VERGAS, Minn. — "Can I get a few Mickeys for a young kid like you?" said the silver-haired volunteer behind the griddle, flipping a pancake shaped like the Disney mouse. A man of roughly the same vintage holds out his plate, smiling at the joke.
It's not even 9 a.m., and the line for Vergas' annual Maple Syrup Fest pancake feed is already out the door. Soon it will snake down the block. Not a bad turnout for a town of 355 people in the heart of western Minnesota's lake country.
A guy with a goatee, casually dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, walks among the tables introducing himself. He's Erik Osberg, Rural Rebound Initiative Coordinator — presumably the only person in the country with that title — for Otter Tail County. Wielding two cameras, Osberg documents the event, making it look as appealing as syrup poured on a hotcake.
