Grange Notes for August 29, 2018 by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help)
It’s almost here…the FCCGH annual fundraiser winds up at the dance this Saturday, Sept. 1!
Every year since 2012, the Friends of the Capital City Grange have asked for contributions to help invest in Grange Hall improvements–more than the Grange can afford on its own.
FCCGH chair Patty Giavara has lined up a group of 10 extra-motivated contra-dancers to contribute a “Challenge” for the rest of the Grange community to match. Once again, they have given $1,500, for the dance community (and everyone else!) to match.As in previous years, the fundraiser wraps up at the first dance in September, with an extra-festive version of the CDU dance. With a tote-board to chart the incoming contributions, special lights and a potluck “dessert bar” at the break, plus beautiful house plants in return for donations, it’s a special night–but no special admission price! We want everyone to come and enjoy the evening–and to give what they can to keep improving the Hall.That dance will feature always-popular caller Nils Fredland and the great Clayfoot Strutters.
Nils has called many times at the Grange Hall, always helping people to dance together with care and respect, and (most important) have a good time.
The Clayfoot Strutters call themselves a “New England-based Contradance Jam Band”. They have been playing together for decades, specializing in fusing traditional American immigrant music, progressive pop and modal jazz harmonies with hot dance-floor grooves from the Latin, Swing, Afropop and Zydeco/Cajun worlds. Featured are core members fiddler, songwriter, and producer Pete Sutherland, Jeremiah McLane on accordion and keyboards, and drummer, vocalist and guitarist Lee Blackwell. Special guests often include: Peter Davis, who plays clarinet, sax, piano, and guitar, bassist Harry Aceto, and banjo and flute player Mark Roberts.
Nils and the Strutters are a special combination that will make us happy to give some bucks to keep the Grange Hall getting better! See farther down for info on plans!
FCCGH chair Patty Giavara has lined up a group of 10 extra-motivated contra-dancers to contribute a “Challenge” for the rest of the Grange community to match. Once again, they have given $1,500, for the dance community (and everyone else!) to match.As in previous years, the fundraiser wraps up at the first dance in September, with an extra-festive version of the CDU dance. With a tote-board to chart the incoming contributions, special lights and a potluck “dessert bar” at the break, plus beautiful house plants in return for donations, it’s a special night–but no special admission price! We want everyone to come and enjoy the evening–and to give what they can to keep improving the Hall.That dance will feature always-popular caller Nils Fredland and the great Clayfoot Strutters.
Nils has called many times at the Grange Hall, always helping people to dance together with care and respect, and (most important) have a good time.
The Clayfoot Strutters call themselves a “New England-based Contradance Jam Band”. They have been playing together for decades, specializing in fusing traditional American immigrant music, progressive pop and modal jazz harmonies with hot dance-floor grooves from the Latin, Swing, Afropop and Zydeco/Cajun worlds. Featured are core members fiddler, songwriter, and producer Pete Sutherland, Jeremiah McLane on accordion and keyboards, and drummer, vocalist and guitarist Lee Blackwell. Special guests often include: Peter Davis, who plays clarinet, sax, piano, and guitar, bassist Harry Aceto, and banjo and flute player Mark Roberts.
Nils and the Strutters are a special combination that will make us happy to give some bucks to keep the Grange Hall getting better! See farther down for info on plans!
Rob Nichols’ specially grown houseplants!
Rob raises beautiful houseplants, in pots and ready for your house, with care instructions. More than just spider and jade plants, as you can see!
Rob is willing to part with these, for a donation to the Challenge Fundraiser–come early for the best selection.
Rob is willing to part with these, for a donation to the Challenge Fundraiser–come early for the best selection.
And we’ll have a dessert potluck!
As in previous years, Dana Dwinell-Yardley is soliciting the cooks and bakers of the Grange and dance community to make home-made treats–sweet, savory, nutritious and not-so-nutritious…bring them in before the dance, and/or contact Dana: danadwya@gmail.com to coordinate plans. In the past, we’ve enjoyed popcorn, cakes, gluten-free dessert bars, spicy nuts, truffles, cookies–and ice cream!
We’ll be offering all of these treats at the break in the dance, and asking for donations–whatever you think is fair.
We’ll be offering all of these treats at the break in the dance, and asking for donations–whatever you think is fair.
No change in admission!
Your admission to the dance won’t change–as always, that goes to the band, the caller, the sound person and rent to the Grange. We are asking for contributions, based on what you can afford. Bring cash to the dance, or write a check. Or–to avoid all that paper, donate directly online to the Friends, on the Grange website: https://capitalcitygrange.org/
More dance events coming up
Last year, the VT State Grange enjoyed the community contra-dance we put on at the VT State Grange Fall Festival, in Brookfield so much, they asked us to do it again.
On Saturday, Sept. 8th, starting at 7:00, Dana Dwinell-Yardley will call dances, and students of Pete Sutherland, led by Alexander Allison will play, we hope with some other musicians joining in. We’d love to have some dancers from the CDU dances join us to make it more fun for the less experienced dancers. Spread the word! Free for all! If you want to come for the dinner before, featuring Stuffed Roast Pork, you’ll need to let me know before Sept. 4th.On Sunday, Sept. 9th, there will be a meeting of Vermont dance organizers at the Grange Hall, starting with a potluck “brunch” at 1:00 PM, continuing with discussion of problems and solutions experienced by dance organizers from around the state, and finishing up with a “DIY dance”–the many musicians and callers who double as organizers are urged to bring their instruments and dance cards.
For more info, contact me: Tim Swartz via email, or phone at: 802-225-8921.
On Saturday, Sept. 8th, starting at 7:00, Dana Dwinell-Yardley will call dances, and students of Pete Sutherland, led by Alexander Allison will play, we hope with some other musicians joining in. We’d love to have some dancers from the CDU dances join us to make it more fun for the less experienced dancers. Spread the word! Free for all! If you want to come for the dinner before, featuring Stuffed Roast Pork, you’ll need to let me know before Sept. 4th.On Sunday, Sept. 9th, there will be a meeting of Vermont dance organizers at the Grange Hall, starting with a potluck “brunch” at 1:00 PM, continuing with discussion of problems and solutions experienced by dance organizers from around the state, and finishing up with a “DIY dance”–the many musicians and callers who double as organizers are urged to bring their instruments and dance cards.
For more info, contact me: Tim Swartz via email, or phone at: 802-225-8921.
What are all these pictures about?
All of them reflect the work that goes on even while we take a hiatus on Grange meetings during the summer. Please join us in thanking the hard-working volunteers and the paid contractors who keep the Hall, the driveway, the furniture, and everything else going. Grange meetings will re-start for the fall on Saturday, Sept. 15th.
Left: Mowed weeds keep us looking trim–thanks to Lewis Neill of the Church of Christ.
Right: driveway maintenance by wheelbarrow and shovel–thanks to Lewis Neill again, for keeping it passable!
Repaired chairs, welded by John Lambert of Stony Brook Service at no charge!
Then the plumber came in…
We decided it was time to upgrade
The 27-year-old water heater (top left) is getting replaced by an “on-demand” water heater (top right, middle right and left), which will save us significantly on water heating costs. It is being plumbed in so that we can pump vinegar through it to remove any hard-water scale that may build up.
And we now have a frost-proof outside faucet (bottom), so we can water plants, clean paint brushes, spray screens, etc. without lugging water from the inside.
Last to be installed will be a couple of sprinkler heads mounted above the furnace, as suggested by the Fire Marshal.
We thank our plumber, Josh Mulholland, who also worked with his father Tom to put in the new bathroom plumbing in 2015.
And we now have a frost-proof outside faucet (bottom), so we can water plants, clean paint brushes, spray screens, etc. without lugging water from the inside.
Last to be installed will be a couple of sprinkler heads mounted above the furnace, as suggested by the Fire Marshal.
We thank our plumber, Josh Mulholland, who also worked with his father Tom to put in the new bathroom plumbing in 2015.
The driveway was getting pretty bad…
…despite Lewis Neill’s stalwart work diverting the water to drainage. Storms were cutting gullies that made the driveway feel a bit too much like “off-roading”.
Luckily, our favorite excavator,Matt Dwire of MD Enterprises was able to come in this week, and fix things up again. Matt has plugged a gully and regraded the parking lot and driveway for the Grange in the past. This time, he re-graded the whole drive, then topped the freshly worked area, and the “pit” that had developed near the top, with a couple of truck-loads of gravel including granite chips. Packed down, it is designed to shed water to the side.
The Grange is able to afford these improvements thanks to our partnership with the Town of Berlin, which is relieving us of property taxes, in exchange for free rentals for residents of Berlin. Our Hall has been used for birthdays, retirement parties, showers, training sessions for the co-op trailer park nearby, and much more! Spread the word about this community resource!
Luckily, our favorite excavator,Matt Dwire of MD Enterprises was able to come in this week, and fix things up again. Matt has plugged a gully and regraded the parking lot and driveway for the Grange in the past. This time, he re-graded the whole drive, then topped the freshly worked area, and the “pit” that had developed near the top, with a couple of truck-loads of gravel including granite chips. Packed down, it is designed to shed water to the side.
The Grange is able to afford these improvements thanks to our partnership with the Town of Berlin, which is relieving us of property taxes, in exchange for free rentals for residents of Berlin. Our Hall has been used for birthdays, retirement parties, showers, training sessions for the co-op trailer park nearby, and much more! Spread the word about this community resource!
And the robins on the old entrance porch raised 2 broods of chicks through all the work and people coming by–they too are dedicated to their job!
So, why are the Friends raising money, again?
The “Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall” was formed in 2012, to provide a planning and project management auxiliary to the Grange, plus a fundraising operation with a 501(c)3, tax-deductible status. In 2008, a committee composed of many of the same people carried out our first major renovation project.
In total, the Friends and the previous committee have raised over $104,000 in grants and donations, and have spent over $75,000 on the Grange Hall, making significant improvements:
In total, the Friends and the previous committee have raised over $104,000 in grants and donations, and have spent over $75,000 on the Grange Hall, making significant improvements:
- 2008: New entrance on NE corner + new ADA bathroom–main floor
- 2012: Replaced the dance floor with new, VT maple flooring
- 2013: Replaced wood windows with new, insulating ones
- 2014: Rebuilt fire exit from basement level to meet fire code.
- 2015: Completely rebuilt tiny basement bathrooms to create an ADA bathroom, plus a 4-stall, 4-sink “any gender” bathroom
The FCCGH has helped the Grange with over $75,000 of renovations, with the help of grants–so we probably shouldn’t be surprised that we can’t get one awarded every time. This year, the Friends’ winning streak has been broken, as our grant application to the VT Arts Council was turned down.
We can’t win them all…
As regular readers will remember, we had hoped to do a major project this winter, insulating the basement level, installing drainage for foundation leaks, adding a de-humidifier and providing new wall surfaces, new ceiling tiles and a carpet-tile floor. We will be meeting with the Arts Council soon to see what we can do better on our next grant application.
See below for our interim project plans, as we regroup to plan for re-apply for a grant for the basement project next year.
Moving forward, even without the grant
The Friends have been able to raise, through generous donations, a good bit of money that we expected to use as the required matching funds for the grant. We want to keep the momentum going, so we are now planning to start some trial acoustic improvements in the main Grange Hall.
For quite a few years, we’ve heard complaints about the “live” acoustics of our Grange Hall. People setting up sound systems, people having a hard time hearing at Grange meetings, people straining to hear the caller at contra and square dances, and even some sound engineers have told us it can be a hard place to provide clear sound!
We’ve gotten advice from various places about ways to reduce and absorb the “reverb”. These can range from purchased panels to new wall and ceiling coverings. We are now looking at making some “test panels” ourselves from acoustically absorbent materials, to see how they work. These will be attached to the ceiling and upper walls, and we’ll be soliciting feedback about how much improvement they provide, before we design a full-scale plan to really change the acoustics.
We’ll be looking for input from all the groups that use the Hall regularly, and also recruiting volunteers to help make the panels, cover them with appropriate fabric, etc. Stay tuned for details of meetings we will start after the Labor Day weekend fundraiser. If you’re interested in helping with these trials, please email Patty Giavara, or email me: Tim Swartz or phone me: 802-225-8921.
The Friends will keep you posted on plans for the grant applications and building improvements.Keep reading the Grange Notes for more updates.
For quite a few years, we’ve heard complaints about the “live” acoustics of our Grange Hall. People setting up sound systems, people having a hard time hearing at Grange meetings, people straining to hear the caller at contra and square dances, and even some sound engineers have told us it can be a hard place to provide clear sound!
We’ve gotten advice from various places about ways to reduce and absorb the “reverb”. These can range from purchased panels to new wall and ceiling coverings. We are now looking at making some “test panels” ourselves from acoustically absorbent materials, to see how they work. These will be attached to the ceiling and upper walls, and we’ll be soliciting feedback about how much improvement they provide, before we design a full-scale plan to really change the acoustics.
We’ll be looking for input from all the groups that use the Hall regularly, and also recruiting volunteers to help make the panels, cover them with appropriate fabric, etc. Stay tuned for details of meetings we will start after the Labor Day weekend fundraiser. If you’re interested in helping with these trials, please email Patty Giavara, or email me: Tim Swartz or phone me: 802-225-8921.
The Friends will keep you posted on plans for the grant applications and building improvements.Keep reading the Grange Notes for more updates.
And keep in touch with the Grange–through the Notes, the Facebook page & the website.
We’ll have more improvements–like more flowerbeds around the ADA entrance porch, the acoustic panels mentioned above, and more–and we’d love to have you involved.
Grange Meetings resume for the fall on Sept. 15th. Meeting at 4:30, Community Potluck dinner at 6:00! Put it on your calendar.
More flowerbeds will be built from rocks, filled with soil and planted with perennials, on Sunday, Sept. 23rd. Email Merry Shernock to volunteer or find out more!
Grange Meetings resume for the fall on Sept. 15th. Meeting at 4:30, Community Potluck dinner at 6:00! Put it on your calendar.
More flowerbeds will be built from rocks, filled with soil and planted with perennials, on Sunday, Sept. 23rd. Email Merry Shernock to volunteer or find out more!