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!

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) June 20, 2025

Starting the story of June 7th!

Today, I’m sending out this “first chapter” about the events we had at the Grange on June 7th, and will follow up with a report on the Grange meeting, the Sing-Along and the potluck in a few days, when I have a bit more time.

A sampling of the cleaners at work!

We got a great turnout!

the day, we were very pleased (and a bit overwhelmed) when about 20 volunteers showed up–in addition to a few Grange officers.   Thanks to a lot of patience and good humor on the part of the volunteer cleaners, and some scrambling to find room for everyone, we were able to keep everyone busy–and to get a LOT done!The pictures above show only parts of the action!  I compiled a list of what I know got done (in no particular order):

• The floor mats that protect our beautiful dance floor were scrubbed and mopped with citrus cleaner and water, so they are a LOT cleaner and brighter.
• Both entrance porches got swept and vacuumed–and the siding under the porch roofs vacuumed too.
• The stage was vacuumed and swept, and the trim wiped down.
• Windows were cleaned inside and out (both floors!), and the screens vacuumed (and some paint on one of them picked out).
• Window and door trim were wiped down, upstairs and downstairs!
• Cobwebs were removed from the ceiling corners–and all over the Main Hall ceiling.
• The stairway to the Lower Level was wiped down, including cleaning the handrails.
• In the Main Hall, all the lamp globes were wiped down, and a couple of bulbs replaced too.
• Bathroom walls and trim were wiped down.
• Flower beds also got a lot of loving attention–see the pictures below.

Thanks to the cleaning crew!

We think we got the names of almost all the people who showed up and helped to clean the Grange Hall, but if I left your name off this list please let me know!  These are in no particular order:
Tyler, Alejandro, Thomas, Relief, Stan, Jody, Bill M., Ellie, Bill P., Patty, Nicholas, Bailey, Siouxsie, Dorothy, Amy, Jinky, Dan, Julie, Caroline, Merry, Grant and Tim!
Among these folks are people from many groups that rent the Grange Hall, as well as Grange members.  I know we had folks from at least:  Gnomenclature band, Montpelier Contra Dance (dancers and committee members), Afro-Caribbean dancers, Senior Jazz Ensemble, West African dancers, Ballroom dancers…it was a great gathering of the diverse groups whose paths cross at the Hall.
P.S., if you weren’t able to join us on June 7th, we still have a number of projects we’d love some help with, and we’ll be happy to talk about what fits your skills, interests and time available!

Flower Beds–special notes

Amy Handy has been taking her Grange officer role as “Flora” seriously the last couple of years!  On top of work she’s been doing all spring, she got her sisters (visiting for a family reunion) involved in the Spring Cleaning project, so she had extra help.
Also, the line of Hostas by the West side driveway are the result of Grange Rental Agent and Treasurer Merry Shernock appealing via Facebook and other media for donations of Hostas–and she planted them herself a week or two ago as well!

Our “new” driveway and parking lot

At our brief Grange meeting, which followed the cleanup on June 7th, the Grange members present affirmed a decision by the Grange’s Executive Committee, to have the pot-holed driveway and the somewhat eroded parking lot re-graded.  We had received a quote from our usual contractor for this type of work, Matt Dwire, for $3,800.   The work included bringing in 2 truckloads of gravel, plus breaking up the pot-holed areas to incorporate the new material, re-grading the driveway to drain to the sides without creating ruts, re-grading the “driveway” on the west side of the Hall, including a new water-bar, adding gravel to the parking lot in front of the steps to the ADA entrance porch, and contouring the drainage for the whole parking lot.   Because the Executive Committee made this decision in late May, Matt was able to get us on his schedule, moving his machines into place by June 14th (top picture) and completing the work on June 18th.   The pictures above show the newly worked-over sections.
This large expenditure is affordable for the Grange, because we have significantly increased rentals over what they were before the COVID pandemic shutdowns.    The increased usage, along with the increase in major rainstorms also result in more wear and tear on the driveway, etc., as you can imagine.   Let’s hope for a non-repeat of the downpours that have happened on the last two July 10ths!

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) June 6, 2025

This Saturday:  Celebrating the Grange Hall, and “burning the mortgage”!

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) May 12, 2025

What a variety of tasty treats!

We thought we might get a wide variety of “cobblers”–and we sure did!  In the photo above, Grange Vice President Richard DeCosta is surveying the 5 choices our “Local Celebrity” judges had to choose from.  This contest did not specify recipes or ingredients, just asked for a “Summertime Fruit Cobbler”.
Our judges were:

• Lisa Burr, co-owner of the Woods Lodge in Northfield, and co-founder of the non-profit Feed Every Need, which makes prepared foods for hungry people in Vermont.
• Roger Hill, well-known weather forecaster in Vermont, and producer of the award-winning Weathering Heights blog.
• Albert Sabatini, Grange member and former chef and kitchen manager–and also volunteer weed-whacker for the Grange Hall!

• “Easy Dump Cobbler–Rhubarb”
• “Berry Upside-Down”
• “Baja Berry Blast Pie”
• “Blueberry Coffee Cake Cobbler”
• “Spring Blueberry-Strawberry Jubilee”

1. Rhubarb Cobbler, by Bethany Demas.  Here’s a link to her recipe, which can be used with any kind of fruit.  We appreciate her sharing the recipe for this tasty dish!
2. Blueberry Coffee Cake–I’m embarrassed that we lost the name of the baker for this–please get in touch if you know her!
3. Blueberry-Strawberry Jubilee–by Amy Handy

June 7:  show some love for the Grange Hall!

Every year, we ask Grange members, plus the many folks who use the Hall, to help us spruce it up so that it looks its best.   We need to supplement the routine vacuuming of the carpeted areas and cleaning of the bathrooms and the kitchen by the cleaning contractor we pay.  We need to pitch in to get some “deep cleaning” done in as many areas as we can accomplish.  This is something you can do to really help us keep our Hall welcoming and fun for everyone who uses it.  And we’ll have some fun doing it!  Bring some tunes!  Bring your favorite cleaning supplies to supplement what we’ll have!
This year, Merry Shernock, our volunteer Treasurer and Rental Agent has posted an online signup form for our June 7 teams, using a program called “Signup Genius”.   There, you’ll find time listings like “Mats” (the vinyl mats we use in the Main Hall) from 10 AM to 12 noon, and others including “Windows”, “Stage, Closets and Storage” and more, from 1 PM to 4 PM.  It’s easy to click the “Sign Up” button in your favorite cleaning area–I just signed up for Mats!  You’ll also find a button on the page where you enter your name labelled “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information”, which I clicked…and so can you.
We’ve found that if we can get a good number of people to join some of us “hardcore” Grange members, we can get a lot done, meet some new friends and enjoy the process of getting our Hall clean.  Please check out our Grange Facebook event page, and if you want more info, please reply to this newsletter email.

After the cleanup, we’ll rejoice with a Sing-Along!

It’s gardening time!

Along with spring cleaning, it’s also a great time to be planting and weeding and watering in gardens–including the flower beds at the Grange Hall.   The picture above is of the bed at the right of the Original Entrance on the south gable end–last summer after the hard work of, especially, Amy Handy, who (not coincidentally) holds the office of Flora in our Grange.  Amy would be happy to work with others on all of the flower beds which volunteers have established around both entrances.  You can email her to get in touch!

Look who rehearsed in our parking lot!

All Species Day is a long-established day of celebration in Montpelier; this year, there were rehearsals held in our parking lot, as well as indoors in preparation for the big day on May 4th!  Above is a photo of the dance corps on the streets of Montpelier; below is part of the show at the State House.  Look at their flowers, too!