Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) September 2, 2025

Kicking off a busy fall:  remembering Phyllis, planning for State Grange session and another Hall improvement!

The Grange had an excellent outdoor potluck barbeque/potluck/picnic to kick off August, and we hope that all enjoyed a good Labor Day weekend holiday.  Now it’s time to start thinking ahead again.  Our monthly meeting will start at 4:30 on Saturday, and we hope you will join us! Our first event at the meeting will be saying a last farewell to our good friend Phyllis Skinner, who passed away on July 9–her picture is below.   We held a public Grange Service for her at the church she attended in Northfield, as part of a memorial service there.  The brief “Draping of the Charter” ritual we’ll perform at the meeting is a chance for us all to share memories of her, as well as to honor her years in the Grange. We’ll also be working on plans for hosting the Vermont State Grange Annual Session again this October–on the 24th & 25th.   We  have asked the State Grange to help us with cooking meals for the delegates–2 lunches and 2 dinners–after the small crew we mustered for last year’s meal prep and cooking found it was really more work than they could manage.   If you love to cook, and like getting appreciated by a group of enthusiastic eaters, get in touch by replying to this email, and we’ll add you to the list of volunteers!   We’ll also be looking for help with serving, dishwashing and other cleanup chores.  Our Hall got major kudos for its spaces and comfort, as well as the meals made mostly from locally-sourced ingredients and our central location, all of which are why they want to come back this year! We’ll also be talking about how the schedule will unfold for our next Hall project to improve indoor air quality, which I described in the last edition of these Grange Notes.   We look forward to an increase in comfort and improved air quality, and will do our best to minimize disruption for the Grange and the renters of our Hall.  By the time of the meeting, Patty Giavara and I will have met with the ERV contractors to decide on details of control systems, and learn about their schedules.  We’ll report on what we’ve learned. There will be a presentation of a proposal, by Indivisible Calais, for the Grange to co-sponsor a benefit contra dance on Friday, Nov. 21 at our Hall.  There will also be a proposal that the Grange join the Central VT Economic Development Corporation, to network for grants and potential renters.  As you can see, there is plenty to do–and we’d love to have more of you folks who care about the Grange and the Hall to help us get it done.   Please contact me with any questions, as usual!

Saturday evening–after the meeting We will of course have a Community Potluck after our meeting, which we hope will include you, sharing food with the rest of us.   After that, you can enjoy a Festive Finale for the Challenge Fundraiser, at the Montpelier Contra Dance.   As readers will know, this is one of the annual fundraising efforts for the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall, providing a significant part of the matching funds for the grant awards that let the Grange and the FCCGH accomplish these major improvements.  The picture below shows Alice Smolinsky and Patty Giavara, both members of the Montpelier Contra Dance organizing team, celebrating the success of the 2004 Challenge.   This year, the $2,000 already pledged will, we hope be matched again by donations from the contra dance and Grange communities, for a total of $4,000!   You can donate online, or bring a check or cash to the dance on Saturday evening! I will be decorating the Grange Hall with lights (like the ones in the picture) on Saturday afternoon before the Grange meeting, starting about 3:00 PM–if you’d like to help, get in touch by replying to this email newsletter!  We also welcome “potluck snacks”–sweet or savory–at the midway break during the dance–bring what you’d like to share! On stage at the Grange Hall, starting Thursday!  We don’t typically publicize events by renters in these Grange Notes, but I’m making an exception for a stage play being put on at our Hall, starting on Sept. 4, and continuing with 7 more performances, including Sunday matinees.  Saving Tinderella is “an original black comedy” co-written, and directed by Siouxsie Cooper, who teaches many of the Afro-Caribbean dance classes on Thursday mornings; the cast features Kids Trade & Play founder and director Erin Barry as well.   Tickets are available online or at the door–see the poster below for dates and times.

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) August 26, 2025

Persistence pays off!

• Installing an ERV (Energy Recovery Ventilator) in the attic over the foyer at the original entrance to the Hall.   This unit will exhaust inside air and bring in outdoor air, to provide fresh air for the Main Hall.   It will transfer heat from the exhaust air to the incoming air during the cold months–and will have electric duct heaters to further warm the outdoor air when it’s needed.
•   Filtering the outdoor air:  the ERV will have MERV 13 filters, which will filter out pollen and wildfire smoke particles.
• Filtering the indoor air:  we will also install a ceiling mounted commercial air purifier in the Main Hall.   The unit we are planning to use is similar to the Iso-Aire unit in the Lower Level.   Its HEPA filter will remove particles from the air and recirculate the filtered air.   It is much quieter than the home-made filter boxes, which we will remove.
• Electrical work:  we need to have an additional panel installed to provide space for branch circuits for these new loads, and for a similar ERV for the Lower Level at a future date.

Help wanted!

For this big project, there will be some volunteer work needed, to prepare for the contractors to come in.   We have already begun removing “stuff” from the attic, and there is much more to get out, or reorganize into better storage shelves or other categories.  Please get in touch with Tim Swartz if you want to help!
We are also prepared to sell some choice items which have been up there for years–below are pictures of 2 sets of folding, triple bench seats, plus 2 sets of 3 theater chairs, which could be yours for a reasonable price!  Plus a “Steelman 4A28” record player for your vintage vinyl (has not been tested, but does come with an adapter for 45 RPM records).   Please email Patty Giavara if you are interested in any of these items!

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) August 15, 2025

Great weather, good food–including hand-cranked ice cream

Everyone contributed, and appetites were sated!
The Senior Jazz Ensemble played during set-up and the early part of the meal (and then we fed them, of course!). Steve Boylan (in the red shirt & hat, adding ice) set up the ice-cream makers and mixed the ingredients for blueberry & vanilla. We had many hard-working ice-cream crankers, and (when the time came) helpful people who served–and lots of eager eaters! Everyone brought side-dishes of all kinds, and shared everything from salads to extra desserts! Patty, Tim and Kurt cooked black-bean vegan burgers, hot dogs, and beef burgers . Patty, Tim and Merry spoke for the Grange and the FCCGH (see more below). Just Food Hub sold chocolates, coffees, nuts, oils, keffiyehs and more–and donated 25% of their revenues to the Grange! And we had plenty of dishwashing volunteers who made the clean-up easy. All of the excellent pictures above were taken by Jonathan Blake–much appreciated!
Combined with sunny, dry and not-too-hot weather, everyone’s contributions made this a great Grange community event, thanks to everyone who came to join us, and especially all the cheerful volunteers.

An August tradition:
The Challenge Fundraiser!

For over a decade, the Montpelier Contra Dance committee has partnered with the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall (FCCGH) to raise money to make the Grange Hall even better, with an annual fundraiser.  Some generous people from the FCCGH Board, plus other dedicated Grange Hall supporters have pledged $2,000, and challenged the dance community (and other Hall users!) to match that amount.  The Challenge was announced at the Aug. 2 picnic; it will run until the Sept. 6 contra dance.
Where does the money go?   Read all about it on the Donate page of the Grange website–and while you’re there, consider making a donation if you can!  Donations to the Friends are tax deductible to the extent allowed by the IRS.  We don’t change the admission for the dances during the fundraiser, because we want everyone to come and dance, just like always.

Looking forward to our next meeting:
September 6

We resume more typical monthly Grange meetings beginning in September, so we hope you will put our first meeting of the fall on your calendars.   One of the orders of business will be performing the Grange ceremony of “Draping the Charter”–a simple way of honoring and remembering Grange members who have passed away.  At our meeting, we’ll be honoring Phyllis Skinner, who died on July 9 of this year.  This will be an opportunity to share our memories of her, including people who were not able to take part in the Grange service of remembrance that we carried out at the memorial service for Phyllis.

Our meeting will also be considering the impact of some upcoming work on the Hall–installing a combination of fresh-air ventilation and air-purifying to improve indoor air quality in the Main Hall.   Regular readers of the Grange Notes will remember that the FCCGH applied for a grant to pay 50% of the cost for this major improvement–well, we finally got notified that the grant application has been successful! We’re starting to make plans for getting this project going–choosing contractors, scheduling the work and figuring out how to minimize the impact on our renters.   We will also be needing help to clean out the attic space above the foyer at the Original Entrance to the Hall, where the Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV) will be installed.   Get in touch with Tim by replying to this email newsletter if you want to be involved!  More details to come. The Grange has already committed to designating $3,000 to be paid to the Friends.  The FCCGH will be using most of the bank account that generous folks have donated in the past to provide the 50% financial match required for the grant.   If you donate to the FCCGH and Montpelier Contra Dance Challenge Fundraiser described above, you’ll help the Friends to build up their bank account, which will help to match grant awards for future projects! Are you feeling lucky? At our September 6 meeting, you’ll also have the chance to buy raffle tickets to support the VT State Grange Center.   This is a camp, with bunkhouses, a shower cabin, and a large kitchen/dining building–and with an historic building (shown above) not used for camping.  The State Grange uses it for Grange Family and Youth/Junior camps, plus a Fall Festival every year.  The raffles support the Grange Center. This year, there is a 50/50 raffle, plus raffles for several “gift baskets”–including a Christmas kit, a baking kit, a quilting/sewing kit, and a car kit.   Tickets are $1.00 each, or 6 for $5.00.  The drawing will be Oct. 25. Fall Festival will be Sept. 5, 6 and 7, with contests happening during the day on the 6th (same day as our meeting).   There will be judging of vegetables, flowers, cooking and craft contests, and games including horseshoes, frying pan and rolling pin tosses, pumpkin tic-tac-toe, hula hoop, plus other activities.  If you want to register, email Tim, and I’ll send you a registration form–which needs to be in by Aug. 20!

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) July 30, 2025

Come and feast with us on Saturday!

Setup at 5:00 and start making ice cream! Bring your potluck dishes at 5:45, and enjoy the music!

6:00:  grills start producing, and eating begins

       Every year, the Grange holds a free, extra-special potluck picnic, on tables outdoors at the North end of the building, next to the ADA entrance ramp.   The Grange will be providing grills, vegan and beef burgers, hot dogs, buns and condiments.  This year, we will have 2 ice-cream makers, too, producing Blueberry and Vanilla!   Come between 5:00 and 5:30 to help crank the ice cream.

         Everyone can bring potluck side dishes–salads, veggies, appetizers, chips, salsa, beverages, dessert choices–whatever you want to share, bring them by 5:45 so everything will be set up for dinner.

         That’s also when the Senior Jazz Ensemble will start performing jazz standards from the porch, so you can enjoy the live music, too.

         Starting at 5:00, we’ll be setting up tables and chairs outside–we’d love your help!   Please bring a folding table, if you’ve got one, so that we have room for all the food and all the people.   We’ll use some of the Grange’s vintage melamine and china dishes and stainless steel table-ware.  No disposables!

         During the meal, we’ll have a West African Dance demonstration.  Plus–the Grange will be “burning the mortgage” to celebrate paying off a 2008 loan from the VT State Grange.  Just Food Hub will be selling their chocolates, coffees and other Fair Trade food treats (with a portion of the revenue donated to the Grange!)

          The Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall will be kicking off their annual Challenge Fundraiser at this event, to keep improving the Grange Hall.  $2,000  has been pledged already–can the dance and Grange community match it, by the end at the Sept. 6 contra dance?

          We hope we’ll see you there, for a great meal and a great time.  Below is a picture from last year’s picnic, taken by Jonathon Blake:

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) June 30, 2025

Continuing the story of our busy day:
June 7 at the Grange!

• We had a full vote on the expenditure of $3,800 for the driveway and parking lot re-grading that I reported on in the last Grange Notes, affirming the decision of the Executive Committee.
• We sent a cheer and a vote of thanks to all the volunteers who worked so hard to clean up the Grange Hall–it looks great!
• We noted that in May, our Grange had completed all payments on the mortgage loan we received from the VT State Grange in 2008, which made possible the large renovation project undertaken in that year.   The ADA entrance with ramp was created, and an ADA compliant bathroom was constructed on the Main Floor–both features which all Grange Hall users take for granted now!   The entire project cost about $48,500, and was the biggest change to the Grange Hall since its construction in 1953.  The Grange received a grant of $20,000 from the VT Arts Council which was a huge help, and we fund-raised some funds from the Grange community, but we needed the loan from the VSG to spread the rest of the cost over time.   Being able to borrow $23,500 at 3% was a great help!  We’re grateful to the VSG–and pleased to be done with this loan.
• We agreed that we will do a celebratory “burning of the mortgage agreement” at the August 2nd Barbecue Potluck Picnic!  We are planning to purchase beef and vegan burgers, hot-dogs, buns and ice cream for the picnic; we’ll have a couple of grills going to cook the proteins, and will ask the attendees to bring side dishes of all sorts to fill out the meal!   We will hope for the very good weather we have had for the last few years for this annual outdoor feast–but we’ll have the Lower Level available if needed. Note that Just Food Hub will be there to sell fair-trade chocolate, coffee and other items–with 25% of the proceeds being donated to the Grange!  More info on their website!

Singing along and having a potluck–Grange traditions!

As planned, our meeting was followed by Grange Musician Matt Nunnelly leading songs from the piano, while the rest of us chimed in.   As usual, our choices were eclectic, including everything from “Happy Trails” to “Lift Every Voice and Sing” to “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad”.   At the end, Grange Member Cecile Sherburn volunteered to organize the loose song-sheets that we have made up over the years, into 3-ring notebooks so that we will be able to find the songs more easily!  Note:  since this offer, we’ve purchased 24 binders, so we’ll be ready for the next Sing-Along.
Our monthly (except for July) Community Potluck drew a good crowd, which enjoyed a wide range of dishes, which this month included a pork roast!  This had been in the freezer since it turned out to be unnecessary for the State Grange annual session, which Capital City hosted last October.   Merry arranged to defrost it in plenty of time, and Afro-Caribbean dance instructor Siouxsie Cooper expertly prepared it for the oven, with potatoes, carrots and garlic.   Those of us who aren’t big meat-eaters  had plenty of choices as well, including marinated tofu, dal, local asparagus and other tasty treats.
We will be skipping the first-Saturday-of-July potluck, but as described above, please put the August 2nd barbecue/potluck/picnic on your calendars!