Capital City Grange

We did it! Help us figure out what to do next–and help us by dancing

by

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, September 4, 2017

Thanks to everyone!  
With a combination of large checks from some especially dedicated friends of the Grange Hall, and many smaller donations from the dance community and other users of the Hall, and donations for the beautiful plants raised by Rob Nichols, and donations at the dessert table filled by donated tasty snacks, the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall raised at least $3,152 over the course of the August fundraiser.    The culmination came at the CDU dance on Saturday evening, featuring Mary Wesley (always a supporter for the Grange) and the Irregulars, who have played here quite a few times as well as showing up on the dance floor!
The Friends will use this money as part of matching funds for the next set of grant applications, for another significant project to improve the Grange Hall.
The FCCGH also wants input, as we look at a couple of different project concepts–“ballots” are still available at the Hall for any interested user, or you can email the Friends–see below for more details.
A few pictures from the cafeteria & kitchen during the fundraiser–
Serving the donated Ben & Jerry’s strawberry & vanilla ice cream, the remnants of the dessert potluck, volunteer dishwashers, the plants remaining from Rob’s offerings and the “I prefer” area for project concepts A & B.

The Friends want to hear what you say!

**************************************************************

All the proceeds of the fundraiser benefit the Friends, to help finance the improvements we want to continue to make to our great Hall.   Most of you know that the FCCGH has helped to plan and implement many of the projects we’ve done:  the new dance floor in 2012, the new windows upstairs and down, the new fire exit from the lower level, and the new bathrooms in 2015!
The Friends will also be looking for your input, to help decide on which of the 2 major projects should be the focus.

Decisions will be made based on several factors:

  • Community input–this is where the your voice comes in, as a supporter of the Grange and the Hall
  • Urgency–what needs to get done
  • Rentability & renter satisfaction improvement
  • Building integrity
  • Operating & energy efficiency
  • Cost–what can we afford, with grants and by ourselves
  • Grant-funding possibility–different grantors have different requirements and emphasis
Let us know what you think!  Ballots and comment sheets will be available for everyone at the Grange Hall, along with the display shown in the photo above, with pictures of the current problems and possible solutions.  You can let us know that way, or via email to:   fccghvt@gmail.com

Concept A:  “Mess Hall to Dining Hall” includes improvements to the lower level, to reduce moisture, increase insulation, and improve the ambience of the cafeteria space.   Components include:

  • Installing drain channels to remove liquid water that gets through the foundation
  • Installing insulated panels and wallboard to keep cover the cold concrete wall(s), and to create a paintable, cleanable wall surface–that won’t mildew.
  • Replacing the fixed wood tables with movable, smaller-size tables, for flexibility, better cleaning, and more choices in layout.
  • Painting the floor (and the walls and maybe the ceiling) for a better appearance.

Concept B:  “Safe and Sound” includes improvements to the security and the acoustics of the Grange Hall–here are some of the ideas:

  • adding acoustic panels to the Hall to reduce reverberation–to help with dances, singing events, public meetings, and group events of various sizes
  • increasing security for the Hall by installing new doors in the original entrance–with insulated glass, good weather-stripping, and improved door closers, to reduce air leakage, and improve the connection of the Hall to those entering there.
  • changing to programmable locks, to ease the task of getting keys to one-time renters, and to allow us to change access if a code is compromised.
  • consider purchasing a sound system for Hall renters to use, to encourage use by groups who can’t afford, or don’t want to organize a sound system.   There are many questions about security, maintenance, set-up and cleanup to be answered!

We want to know what you think!  Ballots and comment sheets will be available for everyone, for at least a couple of weeks.  The Friends and the Grange are looking for the best investment of everyone’s time and money, so we want to find out what matters most to you.

Help us bring more contra-dancing to the State Grange
The coming weekend will bring the annual “Fall Festival” of the VT State Grange, held at the Grange Center in Brookfield.    Here’s a link to the website, which includes a poster for the event:  https://www.vtstategrange.org/index.html    The Capital City Grange has been asked to provide a “contra-dancing demo and dance instruction” on the evening of Saturday, Sept. 9th.   I’ve found a caller who is visiting from Alaska, David Kreiss-Tomkins–so now I need a couple of musicians who can play some nice rhythmic dance music, and about 8 dancers who can demo some basic dance moves, and dance with some novice dancers.
I hope I can get some help with this–my reaching out to dance musicians in this area has been more difficult than I expected!
Call or email me:  swartztim15@gmail.com, or 225-8921, and let me know if you will join me–about 6:30 at the Grange Center, 308 West St., Brookfield VT  05036.   The dancing will start at 7:00, and will last about an hour.
The State Grange has helped our Grange throughout the decades, including financing all of our renovation projects with bridge/construction loans, and has supported us as we figure out our own way to be a Grange in the 21st century, and we want to show them how a lot of the CCG’s friends enjoy themselves with community dancing!

Challenge Fundraiser: the Friends want your opinions, as well as your donations on September 2nd!

by

Grange Notes for August 27, 2017 by Tim Swartz

The Friends want to hear what you say–as well as how much you want to donate!

15 supporters of the Friends of the Capital City Grange have put up $100 each–and challenge the rest of the Grange community to match it–for a total of at least $3,000, to support the ongoing improvements and renovations for the Grange Hall.

Enjoy a “Dessert Potluck” with tasty offerings by everyone who can pitch in, and ice cream donated by Ben & Jerry’s!  Available at the break in the contra-dance.   If you can’t bring something, drop a donation in the cans provided.
And of course, there is a great dance for everyone, with just the standard $9.00 admission charge.  Always popular Burlington-based caller Mary Wesley will prompt the dances, and the Irregulars will play–a big group of hard-playing young folks–many of whom grew up coming to this dance!

******************************************************************************************************

All the proceeds of the fundraiser will go to the Friends, to help finance the improvements we want to continue to make to our great Hall.   Most of you know that the FCCGH has helped to plan and implement many of the projects we’ve done:  the new dance floor in 2012, the new windows upstairs and down, the new fire exit from the lower level, and the new bathrooms in 2015!
The Friends will also be looking for your input, to help decide on which of the 2 major projects should be the focus:

Concept A:  “Safe and Sound” includes improvements to the security and the acoustics of the Grange Hall–here are some of the ideas:

  • adding acoustic panels to the Hall to reduce reverberation–to help with dances, singing events, public meetings, and group events of various sizes
  • increasing security for the Hall by installing new doors in the original entrance–with insulated glass, good weather-stripping, and improved door closers, to reduce air leakage, and improve the connection of the Hall to those entering there.
  • changing to programmable locks, to ease the task of getting keys to one-time renters, and to allow us to change access if a code is compromised.
  • consider purchasing a sound system for Hall renters to use, to encourage use by groups who can’t afford, or don’t want to organize a sound system.   There are many questions about security, maintenance, set-up and cleanup to be answered!

Concept B:  “Mess Hall to Dining Hall” includes improvements to the lower level, to reduce moisture, increase insulation, and improve the ambience of the cafeteria space.   Components include:

  • Installing drain channels to remove liquid water that gets through the foundation
  • Installing insulated panels and wallboard to keep cover the cold concrete wall(s), and to create a paintable, cleanable wall surface.
  • Replacing the fixed wood tables with movable, smaller-size tables, for flexibility, better cleaning, and more choices in layout.
  • Painting the floor for a better appearance.

Join us and let us know what you think!  Ballots and comment sheets will be available for everyone.  You can also donate via Paypal at:  https://capitalcitygrange.org/donate/  and those funds will also go to match the challenge!

And don’t forget–Rob Nichols has raised another big crop of healthy and beautiful house-plants, offered for a $5.00 donation (or somewhat more for the big ones).   You can’t beat that deal!    See a few pictures below:

Foam, foam in the Grange….., time to raise $$ for projects, and lots of other good stuff

by

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, August 19, 2017

It’s that time:   the Friends put up a Challenge

Every year, August brings the Challenge Fundraiser, to support improvements for our Grange Hall.   Many of you know that the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall has been helping to finance and plan major and minor improvements for our busy Hall, as the name suggests.   This 501(c)3 non-profit corporation can take tax-deductible contributions, and has a great track-record in getting grants that have made possible the “new” floor we’ve just re-finished (see below), the energy efficient windows upstairs and down, and the new bathrooms and emergency exit downstairs!   How many remember the old ones?
Well, now it is time to contribute to help fund the next round.   The FCCGH is working on plans for improving the acoustics of the Hall and better ways to provide great sound for the dances and other events–and to replace the Old Entrance doors, re-side the North wall, and more.   Generous Grange supporters have put up $1,500–and challenge you to chip in to match the pot!   The money will provide a substantial part of the matching funds  we need to raise for the grants the FCCGH plans to get.    All money donated to the can at the front desk at the CDU dances (and other events), or handed to any Grange member, or donated via Paypal at:   https://capitalcitygrange.org/donate/  will go to make the match!
There will be extra FUN in the fundraiser on Sept. 2nd, when the CDU dance will feature a dessert potluck, and much encouragement from Mary Wesley and the Irregulars, who will be calling and playing for the dance, respectively.
And don’t forget–Rob Nichols has raised another big crop of healthy and beautiful house-plants, offered for a $5.00 donation (or somewhat more for the big ones).   You can’t beat that deal!

Can you name all of these sinks?

 

Foam, sweet foam?…well, maybe not sweet.

If you have used the sinks in our Grange Hall over the last few years, you have likely noticed that we have had a mixture of “pink lotion soap”, in wall-mounted dispensers, and foam soap in home-style dispensers on the counters.  It’s been kind of a mess!    So we have finally invested in some foam dispensers that mount on the wall, and can use bulk soap!   Many thanks to Ann Pearce, who helped us get started on trying foam soap–and pointed out that it uses soap diluted by over 2/3, so we save money and mess, too!

Finishing up the floor

When our crew worked on the floor re-coating on July 30th, we didn’t have quite enough time to get the whole floor done.   The last strip on the west side of the Hall was completed by me and Tyson on Sunday, August 13th.   Tyson has been putting in community service hours helping with Grange maintenance and improvements.  In the photo he is completing the hand-sanding of the strip.   Below, you can see him applying the Waterlox tung-oil based finish, and me rubbing it dry.   It’s been great to have Tyson’s help, and the cooler weather has made this work much more pleasant!

Another project completed!

Tyson also worked with me a couple of weeks ago to complete the enclosure of the space under our Main Entrance with wood lattice.   I think it makes quite a difference in the look!    Merry Shernock is planning more improvements with flower beds, climbing vines–and do you have any “landscape boulder”-type stones you want to bring to the Grange Hall?   Or a pickup you could help us with picking up stones?   Contact Merry at: rentals@capitalcitygrange.org to find out what we need donated, and tell us what projects you want to work on!

Meetings R Us

Berlin Planning Board & VT State Grange appreciate our facilities
Berlin discusses the future:  The top 2 pictures show the August 9th meeting of the Planning Board, which held a public hearing on priorities for the renewal of the Berlin Town Plan.   This is a requirement for all towns–to have an official plan to guide decision-making for the next 5 to 10 years.  It was interesting to be a part of this process, though I’m not a Berlin resident.
The meeting included presentation of the process by the 3 Planning Board members, and input from over 30 people who attended.  There were people from various parts of the town, and a mixture of farmers, residents who commute to other places in Central VT, and people interested in the Berlin Town Forest, among others.  And in the Grange tradition, we started with a tasty potluck dinner!
There was much discussion of how to provide a “Town Center” for this dispersed VT town.   Many expressed that the Grange Hall is a welcoming place to meet, especially for residents of the western part of the Town.  There was also a lot of interest in a more identifiable focus which would help make Berlin more recognizable as a town.   Many there lamented the lack of a Berlin identity–being seen more as “that place between Montpelier and Barre”.
This Berlin Town meeting was hosted for free by the Grange, as are any meetings or events held by Berlin residents or Berlin-based organizations.  This is the specific benefit we offered to the residents and the Town of Berlin, when we asked for and received an exemption from property taxes in 2016–which we really appreciate!   We look forward to hosting more public and private events–get in touch with Merry at:  rentals@capitalcitygrange.org for your free use of our Community Hall, if you are part of the Berlin community.The VT State Grange’s Leadership Training workshop on August 12th was also “rented” at no cost.   The bottom two pictures are from that workshop, which I also attended.  The event was attended by about 50 Grange members from the northern part of the state; another workshop will be held in Bomoseen today, 8/19.   VT State Grange leaders presented about a range of topics:
  • gaining members (most important?   Ask people to join!–so consider yourself asked!   We’d love to have you!)
  • handling finances and maintaining controls on money spent, by transparent voting and record-keeping, plus routine auditing to ensure that all is going well
  • writing resolutions to be voted on by Community Granges, the State Grange, and (if it involves national policy) the National Grange.   It all starts with the basic community organization of the Grange.  The CCG has submitted a resolution this year asking for support for a legal way for year-round agricultural workers to immigrate, inspired by Senator Leahy’s bill in the Senate!  It will be studied and voted on at the annual State Grange meeting in October.
  • Keeping up with State and Federal corporate tax filings and regulations for tax-exempt organizations.    The State leaders emphasized that home-town fraternal organizations like the Community Granges still have to meticulously follow the laws.  We are non-profit corporations under the umbrella of the State and National organizations, but still have to file in a timely and complete way to maintain our tax exemptions.   Good intentions are not enough!
  • Ritual and how to better maintain the traditional ceremonies of the Grange meeting.  VT State Master Brenda Rousselle, who is the Lady Assistant Steward of the National Grange showed some of what she has learned at their meetings.
The variety of presentations covered a good range of the activities of Granges–I wish I had known some of this when I got plunged into being the Master of our Grange, over 10 years ago now!   I applaud the State Grange for spreading this information, which also stimulates questions and highlights resources available to Granges.
As noted above, our Grange donates the use of the Hall for State Grange activities, as part of our relationship with the Grange movement–and also in thanks for the vital construction and mortgage loans the VT State Grange has given us for our big projects.   We couldn’t do this without working together!

1,000 hours of dancing, Berlin Planning potluck, and 150 years of the Grange

by

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, August 5, 2017

Even a $20,000 floor needs some TLC

In 2012, the Grange (with the huge help of the newly formed “Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall” replaced the maple floor, originally installed when the Grange Hall was built in 1953.   After almost 60 years, the old floor had been ground down so far that the tongue-and-groove joints were splintering off.   Most of the wear was certainly due to the hundreds and hundreds of dances which have taken place in that time.
When we had the new flooring put down, we had it finished with a tung-oil based finish, Waterlox Original.   The installers put down a couple of very heavy coats of the penetrating finish, allowing it to soak in well.   This created some areas of surface finish, which started off being a bit “sticky” for contra-dancers.   It took just a few months to get it “danced in” to a really good finish.   Some dancers may remember that we used a light dusting of corn-starch on the floor to make it just a bit more slippery until that happened.
Over time, the many users of the hall have continued the process of wearing the new surface down a bit, just like the old one–though I don’t think the wood is worn away very much!   Patty Giavara helped us do a quick calculation of how much the floor has been used since 2012–we easily came up with an estimated 1,000 hours of dancing of all types that has taken place since then!    The result is worn-off finish–and the humid weather this summer raised the grain of the surface, reducing the appropriate smoothness so valued by the dance communities.  This lead to various people mentioning that the floor needed some touch-up finishing at least.
A month or more ago, I “patched” a few places on the floor where liquids had been spilled, resulting in especially raised grain, and also some dirty spots where the surface, no longer sealed, held shoe marks and dirt.  I found that a light hand-sanding, followed by a coat of the same finish we originally had put down was relatively fast to do, and restored the finish well.
Having made that trial, I recruited a couple of “core” volunteers–Patty & Kurt Giavara,who have put in many hours of work on the Grange, the Hall and (in Patty’s case) the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall, of which she is the chair.   I bought supplies (sandpaper, gloves, Waterlox & rags), and made an announcement at the July 29th CDU contra dance, asking for help in the afternoon of the next day, July 30th..   And sure enough, we had a good crew show up–see the pictures below:
Getting started:
Matt Rolland, Patty Giavara & Kurt Giavara bow to and kneel on the dance floor, starting the scuff-sanding of the floor.
  
The abrasive team grows and spreads out
The original crew (which included me) grew quickly to 6, as Gerald Noyes and Stan Carlson joined us in cleaning & sanding the floor.   You can even see me at work, thanks to Merry stopping by to take some pictures.  The larger group resulted in getting more done–about 80% of the floor!  See below for a picture of the re-finished floor!
Our rejuvenated floor glows in the summer sunshine
A thin coat of penetrating Waterlox Original makes the floor a little darker, and a little better sealed against spills and dirt.   It’s still important to wipe up any spilled liquids or dirt, but this should make a difference.
There will be just a little lingering odor from the finish curing over time, but the summer warmth and open windows during events will help to dissipate that.
There is still a strip (20% of the floor at most) that will be re-done soon.  Anyone want to volunteer to help with this task?   We’d be happy to see some new faces helping with projects like this!
And by the way–we got a quote from the floor installers for finish touch-up–it was about $1,000–so we are definitely saving money with this volunteer work!
Berlin Planning commission–potluck dinner & open meeting August 9th
The Grange is happy to host this event–a chance for people interested in the future of Berlin to eat & socialize (a common event at the Grange), and to discuss revising the Berlin Town Plan.   This is the outline for the development of the Town for the next 10-15 years.
One of the reasons we wanted to get more involved with Berlin was because we saw that a community meeting place would be a good thing.   Berlin, being spread out across the hills from the border with Barre to the borders with Northfield and Middlesex, has less of an obvious center, like many other VT towns.  Our Grange Hall is close to much of the western population, in the Rt. 12/Dog River Valley/Riverton and the Junction road areas for example.  This makes it an excellent place for Berlin residents from those areas to meet with people from the rest of the town–as will happen on Sunday evening.
I’ll be at the potluck dinner and the meeting, to find out what will be happening in the community which hosts us–please join us–especially if you are a Berlin resident!
If you can, let the planners know if you’ll be attending by contacting Connie Warren at https://cpw1923@gmail.com, but bring some food and come on over in any case!
VT State Grange shows off the 4 degrees
Just a sample–the 3rd Degree Team performs the “Harvest March”
The Grange’s 3rd degree is based on Autumn and harvest time on the farm.   Like the other 3 Degrees, it is based on the season, and what it brings to the world around us, especially in the rural life of the family farm.   It is full of lessons for new members about how harvest time brings abundance to the farm, and gives the opportunity to “dispense charity”, which is one of the integral values of the Grange.
This afternoon-long “exemplification” of the 4 degrees was put on by the VT State Grange in honor of this year’s 150-year anniversary of the founding of the “National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry” in 1867.   Members from all over the state volunteered to be part of one of the 4 Degree Teams, and came to the VT State Grange Center in Brookfield on July 22 to put them on.  I was happy to attend again; I even got to be one of the “candidates” who were taken around for the 1st Degree!
This event was a reminder for people like me who are involved in a Grange which has simplified the meeting rituals, of the importance of rituals created in the 19th Century in the development and appeal of the Grange organization in the rural communities which included the majority of the U.S. population until fairly recently–historically speaking.
If you want to learn more about the larger organization of which our Community Grange is a part, check out https://www.nationalgrange.org/about-us/history/  and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Grange_of_the_Order_of_Patrons_of_Husbandry
Here’s how it looked in 2005, at the CCG!

Many Grange members who joined about 12 years ago will remember the impressive ceremony put on by the VT State Grange membership on January 15th, 2005 to welcome 70 new members for Capital City Grange.   This is the full, official welcome for new Grange members.   Above, you can see the new members on the right, and Grange members from all over Vermont on the left, getting ready to “exemplify” the full 4 degrees of Community Grange membership.

We’re not interrupting your summer, we’re enhancing it!

by

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, July 19, 2017

Some cool info in the midsummer heat.
I haven’t written any Grange Notes for a while, but there is important news!

Before:  just a dark hole under the porch:

During:  one corner complete:

Eventually:  a decorative background for a beautified main entrance!

Alert readers will remember that we have been talking about improving the looks of the Grange Hall entrance we built in 2008–part of our first big grant-funded project.   As we added a “universal entrance” which is accessible for all people–including those with mobility problems–our plan was always to create more than a back entrance with a ramp.   Merry Shernock has taken charge of this project, getting a professional proposal for hardscaping, plantings and landscape rocks.   The quote was high enough that we decided at our June meeting to see how much we could do with volunteer labor.
Merry also found us more donated labor, combining her own community service working with recently released inmates with the Grange’s needs.   She has been meeting, along with a “Circle of Support & Accountability”, with a young man who needs community service hours as part of his supervised transition to “civilian life”.   The Grange is a great community service opportunity!  Tyson has put in three sessions so far, working with me on outdoor work:  trimming the extremely long grass around the Hall and parking lot–and most recently mounting the lattice you see in the pictures above.   There’s more to come!
If you’d like to help with importing some soil and compost to make planting beds, planting perennials and/or annuals to climb on our lattice, moving landscape rocks, and much more, contact Merry–her phone number and Grange rental email are at the top of the Notes!
Meanwhile, Tyson and I will be continuing to frame in the porch with the rest of the lattice panels.

Here is Tyson working on the weeds, on one of his first work days at the Grange Hall.

The National Grange turns 150 this year–join in the history and enjoy the “4 degrees” this Saturday!

Here’s how it looked in 2005, at the CCG!

Many Grange members who joined about 12 years ago will remember the impressive ceremony put on by the VT State Grange membership on January 15th, 2005 to welcome 70 new members for Capital City Grange.   This is the full, official welcome for new Grange members.   Above, you can see the new members on the right, and Grange members from all over Vermont on the left, getting ready to “exemplify” the full 4 degrees of Community Grange membership.

Whenever you joined, please check out this message from the VT State Grange Master:
In celebration of the 150th anniversary of the National Grange,  Come to the Grange Center on Saturday, July 22, 2017 to witness the exemplification of the first four degrees of the Grange in full form.  The Grange will open in the Fourth Degree at 1:00.  At that time the First Degree Team will begin the degree with succeeding teams continuing through the Fourth Degree.  The day will culminate with a Celebration Banquet consisting of a ham dinner with all the trimmings.–Brenda Rousselle, Master, VT State Grange.
Our Community Grange–the basic level of Granges throughout the country–operates “in the 4th degree” as Brenda states above.   This level presumes that members have been told about all 4 initial degrees.  These are  “exemplified” to provide instructions for new members in the spirit and messages of the Patrons of Husbandry, the full name of the Grange organization.   The lessons are  delivered in very poetic language; they are based on 4 seasons of the year, the changing tasks that accompany the seasons on the farm, and the stages of human life.   They were written in the 19th century, and are a real contrast to the rush of modern life–it’s a chance to step back and contemplate what it means to join the Grange and its mission of bringing people together.
This event is, I think, the first full performance of all 4 degrees since the event at our Grange Hall in 2005.   It’s being done in celebration of the National Grange’s big anniversary of the formation of the Grange by 7 “founders” in 1867.
I enjoyed seeing the 4 degrees in 2005, and I’ll be happy to go to this with any of the members–new or old–who want to see this seldom-scene event on Saturday. The degrees will take place at the VT State Grange Center, 308 West St., Brookfield VT 05036–easy to get to.   Email me:  https://swartztim15@gmail.com,or call me:   802-225-8921 to ask any questions, or set up a time to meet and car-pool.   It’s really a rare opportunity!

 

Contact Us

Tim Swartz, President, CCG#469
802-225-8921 (cell)
grangepresident@capitalcitygrange.org

 

Recent Posts