By Jim Copeland

Wow! Pancake Day. I finally experienced it the whole thing, start to finish. It was a great. It was a long day, from 4:30 am to almost 9:00 pm. The preparation for weeks had come to an end and the fun was about to begin. From the printing the tickets, ordering the sausage, making flyers, sending letters to companies to donate door prizes, selling tickets, to collecting the other supplies. I don’t know who all the people are behind the scene, but there are a lot of them to accomplish this goal.

I got there at 4:30 am and I could smell the sausage cooking from across the street already. Mr. Bennett always gets there even earlier, like 3:00 am to start the sausage. He was there all day. Mr. and Mrs. Howell were already setting up. I got started helping and other leaders started showing up. As it got closer the 6:00 am, everyone was waiting for the Health Inspector. We had to know whether or not we could start without any problems. She got up early for us and inspected. Everything was up to snuff. Mr. Blann started making pancake batter. Mr. Howell started the grills. Moms showed up to help. Sorry, I don’t even know all their names. I did miscellaneous tasks. Mrs. Howell was setting up and giving orders to the crew. Mr. Verman was getting the ticket desk ready. Mr. Mcleod was there. Mr. Money showed up to cook. I met people in this troop I have never seen.

I have been here for a few years and I am amazed by all the support from past members. Mr. Money says he has been cooking the pancakes for twenty-six years. WOW! Even Father Sam was cooking pancakes. He was hilarious in the kitchen. We had a lot of fun. The day was long and tiring. I thought I worked hard at my job but this was harder. I was glad to be part of it. I hope I can be part of it next year.

I never saw the dedication and effort it takes to accomplish this until I showed up for the whole day. I see that the troop can come together and accomplish a large goal like Pancake Day.

(See more pictures from the 59th Annual Pancake Day in the Troop 282 Photo Collection.)