First Posted: 2/19/2015
DUPONT — Cancel your Denny’s plans on March 1 because there will be another place you can eat a hot meal in the morning.
The Dupont Volunteer Fire Hose Company No. 1 will hold its annual all-you-can-eat breakfast from 7 a.m. to noon at the company hall on Main Street, an annual event that holds a special meaning this year.
“It’s our 50th breakfast,” said Charles Tetlack, financial secretary for the hose company. “It started out as pancakes and sausage, and about 20 years ago we added eggs. We also give out juice, coffee and tea.”
According to Tetlack, the breakfast usually has a turnout of anywhere between 700-800 people, with 300 of those people being walk-ins. Hose company president Bernie Babonis recalled a time when over 1,000 people would attend the breakfast.
Gary Kaspriski, chairperson of the breakfast, said organizing the event is not a difficult task — after 50 years, everything tends to work out well.
The three men talked about changes the annual event has incurred, one being the amount of grills used to cook the food.
Babonis, who has been with the volunteer hose company for nearly 50 years, recalled the very first stove purchased for the breakfast.
“The first stove was bought at Petro’s in Scranton, a second hand store, and (the stove) came from a Philadelphia hot dog restaurant,” said Babonis. “Eddie Gambino, our former chief, took his truck and went up and bought it for $20.”
Babonis said hose company members borrowed stoves and grills from various places over the years but now the hose company owns six grills of its own.
Liquor was once sold at the breakfast and, for two years in the 70s, a Dodge Dart was donated by the now-closed Ridolfi brothers dealership in Pittston. The cars were brand new and the hose company sold tickets for $10 each and spun them in a barrel to select a winner.
The biggest feature of the annual breakfast is that the cooking is done on premises in the large dining room.
“The idea of this whole breakfast is that everything is cooked right in front of you,” said Kaspriski. “It’s put on your plate hot, right off the grill. When the pancakes are done, they’re put right on your plate.”
Food comes from all over to help with the breakfast, with pancake batter coming from Cwikla’s Quality Bakery in Avoca and sausage from Botto’s Family Authentic Italian Specialties in Swedesboro, N.J.
“We have a guy that makes a run to Jersey for us,” said Kaspriski.
Overall, about 360 pounds of sausage, over 180 dozen eggs and 60 gallons of pancake batter are used for the annual breakfast.
“Whatever we don’t use, we donate to the soup kitchen (St. Vincent’s) in Wilkes-Barre,” said Tetlack.
The three men stated about 30 fire hose company volunteer members help with the breakfast as do members of the Dupont Leo Club.
Aside from the breakfast, there will be a raffle for two lottery trees – one worth $200 and another worth $100 – in lottery tickets.
The idea for the all-you-can-eat breakfast has always been for funding purposes for fire equipment and any other things the hose company may need.
One of the events it will be used for funding is the company 100th year anniversary this year.
Tetlack said T-shirts and sweatshirts will be sold at the breakfast to honor both the 50th annual breakfast and the volunteer company’s 100th year.
Plans for a celebration are currently in the works.
“We’re going to start planning something,” said Kaspriski. “Firemen are making plans for some up-and-coming events for the 100-year anniversary. We’re probably going to have a dinner dance, or something like that.”
