I reproduce below the story I wrote on it and my picture that appeared in the Eagle Times this morning. I thought many of you might appreciate it in color. I love the looks on everyone's faces and the two boys off in the corner checking out their books! I haven't yet mastered sizing pictures, so you need to navigate around the picture a bit to see it all. Enjoy!
11-22-05
Walpole Third Graders Receive Dictionaries
By Charles C. Bingaman, Contributing Writer
Each Walpole third grade student Tuesday received “A Student Dictionary” in an annual program organized by the Walpole Grange and funded by Vic and Maria Castellano, proprietors of the Walpole Wash & Dry and FFast Auto Worx in North Walpole.
In a presentation at North Walpole School, local Grange president Kathy Yardley told the two classes about the Grange and its historic roles in helping the development of rural mail delivery and rural electrification in the U.S. And she explained the dictionary program that the Grange sponsors in a number of New Hampshire towns and other communities across the nation.
Maria Castellano who, with her husband Vic, has funded the purchase of the dictionaries from The Dictionary Project, said that, “When Kathy came to me four years ago and explained the project, I said ‘Don’t even go to anybody else! We’re just going to cover the whole program.’ And of all the donations that we do it’s the one that gives us back a lot of enjoyment. Just seeing the kids and seeing their faces. A lot of times you write a check, but you never see who receives it.”
Added Vic, “You see the looks on their faces? They love it. I know it’s got to help them through the years. I remember my first dictionary, and I still have it. You’ve got to educate the kids. I’ve been in business, and I’ve seen lots of kids who can’t do the job because they can’t read and write properly. We hope this helps them!”
Joining president Yardley in making the presentations was vice-president Roger Weil, also from Walpole.
The local Grange is part of the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, the oldest national agricultural organization with 300,000 members organized in 3600 units in 37 states. Grange organizations provide services and activities primarily to agricultural communities including economic development projects, family support projects and legislative programs. It was one of the first national organizations to admit women and youth on an equal basis with men. In Walpole, the Grange sponsors “meet the candidate” night before elections, community award programs, and other projects in addition to the dictionary project. Further information is available at www.nationalgrange.org.
The Dictionary Project, a not-for-profit organization based in South Carolina, produces the specially designed, softbound, 515 page student dictionaries that also include a basic atlas, information on each state, biographies of U.S. presidents, and key American documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. Information on The Dictionary Project is available at www.dictionaryproject.org.
Caption for the photo below is "Kathy Yardley, Walpole Grange President, left, and Roger Weil, Vice President, second from left, assist Maria Castellano, foreground, and Vic Castellano, right, in handing out dictionaries to Walpole Third Grade students on Tuesday. The student in the foreground is Lauren Tramontina. In the background students Zachary Shepard and Derek Hott look through their new dictionaries. Chuck Bingaman Photo"
