Pancakes, beauty queens and floats

For the past thirty or so years, the second Saturday in May has started out very early for some folks in Owingsville; at 4:30 a.m., to be precise. As most people are sleeping during the wee hours on that Saturday morning, the members of the Owingsville Volunteer Fire Department are busy preparing for the annual May Day Pancake Breakfast, held at the Bath County Middle School. To fully appreciate the hard work and time spent to get the pancake breakfast going, one would get mind boggled and more than likely stressed to the hilt, considering the entire event is on a voluntary basis. The preparation starts well before May Day with phone calls and visits to local businesses and Bath County school officials. Deals are made to insure the right amount of food is ordered, the cafeteria is available, and there will be enough people to staff the kitchen. In the final week leading up to the May Day event, plans are solidified and supplies gathered in hopes a last minute snag won’t uproot the whole day.

By 5 a.m., the pancakes, sausage and bacon are starting to be made for the people who will be starting to file in an hour later. By 8 a.m., the crowd usually has been decent sized and continues to come in until the grills are shut down at 10 a.m. Local men carry all of this, including deliveries made to those in town who couldn’t attend, out and women who volunteer their time to protect and make a difference in their community. The 2017 May Day Pancake Breakfast was a success yet again.

After the cleanup from the pancake breakfast, those who worked the event are finally able to venture out into Owingsville to see the vendors and other festivities, but only for a short time. Anyone who has attended the Owingsville May Day Parade knows that a big part of the line of people, floats and vehicles that file through Main Street are the fire trucks. Like the pancake breakfast, preparing the trucks for the parade starts before that Saturday. They are washed and shined up, ready to gleam in the afternoon sunlight.

By noon, or a little after, the parade starts forming up at the parking lot behind Owingsville Elementary School. Elaborately decorated floats, built by families of the Miss Bath County candidates and sponsored by local businesses, are the highlight of the parade. Vintage cars, clowns, horseback riders, area dignitaries and of course, fire & rescue vehicles round out the line-up. Each county fire department is represented with their shiny trucks, ready to wow the crowd, young and old, with their flashing lights and blasts of sirens. The men and women of Owingsville Fire Department have already put in a full workday by the time the parade begins.

The Owingsville May Day Parade route is about a mile and a half long; starting at the elementary school parking lot and turning around at the gravel lot where Frosty Barber once had a store, and back again. For the ones who walk the route, it can be tiresome; I can attest, I personally walked MOST of the way through this year’s parade in my full firefighting gear in 80-degree weather. It is a proud moment when we come down West Main Street into the business section of Owingsville and see the crowd lined up, waving at everyone who passes. The excitement on the children’s faces when they see the fire trucks and catch the tossed candy makes the parade worthwhile to me. For a moment, I get transported back to when I was a kid, watching the parade with that same smile on my face.

The smells of tenderloin and hamburgers cooking fill the town as we walk or ride the parade route. When the weather cooperates, Owingsville is packed with folks, as was the case this year. Once we get back to the fire station after the parade, the sleepy faces have turned into smiles as we thank each other for a job well done. Later in the evening, after last bit of candy is scooped off the curb, town will once again fill with people going to the Miss Bath County pageant at the Bath County Middle School.

Ten young ladies vie for the title of Miss Bath County, a tradition for over 60 years. In the early days of the pageant, the title was bestowed to a girl who would be the Lion’s Club Horse Show beauty queen. The candidates go through a variety of lessons to make them more poised for the judges who will grade them on attitude, beauty, and talent. Other awards will be given to the girls, and the floats they rode upon are judged first, second and third place.

One lucky young lady will be crowned Miss Bath County, and a court of runners-up will proudly stand on the stage as the standing room only crowd roars in applause. Owingsville’s May Day festivities finally wind down around 11 p.m. For the men and women of Owingsville Fire Department, the long day has been tiring, but rewarding. None of the May Day festival could be possible without the good people and businesses that donate their time and materials. It is a long-standing Bath County tradition that will hopefully continue to prosper and only get better. You can bet, also, that the second Saturday of May will continue to begin with the sweet smell of pancakes and syrup, and end with a beautiful young lady who will represent our community.