Members of the committee which brought the Veregin Hall back to life are in fundraiser mode on a year-round basis.
Many dozens of perogies are made, packaged and sold every month to raise funds for maintenance and restoration of the Hall, all with the help of willing volunteers, said Nadia Reibin, chair of the Veregin New Horizons Committee.
Starting in 2015 the group decided to save the Veregin Hall from further disrepair, formed a committee and began fundraising.
A “To Do” board was erected in the Hall and items are being steadily crossed off as the committee continues to work on projects such as windows, plumbing, electrical, painting and this summer, a new exterior of stucco and paint, said Wendy Chernoff, committee vice-chair.
The perogies are made regularly and it is a three-day process: day one is for prepping dough and fillings; day two is for “pinching” where the dough is cut into rounds, filled with one of four fillings, and pinched closed, and day three is for packaging all the frozen perogies into bags of five dozen.
“We use fillings of potato-cheddar, potato-onion, sauerkraut and cottage cheese,” Chernoff said. “We find it hard to keep up with customer demand sometimes because we depend on volunteer labour. We are fortunate to have volunteers come from Canora and Kamsack on pinching day.”
There are usually eight volunteers on day one, but 16 to 20 on day two for pinching. Packing is usually eight again.
“We are always looking for volunteers, so if anyone would like to help out just give us a call,” Chernoff said. “This spring the men volunteers planted a large plot of potatoes for us and they set up for the lunch for the women on perogy pinching day.”
“Our two other main fundraisers are a ham and perogy supper in January and a shishliki supper in April. We time these events so they don’t conflict with other events and we usually sell out quickly,” she said.
Built in the early 1900s, the Hall was in a state of disrepair when the committee took it over in 2015.
“The committee and volunteers just had to do something with this building because we saw potential. There are two components to the building now: the Hall and kitchen and the New Horizon Centre coffee shop, and each section can be rented individually or altogether for larger events,” Chernoff said.
The Hall seats 120 at capacity, and 60 in the coffee shop side.
“There was no ceiling at all in the kitchen area back in 2015, just to give you an idea of what we had to work with,” Chernoff said. “So we started, and this is what we have accomplished so far.
The men open the coffee shop at 7 a.m., six days a week and it fills up with the morning coffee crowd, Chernoff said. “We’ve held birthday parties in the coffee shop at 8 a.m. Where else can you do that?”
In the Hall, at the head of neat rows of tables and chairs, stands the dough roller, a stainless steel piece of mechanical equipment purchased with a donation that helps make dough preparation efficient and is a labour saver.
The dough cutter, also purchased with a donation, is a time saver for the group which needs to maximize labour and time for their fundraising venture, as the volunteers average over 200 dozen perogies for each batch made.
“We have come a long way since the days when we used a tin can to cut and a rolling pin to roll,” said Chernoff.
The kitchen is now equipped with a commercial dishwasher and the facility can be rented for events and functions such as elections, flu clinics, meetings and showers to name a few.
Work on the building is ongoing and the floor will likely be the next project the committee will tackle, it was said. The exterior was given a facelift earlier in the summer, with new stucco and paint. Chernoff built some large, wooden planters to sit in front and the name, Palace Gardens, has been restored on the Hall, much to the satisfaction of the community.
“That was the original name of the Hall and we couldn’t be happier to have it displayed once again,” it was said.
Donations and grants have played a large part in having the renovation work accomplished. The committee has started a donor wall to acknowledge donations received over a certain limit.
One more wall figures prominently in the coffee shop. The wall is covered with calendars donated for display by Sid Reilkoff of Kamsack and each calendar is from a past business in Veregin, from 1944 to 1981.
Anyone wishing to find out more information or to rent the Hall may contact Chernoff.
