Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) June 19, 2023

Time to fill up the walls with cellulose!

We’re looking for about 4 volunteers per day, to help to blow cellulose into the long walls of the Grange Hall, filling up the stud cavities. We’re planning on doing this on June 26/27/28–Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday.  We will be drilling holes from the inside of the walls, and covering the holes with trim strips.   We need people to help drill holes, to load bags of cellulose into the hopper of the blower, and to clean up the inevitable fibers that escape during the process.  It may take only 2 days…which would be great!  Get in touch with me at:  swartztim15@gmail.com to talk specific schedule, and answer any questions you may have.
Some time has already been pledged by Patty & Kurt Giavara, me and Marisa Keller, plus Bill Hulstrunk, our expert leader.  We’d love to have you join us for one of these work-days!

Here’s some history about insulating our Hall:
We’ve already got a lot of cellulose insulating our Grange Hall.   Insulating the Grange started in earnest in 2006, when we added 12 inches of cellulose to the attic.  That was a big improvement on the inch or two of vermiculite that was the original endowment!
We were able to do this, because we got a huge amount of help from a Grange community member and contra dancer, Bill Hulstrunk.   Bill has spent his whole career in the business of improving the insulation of homes and buildings, specializing in cellulose.   He was able to provide a cellulose blower and lots of hoses, and get us a great deal on 180 bags of cellulose, plus hole-saws, wood plugs, housewrap and other supplies.  We assembled about 10 volunteers for this project, and got the whole project done in one Saturday…plus a couple of hours the next day to finish up.  Besides the attic, we also filled up the stud cavities in the South gable end, from the attic.
Bill also came back several years ago to dense-pack the stud cavities in the North gable end.   We wanted to reduce the moisture that could be coming through the walls and “helping” the paint to peel.  It took a much smaller number of bags for that project!
Besides the cellulose in the attic and walls, of course, in 2020 we also had most of the concrete walls in the basement insulated with 2-1/2″ foam panels, and had all the joists ends foamed to seal them up.
Now that we’ve had all the walls of the Hall painted, we want to do everything we can to encourage the paint to stay on!   We also want to make it as easy as possible to heat the Hall, especially on the coldest days.  The pellet furnace we had installed in 2022 is smaller in capacity than the old oil-burner.   We knew it would be running constantly on the coldest days–and it was.   And it still had some problems keeping up with the demand.   We are confident that insulating about 1200 sq. ft of stud walls will improve comfort levels, and also save us money on pellets.
So–can you help us out?  We have a couple of people who are willing to pitch in–Kurt and Patty Giavara, and I will also help out–but I’m less capable than I was in 2006.  We need a couple more people who can help us on these weekday workdays–please get in touch–and ask any questions!

Help us get our ashes hauled!

For a few years, I’ve been watching the ash trees which are around the parking lot, as the Emerald Ash Borer has spread and affected ash trees all around central Vermont.  This invasive insect pest, as many of you know, lays its eggs in the bark of ash trees; their larvae bore into the trees, destroying nutrient flows in the wood under the bark, and eventually kill the entire tree.
As you can perhaps see in the photos below, we are not immune.  The ash tree to the right of the pine in the left photo is completely dead now–no leaves coming out.   The ash tree in the right photo still has a few leaves growing on it–but is clearly on its last legs.  I’d really like to find someone local who’s looking for firewood, and has a chainsaw, and experience taking down good-sized trees like these.  Ash is good firewood, and I’d like to keep the wood local to avoid spreading EAB to areas not already infested.  Are there any takers?

One more “Help Wanted”: Webmaster needed

One of the tasks I have ended up with at the Grange is trying to figure out how to keep our website updated.   Our “WordPress” website is a vital part of our operation, particularly the Calendar.
The Calendar is one of many “plugins” that make features of the website work.  All of them need to be updated periodically, and I’ve been able to figure out how to do this sometimes–but recently I’ve had problems with the Calendar updates in particular.  A major update that required “migration of the data” resulted in mixed up Calendar listings that took me several hours to resolve.   Last week, a supposedly simple update failed to work; I spent 10-12 hours struggling with it, and finally had to submit a “Support Ticket”.  I’m still waiting for the update to be able to be installed.  And there are several more plugins that seem to need updates.
I’d really like to pass on this sort of maintenance to someone with more knowledge and expertise!   If there’s someone out there among the very talented people who are involved with the Capital City Grange, who would be interested in helping out, I’d really appreciate it.   I’ll be happy to pass on what I’ve figured out (which includes a Staging Site and a way to back up the website).   I’m sure there are also many opportunities to improve the website, and its SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for example–but I don’t have the time, knowledge or inclination to learn this whole new field.  Please get in touch to learn more!  –Tim Swartz/swartztim15@gmail.com

Why do we need all this help?

Perhaps you’re wondering…how come Tim is asking for volunteers?    The answer is simple:  Keeping our Grange and its Hall going is a lot of work!   The core group of Grange members who come regularly to meetings is small–typically less than 10.   Many of us are getting on in years–at 72, I’m far from the oldest of the group.   We’re really proud of our Hall and the great number of activities that take place there–but keeping up with maintenance increases with more use of the Hall.   We really want to keep our rents affordable for families, non-profit organizations and cultural/charitable groups, so we want to do as much with volunteer help as we can, before we hire professionals.   Also, we know it’s fun to be part of an organization that brings real benefits to Central Vermont, and we’d like to share the joy!
Grange Notes:  In case you’re interested, these email newsletters go to a little over 300 recipients.  We know that between 140 and 160 people open them, thanks to Mailchimp’s tracking software.   We know a lot of you are interested in what goes on–hope you can change some of that interest into action!
–Tim Swartz, President (with everyone’s help)

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) June 8, 2023

Starting off with a head-start–and a clear view!

When the volunteer crew arrived on Saturday, they found two tasks already completed:  clean windows and a clean refrigerator!
Patty Covey, a member of the Montpelier Church of Christ has worked on the window-cleaning (including screens!) over the last couple of weeks, so there was lots of light coming in, the sills were all vacuumed, and one of the big jobs all done!  Many thanks!
And Erin Barry had cleaned out the refrigerator in the kitchen beforehand also, since she had a scheduling conflict with the day we chose.  She’ll be back at the Hall to set up and run the Kids Trade & Play event in a few days–see below!

Many thanks to our large crew of volunteer cleaners! 

The Fan Club

Next, some pictures of how the window fans were taken from very dusty to clean.   These get used to blow air into the Hall during contra dances and other events.   As you’ll see, they get pretty dirty!  In the pictures, you can see Patty Giavara, Carl Etnier and Matt Nunnelly taking them apart, cleaning them and putting them back together.  The people photos are bracketed by before (yuk) and after (nice & clean) pictures.

Bathroom and kitchen cleaning!

Various people pitched in to get the bathrooms clean–even behind the toilets–plus the mirrors, the sinks, kitchen stoves, etc.   You can see  Merry Shernock attacking dirt behind a toilet,  Alison Forrest with vlosartiC, and Carl Etnier, Stan Carlson and Bill Meckel taking on the kitchen.  Bill also cleaned both ovens!
Bill and Stan also cleaned the ceiling fans, and all the light globes upstairs!

More work in the Hall–catching up with the dust

After the globes and fan were cleaned, Jody Pettersen vacuumed up the dust from the mats, and then tackled the chair carts and the mat cart!   I’m pretty sure no one has done that since the carts were built in 2008 and 2014 respectively.  She also vacuumed the stage floor and the floor under the stage, and vacuumed the Dance Closet too!
Not shown are Dan Jones and Alison cleaning the insides of the Lower Level windows, Alison cleaning the trim and walls in the Original Entrance foyer.   Merry took the curtains from the Main Hall windows home to wash, too!

More outdoor work!

Stan Carlson cut down a dead ash tree by the driveway, Kurt Giavara re-attached some sills on basement windows–and Patty Giavara removed the ugly splatter left by a snowplow on our beautiful Grange sign!

The good news:  a good turn-out of experienced volunteers
The not-so-good news:  only a couple of new faces

We really appreciate the hard-working people who show up regularly at our “project days”–and their combined experience helps the work go really smoothly!    We were glad to get a couple of new folks joining the crew; by all reports they were fun to work with and really pitched in–shout out to Bill and Dan.   And as usual, almost all the cleanup-day work crew came from the contra dance community–a really supportive part of the Grange “family”, as well as being our single largest group of Hall users.  Kudos to them!
We do really wish we could see a few more people from the other groups who regularly rent the Grange Hall.   All of the many hours of volunteer work that keep this place running make it possible for our rental rates to be low, compared other venues.  And projects like this clean-up make it more pleasant and attractive for everyone who uses the Hall.  Those of us who put in a lot of time do it because we think the Hall is a valuable resource.  We’re all happy to see it busy–but it won’t keep going forever unless new people step up to take part in work days like this.  We also need more folks to help with regular maintenance tasks, the website, and many other parts of our operation.    None of us long-time volunteers are getting any younger, either!
I will continue to publicize volunteer opportunities, and hope to meet some new, eager people who want to pitch in.   It’s a lot of fun to be part of the “backstage crew”–when we have enough help.  You can always reach me to find out more about the work that needs doing, at:   swartztim15@gmail.com.

After the clean-up:  singing and eating!

Grange members and our Grange Hall friends always like both of these activities.   There was room for more folks at both the Sing-Along (led from the piano by Grange Musician Matt Nunnelly) and the Community Potluck that followed.  I’m sorry I wasn’t able to be part of these activities–there was clearly lots of food at the potluck!   The photos below show the leftovers, some of which were packaged up by Alison Forrest.   I heard that the Rhubarb Crumble made by Grange Secretary Charles Mayhood was especially wonderful!

Our next potluck: August 5th
Mark your calendars

We won’t have a regular meeting or potluck on the next “First Saturday”, since it will be July 1st, part of the holiday weekend.  So we’re planning an outdoor Barbecue/Potluck for the beginning of August.    We’ll have a gas grill and a charcoal grill, and hope we’ll see you there with something tasty to cook there, or already made.   More details to come!

Coming back this Saturday, June 10!

After skipping the 2nd Saturday in May to allow the volunteers a little break, our Grange’s monthly kids clothing exchange is back at its usual time this Saturday.   Organizer Erin Barry and her hard-working crew will set up the 50 or 60 bins of sorted, clean, un-ripped and un-stained clothing for kids from newborn to Junior 12 size. as well as women’s clothes!   We’ll be accepting donations of equally nice clothing, which your kids have outgrown and are ready to pass on. Erin’s especially looking for summer clothes this time, for obvious reasons.  We usually get around 100 adults and kids in the 2-hour-long event and we hope you’ll come and take advantage.  We ask for a $3 donation per family–but no one is ever turned away.  Take as much as you can use!  Keep up with all the news from Erin and her crew on their Facebook Page.

Finishing touches:  new concrete!

We’re pleased to be getting to the last bits of the wheelchair lift and foyer project, with the replacement of the concrete slab at the bottom of the entrance ramp.   The original slab had dropped a few inches at the back edge, where it joined the building’s foundation, and no longer met ADA guidelines for an accessible entrance, so replacing it was included in the scope of work for our project.
Within the next week, we expect to get the Fire Marshal (who also checks compliance with ADA requirements) to inspect and certify that we’ve followed the plans and codes in our project.

Just Food Hub:  your chance to get delicious products from the Congo Coffee Project

It’s been a while since I highlighted Just Food Hub, the very local anti-profit organization that sells fair-trade food items, and donates to local community service groups–including the Grange!   Order from them using this special link to their website, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to us!   You can also find much more information about them.
Also, for every bag of Organic Congo Coffee purchased, Equal Exchange donates $1 to the Panzi Foundation to support survivors of sexual violence in the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo–raising over $100,000 so far!  Donations fund infrastructure development at the Panzi Bulenga Clinic in South Kivu, and also vocational training where women learn skills that help foster financial independence and stability.   Congolese farmer cooperatives grow these beans in eastern Congo, where the combination of rich volcanic soil and high altitudes allow the coffee cherries to mature slowly, leading to incredible sweetness.
The Grange is honored to be the beneficiary of donations from Just Food Hub, which distributes fairly-traded Equal Exchange products from small farmers like these.

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) May 28, 2023

Faster than we expected!

I’m extremely pleased to be able to report that the entire exterior of the Grange Hall has been scraped and painted!  Check out the pictures above, which show the final results.  In addition to all the siding, the interior of the entrance porches, the original entrance porch floor and the concrete foundation walls are also freshly painted!  And if you look carefully at the photos of the 2 entrances, you can see that the parking lot has been re-graded as well.
How did we get this done?  Alert readers will remember that thanks to Patty Giavara, Chair of the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall, we were able to qualify for a grant that is paying for half the cost of this major project.  Patty was able to document the historic nature of our building–it’s 70 years old, and has been in continuous use as a Community Grange Hall for the entire time.  By proving that we are qualified to seek designation as an historic building, she was able to apply for a grant for exterior painting.   The FCCGH received confirmation that they were getting the grant at the end of April, and we alerted our chosen contractor, Hodgkins Painting of Plainfield.   And we were quite surprised when he told us that due to cancellation of another job, his crew was able to start on May 11th!
Travis Hodgkins and a crew of 4 or 5 went right at the scraping process.  They are trained to do safe removal of lead paint (which our Hall certainly has), and used approved hand-scraping techniques combined with chip-catching tarps, plus painstaking collection of chips that missed the tarps, to do a very clean job.  By the end of the day on Friday, 5/12, they completed the prep-work, and they were able to start painting on the Monday morning following.   The entire job was completed by Friday, May 19th–porches, trim, siding and lettering too!
The thorough scraping needed is shown in the “Before Scraping” and “During and after scraping” photos below.
By the way, we’ve been asked a few times if future building renovations are prohibited by being a “historic” building.  Working with the VT Preservation Trust, we have confirmed that we are not restricted.   We have not applied for official “historic” designation, and don’t intend to–but we were able to get the painting grant without taking those steps.

Before Scraping:

During and After Scraping:

Driveway Grading:

We were also glad to get an earlier start on the driveway & parking lot grading!   Our May 6 meeting approved the quote we had gotten, and on May 17th Matt Dwire brought his equipment over.  He re-graded the driveway, brought in a couple of loads of gravel, and presto–no more roller-coaster ride coming up the driveway!  We also got more gravel thickness over the septic tank access (near the original entrance), and smoother transitions to the concrete pads in front of both entrances.

What’s next?   A Hall clean-up work party on June 3rd!
And then a sing-along and potluck dinner, too!

With all this beautiful exterior work, we want to make the inside of the Hall (plus the flower-beds!) look equally good.   We haven’t had a “Hall Clean-up” work party since before the pandemic…and we’ve found–in a twist on the saying–that Dust never sleeps!   We have accumulations of dust visible on the light fixtures and the ceiling fan in the Main Hall–and only somewhat less visible on the walls.
With our work-party scheduled for 1:00 PM to 4:30 PM, you’ll be able to appreciate the new look of the grading and painting work by daylight, and then help to make the inside look bright and clean as well.   We’ll have room for people to work on various areas, and we’ll have a lot of cleaning supplies–but we encourage you to bring your own.   We know different people like different vacuum cleaners, for example–and we’ll have work for them all.
As we discussed at the May 6th Grange meeting, we need some help from the Grange community to keep this Hall running.   We have been able to count on generous financial contributions to the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall, which have allowed us to make great progress on major projects like the new wheelchair lift and the full repainting of the Hall described above.  Both of those projects were 50% paid for by the FCCGH, with the rest covered by grant funding.  But we can’t get grants for normal maintenance and cleaning!
We’ve always found that everyone who comes for a work party has a good time–it’s fun to work with other people for everyone’s benefit–and we find that people that want to pitch in are nice folks!   Many of us involved in the Grange started out by pitching in on events like this–and we hope you’ll join us!   We’ll be sharing some tunes to work by, and if people want to bring some snacks, I’m sure they’ll be enjoyed as well.  It’s a great chance to meet other Grange members and Hall users!
We’ve already gotten a head-start on the cleanup, thanks to a couple of folks.   Patty Covey, a member of the Montpelier Church of Christ has started cleaning the windows in the Main Hall!  And Erin Barry, organizer of Kids Trade & Play, has cleaned the refrigerator!  Amy Handy has planted flower seeds in the planters outside the steps of the ADA entrance porch, and will be happy to have others join her to work on the other flower beds on the 3rd.   And Lewis Neill has donated 4 small lilac bushes, which have been transplanted into a sunny corner of the parking lot as “Lewis’s Lilac Grove“.  We’ll be moving some stones to protect the grove on June 3rd too!
Besides the interior cleaning, Amy Handy would be happy to have some help with weeding and other work on the flower beds.   And there are some small dead trees to cut down–bring a bow-saw or a chainsaw if you have one.   We’ll have work for everyone!   Questions?   Get in touch with me by email:  swartztim15@gmail.com.  If you want to consult with Amy about flower beds, you can reach her at: 1geranium1@gmail.com.  We have commitments from a few renters that they will be coming to help,  hope we’ll see you next Saturday!

Celebrate the cleanup, the paint, the grading, the gardening–and spring in general!

Whether or not you can join us for the clean-up, we hope to get you to sing along with us!  We’ll have some printed song-sheets, and Grange Musician Matt Nunnelly will be on hand to play piano accompaniment and provide his song-leading talents.  Bring your own favorites to teach to us!  Bring a guitar or a banjo or other musical instrument!  As one of my son’s Cub Scout leaders used to say, you don’t have to sing well, we just want you to sing!
[By the way, if you think you detect a common theme in the plans for June 3rd, you’re right!   We are trying to tempt you to come to the Grange and have a good time–whether you enjoy working on a project, meeting nice people, singing silly songs or eating tasty food, we’ll be happy to have you join us.]
And yes, the singing (in the Main Hall, where the piano is located) will be followed by a Grange Community Potluck!  As a Grange Notes reader, you’ve seen my descriptions of them often, I’m sure–bring whatever you like, dine on our selection of vintage dishes, enjoy great company!  We’ll have it in our refurbished Lower Level, which is served by the still-new Wheelchair lift so everyone can come.  We hope you will be among them!

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) May 3, 2023

May Grange meeting:  this Saturday, 4:30 to 6:00
What’s next for our Grange?

• Completed:  the Lift project, including not only the functioning platform/wheelchair lift, and the fire-safety improvements which were required by the Fire Marshal.
• Property tax exemption from the Town of Berlin:  supported by the voters for the next 5 years.
• Hall rentals:  growing, which in turn has helped us to start recovering from the COVID pandemic’s financial losses.
• Exterior painting:  the FCCGH located, applied for, and has been approved for a grant to help pay for professional scraping and painting of the exterior of the Grange Hall.  Schedule TBD

Are there any webmasters out there?

One specific need we have is for help with managing our website.  I have been having problems with several issues, which I’m certainly not trained to handle, on our WordPress website.   I will be happy share the specifics of the problems I have had recently with someone who is willing to take on some “consultant” responsibilities.  Please contact me by replying to these Grange Notes, or call me at 802-225-8921.

Coming up at the end of August:  Champlain Valley Expo

As we have done the past couple of years, we’d like to put up an exhibit about our Grange and what we do here as part of the VT State Grange display at the CVE, which will run from Aug. 25 to Sept. 3.   I have made the exhibits the last couple of years, and would love to have someone else put in some new ideas.  We will still have the monitor and laptop available, which I used to show a “slideshow” of Grange activities for the 2022 CVE exhibit.  We can provide a tri-fold, pictures, and lots more–I have lots of material, I just want to have at least a collaborator to help generate new ideas.
I hope to discuss this at the Grange meeting on May 6th as well, please join in the discussion, in person or via Zoom!

After the meeting, it’s Potluck Time!

From 6:00 to about 7:30, join us in the Lower Level for a social dinner.   The Lower Level is now accessible for everyone, thanks to completion of the lift, which allows anyone who has difficulty with stairs to get a ride down and up.   This goes for anyone using a wheelchair, a walker or just having problems with stairs.
As usual, we expect a great spread of interesting dishes!  We welcome everyone who comes–bring something special you cooked up that you like to share, or something tasty you picked up on the way to the Grange Hall!  Dishes can be heated up in the Grange kitchen on our two gas ranges, or kept cold in the refrigerator until dinner time.
See the picture from a previous Grange Potluck happening downstairs; you can see a diversity of dishes and a happy crowd of eaters!

Almost complete: our big project

The last time I sent out a Grange Notes email, on March 29th, I said that we were still working on the final details of the “non-lift” work in our project.  I’m pleased to say that this work is at this point, “almost complete”.   Like so many construction projects, the final details have dragged on.   By the time of the meeting, everything inside will be done.   The only outdoor piece left to do is to correct the concrete pad at the bottom of the access ramp, which has sunk several inches at the edge that adjoins the foundation–see the photo.
There are also pictures of other parts that are now completed:  the panic bar hardware with latches top & bottom, magnetic hold-opens attached to smoke detectors, the new pipe railings around the original entrance porch, new wood handrails for the stairs on that entrance, new triangular shelves in the closet next to the door closet, new wall-hung trash & recycling containers inside the Main Hall, the new closet for the Church of Christ, on the stage, painted and complete with doors, and new shelves in the Grange closet, which are awaiting filling with at least some of the items taken up to the attic for storage during the construction.
If you want to make the Hall look even better, and have some experience painting, we’d be happy to have you continue the new paint in the foyer of the original entrance down the stairs to the lower level.  If you check it out next time you visit the Grange Hall, you’ll see why this will be a nice facelift!
I do want to thank the volunteers that have stepped up to help with painting thus far:  Merry Shernock, who primed the Grange Closet, Cynthia Haviland, who painted the closet (with assistance from Patty Giavara), Alison Forrest who did the cutting in for the foyer painting, and Patty Giavara again, who primed and painted the new pipe railings.
I also want to thank Kurt Giavara, who custom-milled and shaped the maple threshold for the new double-doors, once we discovered that we needed one for the panic-bar latches.  It’s visible in the photo of the doors.
Please note:  the floor of the foyer for the original entrance must be kept clear of all items, per order of the Fire Marshal.   Trash and recycling containers have been replaced with the wall-hung bins pictured below, cones and snow shovels (in season) will be stored on the porch, and people should be changing shoes/boots for dance events in the Lower Level. If it’s necessary to store footwear upstairs, the triangular shelves can be used, or they can be left on top of a mat.  The clear foyer space is required to avoid any interference with people needing to get out quickly in case of a fire or other emergency.   While we certainly don’t expect anything like that to happen, we need to follow the Fire Marshal’s directives to improve safety for that possibility.

Soon to be replaced:  our sinking concrete pad

As mentioned above, the concrete pad at the base of our ramp for ADA access to the Grange Hall has sunk at the back edge, since being poured when the ramp and the ADA entrance were built in 2008.  We have a contractor scheduled to replace the concrete with a new pad, which will be pinned to the poured-concrete building foundation, and to the bottom of the wooden ramp.  We expect that these measures should prevent a repeat of the tilting we’ve experienced.

Charles Martin–continuing to get better, and still appreciating the cards!

Affordable Heat Act:  heading for the Governor’s desk

Our last meeting, on April 1st, featured a “Community Program”, with Senator Anne Watson and John Brabant of Vermonters for a Clean Environment discussing S.5, the “Affordable Heat Act” bill.  this bill has now passed both the Senate and the House, and is now waiting for Gov. Scott to sign or (more likely) veto.   This proposed bill is a major attempt to change the market for heating fuels for Vermont buildings–and is still quite controversial.
If you want to see the discussion at our Community Program from April 1st, the recording of the Zoom is posted on the Grange website Calendar listing.
Please note also that this discussion took place after the bill was passed by the House, but before it was amended and passed by the Senate, and further updated by a conference committee.   Current information about the bill is available on the Vermont.gov website Bill Status page for S.5.

Still available:
Door prizes?   Or…prize doors!

I posted the same pictures in my last Grange Notes, and got one nibble each on both of the door offerings–but no takers in the end.   We really need to get these out of their current storage spot in the Lower Level alcove, so please consider how useful and beautiful these could be in your house–or barn, or shed, or even chicken coop!

If these doors look familiar, there’s a good reason.   These are the original double-doors we’ve recently replaced.   Made from plywood panels with applied wooden frames.   We also have the original jambs and door closers, ready to use.  The doors are big–36″ wide by about 82″ tall.
Available for a donation to the Grange!  We’d hate to throw these out, and would love to have them go to a home connected to the Grange.
But wait, there’s more!  See the picture below for the former door and jamb which used to be the entry to the ADA bathroom, which we also had to replace with a fire-rated door and jamb.   Complete with hinges, with a privacy doorknob and latch, this is a solid-core door, good for acoustic privacy.  Also available for a donation!
Interested in either of these great deals?   Contact the usual Tim at swartztim15@gmail.com or 802-225-8921.  We’ll help you load them onto your roof-rack or truck.

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) March 29, 2023

Grange meeting:  4:30 to 5:00

As usual in odd-numbered months, we’ll have a brief Grange meeting before the Community Program.   We’ll be looking at our financial situation as winter winds down, with a better idea of our heating fuel costs with our pellet furnace, and the actual costs for snowplowing mostly in hand.
At our last meeting, we voted to proceed with professional scraping and painting of the Grange Hall’s exterior this year, IF the grant application which Patty Giavara has submitted through the VT Preservation Trust is successful.   We won’t hear about that decision until early May, but hope that the outside of our Hall will be much closer to the interior.  We’ve made so many upgrades inside!
Also in the news–the October “State Session” of the VT State Grange will be taking place in Middlebury, the first time in my 25 year involvement in the Grange that it has moved from the Capitol Plaza in Montpelier.   Come to the meeting to hear more!
The Zoom link for this meeting is posted on the Grange website Calendar:  https://capitalcitygra.wpengine.com/event/main-hall-grange-meeting-public-program/   If you come in person, mask use is optional.   If you’re not feeling well, please join us via Zoom!

Affordable Heat bill?   What’s that about?  Find out Saturday!
5:00 to 6:00 PM

Many of you probably have heard of S.5, the “Affordable Heat Act” bill, which was passed by the VT State Senate, and is now in the VT House Energy and Environment Committee.   This proposed bill is a major attempt to change the market for heating fuels for Vermont buildings.  Fossil fuels provide about three quarters of the energy to heat Vermont buildings, and they are costly; their prices are volatile; and they are polluting. The Affordable Heat Act is designed to harness the power of the market and the ingenuity of Vermonters at fuel providers to reduce dependency on these fossil fuels.   On Saturday afternoon, starting at 5:00, we’ll hear from different sides of the debate over this bill:  Washington District State senator Anne Watson is a sponsor of the bill, and John Brabant, from Vermonters for a Clean Environment will support an opposing view.   It should be an interesting discussion!   The bill has received quite a bit of publicity as a major piece of legislation that will affect Vermont homeowners, businesses, the Vermont economy and the environment.
At 6:00, the discussion can continue over a tasty potluck dinner–see below for details.
I don’t have room to summarize all that is contained in this bill, which was largely re-written during the committee and full-chamber debates in the Senate.  In the end, it was passed out of that body with a strong majority.  You can read the text and see the legislative history on the Bill Status page on Vermont.gov, and can easily find strong opinions both pro and con by searching “Affordable Heat Act”.
Join us on Saturday to learn more about this major piece of legislation, and hear various views–and to ask questions of the speakers, as usual.  You can come in person, or join us via Zoom.  The Zoom link is posted on the Grange Calendar listing for the program.  As usual, it will be separate from the Zoom link for the Grange meeting itself.

After the Program, it’s Potluck Time!

From 6:00 to about 7:30, join us in the Lower Level for a social dinner.   The Lower Level is now accessible for everyone, thanks to completion of the lift, which allows anyone who has difficulty with stairs to get a ride down and up.   This goes for anyone using a wheelchair, a walker or just having problems with stairs.
As usual, we expect a great spread of interesting dishes!  We welcome everyone who comes–bring something special you cooked up that you like to share, or something tasty you picked up on the way to the Grange Hall!  Dishes can be heated up in the Grange kitchen on our two gas ranges, or kept cold in the refrigerator until dinner time.
Below is a picture from a previous Grange Potluck happening downstairs; you can see a diversity of dishes and a happy crowd of eaters!

Closing in On Completing Our Big Project

Since my last report, about the Lift Celebration, work has continued–and there’s still more to do.  I’ve been helping Stan on the table-storage closet, and have finally (as of Tuesday 3/29–see photos below) completed that.  Stan is working on the extensions of the railings on the original entrance porch, which the Fire Marshall requires to be 42″ high; we will be using metal pipe railings for that.   He will also be installing a pair of doors for the new closet on the stage for the Church of Christ’s paraphernalia–this replaces the closet that had to be removed for the lift construction.
With the table closet done, I will be installing the rest of the panic-bar hardware, and the door closers for the new fire-doors, plus helping with other details.
We still have a good bit of painting/finishing left to do–see the article titled “HELP” below for more info–because we really do need some volunteers to help us complete the cosmetic improvements that will really make our Grange Hall’s new surfaces look good.

Charles Martin–feeling better, and appreciating the cards!

HELP needed!

As described above, we  have a good bit of painting to be done still, to make sure that the construction project results in fully-finished surfaces that really make the interior of our Grange Hall look better.
Thus far, the painter for this entire project has been…me.   I did get several hours of help from Jeremy Coppock, doing some priming on sheetrock and the closet interior.  The rest has all been my own volunteer time.  Combined with helping out on construction work, hardware, etc. means that I have put in several hours a day, 5 or 6 days a week on the project over the past six weeks.  This has kept me from doing a lot of other things in my life.   I’m going to play the “Age Card” by pointing out that I am 72 years old, something not everyone realizes looking at me.  I can vouch for the fact that I don’t have the same energy level and stamina I used to have.   I’ve missed a lot of outdoor recreation in the winter–and I want to be able to get outside in the spring weather that is (gradually) moving in.   There’s also more Grange work I’d like to do, including improving publicity for Grange events, working on improving our Hall for the long term, and making it easier to care for and manage.  We need to do some planning for our future.   I’d really like to work with others on all these projects–but I can’t if I’m going to be the only one painting the foyers, the door trim, the new foyer wall, etc.
I am happy to set up people for painting–we provide brushes, rollers, paint-brush spinner for cleaning them, drop cloths and paint.  If you have some experience painting and some old clothes to paint in, contact me, Tim at:  802-225-8921, or email me:  swartztim15@gmail.com to learn more and set up a time.
For the longer term, I want to point out that I got elected to be President of this Grange in 2006, so by the next Grange Officers’ Election in September 2024, I’ll have been filling this office for 18 years.  I think it’s time for some new blood, though I still want to be involved at some level.  I know you are a Grange Notes subscriber, and you’ve read this far, so I think you’re interested in our Grange and our Hall, and its future.   I’d love to work with you on what that future looks like, and how you can be an active part of it.   Get in touch!

Door prizes?   Or…prize doors!

If these doors look familiar, there’s a good reason.   These are the original double-doors we’ve recently replaced.   Made from plywood panels with applied wooden frames.   We also have the original jambs and door closers, ready to use.  The doors are big–36″ wide by about 82″ tall.
Available for a donation to the Grange!  We’d hate to throw these out, and would love to have them go to a home connected to the Grange.
But wait, there’s more!  See the picture below for the former door and jamb which used to be the entry to the ADA bathroom, which we also had to replace with a fire-rated door and jamb.   Complete with hinges, with a privacy doorknob and latch, this is a solid-core door, good for acoustic privacy.  Also available for a donation!
Interested in either of these great deals?   Contact the usual Tim at swartztim15@gmail.com or 802-225-8921.  We’ll help you load them onto your roof-rack or truck.