Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) January 28, 2025

February Grange Meeting–4:30 to 5:00

As usual in even-numbered months, before our Community Program, we will hold a short and informal meeting for half an hour. We’ll have reports on finances (how much are we spending on snowplowing, sanding and pellets for the furnace in these winter months?), the blood drives and CPR/AED trainings (see below!).  You’re welcome to attend in person, or via Zoom, using this link.  In case you need them, the Meeting ID is: 862 3165 3483, and the Passcode is:  986607
This link will also be posted on the Grange website Calendar listing for the meeting, as usual.
We’ll also be discussing plans for celebrating the 20-year anniversary of 70 new members joining the Grange in 2005!   That event was a milestone in preserving the Grange and our beautiful Hall as a community resource for Berlin and central Vermont–and we hope it’s a precedent for (at least) 20 more years of active involvement in the Grange here.  If you’re reading this newsletter, we know you care about what happens at the Hall, and we need you to help the small core group that keep us going!
Below is a picture from the mass induction of the members who joined in 2005:

After the Grange meeting, at 5:00
It’s time for another FREE training session:  Hands-Only CPR + AED training

Another chance to hear a “Play Every Town” concert

In 2022, the Grange was the location for concert #10 in David Feurzeig’s project to play a piano concert in every Vermont Town.   We’re pleased to publicize his next concert in his continuing quest: in the State Capitol, as part of the Farmers Night concert series, David  will play pieces ranging from Beethoven’s Sonata opus 49 no. 2 to an arrangement of Oliver Nelson’s jazz classic “Stolen Moments”, with 2 Montpelier High School students joining in.  He’ll be playing the State House’s Wurlitzer piano; the whole event is FREE.  Voluntary donations can be made to the VT Flood Response Recovery Fund.  You can learn more at the Tour Website.
Note:  David plays concerts in venues he can reach in his EV–he used to fly all over the world as a concert pianist, but he has chosen to reduce his carbon footprint.

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) January 14, 2025

Blood drive this Friday at the Grange

Our Rental Agent (and Treasurer) Merry Shernock has set up this series, the first was Nov. 1 of 2024, and now it’s time for number two!
Please sign up on the RedCrossBlood.org website, if possible, or come by from 10:30 AM to 3:00 PM on Friday, Jan. 17.  They will be taking regular whole-blood donations, or “Power Red” donations of red blood cells only.   At this time, there are still quite a few times open, especially for “Power Red” appointments.   Please sign up now!
As a regular donor myself (13 gallons and counting) I can vouch for the friendly, considerate people on the blood drive crews, and the almost painless nature of the procedure.  I’ve been making “Power Red” donations for over 10 years; if you have questions, please email me.
As I’m sure you’ve heard, there is a constant need for blood at hospitals locally, around the state and the nation.   This is a great way to really make a difference!

And coming up in a couple of weeks, another FREE training session:  Hands-Only CPR + AED training

This life-saving training and presentation is our February “Community Program”.  Please come at 5:00 PM on Saturday, Feb. 1 to take part in this event.   The instructor will explain the process, and there will be an opportunity for everyone who would like to practice doing hands-only CPR on training manikins.   Even if you aren’t able to get on your hands & knees, you will still get a lot out of this presentation.  The instructor will show how communities, sports teams and schools are learning this skill–and why it’s important to take action quickly, if someone has a cardiac arrest.  Bring your family and friends if you can–this is training for everyone!
Working with the American Heart Association (AHA), we are offering this hour-long training in how to save lives by using “Hands-Only” CPR, plus basic instruction in using the Grange’s AED (Automated External Defibrillator).  This simple training can make the difference in someone surviving a heart attack, allowing time for 911 responders to arrive and provide expert care.  Doing the hands-on practice at this workshop will help increase your confidence in actually stepping forward to help to save a life, if a cardiac arrest happens where you are.   And it will let you see how simple it is to use the AED, which can diagnose if a shock is needed, and then give the correct shock safely.
You can read more about these courses, and other information at the AHA’s handsonlycpr website.  You’ll also find a link to a Spotify playlist of songs that have the right beats per minute for CPR.   This “Don’t Drop the Beat” playlist includes songs at the 100-120 beats per minute rhythm!   Everything from “Stayin’ Alive” to “Walk the Line”–check them out, too.
There are no age limits and no pre-registration required for this instruction session–please show up by 5:00 PM on Saturday, Feb. 1 to take part.

Followed by the Grange “Community Potluck”
at 6:00 PM!

You’ll be hungry after the CPR training, and you’ve got to eat dinner in any case–consider staying for our bountiful potluck dinner!  You can prepare your favorite dish to share, or pick up something on your way over, whether you come for the workshop or not.   We’ll be using the Grange’s vintage plates, bowls and silverware, so you know it will be a classy event!

January meeting:  still working on how to recruit more active Grange members

I will give a brief summary of the Grange meeting we held on Jan. 4.   The purpose of the meeting was to talk about how current and new members can get involved with Grange Hall operations and Grange leadership–both are important.   The 10 members that came had a good discussion of why we, the active core group, joined the Grange, and why we have kept coming.   Without going into a lot of personal details, a few of us joined in the early 2000s, when the previous generation of Grange members were running out of energy, and were just about ready to sell the Hall to a restaurant or funeral home (yes, really…).   The rest of the group joined because someone asked them to–and because they saw that the Grange is an important piece of “community infrastructure”.   And also because they really enjoy the sense of belonging and community, and because of the friends they have made at the Grange Hall!
Involvement can be in roles large and small, but the great need we have is for more people to get involved.  We will be reaching out to people who we know value the Grange in its many roles, and asking for help, because we know that it’s an important part of the lives of so many people.   We have lots of information if you have questions about what is needed, please feel free to reach out to us, too!

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) December 31,2024

2025 will be here very soon–help us to make our Grange even better!

• Maintaining and improving our Hall as an affordable, accessible venue for all sorts of community organizations, families and activities.  Check our our website Calendar to see the wide range of events!
• Sponsoring our own events for the public at our Hall–like Kids Trade & Play and Dance, Sing and Jump Around, as well as hosting blood drives–see the article below!
• Bringing people together to work and play strengthens trust and interpersonal ties, making for stronger, happier and more resilient communities.
• Providing free programs like the CPR & AED trainings (see below), and many more as part of Grange meetings.
• Providing free use of the Grange Hall to residents of Berlin (our home town!) for personal gatherings and celebrations.
• Overall, our Grange and its Hall is part of the “social infrastructure” of our region–supporting and creating opportunities for people to work together to make life better for everyone.

• Giving all members the chance to be leaders in the Grange, taking on projects in a supportive, friendly and encouraging organization.
• Doing volunteer work and community service adds to your happiness–there’s research confirming this!  Being involved helps you to develop friendships, social contacts and social skills, reduces depression and increases self-confidence.
• Being involved in face-to-face, in-person activities is an important part of a good life–we all learned how important when COVID kept us separate!

How can you get involved?
So many ways!

• Come to Grange meetings:  take part in our discussions of what we need to do, where our money is being spent, what else we should spend our money on, how to improve our meetings and our community service.   Only members can vote, but everyone can contribute.  4:30 to 6:00 PM, first Saturday of most months.
• Join a committee:  We are reviving the Grange Hall committee, to keep on top of routine maintenance, figure out new projects, figure out what we’ve overlooked, and more.   This committee will work outside of Grange meetings, so it will be great for folks that can’t come to our regular ones.
• Take on a regular task:  for example, I’m very pleased to report that Luke Donforth, a regular and well-liked caller at the contra dances, has taken on remote weekly setting of the WiFi thermostats!  He’s also going to help with the annual flushing of the tankless water-heater.   There are many more tasks–contact Tim to learn more.
• Tim would especially love to find a webmaster:   Among the many things I’ve learned how to do for the Grange, this is one of the ones for which I am most unsuited.   If you’ve got some web skills, we can use you!
• Notice things that need to get done, and help out!:   for example, if you come to the Hall, and snow hasn’t been shoveled off the steps, grab a snow shovel and clear them off, so it’s safe for everyone!   If we’re low on toilet paper or paper towels in a bathroom, get a roll or two from the “blue-door closet” in the kitchen!   If we’re getting low on those paper products, let Tim know to order some!

Donating financially, and joining the Grange help too!

• Donate to the FCCGH:  we are always accepting donations to our “sister” organization–the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall, which works with the CCG to plan, fund-raise and apply for grants to make major repairs and improvements to the Grange Hall.   Check out the Donate page on the website for a long list of projects the Friends have done.  And your contribution can be tax deductible!  You can also mail a check to the FCCGH at PO Box 192, Northfield Falls VT 05664.
• Renew your membership:  if you’ve been a member in the past, please send in your annual dues of $30, by sending a check made out to Capital City Grange to the PO box address in the header.  Reminder:  we have to send $24 of your dues to the State Grange, to fund them and the National Grange.
• Join the Capital City Grange:  click this link for an application form to print and mail in with a check.  If someone can easily make an online, fillable form, let me know, that would be an improvement.  Joining the Grange by paying the annual dues does show the breadth of our support, but we especially need people who can take on some kind of active role.

Re-starting the beats at the Grange Hall

About a dozen people came to our first free training in “Hands-Only” CPR, plus use of our AED, on Thursday Dec. 19.  In the picture above, you’ll see some of them working hard to give the right rhythm to the (theoretical) hearts of the training dummies.   We were taught how by Nick Strance, from the Vermont chapter of the American Heart Association, visible in the blue shirt in the background.
We learned that starting chest compressions within the first minutes of cardiac arrest dramatically increases the chance of survival.   There are just 2 simple steps:  Calling 911 is pretty easy these days, since most people have a cell phone.   Hands on training in hands-only CPR on a training dummy makes it easier to quickly take the next step, by showing you how easy it is to help save a life.   We practiced chest compressions to one of the many songs that have an appropriate beat:  the Bee-Gees classic Stayin’ Alive, which helped us to keep the rapid tempo going.   It also became obvious that having a partner to trade off with is a great help–it is a lot of effort!   If you can boogie to that beat, you can save a life.
We also got to see and hear how our own AED (purchased for the Hall by the Montpelier Contra Dance Committee) works:  voice messages tell you how to perform CPR (which is still the first step), tell you exactly how to place the electrodes on the chest of a victim, tell you when the built-in analyzing software decides a shock is necessary, tell you to stand clear, and tell you to re-start CPR after the shock, if necessary.  There is even a razor included to remove excess chest hair if necessary for the electrodes to make contact!
This same FREE training will be presented on Feb. 1, from 5 to 6 PM, as the “Program” for our February Grange meeting–no limits on how many people can take part, so spread the word!    Note that hese trainings do not provide certification.  If you would be interested in an Adult CPR/AED certification course (with a fee), please email Tim Swartz.
To see a 90-second video showing how to do hands-only CPR, go to:  heart.org/handsonlycpr.  While you are there, consider donating to the American Heart Association at heart.org–they provide these FREE training sessions!

Donate blood at the Grange, Jan. 17!

We’ve got our second blood drive scheduled, and we hope you’ll take part!   There are times available from 10:30 AM to 3:00 PM.   As interested readers will remember, we are now a regular site for Montpelier area blood drives.   A few of Red Cross’s regular sites in Montpelier got flooded, and they are happy to have drives at our Grange Hall!
It’s easy to sign up for an appointment:   just click this link to their “Find a Drive” web-page, put in our 05602 zip code, and find “Capitol City Grange” in the list on the left! (yes, we know it should be “Capital”).  You can donate a single unit of whole blood every 56 days, or a “Double Red” donation every 112 days!   You can also just walk in for this drive, but you might have to wait for an opening.
The next drive scheduled for our Grange Hall will be March 12, 2025.   Our thanks go to Merry Shernock, Rental Agent and Treasurer for setting up these opportunities to donate and save lives.

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) December 16, 2024

Learn how to pound a dummy’s chest–in a good way!

Have you ever wondered what you would do if someone had a heart attack in front of you?  Here’s a chance to respond in the right way–in fact 2 chances at the Grange!

• Thursday, Dec. 19, noon to 1 PM:  FREE training  on how to do “Hands-Only CPR”, as well as training on how to use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED), like the one that the Grange has!
• Saturday, Feb. 1, 5:00 to 6:00 PM:  we’ll have the same FREE training again!  Come whichever time suits your schedule.

Gleaning–then and now

Many of you may may recognize the picture to the left:  “The Gleaners”, by Jean-Francoise Millet.  This picture, completed in 1857, which shows 3 women picking up grains of wheat after a field has been harvested, certainly testifies to the fact that for centuries people have been needed to retrieve left-over food after a commercial harvest is completed.  In our local area of Vermont–very locally, in fact–there is a wonderful gleaning organization:   Community Harvest of Central VT.   For our bi-monthly “Community Program” on Dec. 7, our Lecturer (Patty Giavara) asked the founder and Executive Director of CHCV, Allison Levin to tell us about it.
Allison, who lives just a bit south of the Grange Hall, is no stranger here–she’s been part of the contra dance community for years, met her husband at the dances, and now has an enthusiastic dancer in their younger son.  Allison told us how she grew up on an organic vegetable farm, and routinely saw the produce that didn’t get sold at the Farmers Market get consumed by farm animals–certainly not going to waste.  Back in 2013, volunteering at the Montpelier Food Shelf, she saw the need and desire of the “shoppers” there for fresh produce.   At the same time, she could see un-harvested cabbages and other perfectly good vegetables still sitting in farmers’ fields.  She arranged to pick up the cabbages–and found that there were so many of them–about 4,400 pounds–that the food shelf could not store or handle them all.  This led to her researching how to effectively organize and distribute gleaned produce, and within a year, to her starting Community Harvest.
In the last 11 years, she and the corps of volunteers she has recruited have grown CHCV to be a much larger and more effective organization.  Starting with just Allison’s station wagon, and a pallet’s worth of space in a farm building, her group now has a good-sized transit van, plus renting most of a building built for them on the Rogers Farmstead on Rowell Hill Rd. (just off Rt. 12, 1/2 mile from the Grange).  The building has 3 walk-in coolers and heated space for processing and cleaning vegetables throughout the year.   She has about 1,000 people signed up as potential gleaning volunteers, and used over 330 in 2023.  They can gather and distribute close to 100,000 pounds of produce in a year, working with up to 41 partner organizations to distribute this bounty to people who really need it.
Reducing food waste and instead getting it to people who can use it are two of three major parts of the mission of CHCV.  The third is education–teaching people about how much food is wasted (about 14.3 million pounds in Vermont per year), how it can be used for delicious meals–and teaching kids about all of these facts.   School groups come and help glean, use the foods to make meals, and learn about not wasting food.
There are all sorts of opportunities for people who want to help out, from in-the-fields gleaning, to cleaning and storing food, to doing clerical work to keep track of it all.  One volunteer ripens green tomatoes in her home, so they can be distributed well into the winter!   To learn more about all of these matters, and to volunteer, as well as to see pictures of their work, including volunteers like those in the photo to the left, check out their website:  communityharvestvt.org.

Singing in the season at the Grange Hall

We had about 20 people join us to sing holiday songs on Sunday afternoon, Dec.1.   Many thanks are due to Matt and Katherine Nunnelly

:  Katherine brought a great variety of crafts so that kids who didn’t want to sing all the time could have something to do.  She staffed the table along with their son Jacob.  The song leading was done by Matt, while he played piano accompaniment.  Matt and Kat both wore their Santa hats; Jacob had reindeer antlers!   We had lyrics for 39 different songs which we projected onto the big screen; the audience came up with a few more to sing as well–which we’ll be adding to our collection for next year.  Watch for the notice for next year’s event!

Another chance to support the Friends and the Grange Hall!

Some of the readers of this edition of the Grange Notes have probably already received a letter (or an email) from the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall, asking for financial support for the continuing improvement of our beloved Hall.   The FCCGH sends out an end-of-the-year appeal for contributions every year–like many other charitable causes.
This year, the Friends are seeking more funding to get us closer to a big goal:  installing ventilation systems for both floors of the Grange Hall to bring in filtered, outdoor air through a heat exchanger air handler to improve air quality inside–all year ’round.   We will also be installing improved and quieter filtration systems for both floors.  This is a large goal, which we plan to achieve in stages.   And, as usual, the money you donate will be used to match grants, to double the impact of your donation.
To make a donation of any size online, please click to go to the Donate page on the Grange website, where you’ll find a button to donate via PayPal or credit card!   Any donation, large or small will make a difference, and will be greatly appreciated.  This is how we’ve made many major repairs and improvements in the Hall–you’ll find a list on the Donate page!  Together, we can do it.

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

Have a great Thanksgiving–
and get ready to sing together next Sunday!

Lots of Grange members love to sing together, and we think it’s fun for everyone!    We’re looking forward to a Holiday Sing-Along next Sunday.    Thanksgiving is late this year, so December starts on Sunday 3 days later–and it’s a great chance to sing in the season.   If you want to give your out-of-town family guests a Vermont community experience, if you want to do something besides watching football, or if you are ready to throw your self into the sentiments of the season, this event is for you.
Matt Nunnelly, our Grange Musician, will be leading the songs and playing the piano, and we’ll have lyrics  projected so we are all singing the same words.  If you have lyrics you want us to include, send them to Tim:  swartztim15@gmail.com.
We will also be happy to get donations of items to help spread the warmth of the season to un-housed people in our community, which we’ll pass on to organizations that help them.  Of course, this is optional–this is a FREE community event.

Dec. 7th: Glean up your act with Allison Levin!

Grange Lecturer Patty Giavara has a great program happening, from 5:00 to 6:00 after a brief Grange meeting starting at 4:30.
Allison, pictured below, started Community Harvest of Central Vermont in 2014, when she saw a need to reduce wasted food, and to help everyone in the community have access to healthy, fresh local food.  1 million pounds of produce in Washington County goes uneaten each growing season.  In 2023, CHCV gleaned 77,846 pounds from local farms and food producers; this recovered food reached about 12,070 individuals in Washington County.  They partner with 29 local recipient organizations!
As you can tell, this is a big project with a big impact!   Allison will tell us about how she and her dedicated crew of volunteers do it, and is looking forward to answering your questions–and letting you know how you can help out, if you’d like!
            In 2023, CHCV built a new storage facility with walk-in coolers, indoor space to sort and wash vegetables, and easy access for their van and other trucks to deliver and pick up food to bring to food shelves, community kitchens, senior meal programs and more.   There’s lots more information on their website:   communityharvestvt.org
Allison is the daughter of organic vegetable farmers in the White River Valley; in her teens and twenties she helped manage harvesting crews and her father’s farm–so she knows farming and the challenges farmers face.   She has long-established relationships with local farmers and the broader farming community.  And her upbringing instilled in her a deep commitment to ensuring that everyone has access to healthy, locally produced food.
She lives just down Rt. 12 with her husband and two sons; she’s been part of the contra dance community since before she was born–her parents met contra-dancing–and she met her own husband at the dances at our Grange Hall!   Her sons are now contra dancing regulars here, as well.
Meet Allison and learn more, on the first Saturday of December!

Learn to save lives!
Hands-Only CPR and AED training
2 classes scheduled!

Earlier this year, the Montpelier Contra Dance Committee purchased an “Automated External Defibrillator” (AED) for our Grange Hall.

This machine will speak to tell AED users just what to do–but it can still be daunting!   And users need to know how to administer chest compressions (hands only CPR).  Patty Giavara, our Grange Lecturer, has scheduled two training opportunities with the American Heart Association.   Grange members, renters and members of the community are all welcome at these free trainings, and registration is not needed:
Thursday, Dec. 19 from noon to 1:00 PM, and
Saturday, Feb. 1 from 5 to 6:00 PM (this will be our Grange Program, following a half-hour Grange meeting).
These classes are being provided by the American Heart Association, and there is no fee–but donations to the AHA are welcomed!
Hands only CPR and use of the AED can save lives.  These methods are being taught in schools and communities everywhere, because it’s important to know what to do in the critical minutes before an ambulance arrives.  For more info, email Patty.  You can also check out the AHA description of the training, which they call Be The Beat, which includes info and links to videos.

More family events
at the Hall in December

• Sunday Dec. 8, 3:00-4:30 PM:  Dance, Sing and Jump Around will have the Main Hall jumping–as well as dancing and singing.   Please spread the word–we’ll have live music from Fran and John Mallery, songs and dances and play-party games taught step-by-step, and fun for folks of all ages!   We ask for a $5 donation for adults, but kids are FREE!  And no one is ever turned away.  Held on the second Sunday of each month through April.
• Saturday, Dec. 13, 9:30-11:30 AM:  Kids Trade & Play will have lots of clothes for kids from infants to Junior 10-12 to give away, plus boots, shoes, coats, toys, books and games!   This is our monthly exchange, where you can donate the items your kids have outgrown (if they’re clean, un-ripped and un-stained), and pick up larger items for your family to use!   Take as much as you can use; we ask for a $5 donation per family, but no one is ever turned away.  Held on the second Saturday of each month, all year ’round.