It’s a beautiful thing to see a community of individuals come together for a purpose. Even when that purpose is simply eggs, a cup of coffee, and a good laugh.
It seems that most small towns are fading off the map, yet New Providence, Iowa, my hometown, has found its niche. New Providence is a small community of 200. The school consolidated and closed down years ago, there are no restaurants, no gas stations, and being a predominately Quaker community no bar. Beyond zip code most of the common shared experiences that tie a community together had left or died out. That was until a little over 5 years ago.
Monday morning breakfasts started out small as omelets over a portable burner and coffee brewed fresh. The idea was simple, give people a meeting place and a reason to come. And as it turns out, that was all that was needed, attendance would range from 30- 60. Soon they started serving pancakes, biscuits and gravy, and cinnamon rolls, and a volunteer wait staff would make the rounds filling coffee cups and picking up plates.
Cody and I were lucky enough to be able to stay for Monday breakfast the last trip home. Grandma met me at the door with a hug and quickly added us to the morning count, 1,103 for the morning. She admitted she might have been at least one digit off. It’s become a weekly staple for not only the people of New Providence but the surrounding communities as well. So if you ever find yourself in New Providence between 6 and 9 on a Monday morning, drop in, tell them I sent you and they might even make you a Micky Mouse pancake.
