Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, May 4, 2016
Just a few days from now, the Grange will be filled…with a sampling of the range of activities which our Grange Hall hosts. We’d like to have as many of you loyal Grange members and friends there to help welcome our guests. We are reaching out to the people from Berlin and other towns who have never been there–or maybe not for years. Please spread the word to your friends, acquaintances and co-workers. I know a lot of the people who get these “Notes” come to the Grange for just one type of event–this is a chance to learn about what happens on the other days of the week, and what is coming up–please join us!
3:00: Open House begins–we will have “info tables” from various users and committees, including:
- CCG#469 & FCCGH–featuring a survey seeking input on what the Grange could be doing, showing a movie from 1953 about the building of the Hall by volunteers, selling Grange cookbooks, and talking about all the improvements we have made!
- Wholeshare–the food-buying club which provides savings for members, and distributes every 2 weeks from the Hall!
- Acoustics committee–studying possible improvements for the Hall’s sound–for meetings, dances, singing!
- “DIY Weddings”, showing the possibilities for use of our venue for economical, fun weddings, receptions, etc. Pictures! Decorations!
- 4H–a representative from the UVM Ag Extension, looking for people interested in a 4H branch at our Hall!
- The Friends of the Winooski River–we are looking for other Grange members and friends to join Merry and me at their “Onion River Race & Ramble on June 5th.
- Pizza samples, made by a Montpelier Farmers’ Market vendor whose wedding happened at the Hall recently!
- Kids Trade ‘n’ Play, which normally happens on 2nd Saturdays will have a play area for kids and a display table.
Starting at 3:30: Our “talent show” will begin. MC for the event will be Carl Etnier, a long-time contra-dancer, and also a radio host on WGDR. Performers confirmed include:
- Music from the Northeast Heritage Music Camp–traditional tunes–Susan Reid performing with students from the camp!
- Taiko Drumming–a sample lesson by Stuart Paton!
- The “UPSCALE” barbershop quartet from the Barretones–now renting rehearsal space on Monday evenings!
- Sing-along with Merry Shernock, and Matt Nunnaly on piano–old favorites you already know!
- West African Dance– “Alanna and Tossy will dance to the rhythm “Wala Sedone” which is played by Adina on the balafone. This is a traditional West African rhythm found in many countries, and we have used both traditional moves and our own choreography in this dance.”
We’ll finish up with a potluck dinner at 5:00, anchored by:
Homemade Mac ‘n’ Cheese
Baked Beans
Carrot sticks–donated by Pete’s Greens
And all the delicious dishes brought by all of the readers who we hope will join us!
Homemade Mac ‘n’ Cheese
Baked Beans
Carrot sticks–donated by Pete’s Greens
And all the delicious dishes brought by all of the readers who we hope will join us!
Some of our valiant crew at work, spiffing up our Hall for the Open House
Spring cleaning makes a difference
Somehow, we always seem to need to do some cleaning every year….true for most houses, and true for our Grange Hall too. If your house gets dusty, imagine what happens when a couple of hundred people a week come and get involved in activities from dancing, to drumming, to meetings, to rehearsals and more….it’s enough to stir up a lot of dust!
Without each of the volunteers who joined us on April 30th, the work would not get done–and we are grateful!
Stan Carlson–cleaned out the “dance” closet, and helped me cut down the oak branches that were rubbing against the Hall.
John Mallery–cut up the branches, and the trunk of another tree that happened to have fallen in the parking lot.
Fran Mallery–cleaned the stage, plus scrubbed a lot of dirt from the doors under the stage, and the doors to the “new” foyer.
Todd Taska & Ann Pearce–cleaned and mopped the entire basement floor–and we talked about best ways to paint it, minimizing fumes and improving the durability.
Alison Forrest–cleaned all the light fixtures in the Hall, cut carrot sticks for snacks, plus much more cleaning in the upstairs bathroom!
Merry Shernock–organized and “pruned” the bulletin board, grouping the many community activity posters, local business and teaching cards, etc. And also scrubbed the baseboards in the upstairs bathroom, as well as providing snacks! And then took home the curtains and quilts to wash and re-hang.
Joe Blakely–cleaned all the Hall windows, and also consulted with me on ways to spot-scrape and paint the peeling paint–we are looking for volunteers to prime and paint after Joe and his friend Miguel (who did a lot of cleaning too!) scrape and remove the old paint–Joe is certified to safely remove lead paint. More details to come–but get in touch with me if you can help with the “fun part” of painting after Joe does the dirty work.
Without all of these people we would not have made such progress–think how much more we could do with a just a few more volunteers. There are lots more projects awaiting a bit of your energy.
Without each of the volunteers who joined us on April 30th, the work would not get done–and we are grateful!
Stan Carlson–cleaned out the “dance” closet, and helped me cut down the oak branches that were rubbing against the Hall.
John Mallery–cut up the branches, and the trunk of another tree that happened to have fallen in the parking lot.
Fran Mallery–cleaned the stage, plus scrubbed a lot of dirt from the doors under the stage, and the doors to the “new” foyer.
Todd Taska & Ann Pearce–cleaned and mopped the entire basement floor–and we talked about best ways to paint it, minimizing fumes and improving the durability.
Alison Forrest–cleaned all the light fixtures in the Hall, cut carrot sticks for snacks, plus much more cleaning in the upstairs bathroom!
Merry Shernock–organized and “pruned” the bulletin board, grouping the many community activity posters, local business and teaching cards, etc. And also scrubbed the baseboards in the upstairs bathroom, as well as providing snacks! And then took home the curtains and quilts to wash and re-hang.
Joe Blakely–cleaned all the Hall windows, and also consulted with me on ways to spot-scrape and paint the peeling paint–we are looking for volunteers to prime and paint after Joe and his friend Miguel (who did a lot of cleaning too!) scrape and remove the old paint–Joe is certified to safely remove lead paint. More details to come–but get in touch with me if you can help with the “fun part” of painting after Joe does the dirty work.
Without all of these people we would not have made such progress–think how much more we could do with a just a few more volunteers. There are lots more projects awaiting a bit of your energy.
We’re skipping our usual Grange meeting for May, to make way for the Open House.
Between now and our June meeting, the Executive Committee will make decisions as needed–please join us on June 4th to catch up on Grange developments.
Between now and our June meeting, the Executive Committee will make decisions as needed–please join us on June 4th to catch up on Grange developments.