Traditions are still no match for the plague. The latest victims: Pufferbilly Days in Boone and the Knoxville Nationals. But it’s not just the big stuff.
Let’s look just in southern Benton County in the first half of 2018:
- February 11, Belle Plaine Knights of Columbus Pancake Breakfast
- February 25, Belle Plaine Lions Club Pancake Breakfast
- April 8, Van Horne First Responder Pancake Breakfast
- April 14, Blairstown Fire Department Spaghetti Dinner
- April 21, Keystone Fire Department Country Fried Steak Dinner
- June 10, Norway Fire Department Pancake Breakfast
That’s a lot of pancakes. But it’s also a lot of money. That’s money for either support of the entity putting it on or for some local group that may be reliant on it. “Social capital” has been eroding for decades, and having community-building events forcibly interrupted will have consequences.