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

With donations large & small, we met the Challenge!

Every year since at least 2010, the Montpelier Contra Dance community has supported the Grange with the “Challenge Fundraiser”, so this year’s successful completion marks at least the 15th time that the contra dancers who enjoy the Hall have come through with their donations.   The picture above shows the announcement at the dance on Saturday, Sept. 6 when the donations (small and large) from dancers reached $2,000, matching $2,000 pledged up front by a small number of generous folks.  In the end, we got even more–a grand total of $4540 has been received by the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall!   This major donation to improve the Hall and keep the Grange, with upcoming projects to keep making the Hall safer, more welcoming to all, and more energy efficient!
Besides the financial boost, these annual fund drives make it clear to the Grange and the FCCGH how much the Hall means to the people who enjoy the contra dances and the many other events that happen there.   This is great encouragement for all the volunteers who keep the Grange going, and keep making improvements!  Thanks to everyone who contributed!   That includes the Montpelier Contra Dance committee, the Grange officers and members, the FCCGH, and the people who brought “potluck snacks” to the festive finale dance, and to Jonathon Blake, who documented the event with a great set of photographs, including the one above.   We also thank Mary Wesley, the caller for the dances that night, who kept the enthusiasm going–she’s the one holding the microphone in the picture.  We literally could not do it without everyone involved.

Sept. 6 Grange meeting

We had a full agenda for the meeting, as expected.   I’ve written up a longer report, which is located at the end of these “Grange Notes”, so I can feature upcoming events including a unique Community Program nearer the top.  Please scroll down for the meeting report!

October Grange meeting and program!

On Saturday, October. 4, since it is in an even-numbered month, we’ll have a brief Grange Meeting from 4:30 to 5:00 PM, followed by a one-hour Community Program.
The meeting will including a financial report, an update on the Indoor Air Quality Improvement project which is getting underway, and plans for the State Grange Session on Oct. 24 & 25.
The program starting at 5:00 PM will feature a short (20 mins) documentary film describing natural burial and its benefits, through stories from the people who worked to make it legal in Vermont, plus the stories of people whose experiences show the ways it can help them come to terms with the loss of a loved one, and with one’s own mortality.  The film features the opening of and the first burial at Vermont Forest Cemetery.
The film will be followed by a Q&A session with Michelle Hogle Acciavatti, Founder of VT Forest Cemetery in 2023.  Michelle has the reputation of making discussion of funerals and burials meaningful and involving–even with flashes of humor.   We all know that there is an end to life; this will be a chance to consider options for what happens then.
A link to a Google Meet which will stream the Grange meeting and also the Program is posted on the Grange website’s Calendar listing for the program.  We’ll be happy to have you join us in person, but we also welcome anyone via the virtual link as well.

Community Potluck, 6:00 to 7:00!

The Program will be followed by one of the Grange’s renowned potluck dinners, in the Lower Level.   Everyone is welcome, whether you have been part of the meeting or program, or just want to eat!   We typically have a wide variety of dishes, including choices for carnivores, vegans, and omnivores!   We’d love to have you bring a special dish you’ve made to share, but we’ll also happily eat chips/dips/hummus/cookies/drinks/etc. you’ve picked up on the way to the Grange Hall too!  It will be a chance to discuss the program, or to just hang out with other friendly people.

VT State Grange meets at our Hall:
Oct. 23-25
Volunteers needed!

We’re honored that the VSG enjoyed meeting at our Hall in 2024 (as well as in 2020), and that they want to come back again.   Our goal is to host this one without overburdening too small of a core group of volunteers–which did happen last year, and we don’t want to repeat that.  The State Grange has started reaching out to other Granges across Vermont for helpers.   We have gotten a major boost by the volunteering of Grange member Albert Sabatini, who is part of the Senior Jazz Ensemble which rehearses every Tuesday morning in the Main Hall.   Albert, who’s a retired professional chef, has stepped forward to be the lead chef and meal planner for the 2 lunches and 1 dinner which will be needed.  He is working with Merry Shernock on sourcing locally produced ingredients for all the meals, and has also given us this list of volunteer spots which need to be filled, I’ve added one volunteer slot for setup and one for cleanup of the Hall to his list:

• Thursday afternoon, 10/23:  One person to help with food prep.
• Thursday evening, 10/23, 7:30 PM:  One person to help me (Tim) set up tables, table covers, chairs, Grange ritual Stations, etc.
• Friday lunch, 10/24:  Two people to put out lunch & serve the VSG delegates.  Plus:  Two people to clean up.
• Friday dinner, 10/24:  Two people to put out dinner and serve the delegates.  Plus:  Two people to clean up.
• Saturday lunch, 10/25:  One person to put out lunch and serve the delegates.  Plus:  Two people to clean up.
• Saturday late afternoon, approx. 4:30:  Two people to work with me (Tim again!) to put away tables, chairs, Grange ritual Stations, and to sweep the floors.

We are also in need of a few more folding tables, similar to the 9 we have in the Hall, for use for VSG displays, officers, etc.   Please email Tim:  swartztim15@gmail.com about tables, kitchen volunteers, etc.   If we get these shifts filled, no one will have to work too hard–if we don’t, it could be an ordeal for those of us who are there.   If you can help out, you’ll also meet some other really nice people, who keep the State Grange going, just like the core group of CCG members who keep this Grange and the Hall running!

Sept. 6 Grange meeting report

• Our first order of business was to “Drape the Charter”, the Grange ceremony to honor members who have passed away.  We performed the ceremony to honor Phyllis Skinner at this meeting.  We shared memories of our good friend and her always-friendly work as part of our Grange, including providing “Health Concerns” reports for many years, as well as recalling her many years as an RN.  The draped Charter will be on the wall by the stage until next month’s meeting.
• Patty Giavara, Chair of the FCCGH reported on the grant that’s been awarded to the Friends–I’ll give more info after our Oct. 4 meeting.  We applauded, and thanked our “sister organization” for their help.
• We discussed the offer of 2 “relay speakers” to be mounted on the side walls of the Main Hall, to provide better sound for the far end of the Hall.   They will be of most benefit for the Montpelier Contra Dance series, and the costs may be covered by the MCD committee.  We voted to accept the proposal.  Update:  MCD member Will Cleland and I mounted the speakers on Friday, 9/26!
• The Treasurer’s Report by Merry Shernock  reported on slightly lower revenues over the summer months, but no concerns about our cash-flow.   A committee is to be set up to discuss the possible need to increase rental rates slightly.  Merry also announced that North Branch Grange, in Worcester, has donated some funds to our Grange to help us purchase some padded chairs, in honor of Charles Martin, the long-time Master of North Branch, who also served as our Secretary for over 20 years.  Charles passed away in 2024 and is much missed by all who knew him.   We will be researching chair options and discussing them.
• Liz Benjamin, founder and main caller for the Dance, Sing & Jump Around series of dances for kids and their families, announced that she and the other organizers are starting the series in October and running through May, extending the season to 8 months, on the 2nd Sunday afternoons.  The Grange is happy to sponsor this series, hosting it with no rental fee.  Check it out Oct. 12!
• We heard a proposal by Grant Orenstein, a Grange member who is also a member of Indivisible Calais.  On their behalf, he asked the CCG to sponsor a benefit contra dance on Nov. 21, by not charging rent.  The net proceeds from the dance will be donated to Migrant Justice, a Vermont organization that works to support and protect immigrant farm-workers in Vermont.  We approved this unanimously.
• We discussed the upcoming Annual Session of the VT State Grange which will be held at our Hall on Oct. 25 & 26–see the article below on this event for more details.
• We also discussed the exhibition of posters and art prints by Bread and Puppet founder and director Peter Schumann which was installed in late August.   The meeting voted unanimously to require that the exhibit be reduced in scale to better fit the mission of the Grange as a multi-purpose Community Hall, one which serves a wide variety of groups and families.  The motion also required that any fire-retardant treatment must meet the requirements of the Fire Marshal.   We also resolved to come up with a clear policy about future art exhibitions for the Hall, to avoid the confusion that contributed to the problems that we initially faced.   I can report that a few days after the meeting, Patty & I met with the Curatrix for Bread and Puppet, Alexis Smith, and quickly reached agreement on ways for the exhibit to comply with the Grange’s needs.  She has been part of dance classes at the Hall for about 20 years!  We appreciate her willingness to work with us to modify the exhibit, and we look forward to displaying the artwork of Peter Schumann, who is celebrating 65 years of Bread and Puppet Theater with this exhibit.  We hope you will enjoy it; it will be up until Nov. 30.

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: