Here’s a breakfast that seems ready-made for RRVT cyclists and their big appetites
REDFIELD, Iowa, July 12, 2007 – Big community breakfasts that happen every Saturday morning year ‘round are an old tradition for people around Redfield, but they’re becoming a new tradition for users of the Raccoon River Valley Trail, which comes through the town of 833 people.
“We do have some bikers ride in for the breakfasts,” said Marilyn Arnburg, one of the organizers. “There’s one group from Des Moines that we see just about every Saturday morning.”
The full breakfasts are served from 6 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. every Saturday at the American Legion Hall, just west of the main intersection in the business district. And we mean “full” breakfasts. The menu includes pancakes, eggs however you like them, biscuits & gravy, Potatoes & gravy, plain potatoes, toast, bacon, sausage patties, coffee and milk – all that for $5 per person!
“Yes, it’s quite a breakfast!” said Arnburg. She said “150 to 200 people” eat there every Saturday morning.
It’s quite a volunteer effort, requiring at least 15 people every week to make and serve the breakfast.
The American Legion organizes and staffs the breakfasts from after Labor Day through the end of May. Then the Old Settlers committee takes over on summer Saturdays. Arnburg, a member of the latter committee, said proceeds from the summer breakfasts are used to help fund the annual Old Settlers Reunion, one of Iowa’s oldest small-town festivals, which has been held “for nearly 125 years.” Their 2007 event is July 21. She said that school groups also occasionally help with the breakfast to make a little money for their projects.
How long have the Saturday breakfasts been happening? “We’ve been going to look that up somewhere, but haven’t yet,” Arnburg said. “But it’s been 30 years or more, I’d say. People are amazed we do it every Saturday. I’ve gotten calls from people in Des Moines, wondering if we’re going to have a breakfast some winter Saturday, and I say, ‘Yes, of course – every Saturday.’ They said, ‘Even if Christmas falls on Saturday?’ And I say, ‘Well, maybe we’d take that one off, but otherwise we’re here!’”
Article Published: 07-12-2007
