Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Third graders from all around Kosciusko County traveled to Fort Wayne to see the Mizpah Shrine Circus Friday.
And despite the fact that I was a third grader 15 years ago, I went too, thanks to a generous invitation from the Shriners.
I chose to ride with the Madison Elementary group, being a former Cardinal myself, sharing a seat with Joel Shilling and Michelle Pifer.
During the police-escorted trip, I asked the third graders I sat near to tell me what they were most looking forward to seeing at the circus.
Bridgette Leiter said the trip was her first to the circus and that she was excited to see the animals and the acrobats.
"Because I haven't been there a lot," Jacob Vetor told me about why he was excited to go. "I want to see the guy stick a sword down his throat!"
Tightrope walkers was what Christopher Courtois wanted to see most of all. He was just excited to go, though, because it was his first time to the circus, too.
Tigers were what Brittany Maull wanted to see - they're her favorite animals. Shilling agreed about seeing the tigers.
Pifer, however, said she had been to the circus before and she liked it. She wasn't sure what she wanted to see this year.
"I want to see all the animals!" Britni Mullins proclaimed.
The bus caravan was about a mile long and the elementary students kept themselves happy by singing songs such as "Children Go Where I Send Thee," talking and even playing patti-cake.
All the Madison students wore black sweaters with clowns painted on them that Leiter said they made themselves. The shirts glow in the dark.
Clowns were appropriate for the group as 40 of the 59 third graders at Madison dressed up as clowns Thursday.
At the circus, when the children weren't eating cotton candy, popcorn or nachos, or buying souvenirs, the Mizpah Shrine Circus kept them entertained.
There were acrobats, tigers, lions, clowns and tumbling acts. One of the heart-stopping heroics was The Flying Wallendas.
The Flying Wallendas performed on a high wire without a net. At one point, they made a four-person, three-tier pyramid.
On the return trip, when asked what the best part of the circus was, Leiter said it was the elephants, lions, tigers and The Flying Wallendas. Mullins and Pifer agreed.
Shilling enjoyed the circus because, "I got to see our shirts glow in the dark," but he also enjoyed the tightrope walkers. He knew they wouldn't fall, though.
Micah Aguilar enjoyed the tightrope walkers, too, and the best part about that was, "when those people were riding the bicycles across the tightrope."
The tightrope is something Eileen Corin said she would try. She said it looks fun.
"When the tigers jumped through the hoop of fire," Chris Cochran said as to what was the best part of the circus. He also was impressed with the tiger that stood on the disco ball as it spun and flashed all around the coliseum.
I almost felt like a nine-year- old again on the trip. Although I'm glad I'm not, I thank the Shriners for their hospitality as well as the Madison Elementary third graders and their teachers and principal.
The Shriners have been treating students to the circus for 50 years.
I know why.
I saw firsthand how much the kids enjoyed it.
