A new look for the new normal

A dream a long time in the making came true last week when members of the Wittenberg Lions Club took delivery of their new custom-made cheese curd stand.

Early this year, the group voted to make the investment to purchase a new cheese curd stand to replace the one that has served them well for the past 35 years. Originally constructed by Gus Weller and the late Dick Ollman and Dwayne Wruck, the old unit is no longer being accepted by a lot of the venues they serve.

“Our original unit was becoming obsolete,” said Dale Hartleben. “The locations where we set up now require self-contained units, and our wastewater was collected on the outside of the unit.”

Hartleben explained that the new trailer is custom made for them and up to code. It was built by Freedom Trailers Inc., in Georgia. All they do is build food service trailers, said Hartleben.

Probably the favorite feature is the air conditioning. Roger Wendler noted that the days could get pretty long working in a small unit, with hot fryers going all day long during their events.

“We won’t need to use as much deodorant,” said Wendler.

This group of Lions is known for sharing a good sense of humor. Weller, former owner of Gus and Ann’s restaurant, most likely knew the most about food preparation and service, but still said that, “I was just kind of in the way” regarding any supervisory skills.

The Lions raise money to fund scholarships and work on special projects that help community members. This year, COVID-19 has taken its toll on their ability to give back to the community.

In April, they had to cancel their annual pancake breakfast, and there was no Brunch on the Farm event in June; Wittenberg Community Days, the Iola Car Show and the WB FFA Alumni Corn Roast were all canceled events that will hurt their bottom line this year.

Giving away scholarship money has been a tradition for over 38 years, starting with the first $150 gift they gave to one student. That amount and number of recipients has grown over the years and, according to Rollie Hendrikson, the last few years they have given away as many as six $1,000 scholarships in a year. It was a hard blow to only be able to offer one $1,000 scholarship this year, said Hendrikson. He acknowledged that this will be a rebuilding year for them, and the new cheese curd stand is a part of that plan.

The Lions are eager to find venues where they can sell curds to make up for the events already canceled. Tavern Front in Wittenberg has booked the club to sell curds at the Crab Fest the business is hosting Aug. 14. Hendrikson is hopeful they can start booking more events now that a lot of the pandemic restrictions have been lifted.

The old cheese curd stand is for sale and, although it’s not usable as a traveling stand, it could be used at a permanent location, like a church or a campground, said Hartleben. The Lions hope to sell the old one for $7,000 or best offer.

Hartleben and his wife, Meg, drove their truck to Georgia to bring back the new trailer and were mindful about not staying too long in places where the coronavirus might be active. They averaged about 800 miles a day.

“We left Wittenberg at 6 a.m. on Monday and were back by 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, spending a night in a hotel in each direction,” Dale Hartleben said. “We didn’t want to pick up any exposure to COVID-19. All we picked up were peaches.”

The Lions are always looking for new members, male or female, to join their group. If you’re looking for a reason why, longtime Richard Hansen summed it up best: “They sacrifice a lot of their time for the benefit of others.” That, for him, is a good reason to be a part of the organization.

mnelson@newmedia-wi.com