PEMBERVILLE — As the new village mayor, Carol Bailey doesn’t have a lot on her agenda. But there is a
priority.
“I’m going to see to it that Pemberville stays Pemberville. I can’t think of a better place to raise
kids, to have a family, to work. It’s got it all,” Bailey said. “It’s like ‘Mayberry RFD’ in Ohio.”
There will be things to work on in her term, which starts Jan. 1. They include helping a new housing
addition to thrive, planning for a new water tower, and keeping up on road improvements.
Her heart also lies with the downtown and its businesses.
“Small towns across America are facing the same problem, and that is the big box stores … and Amazon is
killing the downtown businesses,” Bailey said. “I think the only thing that’s going to save small towns
and businesses are to get small, experiential stores. By that I mean, things that you can’t buy with
clicking your mouse and saying, ‘oh, it will be here tomorrow.’”
She was the brains behind the recent holiday promotion, Shop Pemberville, Win the Window. By spending
money in town, people got a chance to win a window full of goodies, like a television, air pods and gift
cards.
Bailey is also serving on the 2020 Wood County Bicentennial Committee.
“I’ve always been big on service,” Bailey said, her ever-present glasses perched on her head. “My
parents’ gravestone says ‘one who serves is one who cares for others.’ I was just raised with a service
mentality. We served.”
She doesn’t mind having a lot of projects on her plate.
“I’m really good at juggling balls and I don’t drop them,” Bailey said. “I have a lot of lists.”
Her love of the past — she and her husband, John, have lovingly restored their Front Street home with
antiques, woodwork and all the trimmings — led her to the Pemberville Freedom Area Historical Society.
“Twelve years ago we were on a trip and I said to John, ‘you know, that opera house is gorgeous, but
there’s nothing going on. And I’ve got an idea,’” she said.
That brainstorm led to a reinvigorated opera house that hosts holiday shows, Live in the House
entertainment, children’s art displays and theater. It’s also the recipient of another piece of Bailey’s
dedication: an elevator.
The opera house dates back to 1892 and was remodeled in 1999. The second floor theater, though, posed an
accessibility problem. She went to the historical board with a presentation.
“Take a chance on me for one year on this, and they did,” Bailey said.
Live in the House, which regularly has sold-out shows, and the children’s theater workshop, which are
funded through the Gale and Marlyn Williamson Performing Arts Fund, started 12 years ago in the opera
house.
“About halfway through this tenure, six to eight years ago, I noticed people were having trouble getting
up the stairs,” Bailey said. “I started to look into elevators.”
Through her involvement in the Ohio Arts Council, she learned about available funding in the
Legislature’s capital bill.
“I had two weeks to throw this thing together, and work with the mayor and the architect,” she said. “We
figured it was going to cost $330,000, so I applied for two-thirds of it, figuring they’d want to see
skin in the game.
“Of course, it ended up costing $420,000,” Bailey said, adding that the extra cost was to get the
historical look done correctly.
The rest of the money came from around the community.
“Hundred-dollar bills. Begging,” she said. “I had one anonymous donor give me $30,000. And the CDBG
(Community Development Block Grant) grant from the county was for $52,000. The rest was just begging.”
The elevator opened in 2016.
Through her politicking, she got to know people on Pemberville Council and in the village administration.
“I observed and I thought I could contribute, and so I ran,” Bailey said.
She was one of six people vying for four council seats and she won, in 2017, leading the pack in votes.
“They mayoral-ship came up this year — and I thought about waiting another four years,” Bailey said. “I’m
all about service and there’s so much in this village. This is a great place.”
Bailey is comfortable on almost every stage. For 25 years, she and Deb Shaffer, a local real estate agent
and frequent actress in Black Swamp Players shows, had a musical comedy touring show called the
Hoffenheimer Sisters. They performed 40 shows in a three-state area.
“We did that while our kids were growing up,” Bailey said. “Between the two of us, we had nine kids. It
was crazy times. But that was extra money. It was class rings and graduation parties and Christmas
presents for both of us.
“I’ve got entertainment in my veins — the musicals in high school and the Hoffenheimers, and I directed
the Hot Flashes in Pemberville for a long time.”
She’s overseen the entertainment schedule for the Pemberville Free Fair for years. She spends a weekend
in the fall at Kalahari in Sandusky, where magicians, bands and performers congregate for the Ohio
Festivals and Events Association.
She and her husband, John, started Piano Works in 1982 and have built it into the premier tuning and
piano business in the area. John travels everywhere, tuning and working, while Carol handles the
business end, including the books and scheduling. She managed two clothing stores with 40 employees in
the Toledo area until they had children. The piano shop is in the back of their property.
John and Carol were high school sweethearts who lived in Genoa until they bought the Pemberville home.
They raised four children, including a set of twins. There are eight grandchildren. Everyone remains
close.
“I’m blessed. The boys live four minutes apart — just like they were born — in Oregon and Northwood. My
other daughter lives in the south end of Toledo,” Bailey said, adding that another daughter lives with
them. “All four go to church with us.”
