The Post-Standard News
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Post-Standard,
The (Syracuse, NY) December 5, 2002 GRANGE AGAIN FOCUS OF COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS CLEANING AND RESTORING BORODINO BUILDING Sara Errington Staff writer Inch by inch, the Borodino
Grange Hall is returning to its former glory.
A $2,000 challenge by an anonymous donor will help restore the
170-year-old building in northern Spafford.
Offering a tasty meal at Tuesday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. work sessions
rewards the volunteers for their efforts, said Spafford Area
Historical Society member Laurie Clark.
"We really thought this would be a good way to get people in and
get them moving," Clark said, after a dozen volunteers Nov. 18
polished off carrot soup, a salad of baby greens and olives, and
cheesecake bars.
The next week, when volunteers arrived to paint, scrub and scrape the
insides of the building, the menu was a rich bean soup, brown bread,
spring salad and orange cake.
Clark and other historical society members hope the restoration will
go quickly enough that they can throw a Valentine's Day ball.
Mary Lou Osborne, a Grange member whose job Nov. 25 was to scour
decades of dirt off long wooden benches, remembers square dancing across
the hall's hardwood floors.
When Osborne and her husband arrived in Borodino in 1950, the
Grange Hall served as a community center.
More than 50 people attended square dances every other week, and
children's plays graced the stage at the front of the hall's auditorium.
The number of Grange members was dwindling though, and the building
was already falling into disrepair, she said.
In 1998, a team of architects and historic preservation planners from
Crawford and Stearns looked at the building and declared that it was at
a crossroads.
"Either you do something now to restore it, or it returns to the
earth," SAHS member Johanna Frittelli recalled.
The hall's importance, the team found, was both in its fine
construction and its uninterrupted use as a public building, first as a
church, then as a town hall, and finally as a Grange hall.
"Its surviving federal style doorway, interior balcony, and
exterior trim illustrate a high level of design sophistication and
high-style quality not commonly found in vernacular building and, to a
lesser degree, surviving today," their study reported.
In 1996, when Grange members found that upkeep of the hall was beyond
their means, they sold it to the Spafford Area Historical Society
for a dollar.
As a condition, the society agreed to follow the Grange's tradition
of not serving any alcoholic beverages in the building.
Volunteers repainted the outside of the building, repaired its steps,
planted flowers and righted the leaning cupola.
Inside, they cleaned windows and repainted walls and woodwork. The
ceiling was also repainted.
The plush velvet curtain that hung in front of the stage was sent for
dry cleaning and the wooden floors await refinishing.
Dozens of antique benches and tables are getting their first
scrubbing in years and some will be refinished.
"It's beginning to look so nice," Osborne said, admiring
the hall ceiling, which is no longer water stained.
"The historical society has a lot of great, gung-ho people. But
it's a daunting task," she said.
If there's time and money, the volunteers will spend a few cold days
this winter making cushions for the austere wooden benches.
"They're great to look at, but if you sit on them for more than
20 minutes you need a seat cushion," Frittelli said.
Other projects include installing a new heating system and restoring
the basement kitchen.
Until Dec. 25, an anonymous donor will match donations, up to a total
of $2,000.
To make a donation, send a check to Spafford Area Historical
Society, Box 250, Marietta, 13110. Write "matching funds" on
the memo line.
For information about volunteering or donations, call Lauri Clark,
636-8300, or Johanna Frittelli, 673-4996.
The National Grange
What: The nation's oldest national agricultural organization.
Membership: 300,000 members in 3,600 communities in 37 states.
Mission: The Grange formed after the Civil War to improve the
economic and social position of the nation's farm population. It has
evolved to include non-farm rural families and communities.
Local: Borodino's fewer than a dozen remaining Grange members
meet on the third Saturday of every month. In winter, they meet in
homes. In the summer, they meet at the Borodino Grange Hall.
How to help
What: The Spafford Area Historical Society is restoring the Borodino
Grange Hall on Route 41. Work sessions: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Tuesday.
Donate: Send a check to Spafford Area Historical Society, Box
250, Marietta 13110. Write "matching funds" on memo line.
Details: Call Lauri Clark, 636-8300, or Johanna Frittelli, 673-4996.
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