Harlem Boys Breakfast Club


The Harlem Boys Breakfast Club (HBBC) began on April 5, 1995, when one of the township men wanted to have a retirement party for his cousin and the most convenient time to get together was breakfast. At this first get together of eight men in Sunbury, a decision was made to meet once a month for socializing.

The group met in Sunbury for two years and then because of the size of the group and changes to the restaurant, asked the New Hope United Methodist Church whether they could meet there and whether the ladies of the church would be willing to do the cooking. The first meeting at the church was on September 10, 1997.

The names and faces of those who meet about 8:15 a.m. on the first Tuesday of the month at what’s now the Harlem Road United Methodist Church, continually change as old members pass on and new faces show up. During planting, harvest, and winter snows, there might be 30 in attendance; at other times there are as many as 60.

There are no real requirements for becoming a member of the breakfast club, although most men are residents or past residents of the township or are in some way connected to the township. Each man attending makes a $7.00 donation to reimburse the ladies of the church for their expenses for the breakfast. When the breakfast begins, there are brief introductions of newcomers, announcements about who’s sick, an invocation, and then an orderly procession of the "boys" to the buffet line.

There are no officers, annual dues, meeting minutes, or discussions of business. The Harlem Boys Breakfast Club is a purely social gathering of community men who enjoy a morning out.