Kelsea Shaull is the artist behind the three new welcome signs at the entrances to Vining, including this one on the south edge of town depicting the Vining Grocery and Tavern building. PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY

VINING — Nestled in the heart of the Bohemian Alps, Vining — with a population of 54 at the 2020 census — is about as rural as it gets. Tama County’s smallest incorporated community is also one of the smallest in the entire state, with the post office running out of a spare bedroom on a resident’s property.

Kelsea Shaull and her fiance Andrew Hanson are transplants to Vining (she hails from Ladora, he from Grinnell), but in the seven years he’s lived here and the two since she’s joined him, they’ve gained a deep appreciation for their adopted hometown — so much so that Staull, who commutes to Cedar Rapids for work, volunteered to paint and install three new welcome signs at the north, south and west entrances.

“I moved here because he lived here. We started dating almost four years ago, and then I moved in two years ago. I’d drive past the sign that was there like every single day, and it was just a white sign that had little stencils on it, and I’ve always done crafty stuff,” she said. “And I wanted to do something for the town because it is a small town, so when you live in a small town, everybody has to do something, right?”

In Vining, it’s never too difficult to get in touch with the right people, so Shaull met Mayor Jeff Vore at last year’s Fourth of July potluck and offered up her sign creation services at no cost to the city. The answer was an instant yes.

“It’s nice having somebody step up and volunteer to do something like that. It seems like anywhere people live now, they don’t want to get involved in anything, so it’s a welcome change,” Vore said.

The sign at the north entrance shows the Vining CSA Hall, which is known as the home of the annual Testicle Festival, auctions and other community events. PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY

The previous welcome signs, the mayor added, were all but destroyed in the 2020 derecho, and most of what little budget the city does have goes toward maintaining streetlights.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had anything (at the entries), but the ones she painted are really nice,” he said. “We try to just kind of keep up what we have. It’s kind of hard to do any big projects or anything because of the budget. It’s hard enough maintaining what we have.”

Each of the three new signs includes a different scene. The one at the south entrance shows Vining Grocery and Tavern, which is primarily a restaurant and bar these days.

“If you see (owner Janice Bazal)’s car outside, you know she’s open and then you go in. We go there all the time. She makes the best burger in town,” Shaull said.

The sign at the north end shows the CSA Hall, home to Vining’s famous annual Testicle Festival, and the one at the west entry is just a landscape scene. It took Shaull about a year in all to finish painting them, and they were finally installed at their respective locations within the last few weeks.

The west entrance sign, also created and donated by Shaull, features a landscape scene. PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY

The project wasn’t always easy, but it was most certainly worth the effort to beautify the community and welcome those who pass through it. Vore, for one, hopes it might inspire someone else to do something positive for their town.

“I love this town. Everyone’s so nice. You just can’t find a better community,” Shaull said. “I hope people see it and they’re excited for the small town. Hopefully it keeps growing and doesn’t get smaller.”