Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Our Father's House served sausages and sauerkraut and mashed potatoes and corn for lunch Thursday.
A variety of beverages plus apple pie or pumpkin pie were provided for dessert.
The meal was free as it is every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday in the Jerome R. Kralis Memorial Dining Room at 401 Argonne Road, Warsaw. Three Grace College students provided service.
Our Father's House Executive Director Roz Morgan couldn't provide the free meals, an average of 1,000 per month, without an eye for low-cost foodstuffs and donations.
One supporter of the charity's kitchen is the Bibler Family Charitable Trust.
The trust allots $10,000 to Our Father's House meal programs each year, paid on a monthly basis.
"They make the difference between protein with each meal or not protein," Morgan said.
Established in 1994, the trust is managed by the Personal Asset Management Group of 1st Source Bank.
"All my life I was taught to invest and save money," said trustee Bill Bibler. "If we would have given it away in a big splash, it would all be gone."
Since its inception the trust has granted $297,129 to charitable organizations in Kosciusko County.
Grants for 2006 include the Pierceton Senior Center, $1,000; Warsaw Evangelical Presby Preschool, $1,000; Boy Scouts Troop 715, $2,000; Intercomm, $1,000 for use in their overseas film ministry; Special Olympics, S2,000; Pierceton Presbyterian Church, $3,629 for remodeling and repairs; Pierceton Presbyterian Preschool, $2,000; Pierceton food pantry, $2,000; Pierceton skate park project, $1,000; Warsaw Community High School, $500 for the nontraditional opportunities seminar for young women; and to the Winona Lake fire department, $1,000 toward the purchase of a "Jaws of Life" apparatus.
Bill and Jean Bibler have been married for 52 years. They met in Orlando, Fla., on New Year's Eve.
The couple have three children: two daughters, Shari Skaggs and Sandy Bibler; and a son, William R. A third daughter, Kathy, was killed in an automobile accident years ago.
All of the family members are trustees of the fund, guaranteeing its future as a charitable organization.
Bill is a general partner and land developer, responsible for constructing hundreds of buildings in Kosciusko County along with projects in Florida and Michigan.
For more information about the trust, call John Elliott at 1st Source Bank, 574-268-1207.
