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Grange meeting and Baking Contest! Setup 4:00, meeting starts at 4:30
Capital City Grange baking contest–starts at 4:30
Every year, the VT State Grange sponsors a cooking or baking contest. This year, the contest is a “Cobbler with summer fruits”–use your own recipe! For our contest on May 3, we will happily accept cobblers made with fresh, frozen or canned fruits.
Our judges will judge based on “Appearance, Texture and Easy Preparation”–but the most important criteria is: Flavor! Please bring your dish at about 4:15 PM, so that the judging can begin at 4:30. Please bring at least 4 servings–we will be happy to consume any leftovers at the Community Potluck which follows the meeting. Please bring a copy of your recipe, and label the container with your name on the bottom, so that the judges won’t know who made what.
We will offer 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes–1st place will get a small basket of Equal Exchange fair-trade food products from Just Food Hub in Marshfield VT! Please visit the CCG-section of their website at: https://www.justfoodhub.us/capital-city-grange. Orders you place there will send a 25% donation to the Capital City Grange!
Anyone can enter our contest, or the State Grange Contest, which will be held at Grange Family Camp weekend in July (date TBD). For the State Grange Contest, the entries will be limited to raspberries, blackberries and blueberries–which will be much more seasonal then. You can use 1, 2 or 3 of the fruits. Please include a copy of the recipe, enough for at least 4 servings and your name on the underside of the container, so judges won’t be swayed by knowing the identity of the baker!
In person or Virtual meetings! Be part of our meeting, safely
We’ll be happy to have you, any way you want to attend! We will be running the very quiet air purifier which an anonymous donor bought for the Grange.
On odd-numbered months, we usually hold a full, official Grange meeting, complete with officers wearing sashes, sitting in their assigned locations.
Via Zoom, we have had to make some changes, of course. Officers don’t sit in their places, or wear sashes–but we try to get through Grange business (described below) systematically. We welcome anyone who wants to join us, and wants to help the Grange to function smoothly, improve our outreach, and broaden the community services we provide. If you have questions, comments or ideas, please join us! You can always contact Grange President Tim Swartz at: grangepresident@capitalcitygrange.org in between meetings.
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Grange meetings: What happens there, anyway?
What happens at a Grange meeting?
A Grange meeting might seem intimidating, before you check one out yourself, because it seems a little mysterious and full of “Grange Ritual”. Let’s describe a bit of what goes on, to take away the mystery.
Overall structure:
We do have a ritual opening and closing process, adapted by our Community Grange a few years ago to be a little more stream-lined than the ritual outlined in the Grange manual. Our Opening serves as a formal introduction to the “work of the day”–the agenda of reports and discussions which all Community Granges are expected to go through. It always includes singing—of the National Anthem or an alternative, and of an opening song chosen by our Grange Musician. Singing together is one of the fun parts! The opening also includes a performance of the “Grange Salutation” which reminds us of the ideals that Grange Members are to live by—Faith, Hope, Charity and Fidelity.
Next, we start work on the agenda, which includes reports on Agriculture and Legislative matters. In our Grange, which does not currently include any active farmers, but does include many with an interest in locally-grown food and the localvore movement, the Agriculture report often includes discussions of farmers’ markets, schools supplying themselves with local foods, and ways that people can preserve food for off-season storage, climate change, state and national food polices, and so on. The Legislative report follows the health-care system debates in Vermont, the “hot issues” on the legislative table, the actions of the Governor, and describes the internal workings of the political system.
We also have a report on Health Concerns from a working nurse about issues she sees in her practice with Central VT Home Health & Hospice, and in her reading about health-care. We hear from our Secretary, who is a former VT State Grange Chair for Home Economics, about upcoming knitting and sewing contests, or the annual baking contest.
We have a report on the Hall, which is such a large part of our activities, as well of our expenses. We talk about problems that need addressing, and about plans for the future improvement of the Hall. This responsibility is shared with the “Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall”, which was set up to focus on Hall projects and ways to fund them.
Every meeting includes a Treasurer’s report, which lets us know how the Grange’s bank accounts are doing, what the prospects are for rental income, and upcoming expenses. Members have the opportunity to question the Treasurer about details, and financial decisions being taken, before the report is accepted by the membership.
“Suggestions for the Good of the Order” is a regular item of discussion, as we continue to figure out how to be a Grange in the 21st century. We are in a Grange Hall which is not a central meeting place for a farm community, but is rather on the outskirts of a (small) state capital. We draw hundreds of people from long distances to use our community Hall as a meeting place, dance hall and performance space. We work on building our relationship with the Town of Berlin, for which we serve as a vital meeting-place for Town residents, families, and organizations. The Town itself also holds public hearings and meetings in our Hall.
During the meeting, members who are present may suggest a motion to commit the Grange to a project, express an opinion, send a letter or make a contribution. Members are given the opportunity to discuss all aspects, before the Grange votes for or against the resolution. Grange meetings are run on Roberts’ Rules of Order, and are designed as a forum for civil discussion and debate, in which all can have their say and be equal in decision-making. We’re happy to support projects when there is someone who cares to follow through on the outcome, so bring your ideas!
Each meeting also asks if any Grange members are “sick or in distress”, and if so, may direct Flora (one of the 3 Graces) to send a card, fruit and/or flowers. Or someone may volunteer to visit and help out.
After completing the agenda, the meeting closes with a little more ritual. It always includes a closing song in which all can join, and the Grange Salutation affirming our commitment to Faith, Hope, Charity and Fidelity.
Then, we move the furniture around, put away the sashes, special stations, staves for officers, and re-arrange the chairs for the “Community Potluck” that starts about 6:00–we always have good food and people to join us, and hope that you will too!