Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) November 8, 2024
Lewis Neill, a long-time friend to the Grange
Lewis, a very long-time member of the Montpelier Church of Christ, passed away with family members around him, on Thursday, Oct. 31, at the age of 93.I knew Lewis through the Grange, where he worked to keep the building in good shape for many years–starting long before I joined the Grange in 1998. I found that this was typical–he was well-known and well-loved by the community for his volunteer work, especially in the form of doing home repairs for people in Montpelier and Central Vermont. He demonstrated the Christian faith which was central to his life by helping others with construction and repair projects.
At the Grange, Lewis took the initiative to make many improvements. Among others, his work can be seen in:
- The stairs to the porch at the original entrance.
- LED exit lights that he purchased and installed.
- Rebuilt stairs from the landing to the Lower Level. This and the preceding 2 were done at least 20 years ago.
- The culvert under the top end of the driveway–digging and installation done solo by Lewis in 2007, when he was “only” 76.
- He loaned ladders and staging for painting the Grange Hall when it was done by volunteers from the contra dance in the late 1990s.
Lewis will be remembered at a memorial service on Saturday, Nov. 9, at the Church of Christ, 540 South Barre Rd., South Barre VT 05670, at 1:00 PM, followed by a potluck meal.
In his memory, financial gifts may be sent to Ganderbrook Christian Camp: http://www.ganderbrook.org/
Blood flows at the Grange
We are pleased to report that the Red Cross blood drive we sponsored on Friday, Nov. 1 was quite successful! This event brought in 30 presenting donors–well over their initial target of 24.
This is the first of a series scheduled to happen at the Grange. The Red Cross is very happy to have our location available, following disruptions to their previous Montpelier locations due to the floods and subsequent repair work. The next drive at the Grange will be Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, from 10:30 AM to 3:00 PM. Sign up now at: https://www.
The credit for suggesting and arranging this series of blood drives goes to our (volunteer) Rental Agent and Treasurer, Merry Shernock–who was one of three donors from the Grange, too!
Grange meeting report–Nov. 2
+ a little history
Our monthly meeting last Saturday was attended by the minimum number of Grange members needed for a quorum–7 members. A couple of other members tried to attend via Zoom, but were unable to do so, due to after-effects of the website problems I mentioned in the last Grange Notes. Those have been cleared up, as far as I can tell, after working with Tech Support from WPEngine.com, the website hosting company we hire to host and support the capitalcitygrange.org website.
The meeting discussion reviewed finances and the VT State Grange meeting, both in generally positive terms. The weak point in the VSG session was the small number of volunteers who stepped forward to help our core Meals Committee. This matches the difficulty we have found in getting more people actively involved in the Grange as a whole. At the meeting, we spent a fair amount of time reviewing the ways we’ve tried to attract more involvement. There is only one time when we got a lot of new folks–here’s a quick history:
In 2004, the older generation of Grange members who had been keeping the Hall and the Grange going told Grange tenants that they were going to have to sell the Hall if they couldn’t get more people who would actively take part. The Contra Dance committee got up on stage at a few dances to explain the situation, and to appeal for dancers to take part; other Grange Hall-using groups did the same. We ended up having about 70 new members join the Grange on January 15, 2005. Next time you’re in the Hall, take a look at the framed set of photos of this big event! A similar number of State Grange members came to perform the full initiation ritual that day, including all 4 “degrees” of Community Grange–and enjoying a great potluck dinner together (see the photo above).
Before the mass initiation, several of us, including me met with the State Grange Master, Phyllis Mason, and other VSG officers, to talk about why we thought we could keep the Grange going–they didn’t want to have people just join to “save the dance hall”. I had been a member of the CCG for a few years at that point, so I had some understanding of what the Grange was all about. We convinced the VSG reps that we truly thought that we could take on the community service mission, building on the mission of the Grange to serve and support local community connections in rural areas.
That meeting set the tone for what we’ve worked on ever since. We’ve called it “learning what it means to be a Grange in the 21st century”. We’ve built up a very successful community hall, which is an affordable place for all sorts of community events–from large dances to family celebrations. If you haven’t checked out our website Calendar recently, take a look. For our Grange, maintaining and improving our Hall is the major part of our community service. See below for some regular events we sponsor at the Hall!
Now, many of us who got involved back then are feeling our age, and would be happy to work with some younger folks who want to keep this project going. Just as the older Grange members mentored us as we learned what a Grange is, we would like to pass on what worked–and what didn’t–in our time as stewards of this organization. Please get in touch to learn more! Come to our next meeting, on Dec. 7th–we’ll have a great speaker too (see below)–and another excellent potluck dinner. Some traditions should not be changed!
It’s time for Family Weekend!
With the advent of cooler weather, we’ll be having 2 family/kid-oriented events happening monthly. We have one every month, all year round: Kids Trade & Play. This clothing swap, run by volunteers, typically brings over 100 adults and kids to our Lower Level in 2 hours from 9:30 to 11:30 AM on Second Saturdays. We ask for a $5 donation per family if you have it–but no one is ever turned away.
This weekend marks the beginning of the next season of Dance, Sing & Jump Around, the Grange-sponsored event that lets families enjoy, well, dancing, singing and jumping around together! All the dances, songs and play-party games are taught and led by Liz Benjamin and Stan Carlson, and there are tasty snacks, plus a drawing corner for those who need a break from the group too. Kids get in free, we ask for a $5 donation for adults if you have it–but (like KT&P) no one is turned away.
These are the sorts of community events that are possible because we have our wonderful Grange Hall!
Dec. 7th: Grange meeting program
We’re looking forward to hearing from Allison Levin, the founder and Executive Director of CHCV. The program, set up by Grange Lecturer Patty Giavara, will happen from 5:00 to 6:00, following our brief meeting starting at 4:30 on Dec. 7. More info in the next Grange Notes newsletter!