Ham Radio Breakfast Bash in North Idaho

By Steve McQuiston (WO6LF), ARRL Idaho Section PIO for District 1

Question: what is circular in two dimensions, somewhat flat in the third, golden-brown in color, and comes off the griddle with the same virtuosity as does Beethoven’s Violin Concerto from Itzhak Perlman’s violin?  Answer: Easy! It’s Randy Carlson’s home-made pancakes.  Such was the state of affairs last Saturday as members of the Kootenai Amateur Radio Society (KARS) gathered at Randy’s (KB6YAV’s) home for their annual mid-summer pancake breakfast.  Randy was accompanied in his culinary endeavors by his wife Jean (KD7RVY) and sons Dane and Eric (KD7RVZ), and the pancakes were accompanied on the plate by sausages and eggs and more sausages; and in the cup by coffee or juice, as to choice.  Rumor has it that 800 acres worth of wheat flour, 60,000 eggs, and ten tons of sausage, were consumed at the event, although some observers regard these figures with a slight degree of skepticism—a decimal point may have been misplaced somewhere, or a unit-of-measure may have been scrambled in those metrics.  Guests were asked to contribute a small dollar remuneration for the privilege of partaking of the gastronomic delights—the funds collected off-set the cost of the victuals, with the remaining funds going into the KARS treasury. 

Culinary is the proper word when discussing the Carlson pancakes—these magical pastries have an aroma that is to die for, and are satisfying in a way that only a genuine from-scratch pancake can be.  In case you are not sufficiently impressed with the credentials of Randy, you should know that he is former president of KARS, is an accomplished house builder, an award-winning family man, and part owner of the sweetest white ferret this side of the Oklahoma plains.  I once asked Randy which part of the ferret he owned—he said “the biting part.” 

Speaking of biting, some people say that the members of KARS are as gnarly a group of malcontents as one would ever want to see.  I don’t happen to agree with these sentiments—not anymore, at least.  But, passions often run high as members debate the relative merits of triple-junction photo-voltaic cells versus electro-dynamic enhancement of the ionosphere.  Fortunately, a single average adult dose of the Carlson pancakes quelled all questionable behaviors—so a good time was had by all, and no blood was shed.  The last man standing at the event was heard to say that no other amateur radio club in all of Idaho could match the pancakes of the Carlson clan—and if anyone thinks differently, let ‘em prove it on the field of honor.

Note:  The Kootenai Amateur Radio Society (KARS) is located in the Coeur d’ Alene area, and serves amateur radio enthusiasts in the Idaho panhandle.  Members of KARS consider the Bonner County Amateur Radio Club to be a “sister club.”  Members of these two clubs often join one another for social and service events.