The view from the Bellvue Grange is broader and brighter than it has been in many years. Volunteers Craig Brodhl, Robert Braxley and David Schmelzer spent the better part of a warm late January day installing a 9.5 by 8 foot window at the Grange, the social center of the Bellvue community. The window replaced a boarded up old window that was on its way to the dump before the afternoon was over.
The new window matches one on the other side of the Grange’s front door, replaced two years ago by the same volunteer crew. Brodahl, who worked at Black’s Glass, provided the expertise and directed both projects.
Long ago the windows were glass but the panes shattered so frequently, usually because of weather, that the windows were eventually boarded up making for a dark interior.
When it was built late in the 19th century, the building served as a general store and Post Office. Eventually, community members got together and purchased the building to meet the social needs of the community. It is now owned by the Grange Association.
Lisa Ashbach, who along with Judy Jackson is actively involved with the Grange, said that membership is growing. “We held a membership drive and people responded,” she said.
The Grange has a monthly covered dish supper and weekly lunches and activities for the Bellvue seniors. It is also a venue for other community activities and meetings.
Now they will have more light.