BLOOMSBURG, COLUMBIA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)— Tragedy strikes the vendor community at the Bloomsburg Fair after one collapsed while on the job.
A vendor has died. He was preparing food earlier this week when he collapsed.
28/22 News Reporter Connor Coar has the latest with details on his passing and how the community is rallying around the surviving family.
69-year-old John Barnhart collapsed while preparing food on Monday. Shortly afterwards, his stand, Irene's Caboose, closed.
That's when the fair community around them came running to help.
"They are certainly in our thoughts and prayers for the family because it is a devastating time," one customer stated.
This is just the second year Barnhart and his son, also named John, have brought their food truck to the Bloomsburg Fair.
They had been running this small business for the last five years.
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When the Caboose closed early on Monday, surrounding vendors split up their 1,300 pounds of frozen food to put in their own freezers to prevent it from going bad.
Barnhart's son was preparing to close the stand for the rest of the fair, but after listening to those around him, he decided that opening it for two of the next four days was what his father would have wanted.
"It is very humbling to see these people. I can't describe the feeling. My dad would be so ecstatic about it," John told 28/22 News.
John could not be more humbled to be a part of a community that has lifted him and his family during this time.
One customer, who spoke with 28/22 News, made it a point to go there not only for the good food but also to support the vendor.
"I didn't even see the GoFundMe, but that's good to know now. That's just amazing; everyone just rallied around them for that. Now we are here trying to support still," Allison Brady, a customer, explained.
The Caboose opened on Wednesday at 12:00 p.m. to people who started lining up an hour earlier.
Irene's Caboose will be closed on Thursday and Friday for the funeral services, but will reopen on Saturday for the final day of the Bloomsburg Fair.
"I am completely humbled. Makes me feel like my dad's spirit is here. It's pretty awesome," Barnhart expressed.
A GoFundMe page has been started to cover funeral expenses.
As of Wednesday evening, the GoFundMe has raised almost $6,000. One man donated $1,000 to the page.
