By Patrick Webb
InkFreeNews

John Sadler in his Mizpah Shrine attire. Photo provided by John Sadler.

WARSAW — For decades, the members of the Kosciusko Shriners packed lunches for third graders going to the Shrine Circus.

Hal Harting, a member of the Kosciusko Shriners since 1975, participated in the circus lunch packing in his first year.

“All the Kosciusko County Shriners met at Bertsch Vending, and we did an assembly line packing of the lunches,” Harting recalled. “One person grabbed the sack and put in a candy bar, then passed it to the next guy who put a sandwich in.”

John Sadler, a Shriner since 1984, also participated in the sandwich packing. “We would meet at probably 5:30 or 6 p.m. and pack 1,500 lunches within an hour and a half.”

The sandwiches were placed into boxes and then loaded into a U-Haul dubbed the “weenie wagon,” Sadler recalled. 

“My brother [Von Harting] and I drove it on the morning of the circus. He and I met together, then we went in the caravan to the circus,” Harting recalled.

At the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, the Shriners would load the meals on the buses while the kids were in the circus. 

“There was a sign that says I have 81 [students], so depending on the size of the bus, we had to make sure there were 81 lunches and 81 drinks,” Sadler said. “The second year I went it was 20 degrees. And we’re out that packing 40 buses with lunches in that type of weather.”

The sandwich packing ended in the early 2000’s, Harting and Sadler explained, when Bertsch retired. Charlie Bertsch, the owner of Bertsch Vending, was a Shriner and gave a discount, explained Sadler. The Shriners were unable to find another vendor who could match his price.

Sadler and John Garber, another Shriner, approached the schools to see if they would be willing to pack the lunches. “We did find out that there are three types of lunches that the school provides. That’s free, due to income, reduced, due to income, and full pay,” said Sadler.

Having the schools pack the lunches saved money for the club, Sadler said. Another benefit was food allergies. “[The schools] were well aware of what each class or each student needed, could or could not eat. So that actually made it a little safer.”

Another change with the schools packing the lunches is the buses go to the circus pre-loaded.

“Life goes on and things change all the time,” Harting said. “Let’s find a more efficient way to do it.”

“After we quit doing it with all of the lunches for the school kids… [we now] provide lunches for the police and ambulance driver, the wrecker, spare school bus, all those kind of drivers,” Harting said. Hal and his brother still drive the meals to the circus.