International Pancake Day

     If you’ve heard of Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday, all meaning the day before Lent, in Liberal and Seward County you will quickly learn that here it is known as International Pancake Day.

     International Pancake Day culminates in the the annual Shrove Tuesday race between housewives of Liberal and those of Olney, England. They dash 415 yards through the main streets of the two towns and winners' times are clocked with stop-watches, then compared by Trans-Atlantic telephone to determine the International Pancake Racing Champion. One of the first things to learn about Pancake Day is that Olney is pronounced “Oh’-knee.”

St Peter & St Paul's Church, Olney, Built 1330-1400 AD

     The international race has gone on since 1950. R.J. Leete, then president of the Liberal Jaycees, saw a picture in Time magazine of women racing in Olney. Dating back to the year 1445 it has been the custom to race to St Peter and St Paul's Church when the shriving bell rings. Legend says it all started when a housewife was using up cooking fats (forbidden during Lent) to bake pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. When the bell tolled calling all to the shriving service, in her haste she forgot to remove her apron, and ran to the church, skillet still in hand. Her neighbors got into the act the next year carrying their skillets to church and it became a contest to see who could reach the church steps first and collect a kiss from the verger (bell-ringer). He gave the greeting, ''The Peace of the Lord be always with you," so the prize became the ''Kiss of Peace," still bestowed in both the Liberal and Olney races. 

     Sometime in 1949, Leete cabled Ronald Collins, then Vicar of St Peter and St Paul’s Church in Olney and manager of the race there, and challenged the English to the first race. They readily accepted and it has grown into an internationally known event.

     The score in 2020 stands at 39-29 in favor of Liberal with Olney winning the 2020 race by three seconds. The race is run according to Olney rules. The course is laid out in an "S" shape. In Olney the race starts at the village well, at the sound of a centuries-old bell. Over cobblestone streets, it goes past thatched roof cottages and the Old Bull Inn. In Liberal, a pistol shot signals the start, and contestants run over brick and asphalt streets.

Bull Inn, Olney, England

     Traditional garb is housedresses, aprons, and headscarves (the head coverings necessary for the church ceremony following the race in England). Three local wins disqualify a winner. A pancake dropped during the race does not disqualify, but the racer loses valuable time in retrieving it. The pancake must be flipped when the race starts and again after the runner crosses the finish line, to show she still has the pancake. Racers must be at least 16 years old and a resident of their respective towns. The only time this rule was set aside was in 1974 when Mrs. Leete was invited to run in the Olney race after Liberal had sent the Leetes to England as its representatives.

     The race is ''just for fun'' and friendly competition. It has formed a strong link of international friendship between the people of the two towns on opposite sides of the Atlantic and it is carefully guarded against commercialism. A cluster of events has grown up around Pancake Day in Liberal with more information at the official Pancake Day website.

About Seward County Historical Society

The Seward County Historical Society provides historic and entertainment opportunities for the local, regional and international visitors to Southwest Kansas. From Dorothy's House to traveling exhibits and a repository of local history from the Spanish exploration of Coronado to current events, SCHS provides a venue and a committed group of staff and volunteers to insure local history is preserved and to reinforce the belief that Kansas truly is a place over the rainbow.

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Address: 567 E. Cedar, Liberal, KS 67901

Phone: 620-624-7624

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.sewardheritage.com

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The Seward County Historical Society provides historic and entertainment opportunities for the local, regional and international visitors to Southwest Kansas. From Dorothy's House to traveling exhibits and a repository of local history from the Spanish exploration of Coronado to current events, SCHS provides a venue and a committed group of staff and volunteers to insure local history is preserved and to reinforce the belief that Kansas truly is a place over the rainbow.

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