Dominico Venetucci, known to his friends as "Nick," was born July 23, 1911 in the community of Papetown, near Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was one of seven children of Nicholas and Marguerita Venetucci, immigrants from Italy. His father worked as a coal miner, with the family slowly saving enough money to purchase a small farm in 1936.
In 1933, at the age of 22, Venetucci began a baseball career in the New York Yankees organization. As a catcher he was moved from Class D to Class A in the minor leagues. Venetucci's career was interrupted when his family bought the farm in Security, Colorado, and Venetucci went home to work on the family farm.
In 1942, 800 acres (3.2 km2) of the Venetucci farm were sold to the U.S. Army for $10 an acre to assist in the establishment of Camp Carson. Only 210 acres (0.85 km2) were left in the family's hands after the sale.
The Venetucci pumpkin giveaways began in the 1950s. One day, Venetucci recalled, he was driving with a load of pumpkins and he just began stopping and giving away pumpkins to every child he saw. Later, children began stopping by his patch and receiving a free pumpkin on the site and a tradition was born. In all it is reckoned that more than 1 million pumpkins were given away by the Venetucci farm over half a century of Halloweens.
In 1950s Venetucci became known as "The Pumpkin Man" as he received national recognition for his benevolence. "The Pumpkin Man's" fame went national in 1985 with an article in The Readers Digest. He was also a subject of Charles Kuralt's 1985 book, On the Road with Charles Kuralt.
Venetucci's annual pumpkin giveaways started two weeks before Halloween. Teachers from area schools arranged pumpkin-gathering field trips to the Venetucci farm, with between 30,000 and 50,000 children participating in a typical year. Venetucci was on hand for the festivities until his final years, aided in the task by 10 to 12 local volunteers each day.
In 2002 there were no pumpkins on the Venetucci farm for the first time in 66 years, as drought conditions kept the 91 year old Nick Venetucci from planting. "I can't control the weather," Venetucci lamented. "With the drought, there was no way I could grow pumpkins. The ground was so hard I couldn't get a plow in it. It was so hot, even if I had planted, the pumpkins would have burned up." In 2003, Venetucci and his wife Bambi contacted the Pikes Peak Community Foundation and arranged for the philanthropic group to take over the farm, leasing it to the organization for 99 years. The foundation began to plant the farm again, growing corn and pumpkins, and relaunching the area's beloved pumpkin giveaway. Efforts have been made to grant the Venetucci farm a special conservation easement to ensure the survival of the pumpkin giveaway into the future. Venetucci is memorialized with a statue in Colorado Springs on the site of the local Pioneer Museum. The work is installed in a large flower bed in which pumpkin plants are grown each year. The $100,000 statue was funded by millions of pennies collected for the project by area schoolchildren.
In 1933, at the age of 22, Venetucci began a baseball career in the New York Yankees organization. As a catcher he was moved from Class D to Class A in the minor leagues. Venetucci's career was interrupted when his family bought the farm in Security, Colorado, and Venetucci went home to work on the family farm.
In 1942, 800 acres (3.2 km2) of the Venetucci farm were sold to the U.S. Army for $10 an acre to assist in the establishment of Camp Carson. Only 210 acres (0.85 km2) were left in the family's hands after the sale.
 Halloween Pumpkin Carving |  Pumpkin colouring pages - free |  Halloween Pumpkin coloring |  Free Halloween Color Pages Pic |  Click the Pumpkin 2 coloring |
 Halloween Coloring Pages |  Print this free pumpkin |  pumpkin coloring page |  Example of this free Halloween |  Free Halloween Coloring Page |
Venetucci's annual pumpkin giveaways started two weeks before Halloween. Teachers from area schools arranged pumpkin-gathering field trips to the Venetucci farm, with between 30,000 and 50,000 children participating in a typical year. Venetucci was on hand for the festivities until his final years, aided in the task by 10 to 12 local volunteers each day.
 Disney Halloween Coloring |  Pumpkin Coloring Page: a cute |  pumpkin coloring page |  Pumpkin Coloring Pages |  back to pooh coloring pages |
 Free Halloween Pumpkins |  happy pumpkin coloring page |  Pumpkin 2 |  Print this free pumpkin |  Pumpkin colouring pages - free |
No comments:
Post a Comment