Canaan
Members of the Friends of Canaan Village have voted to dissolve at the end of the month, according to a recent posting in the town newsletter. They cited both declining numbers and an aging volunteer base as reasons behind the decision.
“We have been unable to find a candidate to serve as either president or vice president,” the Friends wrote in the Dec. 1 edition of the newsletter. “Please consider serving in one of these capacities at assure continuation of this important group.”
The announcement came as a surprise last week to some community leaders, who openly worried about the repercussions to the village if the group ceases operations.
Friends of Canaan Village has traditionally been responsible for beautifying the area, said Town Administrator Mike Samson. That includes the organization’s efforts to maintain flower planters and restore the benches on the village green, he said.
“I think the Friends of Canaan Village have played a giant role in the village,” Samson said last week. “I think it has had a real impact on the village and I hope it continues.”
Dale Barney, the owner of the downtown-based Barney Insurance Agency, also lamented the Friends decision.
“I thought it was pretty sad that the organization may fold because it did huge amounts of good for the village,” he said. “It was a great volunteer organization.”
Barney said that the group helps fund the Lions Club annual summer concert series. It also was responsible for establishing a popular farmers market on Sunday mornings, he said.
“If they dissolve, it’s going to leave a huge hole in the betterment of the village,” Barney said. “They were always doing good things here and there.”
While the Friends group has worked to maintain the village over the past two decades, it also is responsible for some larger changes, including creating new green spaces and helping restore historical landmarks.
Volunteers and community leaders gathered last summer for the dedication one of the group’s most recent contributions, the Reginald E. Barney Depot Park.
Reggie Barney, who helped found the Friends group, spent years clearing and maintaining the small parcel behind Depot Street before management was taken over by the town.
The group also aided in the restoration of the old “Lebanon Foundry” directional sign, which points visitors toward destinations such as Hanover, Burlington, Rutland, Portland, Manchester and Boston.
The sign, which likely dates back to the 1920s, was found in a Canaan garage in 2014.
The Friends group partnered with town officials and Canaan metalsmith Dimitri Gerakaris to restore the artifact and install it at the crossroads of Route 4 and Canaan Street.
Those types of projects can be difficult to accomplish as fewer and fewer people attend the group’s meetings, said Joanna Carr, a past Friends president. Some members are also finding it more difficult to lend time as they grow older, she said.
“It’s not so much as an unwillingness but an inability to do as much as they used to do,” Carr said last week.
Cynthia Neily, the group’s treasurer, also said the group needs “energetic people with good ideas and enthusiasm.”
Specifically, she said, they need a president and vice president willing to head the organization.
Otherwise, the Friends group will likely have to end its contributions to the village, including donations to the annual concert series, Neily said.
“When you sit on the town common on a summer evening and listen to the concert series that the Lions Club puts on, it is just a wonderful way to see people and enjoy music,” Neily said. “It’s just a small town way of participating.”
The Friends of Canaan Village’s last meeting of the year is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the Canaan Town Library.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.