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Former Olney mayor to attend Liberal Pancake Day events

Bill and Deirdre Bethune of Olney will be attending Liberal's Pancake Day festivities this year.

Deirdre Bethune, Olney, England, runs in the 2006 Olney Pancake Day race. Deirdre and her husband, Bill, will be on hand for the 2007 Liberal Pancake Day festivities. Deirdre has raced in the last 10 Olney Pancake Day races.

For the first time in several years, official representatives from Olney, England, will attend Liberal’s Pancake Day festivities. Deirdre and Bill Bethune of Olney will attend all Pancake Day events during the four-day celebration, set for Feb. 17-20. Deirdre is a former mayor of Olney, and both she and her husband, Bill, have been involved with Olney’s Pancake Day for many years.

Deirdre, 57, has run in Olney’s race for the past 10 years, placing as high as third one year. The couple is excited to see what Pancake Day is all about on this side of the ocean.
“At the age of 57, I thought it would be a challenge to join you in Liberal to extend the hand of friendship in a new way,” Deidre said.

Local Pancake Day organizers are also excited.

“One of my favorite things about Pancake Day has been getting to know the folks in Olney, so we are really looking forward to having the Bethunes with us this year,” said Janice Northerns, Pancake Day chairman. “It always adds something special.”

Bill is a self-employed architect, a member of the Chamber of Trade, and a long-standing member of Olney’s Pancake Day committee. Deirdre is an academic secretary at the Open University. In addition to her former tenure as mayor, she currently serves as a member of the Olney Town Council. The Bethunes have three adult children, and they have lived in Olney for 32 years.

“I think we are beginning to be thought of as locals, although we know this is not really possible. Olney being an old town, you really have to go back a few generations before you are thought of as local,” Deirdre said. “We certainly love the town and its traditions and try and participate in as many of them as possible.”