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Pie Car Manager, Glen Hunter, Interview

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Train

2009 Red Unit Circus Train Report and Photos from Anaheim and Ontario, CA, by Carl Morrison

Comments welcomed at Carl@TrainWeb.com


3. Glen Hunter, Pie Car Manager, Interview

IMG_7819.jpg  IMG_7817.jpg
Pie Car #44, in Anaheim.

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Since Red Unit Trainmaster, Mike Hickey, was on vacation while the unit was in Anaheim,  I scheduled an interview with him in Ontario, CA.  At the appointed interview time, he was 'tied up in traffic' retrieving the unit's water truck from Anaheim, where they had left it for repairs.  This Bio was available from Ringling.com:

Train Master

Highlights:


    * Mike Hickey has been with Ringling Bros. for 23 years.

    * Mike has built a career in circus logistics by doing it all. He started in maintenance, then props. Since 1998, he’s worked in transportation and was promoted from his job as assistant train master three and a half years ago.

    * Mike grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, helping his dad run a little carnival business – games and kiddy rides, mostly – that played small towns.


After 23 years with Ringling Bros.®, Train Master Mike Hickey can easily answer a question about the best part of the job. “I enjoy loading the train. I’m good at it. I like making everything fit.”

The worst part, he says, is unloading during rain or snow. One time, he says, the train got stuck on snowy tracks in the rail-yard flats of New York City.

Mike has built a career in circus logistics by doing it all. He started in maintenance, then props. Since 1998, he’s worked in transportation and was promoted from his job as assistant train master three and a half years ago.

“If you like something, you stay at it and then move through the ranks,” he says, matter-of-factly.

Mike grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, helping his dad run a little carnival business – games and kiddy rides, mostly – that played small towns.

A lifetime with The Greatest Show On Earth®, he says, has “taken me to places I wouldn’t have gone.”

Along the way, he says, “A lot of people will wave to you. Circus buffs, mostly.”

The 59-car train is a mile long, not counting its two 4000-HP locomotive engines. Because he lives on the train, Mike attends to its quirks every day. “There’s something to do every day.”

For fun, he rides a vehicle with equal thrill, if less horsepower: his motorcycle. Mike puts it more simply still. When he’s not running the train, Mike says he likes to spend time with his “dog, hog and girlfriend!”



I was, however, able to have a nice visit with Glenn Hunter, Food and Beverage Manager for Ringling.  We met in Car #44, the Pie Car, where he conducts business each day for the 200+ employees who live on the train.  Here is Glenn's Bio:



Highlights:


glenn.jpg·         Glenn oversees a staff of five that serves up to 300 people at a setting.

·         Glenn Hunter has a simple test for would-be circus chefs. “Come and cook me an egg,” he says. “It may sound simple to cook an egg, but can you do it when the train is moving?”

·         Glenn trained at the College of Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I.  He went on to serve in the U.S. Army’s Food Services division before joining Walt Disney World, where he managed a team of cooks for nearly 14 years.


Glenn Hunter
Pie Car Manager


Back for his second tour as Pie Car Manager for The Greatest Show On Earth®, Glenn Hunter has a simple test for would-be circus chefs. “Come and cook me an egg,” he says. “It may sound simple to cook an egg, but can you do it when the train is moving?”

Though his test involves breakfast, dinner is Glenn’s favorite meal because back home in upstate New York, it always brought people together. Now, he says “the Pie Car is the hub where everybody comes to meet. It’s the gathering place.”

Glenn oversees a staff of five that serves up to 300 people at a setting. “We try to accommodate special requests,” he says. More people ask for tofu these days, and once, somebody wanted octopus.

When the Ringling Bros. nears Philadelphia, Glenn serves Philly cheese-steak sandwiches and in Louisiana, jambalaya.  On days when the circus presents three performances, he fixes steak, chicken, pork, beef and sometimes, fish. “I’ve heard a million times, ‘You guys have got the best burgers in the world.’“

Even on the Pie Car Junior, his mobile kitchen, Glenn’s style is “simple, clean, fresh.” He once won a cooking competition for baking cordon bleu rolled in Frosted Flakes.

Glenn trained at the College of Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I.  He went on to serve in the U.S. Army’s Food Services division before joining Walt Disney World, where he managed a team of “awesome cooks” for nearly 14 years.

Watching the Travel Channel one day, Glenn saw a show about Ringling Bros. and learned that the circus was looking for cooks. That was two and a half years ago.

The hardest part of the job, he says, is helping suppliers find the circus train and ensuring they deliver high-quality foods.

Glenn’s favorite show is Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. And he dreams of one day going on the Rachel Ray Show.

But for now, Glenn enjoys touring the country by the Ringling Bros. train. “When I see smiles, I have a smile,” he says.

 


When we entered the Pie Car, Brian, who I had seen operating a fork lift slinging wheels under a car in the Amazing Train episode, was working on installing an antenna and cables to the two TVs in the car.  He welcomed us, provided soft drinks, and got on the radio to locate Glenn and Mike.

I was to have a half-hour interview with the Trainmaster and a half-hour interview with the Pie Car Manager, but with Mike not being able to make it, I had a great conversation with Glenn for nearly an hour.  It was like talking with an old friend.  He was congenial, informative, and well-liked by his Food Service Staff.  Since he had been told that my interview was to be on Friday (this was Tuesday), he apologized for not having his official work outfit on. 

Just to show what a caring manager he is, Glenn was just returning from the hospital where he had taken his Assistant, Patty Robichaud, for some attention to an injured foot.  He complimented his great staff, three cooks, plus Patty, and wanted to make sure they were mentioned in this report saying, "I always get the glory in these stories, but these guys are the ones who pull this off each and every day." 

The Pie Car Staff:  Patty Robichaud, Jon Montgomery, Ian Mills, Brian Danielski, and Alex Nock.

 In fact, when they were filming "The Amazing Train:  Circus Train," the scene in the kitchen where steaks were being cut, was not Glenn, but one of his cooks, "Uncle Jon."  Glenn said, "at the time I just told the crew to film Jon."  Actually, Glenn is not in the video to my knowledge.

I asked if the Pie Car was open 24/7 like Amazing Trains had said, since it was not open now except for us to use as an interview spot.  He said they were open 24 hrs. straight when they were on a 4-day run.  They stay open until 2 hours after the train has been spotted.  They usually open at 6 a.m. (but the cooks have to be there an hour before that).  That equates to opening 1 hour before the first bus goes to the arena and staying open for one hour after the last bus returns.   The next day after this interview, they plan 2 meals in the Pie Car since one rehearsal and one show are scheduled.  When there are two or more performances at the arena, "Pie Car, Jr.," a portable food service truck,  goes into action at the arena.  Staff are issued cards for meals at Pie Car, Jr. which include full meals or sandwiches and salads.  Lunch back at the Pie Car must still be served for those who stay on the train all the time, such as train maintenance crews, room attendants, etc.  The number of meals when the train is stable depends on the area where the train is parked.  In Anaheim, there were close restaurants to the train, and train residents like to explore the food options off the train.  In Ontario, however, commercial food is far from the train, so they will be serving more meals in the Pie Car.  Patty says most meals are about $4 or $5.

I asked what Glenn said was always asked of him, "How do you deal with all the international residents of this "Town on the Rails" as to their likes and dislikes in food.  He said that on this train the Chinese troop has a large kitchen and they tell him what food to order and they cook themselves.  Patty mentioned with a smile that the young people in the Chinese troop often come down and ask for food using sign language.  She then demonstrated flapping her arms which means chicken tenders, making a circle with their hands which means biscuits, etc.  She says they like American food

"How did you learn about this job," I asked.  Glenn said he credits Bello and watching a travel channel show about the Circus.  He has become friends with Bello who was with the Red Unit in the past.  Glenn says when they are in dire need for a cook because of illness of the staff or something, he checks locally for chefs and contacts local colleges with culinary arts programs for replacements.  If someone wanted to work on the train in food service or other capacities, they should contact: http://www.feldentertainment.com/opening.htm

The work-year for Glenn is one-month in Winter Quarters in Orlando's fair grounds the first year, and the 2nd winter is in Tampa for over 2 months, when they prepare a new show for tour.

One of the challenges is telling the food delivery drivers where the train is located.  Not so bad when they return to towns and use the same food venders, but this being the first time in Ontario, CA, it can be difficult.

Thanks, Glenn, for doing this impromptu interview even though your schedule said it was to be another day.


______

Next Page: 

Chapter 4:  Circus Teacher, "Tightrope Teacha Sara," a Circus Train Resident

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