Local News

On March 13 Hoosick Grange had an open meeting. David Schmidt was in charge of the program. He introduced Mr. Mike Speranza from Schenectady, who was our speaker for the evening. Mr. Speranza showed us “The Steps In Rope Making.” He said that rope making started way back in time, before fire making, otherwise, how did Adam and Eve tie on their fig leaves. He showed us flax or hemp, how the early farmers cut it, left it on the field to dry and let it rot. You would have to know how long to let it rot just right before crushing it, then pulling it through the spikes and then spin it. With big fibers, they taught young girls how to spin. With little fibers, they use them to make linen.
Mr. Speranza had a number of rope making machines. Some were very small, and he had bigger ones. He used bailer twine on one machine. With some Grangers’ help, they made some three strand twine. They also made six strand rope on another machine.
Back in the early days the United States was rich in lumber. They traded with the Dutch and the English. England didn’t have a lot of lumber. During 1620 – 1630 there were a lot of rope factories. Ships used a lot of rope, up to 70 miles on each ship. So the United States and England traded, lumber for rope and other things. To make a long strand of rope they needed a lot of men with the same tension on the rope. They needed 760 foot strands with three strands each to make a long piece of rope. Mr. Speranza also told us that the English soldiers used to work in the rope factories. He asked us if we knew where the Rope City was in New York? We didn’t give the right answer. It was Auburn, NY. It was known as Cordage City.
We thanked Mr. Speranza for a very interesting program. The Lecturer announced the winners of the photography contest. Martha Babbitt won in the people category, and Corinne Philpott won in the animal category. They both won with a score of 100 in the scenery and nature category. The judges were Walter and Roberta Burr.
Hoosick Grange met again on March 27. It was an open meeting night with the Hoosick Falls Central School Jazz Band . We had a great crowd, and the band members were very enthusiastic. The Lecturer introduced Mr. Brown who conducted. She told how the Grange looked forward to hearing them each year. Mr. Brown said the Jazz members looked forward to coming for other reasons, too. Mr. Brown introduced the first song they played, “Rocks” and then “Lets Go to the Hop.” He introduced each member from the sixth grade through the twelfth grade. After that, they played “String of Pearls” and “Georgia on my Mind.” The crowd liked all the different tempos, like “Can’t Help Falling,” but the band members really liked the “Twist.” They played many more different songs, ending with “Rock Around The Clock.” They really liked that one. The program lasted about one hour.
The Lecturer thanked Mr. Brown and the band members. It was refreshment time. The Grange had lots of goodies, like ice cream and punch and cookies for everyone.
Hoosick Grange’s next meeting will be on April 10. Norma Brenenstuhl is in charge of the program, and Marion Brenenstuhl is in charge of refreshments. Grangers, remember it is food drive night. Let’s really surprise ourselves with lots of canned goods or money for HACA.