Grange updates: Phyllis gets lots of cards! April 5 program reminder

Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) April 3, 2025

Phyllis Rubenstein started out in Georgia, April 15, 2023….

….and in this picture, she’s made it to Mt. Moosilauke in NH, just one state away from her ultimate destination in Maine.
This Saturday, April 5, she’ll be talking to us and showing pictures of what she saw on the trail, which included lots of spring flowers as she “followed spring north”.  She saw some animals too!
Please join us for this FREE program at the Grange Hall, from 5:00 to 6:00 PM.   If you can’t make it in person, you can watch and listen via Zoom, by following this link:

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/75036202871?pwd=TWF6jVhFOcQjUC5vYLfL609lUeAjnX.1

Meeting ID: 750 3620 2871
Passcode: 2AuMen

Note that this is different Zoom link than the one for the Grange meeting–see below.
The program will be followed by the semi-legendary Community Potluck in the Lower Level.   Bring something to share (your homemade specialty or something you picked up from the store) and enjoy a social meal with some friendly folks!

Thanks for the cards!

I visited Phyllis Skinner the day after her birthday, and was impressed with the number of cards she had gotten–see left  for some of them.   She appreciated all the good wishes that came her way for her 90th birthday!  Not all of these came from her Grange friends–Phyllis has been an active part of many groups over her long life, but they are all appreciated!

A cobbler by any other name…

…..could be a Betty, a Crisp,  a Buckle, a Pandowdy, a Crumble, a Grunt, a Slump, or a Sonker…we’re not sure!   I had to look up a few of these, but they all could be delicious…and they all could be entrants in the 2025 Capital City Grange Cooking Contest!  Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 3rd, which is when we’ll have some local celebrity judges making judgements on the entrants–and we’ll all get a chance to try them out as well!
The rules are simple:  “Make a cobbler using seasonal fruits for summertime (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries).  Include your recipe.   Bring enough for servings for at least 4 people”.   Besides our contest, anyone can also bring their cobbler to the VT State Grange Family Camp in July, for judging at the State level!   By the way, the “seasonal fruits” are based on the summertime contest–we know you probably won’t be able to find local fruits in May!
Two Grange members have stepped forward to organize this contest:  Marty Roberts and Cecile Sherburn.  We look forward to a report on what they have planned at our Grange meeting this Saturday.   If you want to help also, please let me know by replying to this email, and I’ll put you in touch.

Saturday Grange meeting

• Winter expenses should be mostly over–we’ll look at what we spent on pellets for heat, and plowing and sanding the driveway and parking lot.
• The Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall have been working on the grant application, to help pay for installation of a ventilation system for the Main Hall–we’ll hear about how that’s going.
• We’ll also be checking in on reports on the maple syrup harvest, which (judging by the buds I can see on the trees) is likely coming to an end in these parts.  What about in your area?
• I’ll bring some information about benefits of Grange membership, offered by the State and National Granges–there are quite a few!