Autumn Buckwheat and Cider

It’s time again for the Autumn Buckwheat and Sausage Festival in Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania. This year the date falls on October 12, 13, 14, 2018. The tradition of using buckwheat flour to make pancakes goes back much farther than the beginnings of the Ohiopyle Buckwheat Festival which started in 1947. The festival had very humble roots, starting out as the fund raiser for the Ohiopyle Volunteer Fire Department and by the community wanting to keep alive the history of the area. It still remains the chief fundraiser for the fire department.

Early methods to fry sausage and “bake” the buckwheat cakes started out by cooking the food in cast iron frying pans over single burner open gas flames. The ground pork was hand shaped by helpers before they made their way into the skillets.

That way of cooking continued at least until 1974 when I started to volunteer there to spend time with my-wife-to-be, Cindy Morrison. For a few years, my job was to wash dishes. That was a major undertaking. It seemed there was always something to wash.

I was pressed into service baking the buckwheat cakes, a move up in responsibility. This takes sweat and special care. By then, wide griddles had been introduced. It was a hot job. The temperature of the griddles must be maintained for even baking of the cakes, limiting the air flow to that room. Smoke and heat quickly accumulates and at times it becomes very uncomfortable.

I was “rescued” by my father-in-law, Elmer “Bud” Morrison to fry the sausage. Soon afterwards, the sausage frying area converted to the wide grill surface. They hold nearly 3 dozen of the seasoned pork patties. At last count, there were a dozen grills thoroughly cooking the sausage patties before serving. I have volunteered for nearly 45 years.

Chris Fennimore and WQED television came to shoot a segment on volunteerism one year and usually repeats its showing this time of year. Most years he makes the trek from Pittsburgh to visit the festival.

The sausage patties are placed in huge roasters to be transported upstairs to the dining area or to the school building next door to be kept hot and ready for those who came to enjoy the autumn leaves, Ohiopyle Falls, and the meal. The only change in the menu was the addition of pancakes for the palates of a younger generation. Steaming buckwheat or pancakes, sausage, freshly fried potatoes, bread and butter pickles, and applesauce are placed on the table to assuage the taste buds and hunger of the diners.