The Weather Man Gets the Soaking, not the Charlotte Town Party
by Edd Merritt
July 15, 2010, pg 5

With sixteen town parties under their belts and more to come, Nan Mason and Louise Fairbank smacked the morning’s dust from their hands, while John Rosenthal looked for one last bag of garbage to collect; Chutters and Lockharts closed up the Quinlan School, and Bob Danyow, Dale Bergdahl, and Kate Lampton wiped their brows after stacking tables and chairs. The Charlotte Town Green showed relatively few signs of the masses who had gathered a few hours earlier on July 10.

A person walking across the lawn commented on the efficiency of the cleanup crews. The place did not look as though close to a thousand people had been talking with each other and with representatives of town organizations, buying books by the bushel, and blessing the skies for holding back on their threatened showers ­– ah yes, and gobbling food provided by Charlotte’s Burger Meisters from Fire and Rescue. Even the candidates for town offices who were working the crowd seemed disposed to good conversations more than sales pitches, a clear indication that they are in the first place neighbors and secondarily politicians.

Again, the annual party fulfilled its mission to bring together many people about town who may not meet with each other regularly, to reinforce the fact that we can be – and, in fact, are more so than we may imagine – a community, not east/west or neighbors separated by fences or walls. Oh, we may differ on the value of ketchup versus mustard on our dogs, but at least one day each year we can gather to mull over books (the value of the written word), talk with others about what is worth preserving in town be it land, affordable housing, food for those who need what comes from the “shelf,” education –current, past, future (Will schools and libraries take similar turns as technology screens out paper? Only the kids jumping on the pre-school’s trampoline across the street, or the one getting his face painted as the flag of Spain, would be able to answer that question.). In a similar vein, how well does the history and value of an organization like the Grange continue to play in a town like Charlotte? Yes, and we were reminded not to forget to get our tractor parade T-shirts before it’s too late.

All opportunities were there at the party. And, thankfully, it was indeed a party, an opportunity for people to put away differences and grudges for a few hours on a warm summer day.

Town party began and continues as a result of the Charlotte Library’s initiative to sell its used books and buy new ones. This year’s gathering raised nearly $4,000 for that purpose. Over time it has grown into the premier town event of early summer. It seems to personify the term “public” as an important part of the library’s mission.

Even the sometimes-congested traffic on Ferry Road added spirit to the occasion. Cars off the boat slowed and people smiled; some stopped, but none seemed to buzz past, oblivious to the festivities on both sides of them. An informal survey showed that everyone – including the pugs – had a good time.