Grange Notes by Tim Swartz, Grange President (with everyone’s help) Sunday August 18, 2024
The Montpelier Senior Jazz Ensemble played for our barbecue/potluck/picnic, on the ADA Entrance Porch!
We dodged the rainstorms
for an excellent picnic!
After watching the rain storms come and go during the week before our scheduled outdoor meal on August 3rd, we were pleased to be able to hold it without a drop falling! A good-sized crowd (estimated at 50-70) brought tasty dishes of all types to share, and enjoyed the burgers, hot dogs and vegan burgers we cooked and served–and the ice cream cones! We had music played by the Montpelier Senior Jazz Ensemble–but we let them stop playing so they could eat too. We had some burgers & hot dogs left over, which Patty Giavara took to Another Way in Montpelier, so they certainly didn’t go to waste. Many thanks to me and Kurt and Patty Giavara for cooking on the grills, plus the group of volunteers who washed up all the dishes after the dinner, and helped to put away tables, chairs and leftovers!
Patty, who is also Chair of the Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall also made the pinwheel/fan tote board shown in the picture below, for the kick-off of the annual Challenge Fundraiser. The “fans” represent the fresh/outdoor air ventilation that we plan as the next major project to improve our beloved Grange Hall. This fundraiser is sponsored by the Friends and the Montpelier Contra Dance, which has been a major part of supporting the FCCGH and the Grange for many years. To see a list of the major projects (and to find the PayPal donation button where you can chip in), check out the Donate page on the Grange website!
Why do we call it the “Challenge” fundraiser? Because 9 or 10 extra-generous donors from the contra dance community stepped up before the picnic to pledge $2,000, as a Challenge to the rest of the dancers (and all Grange Hall users) to match that starting boost to the campaign. As you can see on the tote-board, we’re making progress, with the fundraiser scheduled to finish up at the Aug. 31 Montpelier Contra Dance. For that, we’ll decorate the Hall with lights, and supply ice cream at the break in the dance! As always, the MCD does not raise the admission price for this festive dance, we just ask those who can to chip in for the Grange Hall.
All the photos of the picnic were taken by Jonathon Blake, many thanks for these great records of the event.
Grillers and eaters combine with great summer weather to celebrate the Grange
Volunteers hold a dishwashing party after dinner!
We use the Grange’s vintage dishes/plates/glasses for our dinners, so we don’t have to throw away lots of disposables–the people who pitch in make the difference.
Help us match the Challenge!
Help us improve indoor air quality!
The outdoor air ventilation system we’ve gotten quoted is designed to
- Provide fresh air to the Main Hall, even when it’s too cold to open the windows.
- Provide filtered outside air (when Canadian wildfires are sending smoke our way, and when pollen counts are high)
September 7 Grange meeting: elections and visitors!
Our monthly meetings resume on the first Saturday of September, at 4:30 PM–put it on your calendar!
Elections: As in every even-numbered year, 2024 is a Grange Election year, for all levels of the organization. We have some vacancies in the officers of our Grange–and some of us who have been officers for many years would love to have others take on some of our responsibilities! I will be very happy to share information about what the various duties are, just get in touch! We have a cooperative and supportive group of active members, and we are able to come to consensus on most matters. We’d love to get more diverse input!
Visitors: I’ve been contacted by some of the members from Caledonia #9 Grange, located in East Hardwick. They are considering ways to make their meetings more open to new folks, and want to see the simplified Grange Meeting Ritual we adopted in 2009 in action. At that time, we dispensed with having members give the password, and also reduced some of the time spent on repeating rituals. We retained the clear meeting structure for keeping informed about what’s going on, and considering ways to better serve our members and the community. We look forward to hearing what the “Caldedonians” think!
We’ll also be finalizing plans for the VT State Grange Annual Session, which will be held at our Hall on Oct. 25 & 26. Our meal-planning subcommittee will be reporting on plans for providing lunches and dinners on both days–delegates will be paying, and we’ll be cooking and serving the meals in the Lower Level!
Please join us for this first meeting of the Fall, and for the Community Potluck afterward, from 6:00 to 7:00 in the Lower Level!
Parkapalooza at CCG
With the wet weather of the last couple of summers, the Parkapalooza concert series has arranged with us that the Capital City Grange will be their rainy-night back-up venue. They came to us after the July 2023 floods to set this up with us–and it finally happened on Aug. 8th of this year! The photo above shows Red Hot Juba performing on our stage that evening. They said the venue was great, the parking excellent, the setup straightforward, the music was rocking, and catered food was served on the ADA entrance porch. The only feature we couldn’t provide was the giant Slip ‘n’ Slide that usually accompanies the concerts in Hubbard Park. Their only disappointment was that not very many people showed up. Two of those who did make it were Patty and Kurt Giavara; Patty took the picture shown here.
We are credited as one of the “Presenting Sponsors” for the series, and are happy to make it possible for the music to go on, even if the weather isn’t cooperative. There’s one more concert left this summer, on Aug. 22, at 6 PM at the Tuning Forks outdoor stage near the Old Shelter in Hubbard Park in Montpelier–or if it rains, at the Grange Hall! Check out all the info at the Parkapalooza website!
Mysteries at the Grange Hall
- Batteries: About a month ago, I got a call about 9:00 PM from a renter who was unable to lock up one of the Grange doors, though the code we had given them worked perfectly on the other one. From their description, I figured out that the batteries in the lock must have died. I drove to the Grange, confirmed my diagnosis, and went down to the Lower Level, where, last year, I had stored a 20-pack of AA batteries for the door locks and the battery clocks. Imagine my surprise when the entire package was gone! I scrambled to get to the one convenience store in Montpelier that was open at nearly 10 PM (as it had gotten to be). I bought 4 expensive batteries and got the lock working again. Does anyone have any idea how those batteries disappeared?
- Fire extinguisher: About 2 weeks ago, I found one of our fire extinguishers lying on the ground outside the Hall–completely discharged. There was no sign of any fire or the powder from the fire extinguisher–inside or outside the Hall. I am getting the extinguisher re-charged, which at least is not toooooo expensive. Does anyone have any idea when or how the fire extinguisher was taken from its bracket at the bottom of the fire stairs, discharged, and left?
- Tables: At our Aug. 3 picnic (reported on above), we found that we only had 5 of the 7 tables we have stored in the Table Closet in the Main Hall. Luckily, a couple of Grange members were able to bring their own tables to provide space for the many people who joined us for the outdoor picnic. Has anyone “borrowed” those 2 tables?