The rebounding of a community
By Barb Tines
PCCFF Member
The Perkins County Community Foundation Fund (PCCFF) has been helping the communities in Perkins County to live on and thrive. The local Fund is assisting Perkins County keep what we have and give us an opportunity to dream what we could have.
Unfortunately, for the communities in Perkins County, their past successes and growth have been overtaken by events beyond their control resulting in decline. Grocery stores, schools, and now a nursing home in Grant have closed.
This is not unique to Perkins County. My grandparents lived in a community in Nebraska that was thriving when they bought their farm home in the 1920s. This community had a grocery store, school, churches, bank, blacksmith shop, depot, post office, and railroad. The railroad shut down and the community declined one entity at a time. There is nothing there today except a few homes. The name of the town is barely known. My grandparents told me about changes to their town, but then it began eerily happening to Venango where I resided.
When my husband, Tom, and I moved to Venango in 1979, the community had a grocery store, school, lumber yard, bank, full-time post office, bar, churches, filling station and locally owned grain facilities. It still has some of those things, but now there is no grocery store, school, bank, filling station or lumber yard. We watched the entities close or shrink one by one. The community is grateful for what it has, but now it has to depend on other communities to survive.
The Perkins County Community Foundation Fund has helped the Village of Venango with financial support for taking down the school field lights that were becoming dangerous. It has helped fund dumpsters to help clean up the community. Last week, a commercial play set for the park was assembled with financial support of the PCCFF and lots of volunteers. That’s a dream Venango has had for many years.
Our greatest asset is our local residents, always willing to help out. The local Community Foundation Fund is helping communities in Perkins County with what is needed. Above all, it is trying to inspire residents of Venango and Perkins County of what the future could be.
The author is member of the Fund Advisory Committee of the Perkins County Community Foundation Fund. The PCCFF maintains an endowment fund to support projects that provide community impact. PCCFF has a vision of “promoting vibrant communities and a high quality of life” for the County. Government and nonprofit entities can apply for grant funding from the Fund. Contact Treasurer Michelle Ross at 308-882-8469 or michelle.ross@pinnbank.com.