The Meadows of Dan Ruritan Club and Fire Department will host the 54th annual Pancake Days Fundraiser on Sunday, October 20 and October 27, 2019, from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. at the Meadows of Dan Community Building at 2858 Jeb Stuart Highway. Featuring an all-you-can-eat menu of plain pancakes, buckwheat pancakes, sausage, gravy, and all the fixins’; prices are $10 for adults, $5 for ages five to twelve, and $3 for children under five. To-Go orders welcome and freshly ground sausage, seasoned just right, will be available for sale, too. Place an order by calling (276) 952-2744. Commemorative tee shirts will be available for purchase.
Proceeds benefit a variety of community causes and organizations including the local volunteer fire department, rescue squad, local schools, college scholarships, food drives, and other needs in Patrick County. Bring the family for a not-to-be-missed event and become part of the tradition.
Attracting visitors far and wide the event host people into the thousands, all coming to take a bite out of Meadows of Dan; attendees say you can expect long lines and full bellies.
- History
The Meadows of Dan Ruritan Club was chartered June 7, 1949, by Ruritan National with 30 charter members, many of whom have children and grandchildren who are today’s current members.
Original members were farmers, teachers, merchants, a postmaster, rural mail carrier, a telephone operator, miller, minister, mechanic, agricultural instructors and carpenter. Most of all, they were friends and neighbors committed to improving their agriculturally-based economy in the remote community in Patrick County of southwest Virginia. In 2019, we celebrate 70 years of a strong organization focusing on the true purpose of community.
Local meetings are held the first Thursday evening of each month at 7 p.m. at the local community building and include dinner.
Ruritan is a national civic service organization with the purpose of creating better understanding between people and is dedicated to improving communities and building a better America through fellowship, goodwill and community service.
The first Ruritan Club was chartered May 21, 1928, in Holland, Virginia. Since that first club, Ruritan has grown throughout the United States of America, and in doing so, has become “America’s Leading Community Service Organization.”
Tom Downing of Suffolk, Virginia, and Jack Gwaltney of Holland, Virginia, are known as the co-founders of Ruritan. Gwaltney and Downing recognized the need for an organization where community leaders could meet and discuss ways to make their community a better place in which to live.
The name “Ruritan” was suggested by Daisy Nurney, a reporter for the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot newspaper, and the club’s charter members unanimously adopted “Ruritan” as the organization’s name. The word is a combination of the Latin words for open country “ruri” and small town “tan,” interpreted as pertaining to rural and small town life.
Ruritan National has nearly 34,000 members throughout the United States that work to improve more than 1,200 local communities. Since the organization’s beginning in 1928, Ruritan Clubs have served America with Fellowship, Goodwill, and Community Service. Ruritan is a civic service organization made up of local clubs in small towns and rural communities.
