A Pancake Party

Hungry, anyone? If you were at Lenox Elementary School in Baldwin last week, you could have feasted on pancakes at the annual Brotherhood Pancake Breakfast.

A tradition for 27 years, the pancake breakfast was started by one-time Lenox principal Gary Griggs. “He thought it was a good idea to get fathers involved,” said this year’s co-chairman, Van White. The dads kept up the tradition.

The number of participants varies, White said. This year, six dads helped set up the night before the event, and 42 dads joined in the next morning. About 150 kids got to partake, too, as well as Lenox staff. The fathers’ group charges $2 for the breakfast — just enough to offset the costs, said White, who is in his 10th and final year with the group. Next year, he said, incoming chairman Ricky Ransom will take the reins.

White said the breakfast is now a staple in Lenox life. One father continues to attend every year, said White, even though his son is now in college. But for White, what’s particularly important is “to see the new fathers. They come before their kids start school, they sit down, have their juice and we serve them pancakes.”

So how did the event go over this year? According to White, the dads made 500 pancakes and only had 20 left.