The smells spilling out of the multi-purpose room at Van Allen Elementary School early Saturday morning were enough to get motorists to pull in to the rural campus and see what was cooking.
It was the annual Escalon 4-H Hunter’s Breakfast, served up as the club’s one fundraiser of the year.
Preparations started before sunrise and a crew of chefs handled everything from flipping pancakes to frying up eggs on the outdoor griddle, while ham and linguica were grilled and, for those that wanted them, biscuits and gravy were also dished out.
Taking ticket money at the door was Dorothy Langum, who said the event was a success again this year. Officials said an estimated 340 breakfasts were served.
Diners could eat in or take it to go and for those that stayed and ate on site, 4-H members were on hand to make sure they had coffee or juice, all the utensils they needed and if they needed refills on any of the breakfast items. They also cleared away the used plates and re-set the tables for the next group of diners.
Along with breakfast, there were raffle tickets for sale and a number of donated items from which to choose to ‘spend’ your tickets on, everything from coffee-themed baskets to artwork, roadside emergency kits to candy.
Teresa Duchscher was perusing the raffle items and said she makes sure to attend the breakfast every year, supporting the 4-H Club.
Doors for the breakfast opened at 6:30 a.m. and they served until roughly 11:30 a.m., with plenty of people seeming to join the 9 a.m. ‘crush’ to fill the tables in the multipurpose room.
“For 35 to 40 minutes, it’s a zoo,” Langum said of the 9 a.m. rush. “It works like that every year.”
Volunteer Teresa Egan noted that her grandmother, Wilma Vandepol, was among the initial founders of the breakfast many years ago.
“The club wants to thank all those who attended to help make this a very successful breakfast,” said Langum, who serves on the breakfast committee. “Since this is our only fundraiser for the year, the funds received will go on to assist the club with their projects for this year.”
