Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) October 30, 2025

November 1st meeting:  heading toward winter, ERV project progress, and more

If you want to hear more about the VSG session and what we all decided, I’ll be giving a more full report at the meeting.  The Grange meeting starts at 4:30 PM, and we’ll close up and head downstairs for the Grange Community Potluck at 6:00 PM, as usual.
We’ll be holding this meeting using the Grange rituals we’ve modified for the opening and closing of the meeting, and for the sequence of the various reports and discussions as laid out in the Grange Manual.  We’ll have a “visiting dignitary” with us, Brenda Rousselle of the State Grange Executive Committee.  We know Brenda well–she’s a former State Master who has come to our Hall to work on clean-up days, has advised us on modifying our ritual, and been part of authorizing construction loans for our large projects.   She’ll be interested in how our ritual work happens, and also in the way we work together to make decisions about our Grange and its future.
I will also be giving a report on the beginning of the construction phase of our Indoor Air Quality improvement project, which got underway on Tuesday, 10/28.   And we’ll be discussing the impact on our costs of the improvements, which will add to our electric bill, while improving the air quality for all users of the Main Hall.

VT State Grange–Annual Session
at the Capital City Grange Hall

About 45 Grange members from all parts of Vermont gathered in our Hall on Friday and Saturday to do the business of the Grange, and to look to the future of the “Order of the Patrons of Husbandry”, the official name of the organization.  Our Grange and the volunteers who signed up to set up the Hall, feed the VSG attendees and to clean up the Hall did a great job, and received many expressions of thanks for a well-maintained Hall and very tasty meals.
Meals were planned by our volunteer chef, Grange member Albert Sabatini, who planned the menus along with Merry Shernock, and oversaw all the prep work, cooking and serving, along with other volunteers.   Merry located almost all the ingredients, mostly from local producers, and picked up many of them herself, from local farms.  She also helped Susan Reid and Albert with preparation and pre-cooking on Thursday before the Friday & Saturday meetings.  We had help with lunches on both days, and dinner on Fridays from:  Jacinthe Pellerin, Erin Barry, Liz Benjamin, Alison Forrest, Betty Copeland, Patty Giavara, Jessica & Melody Falker, Ellen Holmes-Henry, Sue Morris, Susan McKenney, and Amy Handy.  On Thursday evening, Kurt and Patty Giavara helped me and 8 VSG members to set up the Hall, and Patty helped me clean up late on Saturday afternoon.  As always, we can’t do this work without volunteers!

State Grange:  grocery donations

For the State Grange Annual Session, all the Community and Pomona Granges that came were asked to bring donations of non-perishable grocery items, for donation to a local food shelf.   I was able to take 265 pounds to the Capstone Community Action Food Shelf in Barre on Monday.  See the photo at left for the pile of boxes and bags.  They were very appreciative, and said that a big donation like this is especially timely, since the federal government funding for SNAP benefits (formerly Food Stamps, as you probably know) is expected to be cut on Nov. 1.   Capstone has a food shelf which is open 5 days a week, and provides produce, breads, grocery items, frozen foods, and more, for people in Central Vermont.   There’s  more information on this page of their website.
The State Grange always has a charitable donation drive during State Session, as part of the Grange’s commitment to improving the lives of everyone in the community.  It was an honor to be able to help that happen this year.

Grange seeks someone who wants an important project

If you’re looking for an opportunity to make a positive difference in our community, the Grange would love to find someone who can help us put on Red Cross blood drives in 2026.   Our previous organizer has moved on to other work, so we’re looking for someone to be our liaison with the Red Cross folks, to help with publicity, and generally coordinate the drives–scheduled for Jan. 16 and May 15, 2026.  Please get in touch with Tim Swartz by clicking this email link!  This work can not only help the Grange in its community service mission, but also can literally save lives!

Coming up in November:  a benefit contra dance

The Grange is sponsoring a benefit contra dance, which Indivisible Calais is putting on as a benefit for Migrant Justice.  Details are on the poster below.   We decided to be a co-sponsor because we have known about the positive work that Migrant Justice does to promote economic justice and human rights for the undocumented workers who help keep Vermont’s dairy industry going. We have had two presentations by the group since their founding in 2009; some of us have taken part in their efforts to get Hannaford’s Supermarkets to sign on to their “Milk with Dignity” program.  You can learn more at migrantjustice.net.  And put the dance on your calendars!

Next Grange Program: Dec. 6th

The next public program, at the next Grange meeting in an even-numbered month will feature a presentation by the local chapter of Trout Unlimited, the conservation group that works to restore streams, rivers and brooks to natural conditions, for the benefit of the fish–and all the other species on which the fish depend.  One of their important projects is removing dams on local streams; they have partnered with the Friends of the Winooski River and the VT Dept. of Environmental Conservation.  The local chapter, named after the Mad River and the Dog River, has been holding meetings at the Grange Hall for years.

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) October 9, 2025

Help us give the State Grange a great time
at our Hall on Oct. 24 & 25!

1. Friday lunch set up and service:  10:30 AM to 12:30 PM–2 volunteers needed.
2. Friday lunch cleanup:  12:30 to 1:30 PM–2 volunteers needed.
3. Friday dinner set up and service:  4:00 to 6:30 PM–1 volunteer needed.
4. Friday dinner cleanup:  6:30 PM to 7:30 PM–2 volunteers needed.

State Grange note:  helping us with construction financing!

I’m pleased to pass on the news that the State Grange is greatly helping us with our current Grange Hall improvement project, by providing us with a loan to finance the installation of an Energy Recovery Ventilator system to bring in fresh air to the Main Hall, plus a commercial, and very quiet air purifier.   We’ve been awarded a grant from the VT Arts Council and the State of Vermont which will pay 50% of the cost–but as usual, we won’t receive the grant until the project is completed.   The no-interest loan from the VSG will allow us to pay the contractors; we’ll repay the loan with the grant proceeds.   We greatly appreciate the help!

October 4 meeting program

As discussed in the recent Grange Notes, we had a fascinating program put on by the group that campaigned to get “natural burial” made legal in Vermont, and which now operates the Vermont Forest Cemetery in Roxbury.   The program started with a showing of a documentary film called:  From Earth to Earth:  the Lost Art of Dying in America.  Produced by film students from Ithaca College, this film is currently being shown at film festivals, and has already won awards.
We did ha

ve some technical problems at the beginning of the film, despite a trial run, but I hope that it was visible and audible to the people who tuned in virtually.   The audience in the Grange Hall had to listen carefully due to low sound levels, but still were transfixed.  The film shows footage about natural burial at a couple of other cemeteries as well as showing the first burial at the VT Forest Cemetery, in fall of 2023.  There were also interviews with spouses and family members of those who have chosen this burial method.   It was touching and emotionally gripping, as well as being informative.
The film was followed by a Q&A session with Jim Hogle, who is President of the VT Forest Cemetery.  His daughter, Michele Hogle Acciavatti, founder of VT Forest Cemetery, was scheduled to do so, but was busy with a professional event.  Jim, who has been touring with the film, turned out to be a very well-informed and thoughtful speaker, who answered many questions from the 30 or so attendees.   He, plus Michelle (who arrived during the Q&A) and a couple of other people involved in the project stayed for the potluck dinner afterward.
If you were at the presentation, you heard that there will be an Open House at the VT Forest Cemetery this coming Saturday, Oct. 11th, from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM.  It will celebrate the 2nd anniversary of the opening of the VFC.  There will be music, art, poetry and presentations; you can learn more at the VT Forest Cemetery’s website, which also was the source of the photo.

Next Grange Program:  Dec. 6th

The next public program, at the next Grange meeting in an even-numbered month will feature a presentation by the local chapter of Trout Unlimited, the conservation group that works to restore streams, rivers and brooks to natural conditions, for the benefit of the fish–and all the other species on which the fish depend.  The local chapter, named after the Mad River and the Dog River, has been holding meetings at the Grange Hall for years!   They will also be presenting Dog River Day on the Common in Northfield, on Saturday, Oct. 18 from noon to 3:00 PM.  The afternoon will feature walks along the Dog River, and more, put it on your calendar–and we look forward to seeing you on Dec. 6th as well!

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) October 3, 2025

Please join us for a brief meeting, and a fascinating program

I’m sending out this reminder for an interesting meeting, and also a program that gives us a chance to think about what happens to our bodies after we die.   And to discuss options with an expert!
Our informal Grange meeting will give us time to discuss the immediate future:  planning for the State Grange Session on 10/24-25, our finances, and progress on our ventilation project.
At 5:00 PM, we’ll turn to our “Community Program”–Patty Giavara has booked what promises to be a fascinating presentation about something that will happen to all of us–we’ll all die–and about an option you can choose about what happens to your physical remains–your body.   The presentation start with about film about 20 minutes in length:  From Earth to Earth:  the Lost Art of Dying in America.  This film about natural burial is produced by the Vermont Forest Cemetery.
The film will be followed by a Q&A session with Michelle Hogle Acciavatti, Founder of VT Forest Cemetery in 2023.  Michelle has the reputation of making discussion of funerals and burials meaningful and involving–even with flashes of humor.
A link to a Google Meet which will stream the Grange meeting and also the Program is posted on the Grange website’s Calendar listing for the program.  We’ll be happy to have you join us in person, but we also welcome anyone via the virtual link as well.
The picture above is from the VT Forest Cemetery’s website.

We also hope you’ll join us for:
Community Potluck, 6:00 to 7:00!

Everyone is welcome to join us for this monthly event, whether you have been part of the meeting or program, or just want to eat!   We typically have a wide variety of dishes, including choices for carnivores, vegans, and omnivores!   We’d love to have you bring a special dish you’ve made to share, but we’ll also happily eat chips/dips/hummus/cookies/drinks/etc. you’ve picked up on the way to the Grange Hall too!  It will be a chance to discuss the program, or to just hang out with other friendly people.

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) September 26, 2025

With donations large & small, we met the Challenge!

Every year since at least 2010, the Montpelier Contra Dance community has supported the Grange with the “Challenge Fundraiser”, so this year’s successful completion marks at least the 15th time that the contra dancers who enjoy the Hall have come through with their donations.   The picture above shows the announcement at the dance on Saturday, Sept. 6 when the donations (small and large) from dancers reached $2,000, matching $2,000 pledged up front by a small number of generous folks.  In the end, we got even more–a grand total of $4540 has been received by the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall!   This major donation to improve the Hall and keep the Grange, with upcoming projects to keep making the Hall safer, more welcoming to all, and more energy efficient!
Besides the financial boost, these annual fund drives make it clear to the Grange and the FCCGH how much the Hall means to the people who enjoy the contra dances and the many other events that happen there.   This is great encouragement for all the volunteers who keep the Grange going, and keep making improvements!  Thanks to everyone who contributed!   That includes the Montpelier Contra Dance committee, the Grange officers and members, the FCCGH, and the people who brought “potluck snacks” to the festive finale dance, and to Jonathon Blake, who documented the event with a great set of photographs, including the one above.   We also thank Mary Wesley, the caller for the dances that night, who kept the enthusiasm going–she’s the one holding the microphone in the picture.  We literally could not do it without everyone involved.

Sept. 6 Grange meeting

We had a full agenda for the meeting, as expected.   I’ve written up a longer report, which is located at the end of these “Grange Notes”, so I can feature upcoming events including a unique Community Program nearer the top.  Please scroll down for the meeting report!

October Grange meeting and program!

On Saturday, October. 4, since it is in an even-numbered month, we’ll have a brief Grange Meeting from 4:30 to 5:00 PM, followed by a one-hour Community Program.
The meeting will including a financial report, an update on the Indoor Air Quality Improvement project which is getting underway, and plans for the State Grange Session on Oct. 24 & 25.
The program starting at 5:00 PM will feature a short (20 mins) documentary film describing natural burial and its benefits, through stories from the people who worked to make it legal in Vermont, plus the stories of people whose experiences show the ways it can help them come to terms with the loss of a loved one, and with one’s own mortality.  The film features the opening of and the first burial at Vermont Forest Cemetery.
The film will be followed by a Q&A session with Michelle Hogle Acciavatti, Founder of VT Forest Cemetery in 2023.  Michelle has the reputation of making discussion of funerals and burials meaningful and involving–even with flashes of humor.   We all know that there is an end to life; this will be a chance to consider options for what happens then.
A link to a Google Meet which will stream the Grange meeting and also the Program is posted on the Grange website’s Calendar listing for the program.  We’ll be happy to have you join us in person, but we also welcome anyone via the virtual link as well.

Community Potluck, 6:00 to 7:00!

The Program will be followed by one of the Grange’s renowned potluck dinners, in the Lower Level.   Everyone is welcome, whether you have been part of the meeting or program, or just want to eat!   We typically have a wide variety of dishes, including choices for carnivores, vegans, and omnivores!   We’d love to have you bring a special dish you’ve made to share, but we’ll also happily eat chips/dips/hummus/cookies/drinks/etc. you’ve picked up on the way to the Grange Hall too!  It will be a chance to discuss the program, or to just hang out with other friendly people.

VT State Grange meets at our Hall:
Oct. 23-25
Volunteers needed!

We’re honored that the VSG enjoyed meeting at our Hall in 2024 (as well as in 2020), and that they want to come back again.   Our goal is to host this one without overburdening too small of a core group of volunteers–which did happen last year, and we don’t want to repeat that.  The State Grange has started reaching out to other Granges across Vermont for helpers.   We have gotten a major boost by the volunteering of Grange member Albert Sabatini, who is part of the Senior Jazz Ensemble which rehearses every Tuesday morning in the Main Hall.   Albert, who’s a retired professional chef, has stepped forward to be the lead chef and meal planner for the 2 lunches and 1 dinner which will be needed.  He is working with Merry Shernock on sourcing locally produced ingredients for all the meals, and has also given us this list of volunteer spots which need to be filled, I’ve added one volunteer slot for setup and one for cleanup of the Hall to his list:

• Thursday afternoon, 10/23:  One person to help with food prep.
• Thursday evening, 10/23, 7:30 PM:  One person to help me (Tim) set up tables, table covers, chairs, Grange ritual Stations, etc.
• Friday lunch, 10/24:  Two people to put out lunch & serve the VSG delegates.  Plus:  Two people to clean up.
• Friday dinner, 10/24:  Two people to put out dinner and serve the delegates.  Plus:  Two people to clean up.
• Saturday lunch, 10/25:  One person to put out lunch and serve the delegates.  Plus:  Two people to clean up.
• Saturday late afternoon, approx. 4:30:  Two people to work with me (Tim again!) to put away tables, chairs, Grange ritual Stations, and to sweep the floors.

We are also in need of a few more folding tables, similar to the 9 we have in the Hall, for use for VSG displays, officers, etc.   Please email Tim:  swartztim15@gmail.com about tables, kitchen volunteers, etc.   If we get these shifts filled, no one will have to work too hard–if we don’t, it could be an ordeal for those of us who are there.   If you can help out, you’ll also meet some other really nice people, who keep the State Grange going, just like the core group of CCG members who keep this Grange and the Hall running!

Sept. 6 Grange meeting report

• Our first order of business was to “Drape the Charter”, the Grange ceremony to honor members who have passed away.  We performed the ceremony to honor Phyllis Skinner at this meeting.  We shared memories of our good friend and her always-friendly work as part of our Grange, including providing “Health Concerns” reports for many years, as well as recalling her many years as an RN.  The draped Charter will be on the wall by the stage until next month’s meeting.
• Patty Giavara, Chair of the FCCGH reported on the grant that’s been awarded to the Friends–I’ll give more info after our Oct. 4 meeting.  We applauded, and thanked our “sister organization” for their help.
• We discussed the offer of 2 “relay speakers” to be mounted on the side walls of the Main Hall, to provide better sound for the far end of the Hall.   They will be of most benefit for the Montpelier Contra Dance series, and the costs may be covered by the MCD committee.  We voted to accept the proposal.  Update:  MCD member Will Cleland and I mounted the speakers on Friday, 9/26!
• The Treasurer’s Report by Merry Shernock  reported on slightly lower revenues over the summer months, but no concerns about our cash-flow.   A committee is to be set up to discuss the possible need to increase rental rates slightly.  Merry also announced that North Branch Grange, in Worcester, has donated some funds to our Grange to help us purchase some padded chairs, in honor of Charles Martin, the long-time Master of North Branch, who also served as our Secretary for over 20 years.  Charles passed away in 2024 and is much missed by all who knew him.   We will be researching chair options and discussing them.
• Liz Benjamin, founder and main caller for the Dance, Sing & Jump Around series of dances for kids and their families, announced that she and the other organizers are starting the series in October and running through May, extending the season to 8 months, on the 2nd Sunday afternoons.  The Grange is happy to sponsor this series, hosting it with no rental fee.  Check it out Oct. 12!
• We heard a proposal by Grant Orenstein, a Grange member who is also a member of Indivisible Calais.  On their behalf, he asked the CCG to sponsor a benefit contra dance on Nov. 21, by not charging rent.  The net proceeds from the dance will be donated to Migrant Justice, a Vermont organization that works to support and protect immigrant farm-workers in Vermont.  We approved this unanimously.
• We discussed the upcoming Annual Session of the VT State Grange which will be held at our Hall on Oct. 25 & 26–see the article below on this event for more details.
• We also discussed the exhibition of posters and art prints by Bread and Puppet founder and director Peter Schumann which was installed in late August.   The meeting voted unanimously to require that the exhibit be reduced in scale to better fit the mission of the Grange as a multi-purpose Community Hall, one which serves a wide variety of groups and families.  The motion also required that any fire-retardant treatment must meet the requirements of the Fire Marshal.   We also resolved to come up with a clear policy about future art exhibitions for the Hall, to avoid the confusion that contributed to the problems that we initially faced.   I can report that a few days after the meeting, Patty & I met with the Curatrix for Bread and Puppet, Alexis Smith, and quickly reached agreement on ways for the exhibit to comply with the Grange’s needs.  She has been part of dance classes at the Hall for about 20 years!  We appreciate her willingness to work with us to modify the exhibit, and we look forward to displaying the artwork of Peter Schumann, who is celebrating 65 years of Bread and Puppet Theater with this exhibit.  We hope you will enjoy it; it will be up until Nov. 30.

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) September 2, 2025

Kicking off a busy fall:  remembering Phyllis, planning for State Grange session and another Hall improvement!

The Grange had an excellent outdoor potluck barbeque/potluck/picnic to kick off August, and we hope that all enjoyed a good Labor Day weekend holiday.  Now it’s time to start thinking ahead again.  Our monthly meeting will start at 4:30 on Saturday, and we hope you will join us! Our first event at the meeting will be saying a last farewell to our good friend Phyllis Skinner, who passed away on July 9–her picture is below.   We held a public Grange Service for her at the church she attended in Northfield, as part of a memorial service there.  The brief “Draping of the Charter” ritual we’ll perform at the meeting is a chance for us all to share memories of her, as well as to honor her years in the Grange. We’ll also be working on plans for hosting the Vermont State Grange Annual Session again this October–on the 24th & 25th.   We  have asked the State Grange to help us with cooking meals for the delegates–2 lunches and 2 dinners–after the small crew we mustered for last year’s meal prep and cooking found it was really more work than they could manage.   If you love to cook, and like getting appreciated by a group of enthusiastic eaters, get in touch by replying to this email, and we’ll add you to the list of volunteers!   We’ll also be looking for help with serving, dishwashing and other cleanup chores.  Our Hall got major kudos for its spaces and comfort, as well as the meals made mostly from locally-sourced ingredients and our central location, all of which are why they want to come back this year! We’ll also be talking about how the schedule will unfold for our next Hall project to improve indoor air quality, which I described in the last edition of these Grange Notes.   We look forward to an increase in comfort and improved air quality, and will do our best to minimize disruption for the Grange and the renters of our Hall.  By the time of the meeting, Patty Giavara and I will have met with the ERV contractors to decide on details of control systems, and learn about their schedules.  We’ll report on what we’ve learned. There will be a presentation of a proposal, by Indivisible Calais, for the Grange to co-sponsor a benefit contra dance on Friday, Nov. 21 at our Hall.  There will also be a proposal that the Grange join the Central VT Economic Development Corporation, to network for grants and potential renters.  As you can see, there is plenty to do–and we’d love to have more of you folks who care about the Grange and the Hall to help us get it done.   Please contact me with any questions, as usual!

Saturday evening–after the meeting We will of course have a Community Potluck after our meeting, which we hope will include you, sharing food with the rest of us.   After that, you can enjoy a Festive Finale for the Challenge Fundraiser, at the Montpelier Contra Dance.   As readers will know, this is one of the annual fundraising efforts for the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall, providing a significant part of the matching funds for the grant awards that let the Grange and the FCCGH accomplish these major improvements.  The picture below shows Alice Smolinsky and Patty Giavara, both members of the Montpelier Contra Dance organizing team, celebrating the success of the 2004 Challenge.   This year, the $2,000 already pledged will, we hope be matched again by donations from the contra dance and Grange communities, for a total of $4,000!   You can donate online, or bring a check or cash to the dance on Saturday evening! I will be decorating the Grange Hall with lights (like the ones in the picture) on Saturday afternoon before the Grange meeting, starting about 3:00 PM–if you’d like to help, get in touch by replying to this email newsletter!  We also welcome “potluck snacks”–sweet or savory–at the midway break during the dance–bring what you’d like to share! On stage at the Grange Hall, starting Thursday!  We don’t typically publicize events by renters in these Grange Notes, but I’m making an exception for a stage play being put on at our Hall, starting on Sept. 4, and continuing with 7 more performances, including Sunday matinees.  Saving Tinderella is “an original black comedy” co-written, and directed by Siouxsie Cooper, who teaches many of the Afro-Caribbean dance classes on Thursday mornings; the cast features Kids Trade & Play founder and director Erin Barry as well.   Tickets are available online or at the door–see the poster below for dates and times.