Letters: Hazel Prindle, Wendy Pierce, Cathy Hunter and Ceal Moran
September 22, 2011, page 3....

Thanks to the caring people at the Post Office

I want to publicly express my appreciation to the caring, thoughtful people in the Charlotte Post Office.
Thank you for forwarding the infrequent mail sent to my former Charlotte address.

Sincerely,
Hazel W. Prindle
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Donating blood at the Senior Center is easy, fast and pain free

We have all seen and heard the great efforts made toward recovery post Irene. Charlotte was largely spared from destruction, but many are helping by donating time, effort and resources in the rebuilding process elsewhere.  Our community continues to donate time and resources every eight weeks at the American Red Cross Blood Drives hosted by the Charlotte Senior Center. The community continues to give, drive after drive. Barbara Baker, Phyllis Deming and Wally Gates greet, register and pass out any giveaways. Joan Gates creates gorgeous chocolate covered berries; Shirley Bean, Deb Stone, Heather Manning and other folks from the Grange bake delicious treats; Moe Harvey and Patterson Fuels donate fresh fruits; Shelburne Farms gives a huge block of cheddar; and Shelburne Supermarket supplies chips and dips. Then there are the wonderful donors who come year in and out to make the most precious gift. Each drive we have new donors, who are surprised how easy, fast, pain free and meaningful the blood donations can be. They manage to donate before or after work, dinner, errands and in between kids’ activities (although they are welcome to attend). Everyone enjoys the atmosphere at the Senior Center: art exhibits, newspapers, comfortable, neighborly and good snacks. Donations are especially needed as a result of Irene taking many people away from their usual donation schedule. Please join us Thursday, October 6, from 2 - 7 p.m. at the Charlotte Senior Center. Visit redcrossblood.org for more information or call 425-6345. Thank you all for your continued efforts, help and donations. You all are truly appreciated.

Wendy Pierce
Volunteer Coordinator
Charlotte Blood Drives
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Happy to go solar

For a long time now, I’ve dreamed of going solar. Getting clean, renewable energy from here in Vermont is great for both the environment and our security. But up until this year, it had never quite worked out financially for me. 
But this year, the environmental non-profit VPIRG launched Solar Charlotte, which finally made it easy and affordable for me to go solar. My panels just went up last month, and I couldn’t be more excited! The installation crew from Alteris Renewables were communicative and professional and in just three days I became a power producer feeding solar electricity into Vermont’s electric grid. It’s great to see my GMP meter spinning backward when the sun shines and even on cloudy days the panels produce some electricity.
Solar Charlotte worked out wonderfully for me, and I’d encourage other folks to look into it as well. The program is only taking signups through October 15, though, so you’ll want to move quickly. Homeowners and businesses who are interested can go to vpirgenergy.org to learn more about the program or sign up for a site evaluation. 

Cathy Hunter
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We are all related, right?

Since I’m part of a large friendly family, it seemed only natural to open our new-age “family reunion” to everybody!  Seriously, the second annual Genealogy Day was hosted on August 9 by longtime Charlotte resident, Ceal Moran, at the Holy Cross Parish Hall in Colchester. It was held in Swanton last year and will be held in Burlington (maybe Mater Christi School) in 2012. The format is that of an open house encouraging people to stop in whenever it works into their schedule.
The hobby of genealogy continues to pull in a wide range of the population. The idea of identifying just one day in the year that recognizes the importance of tightening family ties started when there was a fifth year death anniversary for my uncle, Father Romeo Trahan, a few years back and I wanted to mark that date in a unique way.  He was considered the King of Genealogy in our family and at his death a book of family history was created that was so much more than birth/marriage/death dates. Starting another holiday seemed like a good fit. After all, way back when, Valentine’s Day and Thanksgiving started being celebrated – and I strongly think Genealogy  Day, every August 9, is a combination of both of these holidays that also share the power of love. The main push behind this celebration is to energize communication between family members. 
If this sounds interesting, please consider chatting it up with your family and friends, plus go ahead and mark the square in your calendar through the years (because I doubt it will get widespread publicity by the printing presses in the sky to have “Genealogy  Day - call a relative” added to calendars, at least not in my lifetime).  You can also contact me directly at 425-4929 for further information. 
I must admit that it’s a love/hate relationship I have with this hobby and I say that to remind people (especially if you do NOT have any interest in this hobby) that nevertheless, it is the one day in the year that everyone can be encouraged to connect with a relative. So, consider yourself welcome – we are all related anyway, right? Come share a story, share a laugh. You’ll be glad you did. 

Ceal (Trahan) Moran