Spring Valley ACTS

Remaining 2008 board meetings are scheduled for July 8, September 9, and November 11. All meetings begin at 7:00pm in the Concrete House at 4 East Main Street and are open to the public.

Spring has come and summer isn’t far behind; farmers are out in the fields, neighbors are out in the yards prepping for yard work, kids are outside playing later in the day and school is almost out; our High School Seniors are making ready for the embarkation on new adventures and Spring Valley ACTS is continuing to work on those things that make a little differences in the lives of those in the Spring Valley Community.

The Board of Directors has regretfully accepted Peggy Leadingham’s resignation from the Board. She will still be involved with the George Barrett Concrete House and the historical collection. We want to thank Peggy for her years of service and dedication. We have approached Carla Smith to fill the vacant position and she has accepted. Thank you Carla and we look forward to working with you on the Board.

We have also set up an exploratory group to look into bringing a scaled down version of the parade back to the Potato Festival. The parade had been eliminated last year due to concerns with the large vehicles, congestion in the parade route and the overall safety issues. The group believes that there are ways to have a parade, without the large vehicles, but with just as much excitement as in years past. We believe that we have a parade chair(s), but we could still use committee members to pull it off. If we can’t make a go of the scaled down parade this year, we will more than likely not have one in the future. Everyone loved the parade and wanted to see it come back, so your support will be crucial to having it this year and into the future.

There have been a couple of work parties to paint the interior of the GBCH and plans are being made to refresh the landscaping in Founder’s Park. We are looking at options and costs associated with reconstruction of the GB Carriage House. Larry DePasquale, a local scout, is planning on doing some work on the shutters for the GBCH as part of his Eagle Scout project.

The Easter Egg Hunt had to be held a week later do to a large amount of rain that made our park into a lake. Due to the date change and probably because of the weather, cool temperature and gusty winds, attendance was not what we have seen in past years. However, those kids that did show up had a great time. I believe that our Easter Bunny was the only one that was warm that day.

In an effort to promote education and growth in the community the Board is looking into the possibility of setting up a Scholarship Fund. We don’t have any details as of yet as we are just now looking into the subject. There are a lot of issues that need to be investigated--from who would be eligible, what criteria needs to be met, how much would be available, how many we could give. Still a lot of thought to be given on this subject before a recommendation can be presented to the Board.

Everyone has a lot on their plate these days and no one has been exempted from all of the cost increases in fuel, energy and groceries, just to hit the high notes. So as you can see we too, have a lot going on in ACTS programs and the majority of our funding comes from the Potato Festival and the related activities. With everyone feeling the pinch this year we could see a smaller turnout then in the past, resulting in limits to what we can do as an organization and for the community in general. Your support is always welcome and appreciated--we can always use more volunteers to help with the festival and other activities. We look forward to seeing you around and to your assistance in making this a grand year for our community.

1 E Walnut St Telephone & Fax 937- 862-4538

We will be closed May 23^rd-26^th for Memorial Day and July 4^th – 6^th for Independence Day.

Thank you to everyone who so promptly responded to our annual letter asking for donations. We genuinely appreciate the community’s support. We truly are a community library.

Summer Story Time will be held on Tuesdays beginning June 24^th and ending July 15^th. Please call or stop by the Library to register.

We continue to stay up-to-date with the bestsellers in Adult fiction. Some of the most recent are:

Certain Girls Jennifer Weiner The Appeal John Grisham Bait Karen Robards

The First Patient Michael Palmer Lady Killer Lisa Scottoline Dakota Martha Grimes

The Ten Year Nap Meg Wolitzer Charley’s Web Joy Fielding 7^th Heaven James Patterson

The Whole Truth David Baldacci Where are you now? Mary Higgins Clark

Secrets in the Shadows V.C. Andrews Skeleton at the Feast Chris Bohjalian

The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly: moments from Cincinnati Reds history Mike Shannon

Happy for no reason: 7 steps to being happy from the inside out Marci Shimoff

The Spiderwick Chronicles: Books 1, 2 & 3 Read all about it! How I survived Middle School Mr. Large in Charge

The Library will again be selling the Spring Valley Community Calendars. This was at one time a school project, so the calendars follow the traditional school year (will run from September 2008 through August 2009). The calendars show the meeting dates for the Village and Township councils and for all our local organizations, as well as the birthdays and anniversaries of your friends and neighbors. They also have display ads for many of our local businesses. The calendars are just $6.00 each and that includes up to 4 event listings. (Additional listings are just $.50 each.) We will be calling if you have purchased a calendar in the past. If you have not bought before, just give us a call at the Library to place your order now.

Phone - Parsonage 862-4322 or Church office 862-7691 Office hours: M - F 9am-12noon

Greetings to all in the name of Jesus! You are welcome to attend church events and we hope that you will have a great time.

Vacation Bible School is set for the week of June 9-13, 9:30am to noon, for children from preschool through 5th grade. This year's theme is "Beach Party!" All are welcome to attend. Are you beyond the 5th grade already? You can still enjoy VBS by serving as a teacher's aid or helping with activities. Carla Smith is coordinating the VBS this year and she would love to hear from you [862-4347]. You can also leave your name at the church office and we can see that she gets it.

Men's Appreciation Dinner! Save the Date: June 21! Dinner at 6:30, entertainment at 8 pm. The Men's Fellowship put on a tremendous Mother-Daughter Banquet in May and now it's our turn! (Or your turn, depending on how you look at it!) The Sisters in Faith invite all the men and their fathers, brothers, sons, nephews, cousins, friends, and neighbors for a fun evening. Tickets for the meal and entertainment are $8 each, ages 5 and under are free. You may choose to enjoy the entertainment only for a love offering of $5. Please RSVP by June 15th to Kay Teeters at 862-4264.

The church building is getting a new roof! Please use caution when parking near the building on days when the crew is on the roof, especially when they are removing the old material from the peaks. They have promised to be very careful and we should make an effort as well. We will need to hold several fund raising events throughout the year so please watch for these fun and exciting dates. Your ideas accepted gladly!

Our church choir is taking a break for the summer so if you or someone you know could provide Special Music for one Sunday, please call the church office and leave contact information. Guest musicians always make the worship hour extra special! We will post a sign-up sheet at the church office so anyone can see which dates are still open, or call and ask a secretary to check it for you.

Beginning in August, the Park District meetings will be held the 3^rd Thursday of each month--at the S.V. Fire House at 6:30pm as before. The public is always welcome.

Youth Softball begins the week after Memorial Day. Game time is 6:30pm at Walton Park every Tuesday and Thursday. Come cheer them on.

Fall Soccer sign-ups will be held at the park during the softball games. Contact Sherry Haines at 232-4086 for more information.

3rd Friday of each month - Song Fest @ 7:00pm 4th Saturday Night Church Service @ 7:00pm

Community Garage Sales

Friday & Saturday July 11 & 12, 2008 9am to 5pm

Please contact Mike & Dee McPherson if you would like to participate.

Phone: 937-862-5172 or email: svgaragesaledays@att.net

The Spring Valley Area Chamber of Commerce quarterly business dinner meeting will be August 6th at the George Barrett Cement House located at 4 E. Main St. in Spring Valley. Dinner will be at 6:00pm and our program will start at 6:45pm. This will be a carry-in dinner and the Chamber will provide the meat, drinks, and table service. Just bring something to share and put in a reservation by calling Judy Madden at 862-4110 or Pat Zehring at 862-6621.

Our program is going to be our 4th Mini Antique Road Show. Our expert will be Gloria Phillips and she comes highly recommended by Gene Foiles. We are asking that you bring one item per person for evaluation and remember these are going to be suggested values. This program is always a lot of fun.

Mark your calendar for the up-coming Spring Valley Potato Festival. It is October 4th and 5th and if anyone would like to help, please call Reed Madden at 862-4110.

Our next business meeting will be November 5th with our program to be announced later.

The Spring Valley Lions Club held its election of officers for the upcoming year. Sandy Smith was elected president, Kelly Jones was elected treasurer, and Jimmy Smith was elected secretary. The newly elected officers attended the 13J annual convention held at Fincastle, Ohio at the Southern State College where they received training to assist in their new positions. The food trailer has been at several functions throughout the village and township, and the club wants to thank everyone who has patronized the trailer services, thereby allowing us to fulfill our obligations where help is needed. The club collected over 500 pairs of glasses this last year. These are used to help the needy all over the world. We still have our collection boxes at the Spring Valley Senior Center and also at the Greene County Health Department. The club also has two members that are working with the Spring Valley Research book, and one member that is working with ACTS to have a non-motorized parade at the Potato Festival - but that is still in the works. The club is always open to new members, young and old - contact any club member for information. The club is also working on other types of fund raisers, so watch the paper or the Pump. Dave Jordan, President

THANK YOU for your support by attending the Annual Pancake Brunch; we raised over $1500 that will be used to sponsor Movie Nights this summer in the downtown park.

We haven't picked the movies yet, but put these dates on your calendar for a fun family evening. These nights are FREE and are at Bledsoe Park (downtown across from the Town Hall). There will be FREE cookies, popcorn, lemonade and even hotdogs. We hope to see you there. We will be posting information at the ball park, town hall, and gas station. We will also try to get the information on the Village and Fire Department websites.

We plan on having a CPR class this summer. Watch the message board in front of the Fire House.

We need VOLUNTEERS! The Fire Department is in need of people to volunteer to be Fire Fighters and EMTs. Stop by any Sunday morning or during the weekday to pick up an application and information. You must be 18 with a High School diploma or GED.

Having a volunteer Fire Department lets us use the levy money for great equipment and training and keeps the staffing costs to a minimum. Help us keep our community safe and spend some time with great people working together!

The Spring Valley Historical Society is publishing a “Memories of the Kitchen” cookbook! We are accepting your favorite family recipes, old or new. Notes or stories about the recipe may be included. We plan to have the cookbook ready for the Potato Festival. Deadline for submission is June 30.

To submit recipes, log on to www.typensave.com. Our group’s log-in is memorylane. The contributor password is z6e3f. This site has a user-friendly recipe entry form, which allows us to include notes about the recipe.

If you would like to submit pictures of cooks, families, or Spring Valley for inclusion in the cookbook, you may call me at 862-8665 to arrange this; or mail them to: Barb Fouke, 2429 Schnebly Rd., Spring Valley OH 45370-9706. Photos will be scanned and returned. A caption or names of the persons shown should be attached to the back with sticky notes (not paper clips, which may damage photos.) The Historical Society reserves the right to reproduce photos unless expressly requested otherwise, and the right to refuse submission.

We already have received some interesting recipes, old and new, and some great photos. This is your chance to get in on the fun! Feel free to call if you have any questions or suggestions.

Walking Tour – These excerpts from "A Self-Guided Walking Tour of Spring Valley", first published several years ago by the Historical Society, describe buildings 3 through 5 on the tour. We invite you to take a stroll through the village, look at the houses we describe, and enjoy our rich architectural heritage.

This 2-1/2-story frame building, adjacent to the bike path, boasts 4 entrances, serving the former dining room, public rooms, sleeping rooms, and owner’s quarters on the second floor. The principal entrance features a Greek revival columned door surround with scroll molding, sidelights and transom, and a small wrought iron balcony. The hotel livery, recently rebuilt, stands behind this building. The hotel served as a home base for drummers – regional traveling salesmen – who arrived by railroad and rented horses and buggies from the livery stable to make their rounds throughout the countryside.

This brick agricultural processing plant/warehouse stands next to the former railroad, south of the intersection of Main Street and the Bike Trail. The attic story of this gabled 2-story building was damaged by fire and replaced with wood. The building features segmental arched windows and an ornamental brickwork frieze band.

To the north along the Bike Trail, opposite the livery stable, stands a long 1-story storage barn. Built in the 1940s, the barn incorporates the remainder of the Woolen Mill, where George Barrett produced blankets and yarn from locally raised wool.

Meeting Date	Time and Place	Topic
June 30	7 P.M., Barrett Concrete House	Cookbook planning
July 21	7 P.M., Barrett Concrete House	“Tales and Lies about Life in Spring Valley,” a conversation with Grace Hartsock Maeder, one of Spring Valley’s longest residents
August l8	7 P.M., Barrett Concrete House	TBD