CENTER – On Feb. 19, in front of the Center Consolidated School District cafeteria doors, the smell of fresh pancakes wafted outside through the very crisp air, carrying from inside the school all the way out to the front doors, as at least 150 people walked in and attended the Center Kiwanis Club’s annual President’s Day Pancake Supper with all you could eat tasty pancakes, and sausage patties. 

Members of the Kiwanis Club of Center including Dick Ramstetter could be seen just behind the cafeteria windows, serving up the dinner to everyone who was standing in line and waiting to eat the hearty meal. The inside tables of the cafeteria were lined with people talking, laughing, eating, and socializing. Bob Richards of the local radio station in Monte Vista could be seen broadcasting live from the meal, and many children could also be seen running around with a plate full of pancakes, playing and laughing while they were eating.  

Ramstetter of the Center Kiwanis club stated that he felt that dinner was going well and he was excited to see so many people show up for the dinner. According to Ramstetter, each year for the past 70 years the Center Kiwanis Club has hosted the event as an all-you-can-eat pancake dinner for all the public to come out and enjoy. The dinner is the club’s biggest annual fundraising event and is always held on President’s Day. Ramstetter stated that every year it has been quite an event, with more than 400 people in attendance sometimes.  

Ramstetter stated that the annual President’s Day Pancake dinner helps the club purchase things for all the events, and other things that the club does for the community, including the scholarships that the club gives out to high school students every year. “The proceeds from this go to our scholarship funds, to dictionaries, and to the key clubs. We have 3 key clubs. We have one in Moffat, one in Center and one in Monte Vista. The Pancake Dinner is one of the ways we raise money to support all the things we do.” According to Ramstetter, the students in the key club are a part of Kiwanis and always volunteer to help when Kiwanis has food baskets to give out, or for other events that Kiwanis hosts as well.  

According to Ramstetter, the Kiwanis Club is always looking for more members too. The Kiwanis Club of Center meets every Monday night at 6:30 p.m. Their meetings consist of discussions, and they always host a potluck dinner every Monday night too. The club discusses things that they can help the community with; they also talk about events that they hold all year round, and any other topic of interest for the club that comes up that night.  The club is located right across from the Center Consolidated School District building, and interested people are more than welcome to attend. 

Rebecca Vangieson of Moffat was at the President’s Day Pancake Dinner, and she stated that she really enjoyed the dinner and the good company, “I like to attend events in the Saguache community, and this is probably the fourth President’s Day Pancake dinner I have attended, and each time I really enjoy it. The people are great, and who doesn’t love pancakes. I came out to support the Kiwanis club, because not only do they do so much for the community, but they also host a lot of nice events. I will be back again next year, and I look forward to it.”