Story and photos by Monty Siekerman
When you go to an Alger community breakfast you leave with a full belly and a smile on your face.
As you enter the building at 210 N. Main, you are greeted with a hug from 87-year-old Bea Collingsworth. You know you are in for a pleasant time.
This reporter planned to write about a breakfast held in Alger on a monthly basis for the past 10 years, come rain or shine, but ended up with an additional story---that of Bea and her job as "greeter" at the event.
Bea was born in the Depression years near McGuffey. Her father died in 1929 when she was 9 years old, leaving her mother with three small children during hard times. Life was difficult for the family. Eventually, her mother remarried. More children were born into the family. Bea has 6 brothers and sisters.
Despite a rough start in life, Bea is a kind, outgoing person who never met a stranger.
During the brief interview at the dining table, Bea jumped up more than a dozen times to welcome those who arrived for breakfast. Everyone received a smile and a hug.
As she says, the Alger breakfast is more than food, it's an opportunity to see your neighbors, get together with them, fellowship.
Don't let the title of "greeter" fool you because Bea has had a large part in the breakfast success (average attendance 75, biggest 125). She helped get the building, helps organize the food supplies and cooks, helps determine where the proceeds go.
The breakfast is held in a modular, the type school systems once used for extra room for classes or offices. When the new USV opened in McGuffey several years ago, the modular was no longer necessary. Since it sat empty, several people asked if it could be had for the community. The answer was yes, thus the breakfast was born and is held at what is known as the Alger Social Center. Its theme: friends meet here.
The building is well furnished with tables and chairs, well organized, has proper cooking utensils, is well lighted, and above all...has a "greeter" who sees to it that everyone enters and leaves happy.
The country breakfast menu consists of biscuits and gravy, hash browns, scrambled eggs (fresh brown eggs), cooked apples, sausage, and more.
As Bea says, people come from all around: Harrod, McGuffey, there were 5 diners from Ada at 9 a.m.
The center is maintained and supported by the Alger Memorial Festival Committee.
All proceeds from the breakfast go to help others. During recent years the profits have assisted the Alger siren fund, a Little League team, Shop with a Cop program, West Ohio Food Bank, Alger Public Library, upkeep on the Veterans Memorial Park, sponsored and conducted the Memorial Day parade, and more.
Hungry for a country style breakfast at a reasonable price ($7donation)? Go to Alger between 7 and 11 a.m. the first Saturday of every month (next on Oct. 1). You'll get a warm welcome, too.
Pictured:
• Bea Collingsworth with Pastor Andy Burns of Alger First United Methodist Church and his fiancee Lauren Frame.
• Marcy Shepherd (left) and Bea Collingsworth.
• Cooks (from left) Phyllis Fry, Linda Dienstberger, Nikki Jenkins.
