand or put their arm around your shoulder and express
their gratitude for the money raised that helped provide
the services for the clients. A tear would mix with the
sweat and some one would holler they were out of
blueberries.
Marty Miller
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