By Brandon T. Bisceglia
The Bicentennial Bricks project spearheaded by the Orange Chamber of Commerce is getting ready to go into the ground this fall.
The chamber will continue selling bricks with personalized engravings through its website until Sept. 30, at which point those who have purchased a brick will become immortalized as part of a semicircle to be put in around the front of the gazebo on the Fairgrounds at High Plains Community Center.
Chamber Executive Director Kathy Converse Charbonneau says that people have already bought about 260 bricks, and that around 300 can go into this “first phase” of the project.
There is expected to be at least one more phase, installed sometime in 2023, to complete the circle around the gazebo. Though Converse Charbonneau expects there to be some drop-off in sales after the bicentennial celebrations are over, she thinks that people will still want to commemorate life events and loved ones.
Even if there aren’t enough engraved bricks to complete a section, Converse Charbonneau said, the mason “can leave blanks in, and those can easily be lifted up and filled in.”
People who buy a brick have a choice between two sizes and can put almost any message they want on them. Many have opted to honor family names or loved ones who have died.
But others have gotten creative. A few have written dedications to their pets. For example, one reads, “FOR OUR BELOVED CATS/GREMMIE & VAN GOGH/ALWAYS IN OUR HEARTS/THE PROPEN FAMILY.” Another engraving went the tongue-in-cheek route with, “KNOCK, KNOCK/ORANGE YOU GLAD/YOU LIVE HERE?/R SCHETTENHELM WARDIN.”
The Bicentennial Bricks project actually got its start in May 2021, and was spurred by a very different impetus – the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“After COVID, just like the local businesses, we had struggled, because the chamber is really a reflection of the local businesses,” Converse Charbonneau said. “We needed to find a way to bring in more money to supplement the membership fees that we receive, especially after having a hard year. And we knew the bicentennial was coming up. So we were brainstorming different ideas, and this is the one that came to the forefront.”
Since the bricks would be sunk into town property, the chamber approached the Board of Selectmen to get their approval. The board was happy to endorse it and incorporate the project into its bicentennial “Summer of Celebration” activities.
When the celebration kicked off on Founders Day in May, the ceremonies took place at the gazebo and included a dedication and groundbreaking of the brick walk. The chamber at that time presented special commemorative bricks to the families of three prominent members of the community who recently died: Chips Family Restaurant owner George Chatzopoulos, Orange Country Fair founder Walter Bespuda and Orange Hill Country Club founder Walter “Bud” Smith.
Those bricks, and a few others since, were purchased by the chamber as gifts to the families, Converse Charbonneau said.
She added that the bricks program, while helping the chamber financially, is more about trying to tie multiple elements of the community together.
“We’re all interwoven together,” she said, “and if one area is successful, then the whole town is going to be better off for it.”
After the Sept. 30 deadline for buying bricks passes, the engraving, shipping and laying will begin in earnest. Assuming all goes well, Converse Charbonneau has set a tentative sate to hold a dedication ceremony for the completed project on Nov. 5.
“It’s amazing how the community has embraced the chamber’s Bicentennial Brick Project, and we are extremely grateful,” she said. “It has been a critical fundraiser which enables us to provide resources and support for members while continuing our mission of connecting businesses, nonprofits and residents to strengthen the fabric of our community. The brick installation is something that will be enjoyed for years to come and memorializes many of our citizens’ place in Orange history.”