Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) May 22, 2024

All kinds of cheesy goodness

The first two photos show the range of entries presented for our judges to evaluate during our May 4th Grange meeting Cooking Contest.   We had 6 different cooks–and two of them brought a couple of choices each!  Dishes (shown in the first 2 photos) included:  Crab Rangoons (two versions–one with cream cheese, one with cheddar), Quesedillas, Cheese Crisps, Spicy Cheese Sauce on Broccoli, Southwestern Cheese/Black Bean/Chorizo, 2-Layer Cheese & Pea Salad, and Ham & Cheese Croissants.  Please note:  not one macaroni & cheese!
Our “local celebrity” judges took their task seriously, evaluating the appearance, texture and flavor carefully.   Tom McKone and Anne Donahue seemed to enjoy the variety presented.  Eventually, they picked prizewinners, who received some wooden implements, and a “Cheesy Certificate”, suitable for framing, attesting to their prowess:

1. Cathy, who joined us from Cabot, won First Place for her Cheddar Crab Rangoons.  She’s planning to enter the VT State Grange cooking competition on July 20!
2. Betty, who joined us from Marshfield, won Second Place for her 2-Layer Cheese & Pea Salad, and may also take part in the VSG contest.
3. Albert, a Grange member who couldn’t stay for the judging, won 3rd Place for his Quesadillas–no word yet on future contest plans.

        The rest of the Grange members present watched the presentations and deliberation carefully, while licking their lips–and were eager for potluck time to come around so we could all enjoy the dishes too.
Many thanks to the Cooking Contest Committee that publicized the contest, recruited the judges, supplied the prizes and handed out the award certificates.   Liz Benjamin, Cecile Sherburn and Marty Roberts made the whole event a success–along with the cooks!
The cooks who were present are in the last photo:  Patty, Merry, Betty and Cathy in front, and Tim in back.  The extra servings of their dishes made for an even more bountiful potluck dinner than usual!

May 4 Grange meeting

We had time for a brief Grange meeting after the cooking contest excitement. We were pleased to find in the Treasurer’s Report that we have built up some financial reserves, after the pandemic greatly reduced our income for a few years.  Rentals have recovered significantly–pretty visible on the Grange Calendar.   Kudos to Merry Shernock, who wears both the Treasurer’s and Rental Agent’s hats!  We agreed that we can safely park some of the money in a short-term CD (9 months) which is much higher-yielding than the Savings account–Merry has made that transfer since our meeting.
We also talked about the request from the VT State Grange Junior Camp director that we sponsor a community dance lesson during their week-long session July 15-19.   Liz Benjamin volunteered to reach out to callers, and Amy Handy put up her hand to reach out to musicians who could play for an event like this.   See below for the plan that has come together!
Everyone was pleased to see the new carpet tiles covering the Old Entrance foyer, which I reported on in the previous Grange Notes.   Kudos to Patty Giavara who superintended the selection, purchasing and installation of the carpet.  She also arranged to get the carpet tiles which were removed for the lift installation cut and installed around the lift shaft–a nice improvement in our attractive Lower Level!
Our meeting was followed by the potluck, enriched by the cheesy dishes generously shared by both winners and non-winners of the Cooking Contest.

Starting off June with tunes!

ses (almost) every week at the Grange Hall:  the Barre-Tones!  They are pictured above, as they appeared at a regional competition for barbershop-style singing.   They won 2 awards there, and qualified to compete in the international competition in November of 2024!

• Planning for our August 3rd Barbecue Potluck, which will include music from the Senior Center Jazz Band
• Planning for the October 25 & 26 State Grange Meeting, for which we’re providing the Hall, and also providing meals for delegates!   We’ll hear from Cooks/Organizers Charles Mayhood, Alison Forrest and Richard DeCosta about their plans, which include local produce!
• Possible Resolutions for State Grange Meeting.   Anyone can propose one, and we’ll set up a little committee to word-smith it into shape.

Dancing with Grange Junior Campers: July 18

Several times in the past, our Grange–which is known for the welcoming, high-quality Montpelier Contra Dances that are held 2 or 3 times a month–has been asked to provide some music and dance-calling at the VT State Grange Fall Festival, held at the VT State Grange Center in Brookfield.   We’ve been able to recruit from the wide pool of callers in Central Vermont, and provide some participatory entertainment, usually for a relatively older audience.  This year, the call has come to help out with a younger group:   The State Grange Junior Camp, held July 15-19.   This camp is for members of the Junior Grange, which is a sub-chapter of several Granges across the state.   The Camp Director, Melody Falker, contacted me to see if we could provide some introduction to community dancing, and we’ve arranged to do just that.   As mentioned above, Amy Handy and Liz Benjamin reached out to musicians and callers respectively; here’s what we’ve got set up:
Caller:  Erin Jenkins Smith has been calling dances at the Cabot Community Dance, as well as being an organizer for the Norwich Contra Dance and on the faculty of the Upper Valley Music Center.   Besides calling, she also plays bass and fiddle!   She’s completed Music Together training, and is especially enthusiastic about involving youngsters in community dancing.
Musicians:  We’re excited to welcome North Branch, a trio from Central Vermont that includes Susan Reid and Kenric Kite on fiddles, and Grant Ornstein on guitar.   Susan has been a mainstay of Central Vermont traditional music for–literally–decades, including serving as the Assistant Director of the VT Fiddle Orcherstra for many years.   Kenric is another long-time VFO stalwart, as well as being the long-time Executive Director of Onion River Community Access (ORCA).   Grant has played with the other two members for quite a while; he’s a Calais resident, serving on the Conservation Commission there.
Dancers:   The 20-25 camp attendees will be in a wide age-range, from 6 to 15 years old.  Most have likely not done this sort of community dancing before, so we look forward to getting them excited about live music, good calling and friendly dancers.   We’d love to have some contra dancers join us to dance with the kids!  We’d be happy to involve some of the younger folks who dance at the Montpelier Contra Dances, too.   If you’re interested, please email me:  swartztim15@gmail.com.  I’ll be repeating this request for dancers as we get closer–but please start spreading the word now.
Schedule:  The dancing will be from 7:00 to 8:30 PM, on Thursday, July 18.
Location:  The VT State Grange Center is located at 308 West St., Brookfield VT  05060.  It’s pretty easy to get to, about a mile from the Floating Bridge.

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) May 2, 2024

Saturday afternoon Grange meeting:  planning for the future…and enjoying the Cheesy Cooking Contest!

• June 1:  Sing-Along! will be the “Program” for 5-6:00, following an annual tradition.   Grange meetings have always included group singing; a fondness for the singing binds our membership together.   Matt Nunnelly, our Grange Musician will be leading many of the songs.  Do you have a list of songs you’d like to have us sing?  Bring them on Saturday, and we’ll make sure we have song lyrics available for June’s meeting.  We’d be happy to have more people who want to lead and accompany singing–let us know!
• July is typically a month when we don’t have a formal Grange meeting, since the first weekend is always a holiday weekend.   Later that month, we’ve been invited to bring some contra-dancing to the Grange Family & Junior Camp, at the Grange Center camp in Brookfield.   Can we pull this together?
• August 3rd will be the date for our next Grange barbecue/potluck dinner!   We like to cook some burgers and other grill items, to go along with dishes that people bring to share, and then eat at outdoor tables.   Last year, the Senior Jazz Ensemble played for us, and we got about 100 people!  Time to do some planning to organize and publicize this fun event.
• On August 31st, the Montpelier Contra Dance and the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall will be finishing up the annual Challenge Fundraiser, which raises money for the FCCGH to use in financing more improvements in the Grange Hall.   We’ll hear about plans for the final dance, and what the Friends are planning for upgrades.
• Looking beyond summer, our September Grange Meeting happens on Sept. 7th.  This is a rare year when it doesn’t correspond with Labor Day weekend, so we don’t have to move it to the 3rd Saturday.  We’ll be having our biennial elections of Grange Officers–please think about joining the ranks of the people who keep our Grange going!
• We’ll also be reviewing our capitalcitygrange.org website, our costs for maintaining it, ways to improve the site, how to get more input and how to spread the word through it.

Route 12:  finally getting repaved!

Anyone who drives Rt. 12 south of Montpelier knows that the pavement has been deteriorating for  a long time.   There’s been a bumper crop of potholes which keeps growing.   This spring finally marks the long-awaited resurfacing of the stretch from the Montpelier city line (just north of the overpass) to Northfield–8 miles.   I happened to be at the Grange Hall (hanging the sign for Saturday’s meeting) when the pavement grinder was completing the final pass on the north end of the work area.   People like Merry and I, who live in Northfield, are already experiencing a smoother ride on Rt. 12, with the various patches and potholes ground off.  We look forward to the laying of even smoother new pavement, which should start very soon!

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) April 24, 2024

So many kinds of cheese!

What can you make using some of the many choices?

Seeking support for the Bethel “Middle Branch” Grange

The article below appeared in the National Grange “Patron’s Chain” newsletter this past week, and is a good reminder that not far away, another very actively used Grange Hall was badly damaged by a fire.  I will be asking our Grange to consider making a donation to help Middle Branch.  That Grange has a large and active membership which has provided strong community connections, services including a food shelf, and an active social scene in a rural town.   If you want to donate, there is a mail address, and online donations can be made (with no fees taken out) by clicking on this Zeffy Fundraiser link.

April 6 program:  a spirited endorsement of direct democracy–in labor organization, and in society

At last, a delayed report on the presentation by David Van Deusen, former President of the VT AFL-CIO, in the Community Program on April 6th.  Van Deusen was elected to the presidency of the VT AFL-CIO (also known as the Vermont State Labor Council) in 2019, as the head of a slate of 14 reformist candidates determined to change the way the VT labor movement works.   Specifically, he and the rest of the slate wanted to change from an organization which was run by an executive council, to one which promotes direct involvement by workers in determining policies, and instead of hiring professional lobbyists relies on grassroots advocacy to the Legislature and policy makers.
This decentralization of power has resulted in more regular workers being involved in decision-making, and in deciding on how to put pressure on employers to improve the lot of workers.  This has led to increased labor activity in Vermont, including a larger number of strikes and improved contracts for workers.
The changes in the Labor Council also led to discussions in November 2020 in response to concerns expressed by Sen. Bernie Sanders about whether a safe transition of power to President Biden would take place.  After debate about what to do if the transition did not take place as usual, 85% of delegates voted to support concrete steps.   This led to plans for a general strike of non-essential services if that had happened.  This plan was supported by the Burlington City Council, and by leaders in other Vermont towns.  As we know, the transition did take place, following the eventual subduing of the Jan. 6th  rioters in the Capitol in DC.   Van Deusen noted that the national AFL-CIO threatened to remove the VT AFL-CIO officers over this plan.
Since then, in addition to consistently pushing for decentralization of power and grassroots activism, a major focus has been lobbying for passage of VT Bill S.102, the VT PRO (Protect the Right to Organize) Act.   This bill has been passed by the VT Senate, and is currently in the House committee on General and Housing issues.  This bill seeks to make it easier for workers in the public sector to form unions, to expand collective bargaining rights to agricultural and domestic workers, and to prevent employers from forcing employees to attend “captive audience” meetings to propagandize against labor organizing.
In a vigorous question and answer session, Van Deusen responded to a question about the current school budget crises by advocating for a return to direct democratic decision-making at the town level.   He spoke strongly about the long-term trend to make budget decisions by Australian Ballot, rather than live discussion and decision-making by an assembly of town citizens.  He acknowledged that this can be a long process, but said that the need for face-to-face discussion would encourage civility and strengthen local community bonds.  He further advocated for a constitutional amendment to allow Vermont laws to be proposed by Town Meetings in the aggregate across the state, to reduce the concentration of power in Montpelier.
Van Deusen has just published a book about this period:  Insurgent Labor:  the VT AFL-CIO 2017-2023, available from PM Press.
All in all, it was a stimulating presentation and discussion.   I regret that we were not able to share via Zoom, as the Grange fiber-internet cable was knocked down in the big snowstorm a couple of days before the meeting, so we don’t have a recording of the program.   Stay tuned for more programs in even-numbered months!   In June, we will have a Sing-Along opportunity for everyone to sing loud!

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) April 6, 2024

Short Grange meeting Saturday

• Review of our finances.
• New carpet squares installed in the Original Entrance foyer (see pictures below).
• State Grange grant that helped us get the carpet installed.
• May 4:  cooking contest planning:  we hope you’re experimenting with cheesy dishes!
• FCCGH update on grant possibilities for fresh-air ventilation for the Hall.
• Brief discussion of a “Capital City Grange mission statement” if there’s time–I’m interested in your reactions to the ideas I proposed in the previous Grange Notes!

April 6:  Grange Program will feature former VT AFL-CIO chair David Van Deusen

We’ve got a beautiful new floor in our
“Original Entrance” foyer!

Ever since we rebuilt the wall between the Main Hall and the foyer, the mixture of 2 or 3 types of mats sitting on the original wood floor has looked very out of place.   The de-cluttering of the space (removing the table storage, brooms, snow-shovels and the trash & recycling bins) left us looking at a patchwork of floor coverings–see the top photo below.

The way it was–before

Floor coverings included a “runner” carpet, which held grit so well that it was hard to vacuum, a waterproof entry mat which covered only part of the floor, and some old ribbed rubber.

The way it is–after

The photos below show the carpet tiles installed by Delair’s Carpet & Flooring on Wednesday.   This type is designed to catch outside dirt/grit/water/snow.   We chose a variegated color pattern we hope will make the dirt stand out less.   Like the tiles downstairs, individual ones can be replaced once wear makes them unattractive.

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) March 19, 2024

April 6:  Grange Program will feature former VT AFL-CIO chair David Van Deusen

Mark your calendars for our next Grange program, on Saturday April 6, from 5:00 to 6:00.   Following up on a program last year with the current Executive Director, Liz Medina, for our April program, we’ll hear from former VT AFL-CIO President David Van Deusen, seen above addressing a 350 Vermont rally in 2019.
Van Deusen is about to release a book, Insurgent Labor, which describes the trials and tribulations of bringing change to the VT State Labor Council (another name for the VT AFL-CIO).  In 2019, he led a slate of candidates onto the Board of Directors, with the goal of creating a progressive and militant labor organization.   His book chronicles victories during his 4-year tenure as President, including expanding union democracy into the rank and file and moving power away from single individuals and into democratic structures.
We hope you’ll join us for this discussion, which will follow a 30-minute Grange meeting and will in turn be followed by a Grange Community Potluck!

March meeting:  continuing to look at our list of tasks

Keeping our mission in mind

As a preface to the “tasks” spreadsheet, Patty Giavara wrote a clear statement about our Grange:  “Our Grange’s major community service is providing, maintaining and improving our beautiful Grange Hall as a resource for Berlin and surrounding communities in Central Vermont. Our centrally located Hall, with lots of parking, full accessibility for all sorts of people, and affordable rental rates is a vital resource for many small organizations, local families, musical, dance and theatrical rehearsals, and much more.”  We have never adopted a mission statement for our Grange, but I think that this could be a start toward writing one.
I would like to have us focus on composing a mission statement, at our next full meeting (one not shortened by having a Program, as will happen in April).   Please come and help us work on describing our mission at our May 4 meeting.
I also welcome people sending in ideas of what should be included.   For example, the statement in italics above deals with our Hall, but does not include the events we sponsor ourselves, at least explicitly.   I’m sure other people will have other ideas–and we’ll need help making it a concise and clear statement.  You can email me by replying to this newsletter, or to my personal email:  swartzim15@gmail.com.

The National Grange and its mission

I was stimulated to think about a mission statement for our Grange by reading in the “Patron’s Chain” email newsletter of the National Grange about the updated mission just adopted by that organization–see above.  All of the issues of that weekly newsletter are available to anyone here.
In the March 8 issue, I was also pleased to see an extract from the National Grange “Declaration of Purposes” that:  “We proclaim it among our purposes to continue our historical appreciation of the abilities and equality of women“.  This is a good reminder, in “Women’s History Month”, that the Grange was the first fraternal organization to give women full equality–including full voting rights–from its foundation in 1867.  That was more than 50 years before the 19th Amendment allowed women to vote.
The National Grange website has lots more history and info; please check it out when you get a chance.   We are not a carbon copy of the National organization, but we can learn from them.

The Grange as “infrastructure”

Yet another stimulating article in the March 8th Patron’s Chain newsletter was one by the Communications Director of the Maine State Grange asking “Where does your community Grange fit into your community’s infrastructure?”  I found this an excellent concept–and one which should be part of our discussion of a “mission” for our Grange.   He writes about Grange Halls being part of “Hard Infrastructure” for local communities, and also cites things like monthly community suppers (like our Community Potlucks) as a way for people “to simply be together, enjoy and know each other“–and therefore also part of community infrastructure.  I hope you also find this concept a good one for thinking about communities, what they need, and what the Grange can do to strengthen them.

The Old and the New

As described in a previous edition of Grange Notes, we decided we needed to replace the old pressure tank (located under the stairs to the Lower Level).   It was clear that it was “waterlogged”–meaning that the rubber membrane inside had leaked, allowing the “air space” above it to become “water space” instead.   We were impressed that the old one was dated 7/13/1976.   A 48 year life is pretty impressive, when the average is more like 15 years.  The old one also lacked a pressure relief valve.
Plumber Tom Mulholland and I performed the extraction and replacement on the evening of February 29th.   We are hoping that installing it on that date will mean it will last four times as long…