Much more than pancakes

I just came from Polly Judd Park, where Tom and Pam Deutschman were holding their monthly Pancakes in the Park gathering.

The Deutschmans started the get together six years ago as a way to help transition their son, Zak, from their bed to his own big-boy bed at age 3. It went like this: Zak, if you can sleep in your own bed all week, we’ll bring our camping equipment down to the park and make pancakes on Sunday. You can even invite a friend.

Well, one friend became two became three became four. You know how it goes. Pretty soon dozens of people of all ages were meeting in the park once a week for Tom and Pam’s pancakes.

Zak is 9 now, and the gathering draws anywhere from 20 to 100 people. Many of the folks I met today were attending for the first time. Others come week after week, including Eric Grim, 46, who came with a cobbler he’d made from blackberries picked in his backyard, despite the fact that his car broke down this morning.

“He’s an overachiever,” joked Pam, as she flipped huckleberry pancakes on the griddle.

Of course, people come for the pancakes. But by and large, they’re there to feel like they’re part of a community.

“I appreciate what Pam and Tom are doing to build community and strengthen ties between people,” Grim said. “We can all help each other out, but we can’t do it if we don’t know each other.”

Pancakes in the Park is such a simple concept, but many attendees said it and events like it are more important than ever now that technology has made people more isolated and now that the economy is forcing people to depend on their neighbors in ways they haven’t for decades.

I’ll be writing more about Pancakes in the Park for a story in Down to Earth’s news section soon, so stay tuned for that. In the meantime, check out their Web site for more information. And mark your calendar: the next Pancakes in the Park will be held Sept. 27 at 10 a.m. in Polly Judd Park.