Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) July 28, 2026
Smoke rises from the Grange…
and it’s a good thing!
Most days, seeing the smoke rising at the Hall would be a cause for concern, but when we have our annual Barbecue-Potluck-Picnic- 5:00 PM: We need some volunteers–people to help us bring out tables, chairs (and BTW, we’ll be using our still new padded chairs this year), dishes and plates, silverware and condiments. Please note: you’ll see me limping around with a cane, so I’m really looking for more people to fetch, carry and set up, since I can’t really lug stuff around.
- Steve Boylan (in the apron and hat above) will also be looking for help to load up and start cranking the 2 ice-cream makers he’ll be bringing again–like last year, get your taste buds set for vanilla and blueberry!
- The Montpelier Senior Jazz Ensemble will be playing and singing jazz standards–they’ve been rehearsing in the Grange Hall for several years! This year, we’re keeping the entrance porch clear, and they’ll be playing at ground level.
- 5:30 PM: we’ll be ready for potluck side dishes to be set out on the tables. Please bring your favorite side dishes of all kinds, to go along with what the Grange is providing, and which Tim, Kurt and Patty will be cooking: burgers (beef and vegan) and hot dogs, plus buns & condiments.
- 6:00 PM we’ll be serving out the burgers (both kinds) and the dogs.
- 7:00 PM will be time to bring the last of the dishes down to the kitchen for volunteer dishwashers to clean up, and for last of the folding tables and the chairs brought in, so that the band for the contra dance, Dawn Chorus can do their sound check. We will appreciate help with this part of the dinner as well! All of our celebrations and projects work well when we have volunteers–and they’re fun for everyone.
Dessert note: Steve Boylan suggests that for the ice cream, people might like to bring some chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, chopped nuts, berries, sprinkles and/or whipped cream to share!
Patty Giavara and I will be announcing the beginning of the “Challenge Match Fundraiser” for the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall, co-sponsored by the Montpelier Contra Dance. The dance doesn’t increase the price of admission, but people are encouraged to make donations, all through the month of August!
Just Food Hub
Tasty treats you can take home, and support Fair Trade goods and the Grange!
We will also be joined by Sue and John Morris, long-time Grange supporters and contra dancers, who now run an anti-profit “business”, the Just Food Hub, which is dedicated to supporting non-profit community organizations (including the Grange). They do this by selling products from around the Global South, Palestine and the U.S, which are produced with sustainable farming practices, and are democratic and worker-owned farming cooperatives.
The products they sell range from coffee, chocolate and tea, to nuts and dried fruit, to hand-made baskets. You can see and order all of their products at the Just Food Hub website–and for everything you buy through that Capital City Grange special page, or that you buy at the Aug. 1 picnic will return 25% of the price to the Grange as a support donation! Sue and John have been doing this for several years, and keep sending us donations, so we know it works, and we appreciate their efforts!
Grange Hall (and driveway) maintenance–
an ongoing saga, and a plea for help
Like the septic tank pumping I reported on in the last newsletter, there are a good number of systems for the Grange Hall that need maintenance regularly. While I was at the Hall for the septic work, I realized that I had not been paying enough attention to another “system”–the guided drainage that should direct the run-off off the driveway, instead of eroding its way downward. We’ve been lucky to not (yet) have any major rainstorms like the ones that happened on July 10 in 2023 and 2024, but we are suffering from erosion at the bottom of the “alley” that runs along the side of the Hall nearer Rt. 12, as well as the main driveway. Among the problems: the “waterbars” that are supposed to divert water over the bank, the gully developing around the “hair-pin turn” to the main driveway, water diverted around the drain to the culvert which should take it off the driveway, and the water spilling across the bottom of the driveway, making ruts, because the drainage has silted up.
If I had been paying more attention, perhaps we could have found some volunteers to work on the waterbars, etc., but at this point, we are going to hire a driveway contractor to correct some of these problems. We’re not sure just when we’ll fit into his schedule.
See below for a plea for help to avoid having things like this happen again.
Making a new plan for maintenance–
a plea for help
This driveway problem highlights the lack of a real structure for monitoring and accomplishing Hall Maintenance tasks–not the major renovations that the Friends of the Capital City Grange take on, but the many weekly, monthly and annual tasks. Over the years, I’ve done a lot of that myself–and I’m no longer able to keep up as well as I used to. Regular readers will know that I’ve turned 75 this year, and I’m definitely slowing down. Over the past couple of years, I’ve also been struggling with what turned out to be a couple of torn tendons in my hip, which have further compromised my ability to go up and down stairs, climb ladders, etc. I’ve been walking with a cane for a few weeks now, and I’m going in for an operation on those tendons on Aug. 11 which will keep me away from the Hall and unable to do a lot of things for at least a couple of months.
So: what I’d like to do is convene a group of people who have maintenance/janitorial/
Tasks will include, for example (not a full list!):
- Monitoring the driveway and parking lot on a regular basis, and identifying problems before they get big.
- Filling sand buckets for winter use.
- Emptying recycling bins and taking to recycling center.
- Monitoring Hall cleaning by our cleaning service, and doing occasional extra cleaning (e.g. the stair railings).
- Monitor and trim trees around the parking lot & driveway.
- Monitoring ongoing filter changing in furnace, air purifiers, ERV, dehumidifier, water filter–we have a lot filters these days!
I’m sure there are other areas I haven’t remembered–which is another reason why we need a diverse group keeping an eye on the whole Grange Hall from more than one perspective. The Hall is such an important part of our community service, and brings joy to the lives of so many people. Please get in touch to let me know if you’re interested. If you’re already helping with maintenance, many thanks, and we will want your input! I’ll be calling on you to work with me and others to do even better.
Important note: I’m not planning on leaving any time soon–I’d like to keep working as part of a group, and to pass on the knowledge about the Hall I’ve gained in the last 25 years that I’ve been working on it.
Would you like to win use of a camp/retreat center for a weekend?
The Vermont State Grange is raffling off the opportunity to use the Vermont State Grange Center in Brookfield for a full weekend in 2027! The $5.00 tickets will benefit the upkeep of the Grange Center. The rental of the Center for a weekend (Friday through Sunday) is valued at $1,500!
The facilities include:
- Cabin lodging with bunkbeds
- Indoor Recreation Hall
- Commercial Kitchen
- Meeting Rooms
- Outdoor Recreation Areas
- Chapel
- Picnic Tables and Firepit
- Bring your own linens, everything else is included!
The drawing will be held on Oct. 24, 2026, at the Annual Session of the State Grange–at our Grange Hall! You don’t need to be present to win, just provide your name and phone number, and you’ll be contacted. To buy tickets, contact me, Tim, for tickets: swartztim15@gmail.com, or see me around the Grange.
I’m including some pictures of the Grange Center below; you can also check out the Grange Center website.
