Pancake and Christmas House The smells of crackling bacon and warm maple syrup slink through the air. The sky is a perfect shade of icy blue, like the inside of a ceramic bowl. The anticipation of a great day of skiing gives you the jitters, but even more tangible is the anticipation of a great meal at the Pancake House. You take a deep breath and inhale an aroma that clearly announces, “Breakfast is served.” One of the best-loved and longest-standing attractions in McCall, the Pancake and Christmas House—known to locals as simply the Pancake House—is almost legendary. The restaurant originally opened in the fifties as a small drive-in, but its popularity demanded that it expand into a fullsize restaurant. Even still, patrons would stand in line for hours waiting to get in the door. Finally, in 2002, owners George and Bonnie Bertram decided it was time to upgrade, and they had a custom-designed, log-cabin–style building constructed to house their restaurant. Within three days of opening at the new location, there was yet another waiting list—and everybody was eager to get in the door. Famous for its delicious plate-sized pancakes and cinnamon rolls, the Pancake House serves breakfast all day long and sells Christmas decorations any time of year. The Pancake House is located just off Highway 55 at 209 North 3rd Street. From the south, enter McCall and drive past the stoplight at Deinhard Street. The Pancake House is on the east. —Diana Dzubak
The Pancake House in McCall offers plate-sized pancakes and cinnamon rolls you won’t want to miss, as well as a festive atmosphere during the holiday season.
We sang “Finlandia”—a favorite patriotic song. We were strangers standing together in the snow. But in those moments of honoring people most of us had never met, we didn’t feel like strangers anymore. After the lantern lighting, Frank and his wife invited everyone to gather at the Arling House for food and company. Frank’s grandfather built the house at the turn of the century for a pair of eccentric old spinsters, and Frank purchased and restored it in 1995, turning it into his own home. It was the perfect place for an old-fashioned Christmas party. Throughout the night, I sifted through crowds of friendly strangers, listening to snatches of their conversations and snacking on the mounds of Finnish treats, rum cake, and lutefisk soup. My parents chatted with Frank and his wife about their historic house, and friends and neighbors answered my questions about their lives there in Long Valley. For a time, I felt like I was a lifelong resident of Long Valley too. Back in Roseberry, Frank closes the G eneral Store to the public for much of the winter. Roseberry then becomes something of the ghost town it was in years past. Mounds of snow line the streets and frost the roofs of the church, the