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