WEST PARIS – Early Saturday morning found Milt Inman manning the bacon pan, while his son, Gary Inman of Albany, fried eggs.

Milt’s granddaughter and Gary’s daughter, 10-year-old Ani Inman, pitched in and helped with both.

In the dining hall, 60 men and women en route to their favorite hunting spots were loading up on eggs, bacon, hash browns, baked beans, omelets, pancakes, doughnuts, orange juice and coffee.

Milt Inman of Greenwood has helped with the cooking ever since Harlan Abbott, A. Sayward Lamb and Vern Inman started offering a hunters’ breakfast on opening day 10 years ago.

Lamb passed away in May, and Abbott and Vern Inman, Milt’s brother, were killed when the plane in which the fishermen were flying ran out of fuel and crashed near Greenville on Sept. 14, 2003.

But Milt and several other West Paris Historical Society members carry on that traditional breakfast, which raises funds to help keep the Main Street society building operational.

On Saturday, the society continued serving through 8 a.m., mostly to nonhunting families and the occasional hunter like Chip Dodge of West Paris.

Taking in the society breakfast was a first for 18-year hunter Dodge and his 6-year-old son, Kobe. Saturday was also Kobe’s first foray into the woods with his father to find out what deer hunting was all about.

“I’m usually out earlier, but he wanted to go, so I let him sleep in and, after we eat, I figured he’d be a little more quiet out in the woods,” Dodge said.

Kobe was anxious to eat.

“Let’s go, Dad,” he said, holding the dining room door open, allowing mouthwatering aromas of bacon and other foods to escape into the foyer.

Inside, standing beside a table atop which lay an all-black CVA .50-caliber Buckhorn muzzleloader rifle being raffled off, Lamb’s widow, Cynthia of Woodstock pointed out the morning’s highlights.

“We did a lot of pancakes today,” she said. “Usually, it’s omelets. We never did omelets before, but we did a few one year and everybody wanted them after that. Bacon and eggs, though, were the most popular today.”

Society cooks continued to work their way through 12 to 15 pounds of bacon, 20 pounds of potatoes, 11 dozen eggs, seven loaves of bread, and pancake mix.

In addition to being a cook, Milt Inman is also an avid deer hunter. In 1950, he bought a hunting camp and land for $50 in Albany. His grandfather hunted there, as did his father, and now him.

He’ll be hunting there come Monday, along with 10 family members and relatives.

“We hunt bear and deer, but after dark, we hunt elephants. Mostly, we hunt and tell stories and, once in a while, someone will get lucky and shoot a deer,” he said.

Cook’s helper Charlene Ring of South Paris said her husband, David, who used to live in West Paris, hunts deer, too. He was busy making hash browns while she toiled as the egg-cracker for Gary and Ani Inman. By 7:30 a.m., she’d opened 5½ dozen eggs.

“For nonhunters, it’s hard to wake up and get going, but I like the socialness of this and, it’s a good, fun way to earn money,” Ring said.

“Two orders scrambled eggs!” a voice yelled from the dining area.

Charlene quickly cracked open eggs into separate bowls, turned and handed them to Gary Inman and Ani, who got to work, he on one side of the griddle and she on the other.

Nearby, Milt started some more bacon as David Ring added grated potato to another pan.

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