By Shari Benyousky
Guest Columnist

Column Note: In the 61st column in the Diners and Dives series, a small group of Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club members explore downtown Warsaw.

I’ve heard the place affectionately referred to as Mad Anthony’s, Mad’s, the Mad Anthony’s Lake City Tap House, or simply MA’s.

Downtown Warsaw wouldn’t be complete without the restaurant which always seems to be open even in the middle of the afternoon and on Sundays. Located at 113 E. Center St., the three-story building decorated with paintings of local legends like gun-rustling gangster John Dillinger was long ago owned by the Eagles and then Senger’s Department Store.

Mad’s is famous for Scooby Snacks, giant potato wedges seasoned with a crab seasoning and served with an addictive dip.

Other customers swear by the Deep-Dish pizzas including “The Politician” or the “Soon to be Famous.” If you’re drinking one of their handcrafted ales or drafts, snack on the cheese curds or Scotch eggs.

Legendary bartender Leslie Masterson, who knows her clients’ favorite drinks and how they like them, greeted me from behind the gorgeous black slate bar. After a little cajoling, she and the rest of the lunch gang posed for a picture. Thanks guys.

The DD Regulars Are Confused

The Diners and Dives regulars gathered in the Mad’s banquet room for an unusual lunch. Usually, we have a few guests while we munch, but this lunch featured eight. The guests tentatively filtered in and took seats around the square table, not sure what they were getting into. The DD regulars also looked unsure, although prominent 1st Source Banker Paul Finley gamely shook everyone’s hands.

We ordered from waitress Nikki who brought in a tray of water glasses with lemon, and competently handled the orders of a dozen people by herself. I ordered Mad’s House Salad with rice and beans and a cornbread muffin. Guest John Warren ordered the Sante Fe Chicken Salad with black bean corn salsa.

Who Are The Guests?

Now that food was coming, I welcomed everyone to Diners and Dives. This lunch also functioned as the brainstorming meeting of the newly formed Indiana members-at-large of the League of Women Voters. The LWV has existed locally on and off through the years, even running non-partisan debates. I introduced the reason we had re-emerged — local LWV founding member Crossroads Bank Senior Vice President John Warren.

“I’m here because John Warren made me come,” joked another driving force for the project, Attorney Antony Garza as he munched on his crunchy chicken tenders. Garza continued, “Seriously, vast parts of our local population aren’t represented, admittedly by their own choice. But it’s important to have a non-partisan dialogue.”

There was good-natured ribbing about whether Diners and Dives or the LWV was more important to society. “Frankly, I’m here because I always eat lunch somewhere interesting with my friends on Fridays,” Realtor Jeff Owens volunteered. The other regulars looked around the square table and nodded vigorously, wondering what the heck the LWV even was.

“I feel a little hoodwinked, to be honest,” Orthopedic Consultant Kris Williams laughed. “League of Women Voters?” To be fair, more than half the people around the table weren’t women at all. What gives?

What The Heck Is The LWV?

“Look,” Realtor Jeff Owens picked up his gooey grilled Cuban. “Why isn’t the name In League with Women Voters or something like that instead of just League of Women Voters?” The name is confusing.

“Shari asked me to explain the LWV history.” John Warren speared avocado slices from his salad as he answered the question.

“The League began in 1920 after women were first given the right to vote.” Warren reminded us that the organization was started as a “mighty political experiment” as 20 million women suddenly had new responsibilities as voters and needed to know how to do them. The League aimed to show these brand-new voters how to register to vote, learn about the candidates and engage in their civic duties. These are still the goals of the non-partisan organization today.

In May of 1974, men were allowed to join the WLV which means men and women have been engaged together in the same goals for more than 50 years. Yes, Kris Williams, both men and women.

How Many People In Kosciusko Vote?

Former Chamber Woman of the Year and EnPak CEO Marlene Betances waved one of her crunchy waffle fries to emphasize her point. “Voter education is important, so people know whom to hold accountable too. It provides context to our community.”

Cheryl Hastings held a piece of Greek unwrap with olives. “My interest is in educating voters about all candidates. Not knowing drives not participating.”

“Our county election board under Clerk Ann Torphy is excellent,” Warren was quick to acknowledge. “They have made voting convenient. But our election turnout is usually very poor.” By the way, Kosciusko is now a Voting Center County which means if you’re registered, you can vote in any of the voting centers listed here.

Retired Meteorologist Mike Lewis and his wife Carol listened. Mike frowned. “It is discouraging to see the poor turnout in elections. The huge chunk who didn’t come at all.” Even in the biggest race of all, the presidential race in 2020, only 66% of registered voters in Kosciusko County voted. In real numbers, now in 2024, we have 52,900 registered voters.

Citizens have until Oct. 7 to register for the November presidential election. Do you want to register, check the address of your registration, or get your questions about voting answered? Find a League of Women Voter member at local events or go online here.

Where Are The Young People?

Former Councilwoman and CEO of Black Pine Animal Sanctuary Letricia Nicols scooted into a chair between meetings. She nodded. “Another issue is that the direction of politics interests just the older generations. We need young people to have the pulse of the community too.” She gestured around the table at the older people represented. “My kids think their vote doesn’t count.”

“Hey! Hey!” Realtor Jeff Owens put down his side of cottage cheese to take umbrage at being called older.

Dave Phelps, CEO of Orange Marketing Group had also arrived after a meeting to learn, but he wasn’t ready to make any commitments. He grinned at the waitress. “Can I just order some chicken tenders, so I don’t have to talk yet?”

Local Professor Mark Norris from Grace College was also present. Norris coaches the Grace International Mediation Team which attends competitions for the best peaceful resolutions to problems. I asked how his students thought about politics these days.

He believes they would be interested in participating in a voter registration drive. “Especially if there’s free food,” he laughed.

“Students at Grace are ministry-focused. They would respond to something as part of a class.”

Carol Lewis smiled at that. “That’s nice to hear,” she said. “Most of us are too busy to get involved. We are all malaised-out of normal stuff that we grew up with.”

Information About Joining

Banker John Warren ended our LWV brainstorming with: “We need bodies.”

Trish Brown agreed that LWV presence might help those 30/40 somethings “tip their toes in the water.”

Realtor Jeff Owens, representing the Diners and Dives portion of the crowd, felt that although the LWV would help “our civic duty to vote regardless of affiliation,” the organization needed more pizzaz.

Banker Paul Finley suggested Jeff could wear a cape to events. “You can represent Wonder Woman,” he suggested.

If you’d like to join the local LWV or find out how to get a Diners and Dives T-shirt, send an email to Shari at the location below.

The next LWV meeting for more details about events and voter registration will be at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 18.

If you’d like some of those luscious Scooby Snacks, a great pizza, or a perfect drink, head over to the Mad Anthony Tap House and tell them we said hi.

Do you know of an interesting place, restaurant, nonprofit, or person that you’d like to see featured in Diners and Dives? Send Shari Benyousky an email at [email protected].