Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) June 21, 2024
June Grange meeting report
Our brief Grange meeting before the Barre-Tones and the Singalong was dominated by talking about chairs. The blue chair shown in the photo was tried out by many people, and reactions were mixed. Factors like sturdiness, long-term durability, seat height, back support, and of course color were discussed.
Based on the criticisms of the blue chair, I have ordered (and just received) the “burgundy” chair in the other photo below, which I selected as a more sturdy alternative–albeit at a bit over twice the price per chair. I was surprised to find that the company shipped a box with 4 chairs, after charging me for one, so we can have 4 people at a time try this one. I have delivered them to the Grange Hall, with 2 clipboards (one for each type) with forms asking for feedback on specific features that people like or don’t like. This will help the Grange decide what chairs we might like to purchase. It will be a large dollar figure (about $2,600 to $4,600 for 130 chairs for the Main Hall), so we will not be rushing into this decision!
Based on early feedback, I expect to order at least one other type of chair for people to test and react to. Stay tuned!
When we next meet to discuss this possible purchase, to upgrade our Hall’s comfort and attractiveness, I will publicize it to get people to come and have a group discussion–stay tuned, and in the meantime check out the samples, think about the chairs, and fill out the reaction sheets on the clipboards with the chairs.
After the meeting–singing and potluck!
Starting at 5:00, we got entertainment and singing practice with the Barre-Tones! They arrived before 4:00, and rehearsed downstairs while we were meeting. When it was time for the Program, the 12 members assembled in front of the stage, and launched into their first song: Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah, sung of course in 4-part harmony. They explained their mission, as part of an international non-profit organization (Harmony, Inc.) whose purpose is to empower women through education, friendship and acapella singing in the “barbershop” style.
In the next section, they demonstrated how a song arrangement is “built” with close chord structure in 4 harmony parts. Successively, one singer sang the lead or melody line, then added a Bass line (always lower than the melody), a Tenor line (always higher), then a Baritone line which can be higher or lower–adding the “sparkle” to the sound. Each of these lines was sung solo, then along with the previous lines–it was a great demonstration of the reasons barbershop harmony sounds so rich and so distinctive.
Then, the chorus did their best to teach the audience how to sing barbershop, teaching individual parts of a “barbershop tag”–a dramatic variation put in the last line of a song. They demonstrated and then had us all sing 4 different harmonies, and then encouraged us all to choose one and sing them together. We have some great singers in our Grange, which counterbalanced my (and perhaps others’) lack of skill–the Barre-Tones were impressed with the overall sound.
Next, we heard about the regional contest in April, in which they qualified to take part in an international contest to be held in Louisville, KY in November! They also achieved the highest score of any “small chorus” in the contest. They sang one of the songs they performed there: “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows”. They encourage any women who enjoy singing to get in touch at the Contact tab on their website, or come to their weekly rehearsals at the Grange Hall, Mondays from 6:30 to 8:00 PM to come and sing with them!
To finish up, we got a mini-concert of 4 more songs–and were encouraged to join in especially on the choruses: “San Francisco Blues”, “Bare Necessities”, “Orange-Colored Sky” and “God Bless America”. Then we re-grouped, with the Barre-Tones members sitting with the Grangers, and sang several more “sing-along” songs led by Grange Musician Matt Nunnelly. With the reinforcement of the singers from the chorus, it was a powerful sound! We thank them for their presentation and their enthusiasm for the Grange Hall and for singing.
We had another excellent potluck dinner after the Program–see below for the next one, on Aug. 3rd–outdoors!
Summer is here: so the Barbecue Potluck is coming up!
As we have typically done, we are not planning a full Grange meeting in July, when it is hard to get people to sit down for meetings. If there are decisions that need to be made, we’ll arrange an “executive session”. But we know that Grange members and friends will sit down for a potluck–especially an outdoor one with grilled hotdogs, hamburgers and vegan burgers! So mark your Calendars for the Saturday, August 3rd Barbecue & Potluck! The Grange will provide the items to be grilled, plus buns and condiments–you bring a side dish of your choice! I’ll be sending out reminders as we get closer.
Come dance with the kids on July 18!
This year, our Grange was asked to recruit a caller and band to teach some community dancing at the State Grange Junior Camp in mid-July. So we’ve arranged to hire an experienced caller for young folks, Erin Smith, and a Central Vermont string band, the North Branch Trio, to play on the evening of July 18, at the VT State Grange Center, from 7:00 to 8:30 PM. The Center is located at 308 West St., Brookfield VT 05036. We’d love to have some people with a bit of experience dancing to help us give 15-20 young people, from about 6 to 15 a friendly introduction to simple dances. Please contact me, Tim Swartz at swartztim15@gmail.com with any questions.
New kitchen work tables!
Another improvement to our Grange Hall facilities: we’ve now got the two stainless steel tables shown in the photo, replacing the one table which was quite old, made of painted wood with cracked Formica laminate on the top. This upgrade has occurred thanks to Charles Mayhood, who in addition to being our Secretary has a great eye for bargains. Charles is part of the committee planning to provide meals for the State Grange Session on Oct. 25 & 26, and is motivated to make the kitchen a better place to work. He saw these tables for sale on Facebook Marketplace, at a good price of $400 for the pair, and convinced us to proceed with the purchase. Since they were located in Rutland, I found a friend from Northfield with a pickup truck who was willing to take a trip. Even better, when we got there and found the assembled tables wouldn’t fit in his truck, he had the needed 4mm hex key socket to remove the legs!
A few days after we got the parts to the Hall, Charles Mayhood and Merry Shernock (Treasurer and Rental Agent) worked together to find new homes for the pots and pans which used to be stored under the old table, in the Blue Door Closet in the kitchen. The tools and hardware from that closet found a new home on a “new” set of shelves in the Furnace Room. The upshot of all this work is that we have very cleanable tables, at a better work height, allowing more cooks to have room to prep food for events like the VSG meeting. Our pots and pans are stored where they won’t get so dusty, and our tools are actually better organized.
Temporary tenants at the Hall
- May 23rd: I found 4 eggs in the new nest in the Old Entrance porch roof.
- June 6th: 4 nestlings, every one hungry.
- June 8th: 1 mother robin working hard to feed the 4 open mouths.
- June 11th: 2 nestlings left, the others have fledged!
