Long-time Dresden mayor passes gavel

DRESDEN -- Bob Lane has witnessed a lot of changes in his 20 years as mayor of the village of Dresden.

But his almost 40 years of public service comes to an end this week when he walks away from his desk and gavel for the last time.

Dave Mathew, who was appointed to the council in 2006 then won a four-year term in 2007, ran unopposed in the November election and will take the reins next week.

From the decreasing role Longaberger has played to a revival of community spirit spearheaded by civic leaders like Kenny Wolford and the Dresden Village Association, Lane has kept a steady hand on the wheel through good and bad times.

"I was on council before. I think the plaque I got says 36 years, eight months total," said the 78-year-old Lane. "I've seen this place as a small farming community, and then Longaberger came and it changed the whole atmosphere of this town."

At one time, Longaberger employed thousands at its manufacturing business just off Main Street, and the village saw its tax revenue grow to $450,000 annually.

"We had seven grocery stores in town at one time, we had both an A&P and a Kroger," Lane recalled. "There were 100 buses a day coming here because of Longaberger. We went from a little poor town to a gold mine town."

Lane said most of the credit goes to Dave Longaberger, who grew his small hand-crafted basket business into a giant and then built a health and fitness facility, a senior center and a community pool to take care of employees and their families.

"Dave came to council and said we needed new sidewalks on Main Street. Before we made a decision, concrete was being poured," Lane said. "Dave had come to me and asked if it was OK. So I'm at a council meeting and I get asked about why the concrete is going in on the one side of Main Street, and I looked around like I didn't know what they were talking about. I figured if the concrete was down; it's kind of hard to take it back out."

Memories like that bring a mischievous grin to Lane's lined features but are tempered by sad circumstances during the years that he feels brought the community closer together.

"Longaberger leaving was a challenge, and it's still a challenge. We lost $200,000 in tax revenue when they left. You roll with the punches, but it's been a very hard roll. We thrived on Longaberger and the village really died with it," Lane explained. "And having three stores burn down. We still don't have a grocery store here in town."

He also mentioned the deaths of Dave Longaberger and Wolford, as well as the loss of Sgt. Bradley Harper, a Dresden native and U.S. Marine who was killed along with 13 others by an explosive device near Haditha, Iraq, in 2005.

"When Brad Harper's body was brought home, I was there to get him in Columbus, and the whole town turned out for that, that's a night I will never forget," Lane recalled.

But there are positives as Lane gives way to Mathew.

Efforts have been under way for some time to try to find a new business to take over the old Longaberger building.

Tour buses and visitors, although not at the levels once seen, still come to worship in all things Longaberger. The Tri-Valley Schools have grown and planning continues for a new housing development, Bedford Place, on the village's north side.

"We're still in business for tourism, we have a lot of wonderful shop owners," said the 54-year-old Mathew, who comes to office with some pedigree of his own. His father, Bob Mathew, served on the village council for 36 years. "And the turnout we had for our Christmas parade, it was probably the most we've had in a long while. It shows people still come here, still come together."

Mathew said he is humbled to take over for Lane.

I commend him on his years of service," Mathew said. "He's made quite a donation of time and effort to the community."

Lane said it was just time for him to move on. He'll probably spend time at the senior center, which the village just took over operations of from Longaberger.

"I always wanted to stay until I got too old. I've done a lot of things long-hand, and I'm just too old for computers now," he said. "I've found that even though mayor is just a title, people respect it and it's been a real honor and privilege to give something back. This town has been my life and I've enjoyed it. And I wish Dave the best of luck."

Source: http://coshoctontribune.com/article/20111230/NEWS01/112300305/1002/rss01

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