By KATRINA PENAFLOR
Campus Life Editor
It started with a cast-iron
Griswold: a 100-year-old waffle
maker. Guy Anderson, a Western
custodian, acquired one
from his grandmother when he
was a bachelor living in North
Dakota.
Through practice, he perfected
the difficult technique of
cooking with one drawback.
“The thermostat is by touch,”
said Anderson, which is the
hardest part of learning how to
use it.
The waffle iron works by heating
it over a stove then pulling
it off. The material of the iron
allows it to stay hot enough to
cook two waffles in a row before
requiring another reheat. The
result is a waffle with a crisp
exterior and a cake-like center.
Cooking happens so quickly
that one iron can produce
around 30 waffles in an hour.
Anderson said his waffle iron
“will run circles around a new
one.” Because Anderson enjoyed
cooking waffles so much and felt
there might be a profit behind
it, he decided to try it out on a
large audience.
He and his wife set up shop in
the garage of his parents’ house
Guy Anderson gives back to his community
through his love of waffle making.
and planned to cook for an upcoming
harvest festival. That day, the couple
served nearly 200 people. The
numbers grew higher as the years
went on.
Anderson hosts a concession stand
for waffles in Brooks, Ore., which he
has been operating for five years.
Since discovering the crowds his
cooking could bring, Anderson saw
waffle making as a potential fundraising
opportunity.
His daughter was fundraising for
a group of kids in Kenya who were
looking for a way to raise money.
Anderson referred the group to as
being “between a rock and a hard
place.” So, along with his daughter
and wife, Anderson used waffle
sales to bring in around $1,000 for
the cause.
“That is one of my proudest moments,”
Anderson said of seeing his
daughter, then 12, step up and lead
a fundraiser of such a high caliber.
Anderson and his family also
worked to raise money for Haiti.
“We like to do fundraisers for humanitarian
reasons,” said Anderson.
Students within the Western community
are also benefitting from Anderson’s
waffle making.
Anderson is working with a group traveling with Ekpeju E-Nunu, coordinator for student organizations and activities, and Don Boderman, facilities scheduling manager, to Kenya to hold a fundraiser May 9 at the Monmouth Senior Center.
Profits made from the sale will go towards funding the trip to help impoverished schools.
Anderson hopes to get involved with more clubs and organizations that need help raising money, both on campus and within the community. Students will get an opportunity to try these delicious waffles Monday, March 16 in the Werner University Center at 9 p.m. Anderson will be working next to Gary Dukes, vice president for student affairs, who will be cooking pancakes.
“I hope lots of students come out and try the waffles or have the standard green pancakes for St. Patrick’s Day,” Dukes said.
Anderson will be pairing with his wife and coworkers and believes his “product is unequal.”
The secret, Anderson says, is in the iron.
“As far as I’m concerned, these still put out the best waffles,” Anderson said.
