| APRIL 19, 2010 -- On Thursday night, members of the Litchfield Grange No. 107 will continue a 12-year tradition - honoring a citizen who has made contributions to the communtiy. This year's recipient of the grange's Citizen of the Year award is Dick Dauphinais.
Grange member Janet Healy, who belongs to the organization with her husband, Richard, said the selection of a Citizen of the Year focuses on someone who hasn't been honored otherwise.
"Dick has done some nice things for us and for other people in town, and he and his wife do good things," Healy said. "He's such a great guy. He does so much - if you say something to him, he always has an idea on how to do it."
Dauphinais, who lives on Harris Road with his wife Liz, is a longtime member of the Litchfield Fire Department. He recently pitched an idea - something he has pitched before - about having the town offer tax break incentives to residents interested in volunteering for the fire department to get them to join. He worries about the drop in volunteer members of the department and hopes more people will step up.
Dauphinais hosts a flower sale annually for the Torrington soup kitchen and is always willing to lend a helping hand to people in need. Healy noted that "Dick and his crew" often work with people to empty their homes and sell the unwanted items, then donates the money to charity. "He's also helped us get apples for our annual pie sales," Healy said.
The award ceremony is scheduled for Thursday night, April 22, beginning at 7 p.m. A meal for members only will be provided first. At the ceremony, a program with some sort of entertainment will also be given. "I don't know exactly what we're doing," Healy said. "Sometimes people bring in things to read, or we do skits. I have a couple of ideas. I don't really know yet."
Litchfield Grange No. 107's membership numbers about 40, said Healy, who has belonged to the group for 25 years. The grange is preparing for its annual flea market in May, hosts a holiday cookie sale for Christmas, and recently began hosting a pie sale in time for Thanksgiving.
"The money we raise goes into a scholarship fund for a student at Wamogo Regional High School, and we send kids to the grange camp, Camp Berger in Winsted, each summer," Healy said. "We also rent out the hall (on Route 202) but we have to pay for the electricity and the heat, so it's pretty expensive to do that. We rent it to a local Kindermusik program that's taught there during the school year."
The grange also tries to keep connected with other groups - the Whigville Grange in Burlington and the Bethlehem Grange.
The grange's annual flea market is set for Saturday, May 22 at the Grange Hall at 435 Bantam Road in Litchfield from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tables are available for $20 per table. The spots will be available both indoors and outdoors, and the market will be held rain or shine. Vendors are welcome to make reservation as soon as possible by calling Joanne at 491-9952. Admission is free.
The Citizen of the Year event on Thursday begins at 7 p.m. and the public is welcome to attend.
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