8/22/2006 12:01:00 AM
Postcards from Van Wert County
Greetings from Venedocia
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| The picturesque Salem United Presbyterian Church is home to the annual Gymfanu Ganu, the village of Venedocia’s claim to fame. |
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BY ED GEBERT
Times Bulletin news writer
egebert@timesbulletin.com
Venedocia sits in the southeastern portion of Van Wert County, along State Route 116. Founded by Welsh immigrants, the village revels in its roots.
The town's sole remaining church, Salem United Presbyterian Church, was still conducting worship services in Welsh in the 1920s. "For over half of Salem Church's 150 year history, everything was done in Welsh," reported Rev. Wendy Pratt, the church's pastor for the past ten years.
On the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, Salem Church hosts Gymanfa Ganu (pronounced Guh-mah-fuh Gah-nee), a singing celebration that draws over 400 people to the tiny village. "It's a big thing for the village," Mayor Doug Ruen said. "People from Wales come over and it's really something to see. The bad thing is it conflicts with the Van Wert County Fair, so while it's a big draw for the village of Venedocia, in Van Wert County it gets overlooked and that's really a shame."
Likewise, in Welsh circles, Venedocia is well known, but locals don't seem to know much about the village. One of the council members, Charles Good, maintains one of the most informational websites for a small village anywhere at www.venedocia.org.
The main drag, Ohio 116, is not a heavily travelled road. Most of the few vehicles passing through town are locals. "It's pretty quiet," Ruen admitted. But for many people that's a big advantage over larger villages.
"We don't have much problem with traffic," he continued. "The state takes care of 116, so we don't have a lot of road repair to do." There are some side streets and a couple of potholes, though. Ruen stated that the community is in the midst of housing survey work to apply for a community development block grant. "The last thing we've done as far as street maintenance was probably 15 years ago. I'm anxious to get a grant so we can take care of these streets," Ruen said.
Venedocia isn't always quiet. The ballpark is busy from late May through early August. A playground sits between the outfield fence and the Lions Club Building, which also serves as Town Hall.
Some people know Venedocia from the Lions Club and the sausage sandwiches. Ruen noted, "Our Lions Club is very active. The club raises about $40,000 each year, which is then put back into the community. Then there is a benefit at Christmas time that the club puts a lot of money into. The Lions Club does a lot for the village, and vice-versa, the village does a lot for the Lions Club."
Even with the church, the ballpark, the playground and the Lions Club, Venedocia still seems like a very quiet village. Most working residents travel to Van Wert five days a week. School spirit is divided between Spencerville and Lincolnview as the dividing line between the two districts extends down Main Street. But town officials are working to make the community a better place to live.
"About seven years ago, our Clerk/Treasurer Jenny Pugh came up to me and asked me about why we didn't have a library in town," Ruen recalled. "We used to have a mobile library come around that was funded by the state, but they cut the funding for that program." Since then the town has been trying to raise money to build a library on a vacant lot. The lot is small, so the library will be as well. Ruen said that they are about halfway toward the goal, and that fundraising efforts will continue. The annual ice cream social on the last weekend of July was a fundraiser for the project.
"One thing about living in a small village like Venedocia is the people," the mayor pointed out. "When the tornado went through here in June, the neighbors all pulled together. One man had a tree fall on his house, but the neighbors all came together and helped him out. Most everybody pitches in pretty well." In a small town where everybody knows everybody else, everybody knows when to lend a helping hand.
That doesn't stop petty disputes from popping up, like a recent disturbance over a damaged sidewalk which was taken out by a homeowner and caused a ruckus for a few weeks. Things seem to have settled down now in this quiet village where sidewalks seem unnecessary with so few cars on the streets.
Ruen knows every village has a set of challenges set before it, and Venedocia is no different. "Right now our biggest challenge is looking at the situation with the Environmental Protection Agency regulations on water and sewage," he said. "They're cracking down on areas, and there will come a point someday when they're going to tell us we have to do certain things." Being ready for that possibility is no easy task. Venedocia has around 63 homes. The village has no common water supply or septic system. The costs for installing these things seems insurmountable.
According to Ruen, "That's part of the reason we've been applying for grants. We want to be ready. I've been trying to figure out how we could actually do it."
EPA suggestions of combining with Converse or Elgin aren't viable at this point because of the distance between the settlements and the tiny populations of each village.
The future for Venedocia remains uncertain. The 160 or so residents are a far cry from the population of 600 in the village's heyday. But for now, life remains quiet.
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