By STEVEN JUPITER
BRANDON—Built in 1861, the Brandon Town Hall has had its ups and downs—the town once even considered tearing it down. But after a major renovation years ago, it’s become a center point for Brandon’s cultural life. Shows, movies, events, even disc golf all take place in its main hall. And as a result, the floor (already a replacement for the 1861 original) had taken quite a beating and was worn too thin to be refinished yet again.
Friends of Town Hall (FOTH), under its longtime president Dennis Marden, worked hard for years to raise the funds to replace the battered wood. Finally, the group’s labor has borne fruit: a beautiful new floor has been installed and is ready for public use.
“We started in early December and finished in mid-January,” said Marden, as he proudly showed off the gleaming new boards. “There are still a few things left to do, but we’re going to be open for Brandon Idol this weekend.”
The project entailed not only pulling up all the existing wood, but also shoveling out a dump-truck’s worth of sand from between the underlying joists before the new subfloor and hardwood could be installed. The sand had been placed there as a low-tech way to help muffle sound back in the day.
Marden collected some of the old materials—square nails and wood—and will make mementos with them to be sold to raise funds for the building. The project cost a total of $54k, of which FOTH contributed $18k and the town contributed $18k. The remaining $18k came from a Cultural Facilities Grant sponsored by the Vermont Arts Council.
Brandon Deputy Town Manager and Rec Department Director Bill Moore praised FOTH.
“We were happy to partner with them to get this done,” he said.
Marden has been an indefatigable advocate for the building, having been president of the FOTH for the last 16 years. He’s helped turn it into the locus of local culture it currently is. But at 80, he’s ready to pass the baton. And now that the floor has been finished and the town has earmarked funds for repair of the slate roof, it’s a perfect time to end his tenure on a high note.
The Town Hall will now be operated completely by the town, said Marden. Until now, the Rec Department managed the building in the winter and the FOTH in the warmer months. But FOTH will wind down its operations when Marden leaves and turn the building over to the town’s stewardship.
The town is eager to keep the floor looking great: the upholstered chairs that are used during shows have been cleaned and their legs capped with protective felt to keep from scuffing the new wood.
A new concession stand will also be built by local contractor Tim Shields to replace the makeshift counter that had occupied a corner of the main hall.
Though Marden says nothing of interest was discovered during this renovation, a collection of antique and vintage objects discovered during the building’s earlier reno can be seen in the display case in the basement lobby, just outside the Brandon Library’s current location.
