October at the Grange: Rummage sale, Charlotte History Day and music
Rummage sale
It’s that time again …. time for the annual Fall Rummage Sale at the Charlotte Grange! The last day to drop off your items to donate to the sale is today, Thursday, October 3, between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Please no humidifiers, dehumidifiers, electronics or textbooks; we will take only a limited number of clean books. Clean clothes, dishes, household items, toys are always welcome!
The sale will open at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, October 4, and close at 5:00 p.m. that day. On Friday, all items are individually priced—but our prices are VERY reasonable and our goal is to sell it ALL! Saturday is BAG DAY, so for an entry fee of a mere $5 per individual or $8 per family, you can come and take all you want. The two Grange rummage sales are our BIG fundraisers for the year, so if you are feeling generous and feel like you got way more than the price of the “entry fee,” feel free to donate a bit extra. The money we raise during the two rummage sales is what we use to keep the building open for all the fabulous music events throughout the fall and winter and for the other work the Grange does in our town…..like all the flags on the veteran’s graves and all the dictionaries to our third graders in town.
We also need your help in holding the rummage sale. Cindi Robinson is our Grange member who organizes all the help and support for the sale. If you are willing to donate an hour or two during drop-off times or during the sale, please email her and sign up to help. It takes way more people than just the few Grange members to hold this sale—and the benefit if you come during drop-off times to help organize everything is that you get to see everything and then know on Friday just where to find those items you would like to buy!
Charlotte History Day
October 13 is the Annual East Charlotte Tractor Parade, and the Grange, in conjunction with the Charlotte Historical Society and Charlotte Museum, is holding Charlotte History Day on Sunday, October 13, from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at the Grange Hall. Come and see old photos of farming in our town and get a peek into Charlotte’s farming past!
Music
On Saturday night, October 12, at the Charlotte Grange Hall, we will kick off the weekend with a potluck supper and live music with Mary Provencher. Starting at 5:30 p.m. until 7:00 p.m., come and eat a fabulous meal, visit with friends and listen to some great music. It is a potluck, so you can bring a dish to share or simply come and pay $5. Other donations are always welcomed!
October brings more music to the Hall. The monthly Acoustic Open Mic will be held on Tuesday, October 15, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Sign up in advance on Facebook or email Mike Walker. This is the perfect evening to come and perform before a live, very receptive and appreciative audience and perfect your skills as a musician or just test the waters around performing in a public venue!
On Sunday, October 27, the group Daddy Long Legs will perform at 4:00 p.m. This group is the confluence of three well-known Vermont musicians whose talents merge to form a highly original acoustic trio. Infusing catchy folk songs, Celtic and “old-timey” melodies, and early minstrel and jazz pieces with passion and intricacy, Daddy Long Legs is playful and dynamic. Playing fiddle, viola, banjo, gourd banjo, piano, guitar, percussion and vocals, the group creates vibrant, sensitive and surprising 21st century folk music. Suggested donation for this event is $10 per person.
Work On The Hall
Stop by and see all the work that has been done on the Hall. We have a long way to go, but the entire south side has been repaired from all the water damage done over the years to the siding from the placement of the fire escape. The fire escape has been repositioned to prevent any further damage, and the entire side and fire escape have been scraped or wire-brushed and painted. All the work was done by local contractors: Preston Excavating did the footings for the fire escape; Slater Construction Inc. did all the repairs to the siding and repositioned the fire escape; and Shamrock Painting did the painting of the escape and building. We thank all these local contractors for their great work and support! Next time you see Ward Preston, Brian Slater or John McCaffrey, tell them thanks for the great work!
Needless to say, all this took money, and with the help of some very generous people, we were able to have the work done.
We are now in the process of applying for a couple of grants to see if we can continue on our path to making the Charlotte Grange Hall a viable community resource for years to come—but we need matching funds to do this. Our next goal is to start to rehabilitate and restore the inside windows on the main floor so they can actually function as windows—i.e, open and close—and to rehabilitate and restore the main entry doors.
If you would like to and are able to donate toward this work, please feel free to contact our president, Margaret Woodruff. Our address is Charlotte Grange, P.O. Box 54, Charlotte, VT 05445, and donations are tax deductible as we are a registered nonprofit organization.