Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) September 13, 2022
Meeting the Challenge! The dance community comes through again
As 
it has every year since it started, the Montpelier Contra Dance Challenge Fundraiser succeeded in gathering contributions from the dance community, a total of $2,000 to match the “challenge” amount pre-pledged by about 10 other generous dancers. This means that the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall have a total of $4,000 more,to help pay for major improvements to the Hall!
Many thanks to all the donors, in amounts large and small, to the Montpelier Contra Dance committee for organizing the events and finding the “challengers”, to the people who made cupcakes, cookies and other goodies for the outdoor “dessert potluck” at the break, and to FCCGH Chair Patty Giavara, who bought ice cream sandwiches and popsicles for the potluck! All of these items were enjoyed.
We also say a special thank-you to Rob Nichols, who grew beautiful house-plants to sell at Farmhouse Flowers and at the celebration dance. He raised several hundred dollars for the fundraiser!
We also thank Pete’s Posse, and Nils Fredland, for speaking out to urge dancers to contribute, donating some of their pay for the night’s music and calling to the cause, and for being long-time supporters of the Grange and the Friends.
As you can see, this fundraising success was a real team effort. The Grange and the Hall are important part of the lives of so many people, and they are clearly appreciated by a large number of people, who were willing to reach into their wallets and give to help out.
For more information on the Friends, the projects they have planned, fundraised for and project-managed along with the Grange, go to the “Support the Hall” tab on the Grange website, and check out any of the pages on that tab. And–if you weren’t able to donate before, you can still do so there! The FCCGH is a 501(c)(3) charity non-profit, so you might get a tax deduction too!
Kicking off the fall, with the Grange September meeting this Saturday!
One particular important office is becoming vacant: Secretary. Charles Martin, who has served our Grange and others for–literally–many decades is relinquishing the office. Charles was among several veteran Grange members who welcomed in a bunch of energetic “new” Grangers, many from the Montpelier Contra Dance and other Grange Hall groups. They gently taught us how to be part of the Grange organization–and have been open to making adaptations as we learned together ways to extend the Grange’s work into the 21st century.
With help from the VT State Grange Secretary, we have better defined the essential role of the office of Secretary in our Grange, found out ways that records can be kept electronically instead of on paper, and other ways to simplify the job, while retaining its main importance: maintaining organizational records. This includes keeping track of membership, decisions and policy changes at meetings, so we have a record of what’s happened, who has been involved, what projects we have taken on, and how we have spent and saved our money. Please reply to this email to learn more!
All of the other offices will also be voted on–and we’d like to have you join us! Please ask any questions!
- Discussing the Berlin Selectboard’s decision to keep charging us the Education property tax this year, and how we can survive that stress.
- Looking over the Resolutions proposed for the October State Grange session, and deciding who will go there to represent us. To get a PDF of the Resolutions, click on over to: https://capitalcitygrange.org/2
022-vt-state-grange- resolutions/ - Going over finances as we head into winter with our still-new wood-pellet furnace–including repaying the loan from the VT State Grange which helped us purchase it.
- Looking over plans for the platform/wheelchair lift project, and how they will fit in our schedule for the winter.
While I am encouraging as many people to come in person to the meeting, there will be a Zoom connection available, for anyone who would like to be there but can’t come in person. We are open to recruiting a new Secretary who might attend some meetings remotely, if necessary!
I am waiting for a Zoom link to be sent to me by the VT State Grange; if I don’t get one by the time this Grange Notes is ready to be sent out, I’ll post it on the Grange Calendar listing: September Grange Meeting.
Community Potluck dinner follows the meeting!
We hold the potlucks in the lower level, with windows open and the Room Air Filter Boxes running to keep the air circulating and filtered–we know that masks won’t be worn while eating–though we support anyone who wants to wear one at the Grange Hall. Hope you will join us!
Gardening at the Grange: another way to help!Amy says she would be happy to have others join her in working on this bed–or other areas which could use some TLC. You can contact her at: 1geranium1@gmail.com to talk about how you want to help! The Grange is happy to purchase some supplies when we have hard-working folks like Amy involved!
P.S. Amy says that she already has plans for more improvements in the spring!
P.P.S. Amy is also responsible for planting zinnias in the large pots by the ADA entrance porch for the last few years–a very nice touch!
Our Talented Grange Community
re you interested in history, and learning about what has actually gone on in Central Vermont in years past? We are happy to recommend a talk by local genealogist, historian and author Maudean Neill. Maudean is also a member of the Montpelier Church of Christ, which has met every Sunday at the Grange Hall for decades. Maudean wrote the book whose cover is pictured below after finding a photo of Klansmen gathering in Montpelier in 1927. She will be speaking about her research, her book and the history she uncovered at the Montpelier Senior Activities Center, at 58 Barre St., on Wednesday , Sept. 28, at 1:30 PM, sponsored by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.And from the same hard-working family, thanks are due again to Lewis Neill!
Lewis has been doing maintenance work inside and outside the Grange Hall for decades. In 2007, he single-handedly dug out the rusted out culvert under the top end of the driveway and replaced it with a new one, plus a silt-catcher. Of course, he was only about 76 then.
Kudos to Lewis for his dedication. And if we needed any other illustration of how much we need younger folks to pitch in, I couldn’t make up a better example! As a mere 71-year-old, I know I don’t match up with him in this area.
