“Ring the bell” said Karl to Sue and she did just that at two minutes after twelve. Immediately after our opening meeting rituals, including a false start to “America the Beautiful,” Tony proposed a fine of one-and-nine on Claire for not being at her post of Presiding President at the “anointed” hour. Fine accepted without a defense or vote by the late Claire Duke. Jim wondered if Tony could propose a fine if he wasn’t wearing a badge. That resulted with a fine of one-and-one and a half on Tony. Liane paid the dollar that she owed from last week; gave a Happy Dollar for the Barre Town passage of the funding of the Aldrich Library; and proposed a fine of one-and-nine on Karl for embarrassing a new member (her) last week. Karl pleaded “guilty as hell.” Ted proposed a fine of one-and-nine on Karl for parking once again in a free parking space and denying the City of much needed revenue. Karl again pleaded “guilty as hell.” Tom proposed a fine of one-and-nine on Karl for not letting the members vote on fines levied on him. Fine passed resoundingly. The fun and games ended as we were encouraged to eat because we had two programs and three speakers.
The first speaker was Carolyn Shapiro who is heading up the Rise Up Bakery Project sponsored by Barre Historical Society. Carolyn was a former US history high school teacher and has always been interested in the cultural and social history of the US. The wood fired Union Co-operative Store Bakery is adjacent to the Old Labor Party Hall. Both are owned by the Barre Historical Society and are on the National Register of Historic Places. These buildings played an important role in Barre’s granite industry, Italian cultural history, labor history and early twentieth century co-operative ventures. Constructed in 1913 by the Italian granite workers, the original intent of the Union Co-operative Store Bakery was to meet the increasing need for baked goods in the Barre-Montpelier neighborhoods. From 1913 to 1929, the bakery assisted in providing basic necessities to immigrant populations. The Bakery also solidified the Italian community’s strong union representation by being Barre’s first bakery to utilize the union label on its products and to serve as a public advocate for workers’ rights and fair labor practices.
She said that by reviving the wood fired bakery that Italian granite workers cooperatively built in 1913, we will have an educational center to learn how to bake bread and learn about Barre’s rich labor history. It will not be a commercial bakery.
To learn more about the kickstarter campaign: Google: Kickstarter.com/rise up bakery and click on Kickstarter.com/rise up bakery- Carolyn Shapiro. The goal of the campaign is to raise $25,000 for the first stage of the renovation. The campaign will end May 17th. They need $1800-$2000 to reach their goal.
Karl introduced Cyrus Patten, Executive Director for Campaign for Vermont. He said that the organization occupies the middle of the policy spectrum regarding such issues as cost of living and property taxes. He also expressed concern for peers leaving the State for employment opportunities elsewhere. He wants to fight for a better Vermont. He then introduced Bruce Lisman, one of the founders of Campaign for Vermont. He began by pointing out that government has become isolated; people have said “Don’t raise my taxes,” but the Legislature is doing just that. He said we are self-reliant as Americans, but we do depend on our community for mutual support and caring for each others’ causes. In the future he would like to see a competent government in a stabilizing role, but presently it is incompetent. He pointed out several examples of incompetence including hidden taxes in the form of increased fees, increases in spending, little improvement in the poverty level and child safety, and low government workforce morale. The goal of Campaign for Vermont is help develop competent government.
Sue reported birthdays and anniversaries again and noted that Carol should send her being born penalty dollar to the Club. Liane won the winning ticket, but not the jackpot.
