CONTRIBUTED PHOTO — The Montour Breakfast Club will celebrate its 25th anniversary on Jan. 3.

MONTOUR — Twenty-five years ago on the first Wednesday in January, a couple of former Montour residents, Joyce Wiese and Clifford “Mitch” Downs, organized a group of Montourites to meet at the Maid-Rite restaurant in Toledo for breakfast. This developed into meeting every month on the first Wednesday for breakfast for 20 plus years, and anyone associated with Montour was invited.

When the Maid-Rite restaurant closed a while back, it was decided to meet at the Montour Community Center and have the meal catered. Rhonda Pokorny of Chelsea was chosen for the job.

Many of those attending have changed as many have passed on out of this world. Some of the original group includes Dallas and Joyce Wiese, Jean Hinegardner, Flora Lou Finley, Bill Vana, Ron and Alice Garrett, LeRoy and Karen Hoskey, Judy Detrich, Dale and Patricia Wiese, Brian Hempy and others. The smallest group remembered was 10, and the largest exceeded 100.

One of the older members, Dale Slingluff, had his 100th birthday breakfast with the group with Montourites coming from Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin and all over Iowa, passing the 100 number of those present. This included State Representative Dean Fisher.

The group will be celebrating 25 years on Jan. 3 meeting at 8:30 a.m. and eating at 9 a.m. Anyone from Montour today or in previous times, or who has an interest in Montour, is welcome to join the group. Many bring pictures or other memorabilia with the history of the item.