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

Persistence pays off!

• Installing an ERV (Energy Recovery Ventilator) in the attic over the foyer at the original entrance to the Hall.   This unit will exhaust inside air and bring in outdoor air, to provide fresh air for the Main Hall.   It will transfer heat from the exhaust air to the incoming air during the cold months–and will have electric duct heaters to further warm the outdoor air when it’s needed.
•   Filtering the outdoor air:  the ERV will have MERV 13 filters, which will filter out pollen and wildfire smoke particles.
• Filtering the indoor air:  we will also install a ceiling mounted commercial air purifier in the Main Hall.   The unit we are planning to use is similar to the Iso-Aire unit in the Lower Level.   Its HEPA filter will remove particles from the air and recirculate the filtered air.   It is much quieter than the home-made filter boxes, which we will remove.
• Electrical work:  we need to have an additional panel installed to provide space for branch circuits for these new loads, and for a similar ERV for the Lower Level at a future date.

Help wanted!

For this big project, there will be some volunteer work needed, to prepare for the contractors to come in.   We have already begun removing “stuff” from the attic, and there is much more to get out, or reorganize into better storage shelves or other categories.  Please get in touch with Tim Swartz if you want to help!
We are also prepared to sell some choice items which have been up there for years–below are pictures of 2 sets of folding, triple bench seats, plus 2 sets of 3 theater chairs, which could be yours for a reasonable price!  Plus a “Steelman 4A28” record player for your vintage vinyl (has not been tested, but does come with an adapter for 45 RPM records).   Please email Patty Giavara if you are interested in any of these items!

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) August 15, 2025

Great weather, good food–including hand-cranked ice cream

Everyone contributed, and appetites were sated!
The Senior Jazz Ensemble played during set-up and the early part of the meal (and then we fed them, of course!). Steve Boylan (in the red shirt & hat, adding ice) set up the ice-cream makers and mixed the ingredients for blueberry & vanilla. We had many hard-working ice-cream crankers, and (when the time came) helpful people who served–and lots of eager eaters! Everyone brought side-dishes of all kinds, and shared everything from salads to extra desserts! Patty, Tim and Kurt cooked black-bean vegan burgers, hot dogs, and beef burgers . Patty, Tim and Merry spoke for the Grange and the FCCGH (see more below). Just Food Hub sold chocolates, coffees, nuts, oils, keffiyehs and more–and donated 25% of their revenues to the Grange! And we had plenty of dishwashing volunteers who made the clean-up easy. All of the excellent pictures above were taken by Jonathan Blake–much appreciated!
Combined with sunny, dry and not-too-hot weather, everyone’s contributions made this a great Grange community event, thanks to everyone who came to join us, and especially all the cheerful volunteers.

An August tradition:
The Challenge Fundraiser!

For over a decade, the Montpelier Contra Dance committee has partnered with the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall (FCCGH) to raise money to make the Grange Hall even better, with an annual fundraiser.  Some generous people from the FCCGH Board, plus other dedicated Grange Hall supporters have pledged $2,000, and challenged the dance community (and other Hall users!) to match that amount.  The Challenge was announced at the Aug. 2 picnic; it will run until the Sept. 6 contra dance.
Where does the money go?   Read all about it on the Donate page of the Grange website–and while you’re there, consider making a donation if you can!  Donations to the Friends are tax deductible to the extent allowed by the IRS.  We don’t change the admission for the dances during the fundraiser, because we want everyone to come and dance, just like always.

Looking forward to our next meeting:
September 6

We resume more typical monthly Grange meetings beginning in September, so we hope you will put our first meeting of the fall on your calendars.   One of the orders of business will be performing the Grange ceremony of “Draping the Charter”–a simple way of honoring and remembering Grange members who have passed away.  At our meeting, we’ll be honoring Phyllis Skinner, who died on July 9 of this year.  This will be an opportunity to share our memories of her, including people who were not able to take part in the Grange service of remembrance that we carried out at the memorial service for Phyllis.

Our meeting will also be considering the impact of some upcoming work on the Hall–installing a combination of fresh-air ventilation and air-purifying to improve indoor air quality in the Main Hall.   Regular readers of the Grange Notes will remember that the FCCGH applied for a grant to pay 50% of the cost for this major improvement–well, we finally got notified that the grant application has been successful! We’re starting to make plans for getting this project going–choosing contractors, scheduling the work and figuring out how to minimize the impact on our renters.   We will also be needing help to clean out the attic space above the foyer at the Original Entrance to the Hall, where the Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV) will be installed.   Get in touch with Tim by replying to this email newsletter if you want to be involved!  More details to come. The Grange has already committed to designating $3,000 to be paid to the Friends.  The FCCGH will be using most of the bank account that generous folks have donated in the past to provide the 50% financial match required for the grant.   If you donate to the FCCGH and Montpelier Contra Dance Challenge Fundraiser described above, you’ll help the Friends to build up their bank account, which will help to match grant awards for future projects! Are you feeling lucky? At our September 6 meeting, you’ll also have the chance to buy raffle tickets to support the VT State Grange Center.   This is a camp, with bunkhouses, a shower cabin, and a large kitchen/dining building–and with an historic building (shown above) not used for camping.  The State Grange uses it for Grange Family and Youth/Junior camps, plus a Fall Festival every year.  The raffles support the Grange Center. This year, there is a 50/50 raffle, plus raffles for several “gift baskets”–including a Christmas kit, a baking kit, a quilting/sewing kit, and a car kit.   Tickets are $1.00 each, or 6 for $5.00.  The drawing will be Oct. 25. Fall Festival will be Sept. 5, 6 and 7, with contests happening during the day on the 6th (same day as our meeting).   There will be judging of vegetables, flowers, cooking and craft contests, and games including horseshoes, frying pan and rolling pin tosses, pumpkin tic-tac-toe, hula hoop, plus other activities.  If you want to register, email Tim, and I’ll send you a registration form–which needs to be in by Aug. 20!

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

Come and feast with us on Saturday!

Setup at 5:00 and start making ice cream! Bring your potluck dishes at 5:45, and enjoy the music!

6:00:  grills start producing, and eating begins

       Every year, the Grange holds a free, extra-special potluck picnic, on tables outdoors at the North end of the building, next to the ADA entrance ramp.   The Grange will be providing grills, vegan and beef burgers, hot dogs, buns and condiments.  This year, we will have 2 ice-cream makers, too, producing Blueberry and Vanilla!   Come between 5:00 and 5:30 to help crank the ice cream.

         Everyone can bring potluck side dishes–salads, veggies, appetizers, chips, salsa, beverages, dessert choices–whatever you want to share, bring them by 5:45 so everything will be set up for dinner.

         That’s also when the Senior Jazz Ensemble will start performing jazz standards from the porch, so you can enjoy the live music, too.

         Starting at 5:00, we’ll be setting up tables and chairs outside–we’d love your help!   Please bring a folding table, if you’ve got one, so that we have room for all the food and all the people.   We’ll use some of the Grange’s vintage melamine and china dishes and stainless steel table-ware.  No disposables!

         During the meal, we’ll have a West African Dance demonstration.  Plus–the Grange will be “burning the mortgage” to celebrate paying off a 2008 loan from the VT State Grange.  Just Food Hub will be selling their chocolates, coffees and other Fair Trade food treats (with a portion of the revenue donated to the Grange!)

          The Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall will be kicking off their annual Challenge Fundraiser at this event, to keep improving the Grange Hall.  $2,000  has been pledged already–can the dance and Grange community match it, by the end at the Sept. 6 contra dance?

          We hope we’ll see you there, for a great meal and a great time.  Below is a picture from last year’s picnic, taken by Jonathon Blake:

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

Continuing the story of our busy day:
June 7 at the Grange!

• We had a full vote on the expenditure of $3,800 for the driveway and parking lot re-grading that I reported on in the last Grange Notes, affirming the decision of the Executive Committee.
• We sent a cheer and a vote of thanks to all the volunteers who worked so hard to clean up the Grange Hall–it looks great!
• We noted that in May, our Grange had completed all payments on the mortgage loan we received from the VT State Grange in 2008, which made possible the large renovation project undertaken in that year.   The ADA entrance with ramp was created, and an ADA compliant bathroom was constructed on the Main Floor–both features which all Grange Hall users take for granted now!   The entire project cost about $48,500, and was the biggest change to the Grange Hall since its construction in 1953.  The Grange received a grant of $20,000 from the VT Arts Council which was a huge help, and we fund-raised some funds from the Grange community, but we needed the loan from the VSG to spread the rest of the cost over time.   Being able to borrow $23,500 at 3% was a great help!  We’re grateful to the VSG–and pleased to be done with this loan.
• We agreed that we will do a celebratory “burning of the mortgage agreement” at the August 2nd Barbecue Potluck Picnic!  We are planning to purchase beef and vegan burgers, hot-dogs, buns and ice cream for the picnic; we’ll have a couple of grills going to cook the proteins, and will ask the attendees to bring side dishes of all sorts to fill out the meal!   We will hope for the very good weather we have had for the last few years for this annual outdoor feast–but we’ll have the Lower Level available if needed. Note that Just Food Hub will be there to sell fair-trade chocolate, coffee and other items–with 25% of the proceeds being donated to the Grange!  More info on their website!

Singing along and having a potluck–Grange traditions!

As planned, our meeting was followed by Grange Musician Matt Nunnelly leading songs from the piano, while the rest of us chimed in.   As usual, our choices were eclectic, including everything from “Happy Trails” to “Lift Every Voice and Sing” to “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad”.   At the end, Grange Member Cecile Sherburn volunteered to organize the loose song-sheets that we have made up over the years, into 3-ring notebooks so that we will be able to find the songs more easily!  Note:  since this offer, we’ve purchased 24 binders, so we’ll be ready for the next Sing-Along.
Our monthly (except for July) Community Potluck drew a good crowd, which enjoyed a wide range of dishes, which this month included a pork roast!  This had been in the freezer since it turned out to be unnecessary for the State Grange annual session, which Capital City hosted last October.   Merry arranged to defrost it in plenty of time, and Afro-Caribbean dance instructor Siouxsie Cooper expertly prepared it for the oven, with potatoes, carrots and garlic.   Those of us who aren’t big meat-eaters  had plenty of choices as well, including marinated tofu, dal, local asparagus and other tasty treats.
We will be skipping the first-Saturday-of-July potluck, but as described above, please put the August 2nd barbecue/potluck/picnic on your calendars!

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) June 20, 2025

Starting the story of June 7th!

Today, I’m sending out this “first chapter” about the events we had at the Grange on June 7th, and will follow up with a report on the Grange meeting, the Sing-Along and the potluck in a few days, when I have a bit more time.

A sampling of the cleaners at work!

We got a great turnout!

the day, we were very pleased (and a bit overwhelmed) when about 20 volunteers showed up–in addition to a few Grange officers.   Thanks to a lot of patience and good humor on the part of the volunteer cleaners, and some scrambling to find room for everyone, we were able to keep everyone busy–and to get a LOT done!The pictures above show only parts of the action!  I compiled a list of what I know got done (in no particular order):

• The floor mats that protect our beautiful dance floor were scrubbed and mopped with citrus cleaner and water, so they are a LOT cleaner and brighter.
• Both entrance porches got swept and vacuumed–and the siding under the porch roofs vacuumed too.
• The stage was vacuumed and swept, and the trim wiped down.
• Windows were cleaned inside and out (both floors!), and the screens vacuumed (and some paint on one of them picked out).
• Window and door trim were wiped down, upstairs and downstairs!
• Cobwebs were removed from the ceiling corners–and all over the Main Hall ceiling.
• The stairway to the Lower Level was wiped down, including cleaning the handrails.
• In the Main Hall, all the lamp globes were wiped down, and a couple of bulbs replaced too.
• Bathroom walls and trim were wiped down.
• Flower beds also got a lot of loving attention–see the pictures below.

Thanks to the cleaning crew!

We think we got the names of almost all the people who showed up and helped to clean the Grange Hall, but if I left your name off this list please let me know!  These are in no particular order:
Tyler, Alejandro, Thomas, Relief, Stan, Jody, Bill M., Ellie, Bill P., Patty, Nicholas, Bailey, Siouxsie, Dorothy, Amy, Jinky, Dan, Julie, Caroline, Merry, Grant and Tim!
Among these folks are people from many groups that rent the Grange Hall, as well as Grange members.  I know we had folks from at least:  Gnomenclature band, Montpelier Contra Dance (dancers and committee members), Afro-Caribbean dancers, Senior Jazz Ensemble, West African dancers, Ballroom dancers…it was a great gathering of the diverse groups whose paths cross at the Hall.
P.S., if you weren’t able to join us on June 7th, we still have a number of projects we’d love some help with, and we’ll be happy to talk about what fits your skills, interests and time available!

Flower Beds–special notes

Amy Handy has been taking her Grange officer role as “Flora” seriously the last couple of years!  On top of work she’s been doing all spring, she got her sisters (visiting for a family reunion) involved in the Spring Cleaning project, so she had extra help.
Also, the line of Hostas by the West side driveway are the result of Grange Rental Agent and Treasurer Merry Shernock appealing via Facebook and other media for donations of Hostas–and she planted them herself a week or two ago as well!

Our “new” driveway and parking lot

At our brief Grange meeting, which followed the cleanup on June 7th, the Grange members present affirmed a decision by the Grange’s Executive Committee, to have the pot-holed driveway and the somewhat eroded parking lot re-graded.  We had received a quote from our usual contractor for this type of work, Matt Dwire, for $3,800.   The work included bringing in 2 truckloads of gravel, plus breaking up the pot-holed areas to incorporate the new material, re-grading the driveway to drain to the sides without creating ruts, re-grading the “driveway” on the west side of the Hall, including a new water-bar, adding gravel to the parking lot in front of the steps to the ADA entrance porch, and contouring the drainage for the whole parking lot.   Because the Executive Committee made this decision in late May, Matt was able to get us on his schedule, moving his machines into place by June 14th (top picture) and completing the work on June 18th.   The pictures above show the newly worked-over sections.
This large expenditure is affordable for the Grange, because we have significantly increased rentals over what they were before the COVID pandemic shutdowns.    The increased usage, along with the increase in major rainstorms also result in more wear and tear on the driveway, etc., as you can imagine.   Let’s hope for a non-repeat of the downpours that have happened on the last two July 10ths!