Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) December 4, 2025
December 6 program: preserving and improving Vermont’s streams and rivers
What’s the connection with mad dogs and trout? Why does the VT Fish & Wildlife service say “fish grow on trees” and “mess is best”? You can find out from the President of the Trout Unlimited “Mad Dog Chapter” by coming to the Dec. 6th program from 5:00 to 6:00. Clark Amadon will introduce us to the work of this chapter, and the benefits their work brings to central Vermont. This chapter’s been around since the mid-1980s, and they’ve taken part in numerous projects to improve watersheds in our area, as well as to promote responsible fishing. If you’re interested in stream health, dam removal, women in fly fishing, or “trout in the classroom”, you can ask questions and learn about it at the Grange this Saturday. Their website also has information about this local organization,part of a national Trout Unlimited which was formed in 1959.
And of course, there’s a potluck after the program!
Everyone’s invited to the Grange’s monthly “Community Potluck Dinner” starting at 6:00 PM, after the program! As most of you probably know, we typically have a wide variety of dishes, both home-made and store-bought. People bring their special casseroles, meat dishes, vegan dishes, bread and cheese, desserts, soups and more. If you want to bring a bag of chips and hummus you picked up on the way, we’ll eat that too! All completely free and open to the public, of course!
December meeting agenda: reviewing finances and rental rates, IAQ project progress report, benefit success, and more.
- Discuss the Executive Committee’s suggested changes to rental rates, based on a review of our financial status.
- We’ll finalize plans for our annual Holiday Sing-Along on Dec. 20.
- We’ll hear about the progress toward installing an ERV in the attic, and an air purifier in the Main Hall.
- Discuss progress toward a policy for future exhibitions on the walls of the Main Hall.
- Hear about the ad which Patty Giavara placed in the “World” local paper about Grange events (you can see it here).
- How can we get some volunteers to help out with Red Cross Blood Drives on Jan. 16 and May 15?
- And we’ll talk about how to select new chairs for the Grange Hall!
Put it on your calendar for next Thursday!
It will be GAME NIGHT from 7:00 to 9:30 PM in the Lower Level of the Grange, so put it on your list of things to do. A variety of board games will be available, or bring your favorites! There will be people who want to try new games, people who like the old standards, and everyone will have fun!
And put this on your calendar for Dec. 20!
It’s our annual Holiday Sing-Along! As we have in the past, we’ll have lyrics to a number of songs projected, and Grange Musician and song-leader Matt Nunnelly at the piano to accompany singing along!
We’ll have singing from 4:30 to 6:00 PM, with a FREE COMMUNITY POTLUCK to follow!
If you have songs that you’d like us to include, please reply to this newsletter with a good set of lyrics, so we can have them ready to go!
ERV: electricians are on the job!
These boxes are “disconnects”, which will allow the ERV installers to connect the wiring for the duct heaters and the ERV, when they arrive in a couple of weeks! Not shown is a sub-panel that had to be installed in the furnace room, to make space for the circuits required for the ERV to be installed in the attic, as well as the for the future project we plan for the Lower Level!
This project, and other Grange improvement projects are made possible by grants from the VT Arts Council and the State of Vermont, and the funds for matching donations that our generous community of Grange Hall users donates. Those funds are managed by the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall, our 501(c)(3) non-profit “sister” organization. Right now, the Friends is conducting a year-end appeal for donations that will support the next ERV installation, as mentioned above. If you’d like to donate, please go to the “Donate” page on our website. We appreciate all of the hundreds of people who donate to the FCCGH, including the “Challenge Fundraiser” every August as well as the annual Fall Appeal happening now! We literally could not do these projects without all of you folks who give small and large donations, and knowing we have your support keeps us going.
Indivisible Calais thanks the Grange for a successful benefit!
We were pleased to hear that the contra dance benefit which the Grange co-sponsored was a rousing success! Over 100 dancers donated a little over $3,000 to Indivisible Calais, all of which went to Migrant Justice, to help them defend the rights of migrant farmworkers in Vermont. Besides the support of the Grange donating our venue, other donors covered the payments for the band, caller and sound. This cooperative effort paid off well! Thanks to all who came and donated!