As a child, Sundays were my favorite day when it came to breakfast. Mom always made pancakes (sometimes she would do waffles or French toast for variety). As you can see by the look on my face, I was pretty happy with the pancakes!
At Disneyland, in 1957 they held their first Western National Pancake race. Look at #3 giving it her all as she is about to cross the finish line!
The background on this event can be found at the Seattle Times online:
Women in matching checkered aprons, headscarves and a rainbow of running shoes limbered up Tuesday as they prepared for the centuries-old pancake race in this English country town. At the word “Go” they sprinted through the streets, trying not to drop their pancakes as they roughly traced the path taken by a harried housewife in 1445, who legend has it heard the church bells signaling the Shrove Tuesday service and raced off with her skillet. The tradition has been repeated over the centuries — not only in Olney but across England and even in the United States, where the Kansas town of Liberal copied the idea and has been trying to outrun their friendly British rivals for 75 years. The race is held the day before the start of Lent, the Christian period of repentance and sacrifice before Easter. Celebrated as Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday in other parts of the world, the name Shrove Tuesday derives from the English word meaning to seek forgiveness or be granted absolution. Runners must flip the pancake at the start and finish. The 415-yard (380-meter) sprint itself may be a form of penance ahead of Lent.
Because Disneyland had an Aunt Jemima’s Kitchen restaurant, naturally Aunt Jemima participated in the parade/event herself:
This image from November 1962 shows Aunt Jemima leading the parade with Minnie and Mickey Mouse:
In the back you can see two of the Three Little pigs with a sign behind them:
Pluto is carrying the sign announcing the 6th annual Western National Pancake Races with Goofy lagging behind. Unfortunately, I do not have any shots of the actual race from 1962.
At Disneyland, Riverbelle Terrace (the former Aunt Jemima’s) was the usual place to get pancakes when at the Park:
For a more upscale experience, you could have these at Steakhouse 55:
For variety, Storytellers Cafe provided Mickey waffles:
It looks like Pluto liked waffles as much as I did!
Is your griddle out now?
See more Disneyland Main Street, U.S.A. photos at my main website.
