Terry Danielson figures he’s flipped about 10,000 flapjacks for the Sicamous chamber and community, and he has no intention of stopping.
Twenty years ago, Danielson says, the chamber was trying to come up with fundraising opportunities for the benefit of the visitor information centre. Having previously done them for the fire department in Quesnel when he lived there, Danielson, aka Uncle Terry, said he could do a huckleberry pancake breakfast. He went with it, the breakfast was a success, and the annual Uncle Terry’s Huckleberry Pancake Breakfast chamber fundraiser has since become something of a Sicamous institution.
So, why huckleberries?
“I don’t know. I’ve been picking huckleberries my whole life and it’s just something different, eh?” says Danielson. “You know, they have pancake breakfasts and stuff – why not huckleberry pancake breakfasts?
Danielson is known for using his handpicked huckleberries in a variety of items, including jam and muffins.
Danielson is also known for his more sturdy, huckleberry-free fruits of labour through Terry’s Custom Brickwork.
“I’ve done bricks around here since ’92 and every year it just gets busier and busier, and I get older and older,” laughs Danielson, who uses the pancake breakfast and other volunteer efforts and activities as a way of giving back to the community. He’s even been known to don a red suit and a snow-white beard for Christmas.
“They had a parade here and I’d ride on the fire truck,” says Danielson, relating his more memorable Santa experiences. “One year I even rode my motorcycle to the Red Barn with no plates on it. One Christmas, they had no snow here, and a cop was standing on the porch. He said, ‘Santa’s riding with no plates.’ I said, ‘Yeah, and when he’s finished here, he’s going right back to the North Pole.’ And he says, ‘Good, carry on.’”
The 20th annual Uncle Terry’s Huckleberry Pancake Breakfast runs 8 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 1 in the district hall parking lot off Finlayson Street. At $5, the meal also includes ham, coffee and juice.