DOMINICO (NICK) T. VENETUCCI
july 23, 1911-september 7, 2004
Born in Papetown, a northern Colorado Springs community, Nick
worked in the family orchard and caddied at Patty Jewett and the
Broadmoor. His first full-time job was at Blattman Nursery
At age 22 he began a baseball career in the New York Yankee
Organization. As a catcher he was moved from Class D to Class A in the
minor league system. It was then that the Venetucci family bought the
ranch in Security. He left baseball at this point to assist the family farm.
Nick won many awards at the State Fair for his farm products. In 1950
he became known as "The Pumpkin Man". He received national
recognition for this achievement as he served 30,000 young people a
year in the great pumpkin giveaway. Many of these youngsters came
back to work on the farm and were frequent visitors at the Venetucci's.
Notoriety of "The Pumpkin Man" has been given through Reader's
Digest, and Charles Kuralt's book and television series On the Road.
As Nick's wife Bambi has said, "Often Nick has been heard to say, 'I
make my everyday work my pleasure.' Yes, in truth, his love of life was
in his work. He sowed the seeds with tenderness and reaped the harvest
with joy. It is in tilling the soil, and his labor done with love that bound
him to his fellow man and to his God." Nick gave of himself and his
heart to everyone he met. "He lived in a constant season of giving."
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