Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help), January 18, 2020

A cozier, better lower level for the Grange takes shape

Foam panels, electrical wiring and spray foam

The progress continued since I sent out the last Grange Notes on Dec. 26th.   Northern Basements completed the insulation of the basement, by putting up the rest of the black foam insulation panels (you can see crew-leader Hunter measuring for the stairway panels), and foaming all of the rim-joist areas.    The bottom right picture shows how they got access on the South and North ends, where they drilled 1-1/2″ holes from the outside.   On the long sides, they had to reach over and around heating ducts….but they did what they needed to do!   We have been impressed with their thoroughness in sealing any potential leaks of cold air.   We also appreciated their excellent communication as they moved through the project.  It was clear that they are really motivated to do a good job, asking repeatedly if there is anything they were missing, and looking for ways to make sure all possible air-leaks are sealed up.  
      Since then, electrical contractor Alana Norway (ARJ Electric) has roughed-in the electrical wiring for the new outlets in the walls, and the circuits for the new sump pump and dehumidifier.
      Also, a great crew of volunteers helped Stan Carlson, our carpentry contractor, to move the sheetrock and FRPs down the fire-exit stairs (see pictures below).   Many thanks to Sam Planck, Thomas Begley, Jill Murphy, Kurt Giavara & Dean Grondin for picking them up and bringing them down!  We literally could not have done it without them!
Besides moving the sheetrock….        ….we will have other ways that people can help with this project.  In addition to giving people a chance to help out, volunteer hours count toward our “match” with the grant from the VT Arts Council, which will fund 50% of the project cost.  Here are some of the needs we can foresee:

• Painting above the Fiberglass Reinforced Panels, which will cover the bottom 60″ of the walls.
• Painting new trim–around the windows and on the stairways.  Stan will buy pre-primed lumber, and we can pre-paint the edges before installation, and the faces afterward
• Brushing on varnish on the new hand-rails for the basement stairway.
• Installing new ceiling tiles in the existing grid.
• Taking the old ones to the transfer station.
• Providing a pickup truck for moving the ceiling tiles and other construction debris.
• Moving the furniture for carpet-tile installation–we’ll need to move the tables into the “alcove” space, and the chairs and other smaller items into the kitchen, so that Country Floors will be able to put tiles down in the cafeteria–and then move the tables back into the cafeteria so that they can tile the alcove.
• Cleaning up after this work–we will be scheduling a work-day to make sure that the newly refurbished space is clean and as dust-free as we can make it.

       Can you pitch in on some of this work?  What skills do you have that will help?   Please contact me (Tim) via email:  swartztim15@gmail.com and let me know how we can fit you in!  
      We look forward to showing off the renovated basement once it’s done!

Feb. 1st program:  discuss end-of-life choices, and VT Act 39

The next in our bi-monthly series of programs with discussions will happen on Saturday, Feb. 1st, with Betsy Walkerman, Director of Patient Choices Vermont, an organization which educates Vermonters on medical aid in dying and patient choice.  There will be substantial opportunities for questions and discussion about Act 39, the 2013 bill which set up our current system.  Vermonters are currently allowed–through a legal process–to choose to use a prescription medication to hasten dying.
The organization also promotes use of Advance Directives, conversations with medical practitioners and family about end-of-life decisions, and much more.   Please join the discussion, from 5:00 to 6:00 PM on Saturday, Feb. 1st, followed by a Community Potluck!

Small Grange meeting in January considers rental rates with our “new and improved” Grange Hall

   With freezing precipitation forecast, and cold temperatures, several people were unable to come to our Jan. 7th meeting.  So we had a small-group sing-along, and a good discussion with  the 5 of us present. 
      Merry, Patty, Liz, Mat and I spent time looking at our current policies and rates for renting the Grange Hall, and considering how we may change them.
       A few major considerations guided our discussion:

1. The basement renovations will provide a much-improved space for rental.  The renovations provide insulation and humidity control, plus the new surfaces on floor, walls and ceiling adding to attractiveness and comfort.  The Grange itself  has invested $5,000 from our savings to help the FCCGH fund the project.  We feel that we are quite justified in raising rental rates for this renovated space.
2. Our general building costs have kept rising–especially plowing and sanding for the long winters.   Part of this is increased use leading to needing more snow-removal and sanding; part is increased cost from SR Services.   We have gotten bids for comparison, and they are still a good deal for us–but we pay over $6,000 per year!  Winters recently have featured more “mixed precip” and ice, which have required more sanding of the parking lot and driveway.  Cleaning costs have also gone up, with increased usage.
3. Our increased usage has led to some increases in rental income, but not enough to keep up with costs.
4. We want to keep costs reasonable, to meet the needs of the non-profit community groups, families and classes who make up our renters; we also provide free rentals to Berlin families and organizations (in return for property tax exemption).
5. Storage space has become more of an issue:  with more long-term renters who want to store equipment and supplies, we run out of room–and must consider storage as a benefit that should be paid for as part of the rental cost structure.

      Our discussions ranged across all of these issues, bringing up specific cases, looking at cost increases and the reasons for them, trading our spotty information about the rental costs at other venues that are our competition, and discussing possible scenarios for fairly structuring our rents.
      As we expected, we did not come up with a full-blown plan, but we did set up some research to learn how other venues (the Labor Hall in Barre, the UU Church in Montpelier and others) set up their rents.   Our ad hoc group will meet again to come up with the next version of our rental rates.  Stay tuned!

It’s a new year–and that means it’s time for Grange dues payment

Annual dues for members of the Capital City Grange are $30 per person–and it’s that time of year.  
      We have a small group of dedicated folks who are members of our Grange.   Members come to Grange meetings most of the time, and they are the only voting members–the people who get to make decisions about things like setting rental rates (see above), spending Grange funds for donations, scheduling Grange special events, voting on Grange resolutions, and much more.   They are also the people who help us figure out what it means to be a Grange in–now–the decade of the 2020s.   We need you!
       We also need to have Grange members, to keep our Grange alive!   In the worst case, if we ever stop having enough members, we would have to close the CCG–and the VT State Grange would get title to our Grange Hall.   The VSG doesn’t want that to happen–and neither do we!  The Grange has a mission to build bonds among rural communities, for the benefit of all of us.   We’re proud to be part of that, and hope that you will join us to do even more.
       So the bottom line is that we need people to be paid-up and active Grange members.  If you’ve been a member, now is the time to send in your $30.00 annual dues!   If you want to join, we’ll make it easy!    Come to a meeting, bring your check (or cash, even), and we’ll vote you into the membership, unless you’ve really offended us somehow!
      Checks for dues payments, made out to “Capital City Grange” go to our Secretary: Charles Martin
639 Minister Brook Rd.
Worcester, VT  05682        Or bring them to a Grange meeting on the 1st Saturday of every month.

Dried Flower class with Carol Noyes of Lightfoot Farm!

When it’s cold outside, consider spending some time with flowers–the kind that will last. Carol has been working with plants and flowers for decades, at her small farm in Northfield Falls.   One of her specialties is making arrangements and wreaths out of dried flowers, grasses, seedpods and other natural objects.  You can see more photos on her Lightfoot Farm website.
We have arranged with Carol to do a class on Saturday, Feb. 8th, at the Grange Hall.  Carol will provide materials–wreath rings, wire and ribbons, plus flowers (like larkspur, celosia and others), dried grasses and more.   She’ll also bring forty years of experience making these sorts of wreaths and other arrangements.   We’re limiting this workshop to 10 participants, so everyone can get personal attention.  
If you are interested, please sign up on the Grange Facebook page event to reserve your spot, or email merrykaysings@gmail.com.  Please plan to bring $10 to cover the material costs  We also ask for a $10 to $20 donation to cover Grange expenses.  

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help), December 26, 2019

The basement project is underway!–more details below, but We have one big, (almost) immediate need for help:  moving in sheetrock on Thursday, Jan. 2nd       

We have 44 pieces of sheetrock arriving sometime on the 2nd–we’ll know a more exact time as we get closer–and will need some more folks with stronger backs than mine to help carry it down the fire stairs.  If you can help sometime that day, please contact me, Tim, by email or phone:  802-225-8921!  My 68-year-old back is no longer willing to lift items like these, unfortunately.

Sing-Along brings enthusiastic singers and a variety of songs

A convivial crew gathered for our 3rd annual Holiday Sing-Along just before the longest night of the year began.   Grange Musician Mat Nunnelly accompanied the singers on the Grange piano, and we bounced from one carol to another.  Taylor Nunnelly kept up with projecting lyrics on the big screen, so we were often singing the same words!   We had carols jingle-y and jazzy, dealing with red-nosed reindeer, King Wencelas, and chestnuts, full of fa-la-la-las and good wishes for the new year.
       Singing together–sometimes in a variety of keys–we enjoyed a lot of standard Christmas-time carols, and then got a chance to try out some Hanukkah songs, led by Andrea Soberman.   We are glad to have a variety of types of celebrations to share in our Grange; this ties in so well with fulfilling our core mission of bringing people together to participate in community life–with the accent on participation!
       We were also able to keep kids occupied, if they didn’t want to join in all the singing, thanks to Wendy, Dan and family, who set up crafts tables on the side of the Hall (see photo below).  I would not have imagined that a candy cane could be turned into a reindeer with a red nose if I hadn’t seen it myself!   As usual, it takes a number of people bringing a variety of talents to pull off these events.
      We also collected some warm socks and other items which are being donated to homeless folks who need every bit of warmth; Mat does volunteer work on homelessness among his other commitments!

Boxes–and bags–of plenty go out to folks who need them

Kudos to Merry, who filled up the freezer, boxes and bags with tasty treats to give away!      

On the 19th, Merry was able to meet up with our partners at Capstone Community Action, which runs Head Start for Washington County, who distributed the food.   What is in all those boxes and bags?  Well, a partial list includes: turkeys, pie shells, chocolate pudding mix, whipped cream, canned vegetables, butter, stuffing mix, sparkling cider, pasta, clementines, peanut butter, crackers….and that’s just the beginning!   Merry, who did all the shopping to supplement the items donated by Grange members and Hall users, put together items that will make for fun holiday season dinners (and likely some lunches and breakfasts) for six families with kids.   Capstone found it all too easy to identify six families to receive this bounty, who would not be able to celebrate as many of us are lucky to do at this season. 
       Many thanks to others in addition to Merry, including Jacinthe Pellerin, who donated the stipend we tried to give her for running the Sweet Treats cooking workshop, the Premont extended family, who collected donations at their family Thanksgiving dinner at the Grange Hall, Kids Trade & Play donors, Alison Forrest who decorated boxes and donated food, and other donors whose names I don’t know!   
       If you missed the chance to donate, and want to help out next year, let us know!    If we can expand the amount of food we can donate, we will have no trouble making more families happier at this festive time of year.
       The other thing we need is more folks to help with food buying, sorting and handling–this is not something that Merry can do without help!   Neither Merry nor I is getting any younger, and we have the MRIs of our backs to prove it!  

The Basement Renovation project is underway, right now!

Project carpenter Stan Carlson (hard at work in the top and bottom pix) removed trim, and finally the stair landing, to make things easy for the Northern Basements crew that came in on Monday, the 23rd (see below).   With help from me, Patty & Kurt Giavara, Stan got the outer ceiling panels and old wiring from some previous sound system removed, and plastic hung to contain the dust from jack-hammering for the new drainage channel!

Northern Basements comes in and does it!      

Monday morning, the project truck and trailer from Northern Basements arrived with concrete, gravel, drainage channel, sump, piping, jackhammers, vacuums and a crew to use them.   By late afternoon, their jackhammers had created a space in the floor, exposing the footing, and drainage channel was laid to capture any leaks, draining to a new sump set in the floor.   The sump pump will removenot only groundwater that comes in, but also the condensate from the dehumidifier which will be installed.  They covered the channel with concrete, with a couple of access ports to allow hosing out–if it’s ever needed.
       Today, Thursday, the foam wall-insulating panels are being installed, and Friday will include foaming the rim-joist all the way around, so this has been an exciting week, bringing to fruition nearly two years of planning and fundraising by the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall.   Thanks to everyone who has contributed money, time, expertise and advice for this project! Besides moving the sheetrock….        ….we will have other ways that people can help with this project.  In addition to giving people a chance to help out, volunteer hours count toward our “match” with the grant from the VT Arts Council, which will fund 50% of the project cost.  Here are some of the needs we can foresee:

• Painting above the Fiberglass Reinforced Panels, which will cover the bottom 60″ of the walls.
• Brushing on varnish on the new hand-rails for the basement stairway.
• Installing new ceiling tiles in the existing grid.
• Taking the old ones to the transfer station.
• Providing a pickup truck for moving the ceiling tiles and other construction debris.
• Cleaning up after this work–we will be scheduling a work-day to make sure that the newly refurbished space is clean and as dust-free as we can make it.

       Can you pitch in on some of this work?  What skills do you have that will help?   Please contact me (Tim) via email:  swartztim15@gmail.com and let me know how we can fit you in!  

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) December 13, 2019

The shortest day may be coming, but that doesn’t mean we stop getting together      

December 21st will mean that the sun goes down early, but we choose to use that as an excuse to get together and sing, rather bewailing the lack of sunlight.  Please join us for an afternoon Holiday Sing-Along on Dec. 21st, from 4:00 to 5:30, followed by a bonus Community Potluck Dinner, from 5:30 to 7:00!
       We started our holiday sing-alongs on a December afternoon, in a snowstorm a few years ago, when we weren’t sure if anyone would show up–but the people who did were so grateful to have the opportunity to sing some songs together that we decided to make it an annual event.  Last year, we had at least 40 people, with activities for kids, lyrics projected on the screen and cookies to share.
       This year, we’re taking it to the next level, with a sing-along, cookie sharing, and then a potluck dinner for extra socializing.  
       Bring your favorite carols–if we don’t have the lyrics ready, we can find them on-line thanks to the Grange Wi-Fi, and our Grange Musician, Matt Nunnelly will accompany to the best of his considerable ability.   We’ll have a lot of the “standards” ready to go, too.   Previous years have included rousing renditions of songs ranging from Adeste Fidelis to Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer, so don’t be shy!  
       And remember, this is singing along, so solos, no auditions and no judgments–which is good news for me and many others who enjoy singing, even if we’re not very good on our own!

Filling up–but still room for more!

We’re pleased to see that donations have come in for our “Holiday Food Boxes”, but we still do better!      

The holidays are fast approaching, and our partners at Washington County Head Start, who have picked out 6 families who need a helping hand to have some special holiday meals, want to pick up the boxes next Thursday, Dec. 19th!  
       A few people who have brought in non-perishable food items have added to the stock in the boxes, but there is still time, if you are coming to the Grange Hall, to drop off anything you want to add.  We have 3 boxes, and 3 donation containers spread around the Hall.
      We have also gotten some generous monetary donations–from Jacinthe Pellerin, who led our “Sweet Treats” baking workshop, and from the Premont extended family, who held a large Thanksgiving dinner in our cafeteria, plus more from Kids Trade & Play.  Using these donations and others, Merry will be doing a shopping trip on the 18th to get more food, particularly perishable items.  She arranged to get 6 turkeys at a sale price, from Shaw’s!   If you haven’t had a chance to contribute, be assured that we value everyone’s contributions, so let us know if you want to pledge some “buckage”, or bring cash or a check to the Hall before the 18th, and we’ll happily increase the amount we can buy!

Dec. 7th meeting gave us “the Dirt on Compost” and a lot more recycled information!

We had another great program in our bi-monthly series, featuring Theron Lay-Sleeper and Dora Chi of Central VT Solid Waste Management District (CVSWMD).   They taught us a lot about ways to reduce our contributions to our landfills, while gaining healthy compost and increasing the quality of our recycling. 
      We talked about a wide range of topics, and they answered a lot of questions; I can’t include it all in these notes, but I’ll pass on a few things that were new to me, after years of “amateur” composting, and recycling for decades:
Composting:

• Improve composting by making big things into small ones–e.g. cutting up banana peels with kitchen scissors.
• Meat scraps, bones, seafood and dairy waste can all be composted–and kept safe from animals–by using a “Green Cone”. It needs to be in fairly full sun to get the solar heat it requires.
• Adding 3 parts “browns”–sawdust, leaves, dried plants” to 1 part “greens”–grass clippings, food waste, etc. will speed up composting.
• Never put florist flowers in compost–they often contain fungicides.
• There are a few commercial composting drop-off places, to which food waste can be taken, if you can’t compost where you live.  Click here for a list for Central VT, compiled by CVSWMD.  There are also tips on what can and can’t go into these commercial composting operations–they can handle more than your backyard pile can!   

Recycling:

• Aluminum foil (cleaned of food) can be recycled–but should be accumulated in a ball at least the size of a baseball to avoid “tangling” in the recycling sorting machinery
• It’s OK to leave plastic caps on bottles for recycling–in fact, if they are loose they will fall through the sorting belts.
• If you do take caps off, they need to be taken to the “Additional Recyclables Collection Center” in Barre, along with other items less than 2″ x 2″–pill bottles, bottle caps, floss containers, and much more can be recycled there, for a small fee.   Plan on sorting your items into individual bins when you go.  For more info on the ARCC click here.  They take an amazing variety of things!
• Black plastic can’t be recycled–the black dye prevents the use of the plastic resin to be used for anything other than black or gray items, so it needs to be discarded.
• The basic mantra for recycling is:  when in doubt, throw it out.   Keeping recycled materials as “pure” as we can is the best way to keep the market paying for recycled materials!

      As I said, this is just a sampling of the information we discussed–we also got into vermiculture composting (worms are amazing processors), the international recycled materials market, and much more.  You can find a lot of information about waste reduction on the CVSWMD website to improve your “waste management” practices.
      Our next “program” will happen on Saturday, Feb. 1st–stay tuned to learn the topic and presenters, presently being finalized by Grange Lecturer Carl Etnier.

Here’s what I heard…      

…from callers, sound-people and musicians at contra dances, about the acoustic panel project which the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall has completed this year:

• What a difference!
• It’s like night & day!
• I don’t have to turn up the band and caller to get them to be heard at the back of the hall!

      These comments came from people who have played, called, or set up sound at the “Montpelier Contra Dance” in years past, and came back recently.  
      I can personally vouch for the improvement in the ease of hearing meeting participants at Grange meetings and programs–there is less “reverb” when there are only a relative few of us in the Hall, as well as when there are 100 to 150 or more for the dances!
      Many thanks to the FCCGH, to the people who have donated to the Friends, making this project possible, as well as the upcoming basement renovations, and other projects!  Also to our volunteers who put together the panels, and hung them on the walls.

Basement renovations:  starting this weekend!

Kids Trade & Play, on Saturday 12/14 will be the last event to be held in the basement, until after the renovation project!   The usual clean-up following that popular event will be a bit different, as Erin Barry and her crew will move the shelves and the many bins into the kitchen, or other locations away from the outside walls.   Stan Carlson, who will be our carpentry contractor, will be starting to do prep-work for the Northern Basements workers who will come in starting Dec. 23rd, to install drainage under the stair-landing and along the East wall of the basement.   NB will also put foam insulating panels on the East, North, West and furnace room walls (except the kitchen on the West wall, and the bathrooms), and will foam the rim-joists all around the basement (except behind the bathroom–that was already done!).   Stan will make sure that there is a safe stairway put back once the insulated panels are done, in case anyone is wondering!  We will make arrangements for the basement to be used for coats and shoe-changing for the contra-dance on Jan. 4th
       Following that work by Northern Basements, our electrician Alana Norway will rough-in the electrical outlets for the outer walls, and the dedicated circuits for the sump-pump and dehumidifier which NB will install.   Then Stan will sheetrock the insulated walls, as required by the Fire Marshal, and put up the “FRPs”–Fiberglass Reinforced Panels–that will protect the walls from damage, and make them easy to clean, too.  He’ll have to re-trim all the windows, among other things, and put up new railings on the main basement staircase.
      By the end of the project, we’ll be replacing all the panels in the dropped ceiling, and having Country Floorsinstall carpet tiles on the entire floor, and a new carpet runner on the stairs.  Our goal is to have that carpet help remove the grit and wet from people’s shoes and boots as they go downstairs.
       All in all, this is a major improvement for our lower level, which we expect will save us significantly on our heating bills as well as making major improvements in the attractiveness of the basement!  Removing moisture from the air with the internal drainage channel and the dehumidifier, along with the insulation of the cold exterior walls will bring a major reduction in the mildew we now have. We hope you are wondering…how can I help with this exciting project?        Besides the generous contributions which many of you have made to the Friends, which help match the grant money we’ll get from the VT Arts Council, we’ll also be needing help with some parts of the project:

• Moving sheetrock from a delivery truck into the basement
• Moving FRPs from a truck into the basement
• Painting above the FRPs, which will cover the bottom 60″ of the walls
• Installing new ceiling panels in the existing grid, and
• Taking the old ones to the transfer station
• Cleaning up after this work–we will be scheduling a work-day to make sure that the newly refurbished space is clean and as dust-free as we can make it.

       Can you pitch in on some of this work?  What skills do you have that will help?   Please contact me (Tim) via email:  swartztim15@gmail.com and let me know how we can fit you in!  

OK, now what’s going on?      

Since you’ve stuck it out this far in these Grange Notes, you will know that our plan is not to flood the basement, but rather to prevent floods with the interior drainage & sump pump…and Hannah has promised not to flood either the Main Hall or the lower level…
      This picture is actually to let you know that our Grange Hall is hosting another arts organization:  Hannah Dennison’s “Quarry Project” dance rehearsals will start taking place in our Hall starting in January.  You can read more about it in this article in 7 Days.  Props for these rehearsals have been stored in our basement for the last couple of months; Grange users have been very good about not disturbing them!   We’ll pass on news about the performance schedule as we get closer to its debut in August of 2020.

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help), November 27, 2019

We know this is not what your Thanksgiving Dinner looks like!       

But we all know that no delicious food gets prepared without generating some “leftovers”–even before the kids leave their vegetables on their plates.   For decades, we’ve been able to put food waste in the trash, where it ended up in what used to be “the dump”, and now is a sealed, supervised “sanitary landfill”. 
        In 2015, the Legislature passed Act 148, the “Universal Recycling” law, which has been moving us toward more and more recycling, and toward producing less “waste”.   Starting on July 1st, 2020, residents of Vermont will join the restaurant and institutional kitchens who have become subject to “mandatory composting” of all food waste.
       On Dec. 7th, we’ll help you get prepared by hosting 2 speakers from the Central VT Solid Waste Management District, Theron Lay-Sleeper and Dora Chi.  They will help us learn about options:

• Ways to compost food waste at home–including meat, fish and dairy scraps!
• Finding “haulers” who will pick up food waste–in some areas at least
• Finding drop-off locations for food waste
• How to keep your food waste from smelling up your home!

       There will be opportunities for discussion and question-asking too!
Saturday, Dec. 7th, from 5:00 to 6:00 PM
at the Grange Hall!

Followed by the Community Potluck Dinner at 6:00, bring your favorite dishes and share!

There will be a short, non-ritual “Executive Session” Grange meeting from 4:30 to 5:00, before the Food Waste program–all are invited to that as well.

What’s wrong with these boxes?

They’re not full of food!

You can help–by donating non-perishable food items, or making cash donations, we can fill up these boxes.  As the signs on them say, these are for our annual Holiday Dinners for Local Families food drive.   We’ll be providing a LOT of tasty food for 6 families, selected by Barre Head-Start, who need a helping hand to have a fun holiday season this year. 
     Merry has gotten Shaw’s to reserve 6 turkeys at a sale price already, which they are holding in their freezers, and a couple of donors have already stepped up with some “starter” food items.  Jacinthe, who ran the “Sweet Treats” workshop a couple of weeks ago has donated the honorarium we offered her to the food drive, too.  
      We’re looking for basics and also for fun food items that will be easy to prepare–last year we provided pie crusts and chocolate pudding, for example!   What would YOU like to have in your cupboard to make it easy and fun for the kids? 
      If you want to donate some money, we’ll buy some perishables when we’re getting ready to hand the boxes off to our friends at Head Start.
       So that’s how you can fix the problem we have with our boxes.

Don’t Forget!

Please join us for singing at 4:00 PM for singing, and 5:30 PM for Holiday Potluck, on Dec. 21st!
     Below is a picture from the holiday sing-along last December!  We never planned on a dress code, but note the number of red sweaters!

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help), November 14, 2019

Jacinthe teaches us many ways to combine maple syrup, butter, flour, eggs, cream…all those tasty ‘gredients!       

On Saturday afternoon, one of the participants in the previous cooking classes at the Grange Hall stepped forward to lead a workshop herself.  Jacinthe Pellerin (second from the right in the photo above) collected recipes for “Quebecois Sweet Treats”, and showed us how to make them all.  These are all treats from her family and childhood, as part of the large French-Canadian community in central VT.   She was aided by her daughter Becky, and her sister came too, making sure that the family’s tastes were well-represented!
       Below are more photos, showing the 8 people who took part (plus a photographer from the Times Argus–watch for photos in Tuesday’s paper).  Jacinthe had us measuring ingredients, mixing, beating, heating, stirring, rolling out pie doughs–and eventually eating 5 different holiday-season treats.
         Thanks to Jacinthe and the rest of the workshop participants–who also told us to donate the fees for the workshop to the Grange “Holiday Food Boxes”  project!

Are you salivating?  Wishing you had signed up?   Keep your eyes open for future workshops–we’ve been talking about “International Soups” and other tasty options.  We’d love to hear what you would like to learn about–and if there is something you would like to teach others about!

Turn this:

Into This:

Helping those who need it–a Grange tradition       

For the past few years, the Capital City Grange community has collected donations–of non-perishable food items and also money–to overfill 6 large boxes.   Each of those sets of donations has gone to a family with kids, who might otherwise not have the special holiday meals that many of us take for granted.   Our partners at Washington County Head Start have found it all too easy to find 6 families in need, each year.
       This year, we’re doing it again.  Thanks to a generous donation from the “Sweet Treats” workshop (see above), and contributions from “Kids Trade & Play” attendees, we are well-started on the financial side.  We will have a large, decorated box at the Grange by this weekend, where you can bring boxes and cans of non-perishable food items, as well as donation containers for this specific project.   We will use financial donations to purchase perishable items–like the 6 turkeys which Merry got Shaw’s to reserve for us (at a sale price), and fruits and vegetables–as we get close to delivery time.
         The feedback we have gotten from our Head Start partners is that the families really enjoy getting these boxes.   You can share the warm feelings we get by donating a food item, or even a buck or two.  Every donation will make a difference!

Yet another holiday tradition at the Grange:   a holiday sing-along!      

We’re planning another participatory project, one that has been popular every time–a holiday sing-along!   Grange Musician Matt Nunnelly (yes, one of the Grange offices is “Musician”) and singer/Rental Agent/Treasurer Merry Shernock (yes, we have many multi-talented folks in the Grange, who wear many hats!) have scheduled Dec. 21st (winter solstice!) for this year’s version of our annual tradition.   We will combine it with a potluck dinner this year, and ask for food/financial donations..for the holiday boxes!  
       As we have in years past, Matt will take requests, doing his best to comply with the wide-ranging list of favorites which the group will contain.  We’ll have some song-books, and will likely project some lyrics with our digital projector, too. 
     Please join us for singing at 4:00 PM for singing, and 5:30 PM for Holiday Potluck, on Dec. 21st!
     Below is a picture from the holiday sing-along last December!  We never planned on a dress code, but note the number of red sweaters!

SHHH!         

I’m pleased to report that on Sunday, Oct. 27th, working with Sam Planck (above) and Merry Shernock, we were able to complete our planned acoustic panel installation!
        Sam is shown, below, completing installation of the 10 panels we filled with acoustic insulation, wrapped with fire-resistant acoustic fabric, and hung above the rest of the windows.   Farther below is a panorama showing one long wall, with all panels in place.  Please ignore the distortion of the wall, we didn’t bend it!
        At this point, we are getting kudos on the improvement this has made in the sound from a number of Grange users, including Grange members at our most recent meeting, participants in “Dance, Sing & Jump Around”, sound-people at the contra dance events, and others, and we don’t plan to install any more panels. 
        Please continue to let us know what you think about the acoustic environment!