The Cashton Community Club has chosen John and Jacqueline Bertling as this year’s parade marshals for the 77th Annual Fall Festival.
“The Cashton Community Club would like to honor them for all of their years of commitment and involvement in making Cashton be a great place to live,” stated a press release from the club.
John and Jackie Bertling have made Cashton their home for over 45 years, and are still actively participating in the community. John currently serves as president of the Cashton Lions Club. His other commitments include being president of the Moen Cemetery board and vice president of their church council. In days gone by, John served on the school board for 21 years. Jackie spends her time volunteering at the Cashton Cupboard and Closet, while also being an election worker, treasurer of the church council, and also a Lions member. They have two children, John (Robin) and Kim, five grandchildren: Zachary, Rachel, Konnor, Remington and Ryder; and a great granddaughter, Nova.
“We do a lot, and we enjoy it, but she’s the ambitious one now,” said John. “I just get on the lawn mower and ride around.”
“Somebody’s gotta do it,” said Jackie.
John and Jackie were surprised by the honor of being named parade marshals for Cashton’s Fall Festival. To them, being involved in the community is the bare minimum that everyone should be doing.
“We thought ‘really? Why us?’” said John. “Jackie and I really have only been interested in supporting the community. It’s our community – let’s help it.”
“We truly feel it is a blessing to live in Cashton.” said John and Jackie in a press release from the Cashton Community Club. “We wish to thank the Community Club for selecting us to be the parade marshals for the 2024 Fall Fest parade, it is quite an honor.”
The Fall Fest parade takes place on Sunday, Sept. 8. Rumor has it that the Bertlings will be escorted by horse wagon.
Life, Lessons, and Lions
John grew up near the Immanuel Lutheran Church on a century-old farm that had been homesteaded by his great grandfather from Norway.Jackie moved to Cashton from La Crosse in 1974 and ran a tavern uptown, which is where she met John. John, a lifelong Cashtonite, had a lot to teach a city slicker like Jackie about farming.
“We ran a farm and a bar at the same time,” said John.
“Those hours don’t go well,” said Jackie, with a chuckle.
The two eventually got married in 1979, and have lived in a brick house on Green St., juggling life’s ups and downs ever since. There was one point in life that was extra hard for the Bertlings, a point where John wasn’t sure he’d even make it back home to Cashton.
In 1998, at the age of 57, John was informed by his cardiologist at Gundersen that they were sending him to UW-Madison for evaluation for a heart transplant.
“I’m in a bed [in Madison] with tubes and wires, and I see the surgeon talking to her, and hear him very distinctly say ‘he will not go home until he gets a new heart’” John recalled. “I didn’t know that at the time and I thought ‘ooh, that’s a new twist’.”
In April of that year he was admitted to the hospital and was not allowed to leave the hospital until he received his transplant on May 18, 1998 – John and Jackie’s 19th wedding anniversary.
“He was so sick, and at that time I had colon cancer,” said Jackie.
“It was a tough couple years to say the least, but we’ve been blessed – we’re still here,” said John. “We’re still here,” echoed Jackie.
The heart John received came from a 30-year-old man who had suffered a brain aneurysm. Since the transplant, John and Jackie have stayed in touch with the donor’s family. The Bertlings are still involved in the transplant support group and the Restoring Hope House in Middleton.
Before John got sick, the Bertlings operated a traveling food wagon at local events. Their first year at Wilton Wood Turtles days was a learning experience.
Thinking Saturday was the “big day”, John went down to Wilton on Friday and started setting up for the weekend. Event organizers came to check up on him and asked if he was all ready, to which he responded that he would be ready tomorrow. This is when John learned that the “big day” for Wilton Wood Turtle Days was Friday, which is when the fireworks happen.
“They said ‘tonight’s the big night’ – talk about panic.” said John.
“He comes rushing back home, I had just got done with work, and he’s like ‘We gotta go! We gotta set up!’” said Jackie. “It was fun, but we learned.”
These days, John and Jackie put their lessons learned to use and work together on events for the Cashton Lions Club. Their next big event is the ‘Stuff The Bus’ fundraiser on Aug. 17 at the Bank of Cashton. The Bertlings, along with the other Lions, will be serving up brats, hamburgers, and pork chop sandwiches.
John and Jackie have learned that every little bit helps. This lesson has led to the church they attend, Immanuel Lutheran Church, starting their own little fundraiser called “Feed My Children” which happens every first Sunday of the month. Members bring canned goods and the church matches the donation at $2 per item, in addition to whatever monies had landed in the offering plate that day.
“It’s not much,” said Jackie. “Every month it’s a little bit, but it adds up.”
“It adds up to help, is what it adds up to” said John. “Somebody gets to eat because of it”
Part of learning that lesson happened when John attended a ‘parade of checks’ that the Lions held at one of their district meetings.
“I’d come with a $500 check, or two $500 checks, and Tomah would come with a $5,000 and a $2,000 check,” said John. “And it was like ‘what am I here for?’”
Over time, those $500 checks added up. A Lions member reassured John that their gifts were just as helpful.
“Small gifts are important too, no matter what they are,” said John.
