Leaders want to save Pilsen Center
Fundraiser is Sunday
Managing editor
If the walls of the Pilsen Community Center could talk, what a tale it could tell.
Children’s voices used to echo through the halls of the former school building. When the school closed and a group of shareholders took on the task of making it a community center, it became a popular place for wedding dances and other celebrations — with polka music and laughter wafting through the rafters.
These days, the building is quiet — setting empty most of the time.
“There just aren’t as many activities as in the past,” secretary and shareholder Lavada Holub said Monday.
With the decline of the necessary revenue to keep the building open, a fundraiser is planned 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday at the center. A ham and roast beef dinner will be served with a salad bar and desserts for a $10 donation.
The building has been a part of the Pilsen community since 1956. When the building was no longer used as a school, the school district sold it for $1 to community leaders who wanted it to be available to the community.
Holub said there has been so much interest in preserving the facility that there were approximately 140 stockholders. Some have died or moved away but the remaining investors continue to support the building.
One reason Holub believes it’s not as popular as newer and more modern facilities is that the building is not air-conditioned.
“We’ve missed out because of that,” she said. “There really aren’t any other issues with the building.”
The cost to rent the facility isn’t a deterrent at $100 for the entire building, which includes a large ballroom (former gymnasium), dining room and kitchen, and numerous smaller rooms (former classrooms). The dining room and kitchen are available for $35 per event.
Holub’s son, Tom Holub, is chairman of the community center board with Lori Sklenar serving as treasurer and David Oborny as a board member.
Lavada Holub is persistent in wanting to keep the building open and available to those wanting to have an event in Pilsen.
“Keeping this building going is important to the Pilsen community,” Holub said. “We hope we can raise enough money Sunday to do that. If we don’t, we’ll keep having fundraisers until we have enough.”