Rally Breakfast numbers up from last year

By Esther Noe

 

“It’s been a rollercoaster week,” said Dale Householder, president of the Hill City Senior Center. “We’ve had days that have been better than average, and we’ve had quite a few days below average. But overall, we’re going to surpass what we did last year, and that’s a huge success.”

Many more also deemed the Rally Breakfast put on by the Hill City senior citizens a success. Despite the weather, they did indeed surpass 2022 numbers with a total of 2,213 breakfasts served. This was less than hoped for, but many said it went very well. 

The Rally Breakfast was organized through the combined effort of Householder, vice president of the Hill City Senior  Center George Edwards and community coordinator Christy Derynck. 

Edwards took the lead, and said, “I’m pretty much in charge of the whole thing. I do whatever I need to do.” 

He worked at the breakfast every day managing the event, getting supplies or helping inside and outside. One of the businesses next door to the Hill City Center even ordered 50 pancakes a day, so Edwards came in at 5:30 a.m. every day to cook everything. 

However, before the event even started, there was work to do. Householder said the first thing they had to do was compile a volunteer list. They started this in June and needed around 24 people per day for the 10 day event. 

“That’s the number one component, and we have not had a day that we haven’t had enough volunteers. It’s just amazing,” said Householder. 

The second thing they had to do is estimate how many people to expect so they knew how much food to order. 

Although prices are higher this year, Householder said, “I think we’ve done a really conscientious job of trying to buy things at a good fair market price and buy here locally.”

They also had to set everything up, prepare the freezers, get the food, put it away and make sure the food stock was rotated properly.

After that, the event itself happened through the work of the volunteers. 

“We could never pull it off without all the hard work and help from our dedicated volunteers,” said Derynck. “Year after year there are so many from our membership that help, but also people that are not Hill City Senior Centers members—people from the community who just want to be a part of a good cause. 

“I’ve heard it said a few times that they just ‘come out of the woodwork’ to help, and that is definitely true. So to just say thank you does not capture the absolute gratitude the Hill City seniors feel for all the people of the community and surrounding area that help to make this event such a great success every year.” 

“This town is the most giving town that I can think of in the Black Hills,” said Householder. “It’s amazing. If you need something, the town steps up.” 

Householder said he is happy to live in a town like that and that it takes a lot of stress off knowing people will always come help. 

“We just have fun. The best part is helping each other,” said Kim Fisher, who volunteered at the breakfast as a “biscuit lady” on the weekends. “This is an awesome group of people.”

Fisher has been volunteering for the Rally Breakfast for around five years and said it is a lot of fun. 

Rebecca Schindler agreed saying, “You get to be around different people. You have different volunteers every day. It’s very fun.”

Schindler volunteered eight days this year and helped scramble eggs, crack eggs, serve in the line and clean up. 

All of the volunteers received matching hats that commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Hill City Senior Center. Although the official celebration will be in October, the hats were ordered early for the breakfast since servers should wear them for food safety. 

During the breakfast Householder said they renewed a lot of good friendships with bikers who come year after year. He talked to one couple from Mississippi who has been coming to the Rally for the last seven years and just loves the area. 

Meanwhile, Carol Walker said, “There’s one guy that’s come back every year for many years. He likes floppy bacon, and ours was too crisp. So he had to go to the back and get floppy bacon.”

Another biker is believed to have been coming for 28 years. The ladies then called him “Blue Eyes” because he had the bluest eyes imaginable. This tradition is still carried on. 

“I enjoyed visiting and getting to know people and hearing where they are from,” said Derynck. “Lots of states are represented during the Sturgis Rally. We even had a couple folks from overseas.”

Sandy Kruse, one of the volunteers on the serving line, enjoyed seeing all the people too. She and her husband were in the restaurant business for quite a few years, and some of the people they used to serve came to the breakfast. 

“They’re all so nice. Everybody is just real appreciative of the breakfast and being able to come and have it be readily available for them,” said Kruse. 

The seniors also fed the deputies every morning as well as first responders and city employees for free. 

“That’s a nice service we can do for them,” said Kruse. 

“It’s been really nice to see all the people,” said Merle Glenn. “They're really gracious and thank us and they love the building.” 

‘It’s just kind of a family affair,” said Householder.