Ridpath Pancake Supper tradition revived on Nov. 3

The Ridpath Pancake Supper is a community tradition that dates back more than 50 years.

The pancake supper is set for Thursday, Nov. 3 at the elementary school, located at Howard Street and Central Avenue in Greencastle's South End. Pancakes will be flipped and served from 5-7 p.m.

Pre-sale tickets for the event are $4 per person through Nov. 2. The day of the event, tickets will be $5 for the all-you-can-eat pancakes.

Music is also on the bill for the Ridpath event. Kindergarten students will provide entertainment at 5:30 p.m., with first grade following at 6, and second-graders at 6:30 p.m.

Games for children will run throughout the event, silent-auction baskets will be offered for bidding, and the Ridpath Scholastic Book Fair will be in operation.

In his first year as Ridpath principal, Shawn Gobert reflects upon the event, "One great thing about living in a small town like Greencastle is the traditions that carry on from one generation to the next. Events such as the Ridpath Pancake Supper are a fun, positive way to bring people from all over the community together.

"When I returned to my childhood roots by coming to Ridpath as principal this year, I had many other Ridpath 'alums' who shared all kinds of stories and memories with me from when we went to school here.

"The pancake supper is a pretty simple concept, but also a really important one. While some things about the pancake supper have changed, the core concept has remained the same -- bringing families and community members together for food and fellowship while we showcase the talents of today's Ridpath students," Principal Gobert added.

The event's planning team has been working with Gobert to bring back some of the earlier traditions.

Back in the day, per Gobert, "the supper was always held on election day, so candidates who were running for office would flip and serve the pancakes. When the supper was over, they would go down to the courthouse and watch the election results come in."

Although the present-day event will not be held on election day, some well-recognized faces from the community have already signed on to help.

Encouraging community involvement, and with the intent to help Ridpath capture the history of this long-running tradition, Gobert made the request that members of the community, former students, parents, teachers and administrators submit memories, photos or other memorabilia to be showcased at the event.

Physical items will be returned to owners after the event, and can be dropped off at the school any day this week between 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Additionally, comments, anecdotes and digital/scanned photos may be sent to ridpathpto@gmail.com or shared on the Facebook page for the event.