| March 6, 2020 -- Mar. 10: St. Pat’s Day, Ref. Sandy Phillips
Mar. 24: Hobby Night, Ref. Angela Cain & Patrick O’Brien
Apr. 14: 1st & 2nd Degrees, Ref. Ted & Linda Benedict
Apr. 28: 3rd & 4th Degrees, Ref. Harvest Potluck at 6 P.M.
Little by little it seems we are re- building Winchester Grange hall. In late January we were down to some finishing touches to the repairs on the exterior of the Old Firehouse. The urgent siding replacement on the Post Office side really made it clear the siding on the front of the building needed replacement as well. Our builder did a wonderful job of replacing the siding and installing new trim around the bay doors made out of PVC boards which should stand the test of time. New eaves troughs have also been installed at the roof line to take the water away from the walkways and driveway.
At our first meeting in February, the Grange adopted a new “marketing plan” for our two most important and profitable events, the Father’s Day Strawberry Festival and the Grange Fair & Flea Market in August. While attendance at both events is still very good, we did have a noticeable drop in attendance last year. To help turn the trend around, Winchester has purchased advertising on 15,000 placemats that will be seen at McGrane’s Restaurant in Winsted now through June. In addition, a plan for new signage for each event will be implemented. Large full color signs will be printed for each event and will be placed in the center of Winsted and in Torrington (along with other important road junctures in the area). We feel the signs and the advertising will be an important investment in the growth of Winchester Grange as ALL of our newest members have joined after attending our events.
We were happy to welcome back Lecturer Ramona Fassio after an extended illness this fall and early winter.
Winchester Grange was saddened to hear of the imminent closing of Eureka Grange #62 in New Hartford. They have asked to merge with Winchester Grange and we are now working out the details. We are very happy to welcome their members to Winchester Grange, however, they own a hall and this will be a complicated issue for us all to resolve before a merger can be completed. More on this later! |
