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Monday, October 20, 1997 Pancake Days: By Bob Karolevitz Yankton had four months to settle down after the Dakota Diamond Jubilee in June of 1936, and then the eighth annual Gurney Fall Festival -- also remembered as Pancake Days -- gave the town a second respite from the depressing conditions of the Dirty Thirties. Thousands of people came to the Mother City. Some of them -- along with economically pinched Yanktonians -- were physically hungry. Most all of them were likewise hungry for entertainment as a diversion from dust, grasshoppers and empty wallets. The House of Gurney did what it could to satisfy both needs in the huge circus-type tent erected on Second Street between Capitol and Pine. Long lines for the free food continued throughout the five-day event from Wednesday, October 7, through Sunday, the 11th. The only restriction for the pancake-and-wiener meal was on local children (although no age limit was specified). They were welcome without an accompanying adult on the first day; after that, they had to be with their parents if they wanted to be served. The magnitude of the festival could be noted in the final statistics. At least 146,000 pancakes -- made from 5,840 pounds of Fidelity Self-Rising Pancake Flour -- were served by what the Press and Dakotan described as "an army of cooks, waitresses and dish-washers." Visitors also ate 5,160 pounds of wieners. The tally of ingredients included a half ton of sugar, 173 gallons of cream, 239 gallons of milk, 1,120 pounds of butter and 14 barrels of syrup. Gurney's popular Sunshine Coffee -- 580 pounds of it -- and 750 pounds of Georgie Porgie Breakfast Food were also part of the menu. The local paper, in its summary of the event, added that 38,000 cubic feet of gas from the nearby gas plant were used to fire the pancake griddles. To handle the crowds, Gurneys hired some 200 additional people as special police, car-parkers and guides. More than 80 women -- many of them young girls -- served as waitresses and coffee-pourers. While regular WNAX programming continued in the third-floor studio, free entertainment was provided throughout the day on two stages in the main seed company building. The roster of performers included George B. German's Balladiers, the Rosebud Kids, Eddie Wilfahrt and band, the Ranch House Boys, Pals of the Prairie, the Swingin' Strings featuring guitarist George Kosta, Mary Nan's ragtime band and Jerry the Yodeling Cowboy. Before he went on to national prominence, Lawrence Welk appeared with his orchestra. Oscar Fiddlepoop's German Band was especially popular, as were the WNAX Bohemian Band and the Tripoli Trio, a novelty Italian group brought in by Gurneys for the occasion. There were other acts, too, plus a Sunday concert by the Yankton Municipal Band. Charles Glenn was master of ceremonies for the free shows. To add to the festivities, the American Carnival Company operated its rides and concessions on Pine Street between Second and Third, just a short walk from the pancake tent. Friday, October 9, was designated as Leif Ericson Day, with a special Scandinavian program on WNAX. On Sunday Mayor Ernest A. Crockett spoke to the visitors and was featured on the pioneer radio station. Downtown Yankton benefited greatly from the festival. Merchants, who shared some of the expenses for the event with Gurneys, reported a thriving business despite the depression; and local restaurants fed many out-of-town guests who didn't want to stand in the long pancake lines. The weekend brought the biggest crowds. In its front-page coverage of the festival, the P&D said: "During both Saturday and Sunday Third Street and the whole southeast part of the city were packed full of cars, parking space being at a decided premium. ... The bridge company reported its best two days in some time as cars flowed in from the south in an almost steady stream. "Sunday night every room was taken in the city. Many people slept in the gas plant and other places, several groups spending the early morning in their cars because there was not room for them at any of the hotels or rooming houses." The great pulling power of WNAX -- then known as "The Voice of the House of Gurney" -- was largely responsible for spreading the word about the festival. With little competition from other radio stations in the then uncluttered air waves, the Yankton station boasted listeners from Kansas to Canada and eastward to Indiana. As a result, license plates on cars in the Mother City during the five days included many from states other than South Dakota throughout the WNAX listening area. Yanktonians of that time remember 1936 as the climactic year of the Dirty Thirties. Hard times continued, of course, but the weather gradually improved. The Diamond Jubilee in June and the eighth annual Fall Festival in October were, in a way, milestone events in the Yankton history. After those gala parties, the future took on a more hopeful glow. [ Home Page ] |
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This article is republished for educational purposes, under the fair use clause of the 1976 copyright act. Text and images carry the copyright of their respective authors, photographers, and publishers. This page may be freely linked but not duplicated in any fashion without prior written permission of the respective copyright holders.
Article copyright 1997
Robert F. Karolevitz and The Press & Dakotan |
