2009 PANCAKE BREAKFAST BIGGEST EVER By Brian Sykora

     With 1105 plates of pancakes and sausage served, the 12th annual Sykora Family Ford Christmas Eve pancake breakfast was the largest to date. The cold blowing weather did not keep the attendance down like some of us feared, as 793 people were served here at the dealership and 312 plates to go orders were filled.

     The tradition started on Christmas Eve 1998 on probably the worst weather that we have experienced in the history of the event. Ice and sleet forced us to close the front gate and route everyone through the College street entrance. We all recall Mom stating "Let's shut it down and go home" at about 6:30 that morning thinking no one would brave the elements for a free plate of pancakes. That day we went on to serve around 600 plates of pancakes and vallet park everyone that showed up. Thus a new tradition was born in West.

      This year's event went on without a hitch as our loyal customers came early and stayed late. At times there was hardly a seat to be found in the house leading us to make notes to add more tables and chairs for next year. We appreciate how many people came for the food and stayed for the fellowship for a long time. Long time pancake pourer, Richard Pavelka noted "I started pouring pancakes (on the grille) at about 7 and it never let up till 10."

     Sykora Family Ford would like to express our deep thanks to following businesses and people for their donations to the pancake breakfast: Oak Farms Dairy for the awesome milk and juices, Martin Linens for the nicely appointed table cloths, Charles Kubacak for delivering meals to shut-ins and businesses, and Tony Mabile for his strong relationship to Santa Claus.