Chairperson.“ He would spread green sawdust with oil and then sweep it up.”
“ If you were really good in class, you got to take the chalkboard erasers out back and clap them together to get all of the dust off,” chuckles Marian.“ It was definitely a reward to look forward to.”
Rose Marie( Telban) Leslie recalls that the school was warm and cozy with the coal furnace heating the building in the winter months. Leslie attended Venetia School from first through eighth grade and is now a member of the VHS Executive Board. Some of her fondest memories of attending Venetia School include the festivities that took place around each holiday.“ On Valentine’ s Day we each made a large box decorated with crepe paper that we would put our cards into for our fellow classmates, and on Halloween we wore costumes, ate cookies and doughnuts and drank apple cider. At Christmastime, we painted the windows each year with Christmas trees, wreaths, candles and more,” says Leslie.
“ The Christmas pageant held on the stage each year was also fun!” adds Marian.“ The event was filled with beautiful music and costumes.”
Students of Venetia School studied a rigorous curriculum.“ In literature class, we memorized“ The Gettysburg Address,”“ The Song of Hiawatha,”“ The Village Blacksmith” and“ Trees” by Joyce Kilmer,” says Leslie.“ We would be called upon by the teacher to recite them in front of the class.”
“ The education at Venetia School was great,” says Erma Grego, who attended the original McMurray Elementary School and is in charge of VHS’ membership.“ I hate to admit it, but when the Venetia School students came over to the high school, they were further ahead in their studies.”
In 1964 the Venetia School went through an extensive renovation. The architects were Thomas C. Pratt and Associates and the drawings, dated July 15, 1964, and were titled,“ Alterations to Venetia School.” The most extensive changes were made to the basement and included the removal of the coal fired, warm air heating system that was replaced with electric heat throughout the building; the installation of a 480- volt, 3-phase electrical system that
Did you know?
Venetia Elementary School’ s bell was rung in 1993 to commemorate the school’ s official closing. When Bower Hill Elementary School was built, the bell found its new home. Bower Hill Elementary was the first school built on the east side of Peters Township since Venetia Elementary School. Longtime PT resident Erma Grego, who attended the original Bower Hill Schoolhouse, rang the bell to open the new Bower Hill Elementary School in 1999.
was used to power the electric heating units; redesigned student restrooms; a new faculty restroom; a new teacher’ s lounge; a cafeteria / multipurpose room; and additional storage areas.
“ The drawings show an existing kitchen,” says C. Sphar.“ This implies that a cafeteria existed at the time of the remodel— perhaps it had been built some time in the school’ s first 30 years— and was not changed during renovations.”
Other renovations included the removal of heating ducts in the principal’ s office, nurse ' s mezzanine and stairwells that were replaced with electrical heating units. On the second floor, the former auditorium was
VHS Executive Board Chairperson: Clayton Sphar Secretary: Marian Sphar Interim Treasurer: Clayton Sphar Membership: Erma Grego Website / ECommunications: Toni Sulkowski DARE Model RR Program: David Stanton
James Obringer Susan Earley Jim Leslie Rose Leslie Ken Jurick Rev. Richard Roberts Kevin Luster
divided into two classrooms following the removal of the stage. One of these rooms was used as a library.
“ Venetia School was not only a great place to learn, but it was a great place to play,” says Toni Sulkowski, VHS Website and ECommunications manager. Sulkowski not only attended Venetia School from 1963 to 1964 just prior to the building’ s renovations, but later returned to Venetia School to teach third grade from 1989 to 1990. She then took over as principal of the kindergarten through third grade students who attended Venetia School from 1990 to 1993.“ The school had about 165 kids then, and I can still recall my principal’ s office on the third floor,” she smiles.
Venetia School officially closed in June of 1993. The Venetia Heritage Society was formed in 1997 to preserve the Venetia Elementary School. In the mid 1990’ s, the school was purchased by the Venetia Heritage Society from the Peters Township School District and is now known as the Venetia Community Center. VHS is a 501c nonprofit organization and operates under an Executive Board that helps to oversee the daily operations of the Venetia Community Center. The Center serves as a meeting place for various nonprofit organizations including the DARE Model Railroad Group, Girl Scouts, The Peters Township Rowing Club and the Area Council on Aging.
Since the building was purchased by VHS, the group has repainted the rooms, added adaptations for handicapped accessibility and made several renovations and repairs including a new kitchen, fire alarm system, carpeting, roof, plumbing and electrical upgrades, attic insulation, new floors in the classrooms and new outdoor lighting.
“ There are not many older structures that remain in Peters Township,” says Sulkowski.“ Venetia School was the only school that served the eastern part of the Township until Bower Hill Elementary was built in 1999. The actual building has not changed in size and the original brickwork and windows are still intact. The Venetia School building truly provides a glimpse into the architecture and educational system of the mid-20th century.”
The Venetia Heritage Society is always looking for people interested in historic preservation to help with fundraisers, awareness programs and to help meet VHS Board goals. The VHS Executive Board meets on the second Tuesday of every month at the Venetia Community Center at 2:30 p. m.
For more information, to join or to become involved, visit venetiaheritagesociety. org. ■
Peters Township | October / November 2016 | icmags. com 59