Kiwanis club celebrates birthday, pancake day

There are few things better than celebrating a birthday — unless of course that birthday falls on the same day as the Findlay Kiwanis Club's Pancake Day. "It's hard to be unhappy when you're eating pancakes," said Jeremy Strapp. Strapp and Brian Bauman are co-chairs for the 66th annual event set for March 2 in the cafeteria at Findlay High School. Serving is from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. with both dine-in and carryout options. Pre-sale tickets are $7 for adults and $6 for senior citizens and children 12 and under, available from any Kiwanian or at AAA, 1550 Tiffin Ave.; Trends on Main, 501 S. Main St.; and Heavenly Pizza, 1132 Tiffin Ave. At the door, prices will increase $1 each. "Pancake Day especially, it's been a family affair," said Strapp. "I think the community looks forward to it. We look forward to it as a group, we really do." About 3,000 hungry guests attend each year which keeps club members busy cooking some 3,000 sausage patties and over 6,000 pancakes, he said. Planning was already underway when club historian Rick Kidwell announced that the date for the fundraiser was also the club's 104th birthday. The inaugural "Pancake Festival" was held in October 1958 at the former Elks lodge on South Main Street. Pancakes and sausage were served from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. The event was heavily advertised which drew scores of hungry community members who were lined up out the door and down the street. "I never put two and two together," Strapp said. "I don't know if that has ever happened before where pancake day falls on our birthday, not that we always celebrate our birthday every year because a lot of times we just don't. But our charter was given to us back on March 2, 1920." Strapp said they are planning to have some fun with the birthday theme with a cake and balloons. A traditional menu will be served including all-you-can-eat pancakes and sausage patties along with a beverage. He said Findlay High School has been good to the club over the years by providing special electrical outlets for the six griddles they use for cooking, and ordering food and supplies for the event. Activities will also include a 50/50 drawing and Kids' Zone, he said. It takes about 100 volunteers to make the day a success, noted Strapp. The Aktion Club of Hancock County, a community-service group for adult citizens who live with a disability, will be on hand to help along with Key Club members from Findlay and Van Buren high schools, members of the Builders Club at McComb Middle School and one of the 4-H clubs. Jobs include cooking sausages and pancakes, cleaning tables, taking tickets and working the serving lines. "Celebrity flippers" are invited to help cook pancakes. The goal this year is $30,000 which is $1,000 more than last year, said Strapp. The Findlay-Hancock County Public Library held a winterREAD program from Jan. 7 to Feb. 3 and offered children a Pancake Day ticket if they met certain reading goals. Strapp said 150 youth met those goals and earned free admission to the meal. Pancake Day is an annual event hosted by Kiwanis club around the world. In the past 65 years, an estimated 164,500 people have been served in Findlay and more than $550,000 has been raised for various charitable organizations. Specifically $100,000 has been given to the Findlay High School bands and orchestra, said Strapp. The club has also awarded 165 college scholarships totaling $175,000 over the years. The club celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2020 by developing Brucklacher Park at the site of the Little Red Schoolhouse on County Road 236. The project was held in conjunction with the Hancock Historical Museum. "It's up to the Kiwanis to maintain it so that's been our next phase of the project is a perpetual care fund. We're starting to do that," said Strapp. One of the first fundraisers specifically for the fund will be a wine-tasting event at Gillig Winery on March 25. The wine tasting is from 6-7 p.m., followed by a live auction from 7-8 p.m. The organization also maintains Kiwanis Closets which provide new clothing to all of the elementary schools in Findlay and Hancock County. The program was expanded to include the middle schools as well. And in 2022, the club started purchasing EnChroma glasses which enable area students who are colorblind the opportunity to see colors better.