70th ANNUAL SHROVE TUESDAY PANCAKE DINNER  February 5th, 5 - 8 p.m.

 Floyd Remembers the First Pancake and Sausage Dinner.

Floyd Suthard remembers most of the 62 Shrove Tuesday events since they began back in the 30's. The Brotherhood (as the Men were called then) started them after the new brick Andrew Chapel was built in 1938. At that first Pancake and Sausage Dinner, Floyd was a youth of 16 or so, and was a busboy, waiter, dishwasher, and whatever else was needed.

Andrew Chapel had a stage at one end of the basement meeting hall and on either side of the stage there was a dressing room and a kitchen. Both kitchens were in use for the Shrove Tuesday Pancake and Sausage Dinner.

All the ingredients were donated. The flour for the first dinner, was ground by Sherwood Roller Mills from grain supplied by local farmers. The mill, in Sandy Spring, stood just west of where Sherwood High School is now. The first syrup was King Syrup in big red cans. The sausage, butter, applesauce, apple butter, milk, coffee and all the ingredients were donated by local farmers. The second year and for years after, Aunt Jemima donated the flour and syrup.

When people started moving to the country from the city after W.W.II, they complained about the smell of pig farms and as farmers stopped keeping hogs, sausage began to be hard to get. At that time Mr.. Briggs, of Briggs Ice Cream and Meats, was a member of the church and he donated the sausage. For years Briggs meats were used and when Briggs sold out to Safeway, part of the agreement included 5 years of sausage for the annual event at the church. After that it wasn't free anymore, but longtime member and Safeway employee Ed May got the church a good price each year until he retired.

People came from all over the area. They came from the country and the city. To come from downtown Washington, people took Colesville-Glenmont Road (now Randolph Rd.) from Connecticut Ave. or 7th Street Pike (now Georgia Ave.) or Colesville Road (now New Hampshire Ave.) Between the good attendance and the low cost (free for many years) of materials, the event was a big money raiser.

Floyd Suthard still tries to keep the prices down, buying the best ingredients he can get at the lowest prices he can find. He promises us a new sausage treat this year, a country sage. I can hardly wait.

 Thanks Floyd. We appreciate it.

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52 Randolph Road / Silver Spring, MD 20904 / Just west of the intersection of Randolph Road & New Hampshire Avenue. Office (301) 384-1941 / Fax 879-8542 / www.cumc.org