Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) August 18, 2023
Lots of great food, and a large and friendly crowd helped us celebrate our Hall!
We had a great turnout at the first Grange barbecue picnic since 2019–estimated as 80 to 100 people. People came from the Grange membership, from the contra dance community, from various other organizations that use our Hall, and from surrounding Central VT towns. It helped that 7 Days made us one of their “Top 7”! As you’ll see in the photos below (taken by Jonathon Blake), we had a huge spread of potluck dishes, as well as the burgers (beef & bean), dogs & buns, plus ice cream which the Grange supplied. Salads, breads, cheese, vegetables cooked and raw, dips, pickles, casseroles, and many other dishes appeared with the usual magic of potluck dinners–and were enjoyed. the Just Food Hub supplied tasty samples from their assortment of fairly traded, organic and small-farmer food products–and donated all the profit from their sales to the Grange!
Besides the socializing, we had entertainment from the Senior Center Jazz Ensemble, which played from the ADA porch, providing a great musical background. Volunteers helped us with set-up and clean-up, making quick work of putting away the tables and chairs, bussing and washing dishes, etc.
We had a brief interruption…
This year, we also want to share with people who need help, in the Town of Berlin. Like many other towns in Vermont, the floods of July 11 (and afterward) have affected many people in the town where our Hall is located. Many of these haven’t gotten the publicity that some towns have had, yet their needs are great. We will be splitting the proceeds with some Berlin families whose homes got flooded out. The balance will support future Grange Hall improvement projects, to make our Hall even more useful and attractive.
A number of generous donors have already pledged $2,500–it’s up to the rest of the Grange/dance/Hall users to match this challenge!
This fundraiser will run through the rest of the month of August, and will culminate at a contra dance on Sept. 2nd, when we’ll decorate the Hall with festive lights, and provide ice cream and potluck desserts at the mid-evening “break” for everyone–with no extra admissions charge! We want everyone to come and celebrate–and if you can donate, that’s great. The dance will feature one of our favorite callers, Will Mentor, with Genticorum coming down from Canada to play–a special treat!
Checks can be made out to FCCGH and brought to an event, or mail them to: PO Box 192, Northfield Falls VT 05664.
Credit Card and PayPal donations accepted at: www.capitalcitygrange.org/
Please send a card and best wishes to
Charles Martin, Secretary Emeritus
Whether you know him in person or not, please consider sending a get-well card to Charles, to his home address. His long-time partner Richard DeCosta will deliver them:
639 Minister Brook Rd.
Worcester VT 05682
Model of the grange hall
As a good illustration of our focus on the Hall, Alison offered to make the model, based on scaled drawings I have done of the Hall over many years. We’ll pair that with a slide show about the many improvements we’ve made over the years, and a tri-fold display about the ways our Hall gets used.
Special request: if someone would like to make a small piano to go on the Stage in the model, Alison would love it! I can furnish measurements–it only needs to be about 2″ long!
We’ll be setting up our Grange’s exhibit on Friday, Aug. 25, and members of our Grange (including me, Merry, Alison and Patty will be staffing the VSG exhibit on Tuesday, Aug. 29th. If anyone wants to join us, that would be great! It’s also a chance to see what other Granges in Vermont are showing off–and it’s fun to be at the Fair during what they modestly call the Best 10 Days of Summer.
Of course, you’re welcome to stop by the Grange exhibit–in Ware Hall–anytime during the Fair. We know that there’s a lot going on there: horses, rabbits, cattle, sheep, midway rides, cooking demonstrations (in the same building as the Grange exhibit!), crafts gallery, racing pigs, a model railroad…and I’m just scratching the surface. Check it all out at: ChamplainValleyFair.org. We hope to see you there!
Familiar grange doors
You’ve seen the familiar doors in the Grange Hall for many years, between the Main Hall and the Original Entrance Foyer. They were replaced by new, fire-rated doors as part of our Lift and Foyer project last winter. Many thanks to Albert Sabatini, who found a taker for them, and also the replaced bathroom door. The recipient says they fit perfectly in his shed, and we appreciate the space opened up by getting them out of the Lower Level.
We still have a few items it would be great to find a good home for: an accordion-style door and track, and some office cubicle dividers. Please contact me if you think you can help us re-home them!