The annual Pancake Dinner at Faith Lutheran Church for this year has been canceled.
Due to the restrictions and guidelines of COVID-19, the annual event usually held the first Sunday of November will not be held.
Ongoing for nearly 40 years, the annual fundraising event was well attended by hundreds of congregational members, the community, and surrounding areas as well as bypassing strangers from out of the area and out of state.
The fundraiser was initially started by the church’s baseball team. The parents and their young players wanted to raise money for the baseball diamond which is used today by area churches as well as outside teams. As players grew up and went off to college or moved away, the annual event was taken over by the Elders of the Church under the direction of head elder, Ralph Buch.
Served family style, the meal featured “all you can eat” potato pancakes and buttermilk pancakes along with sausage, cheese, applesauce, dessert and beverages. From the beginning of the venture, the pancake recipe remains a “secret” which Buch remains quiet about. County Market also made special sausages for the church that at times are sold in the store as “Faith Lutheran Church” breakfast sausages.
An American classic, pancakes have been around for centuries as a favorite staple whether it is breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner. There is some claim that the milk, flour, and egg dish dates back to the Stone Age and the Icemen. In ancient Greece and Rome, pancakes were made from wheat flour, olive oil, honey, and curdled milk. Even the poets wrote about pancakes. Shakespeare even mentions them in his famous plays.
The name “pancake” started during the 15th century but became standard in 19th century America. , They were called Indian cakes, hoe cakes, johnnycakes, journey cakes, buckwheat cakes, buckwheats, griddle cakes, and flapjacks and were often made with buckwheat or cornmeal. Thomas Jefferson loved them so much he sent a special recipe to his home town from the White House.