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It’s not fall; it’s springtime, and for the first time, the Elizabethton Kiwanis Club will have its annual pancake breakfast in the spring instead of the fall. The breakfast will be held Saturday, March 8, from 7 to 10:30 a.m. at First United Methodist Fellowship Hall on E Street in downtown Elizabethton.

The menu will be the same—pancakes, sausage, milk, coffee, and orange juice. The first breakfast was served in the fall of 1983, and it was served under tents outside on Pine Street, between the Eagle Store and Fred Moore’s Men’s Shop.

The club has hosted the pancake breakfast every year since—except during COVID.

The time of the pancake breakfast is not the only thing that has changed about the Kiwanis Club. “We used to have over 60 members; now we only have about half that many,” said Richard Barker, who grew up in the club and continues to serve.

The event also holds a lot of significance for Barker, who has been working the breakfasts since he was still in high school, helping his dad, Sam Barker. Back in those days, Pancake Day took place outdoors in funeral tents erected on what is now Armed Forces Drive. Throughout the years, the breakfasts have pretty much stayed the same, except it moved indoors at First United Methodist Church in 1982.

“This is not only a popular event for people who enjoy eating a pancake breakfast in the company of friends, it is also the biggest fundraiser the Elizabethton Kiwanis Club conducts to support its various programs to support the children of Carter County. The club is a major sponsor of the Carter County Head Start, the 4-H program in Carter County, and the Special Education Picnic, held annually at Cat Island Park. The Kiwanis Club also sponsors K-Kids at West Side, East Side, and Happy Valley Elementary; Key Clubs at Elizabethton High, Unaka High, and Happy Valley High School. The club also sponsors a Builders Club for sixth, seventh, and eighth graders at T.A. Dugger Junior High School. Barker said the TAD Builders Club members will help bus tables at this year’s pancake breakfast.

In addition to school club sponsorships, the Kiwanis Club helps with the upkeep and purchase of playground equipment at Douglas Community Park and Kiwanis Park, and contributes to the Boys and Girls Club.

Breakfast tickets are $10 each and will be sold at the door. Barker said the pancake breakfast tradition began with Leroy Hite, who worked for the Tennessee Valley Authority and later with the 4-H Clubs in Carter County. “He bought the idea for the breakfast from the Knoxville Kiwanis Club, where he was a member. Member Don Tetrick ran with the idea and became the prime mover of pancakes for 45 years. We have had some dedicated workers in the club,” said Barker, who, along with Mike Hill, are the longest-tenured members of the club. “We have a lot of new members in the club, and for that, we are thankful,” Barker shared.

“The community has really supported us through the years. For some, the pancake breakfast is a tradition, and we look forward to seeing them each year,” Barker said. Carry-outs are also available.