(This is the first in a series of stories on area community halls)
Bearberry Hall is currently financially stable, but “there have been times it's been kind of up and down. It just depends on how successful our events are,” according to Bearberry Wapitana Society president Kathie Morris.
“Financially, this year we're good, but I can't say that for every year because we have had years where we haven't had a lot of money. It's kind of just covering everything,” said Morris.
The key to the hall's success so far this year is that they held several events this fall, including the 75th anniversary celebrations, she said.
“We did pretty well on the 75th anniversary, so I would say right now we can cover all our bills and everything,” she said. “But of course, organizers can't count on an anniversary celebration again for a long time.”
The biggest problem for the society is that for many years, the same people have been organizing functions at the hall and doing what it takes to keep it operating, she said. It's very tough to get others to help out.
“If all of us left, I don't know who would take over,” she said.
That's a change from the way things were a few decades ago, she said.
“I've been here 25 years. (At that time) you'd have people running the hall and if they stepped down there were people coming up who would take it on,” she said.
Morris says she's talked to people who run halls in Bergen and James River and they have much the same frustration.
“It's the same thing – it's the same people, year after year, running it and they're getting tired and burnt out,” she said.
Partly in order to cover costs for the Bearberrry Hall, organizers have held a series of concerts in the facility.
That has worked – to a degree.
“We'd have 150 people or so. But a lot of them are not from Bearberry, so it's getting people from Bearberry to support the events,” she said.
One event that does bring a lot of volunteers to help out though is the hall's annual turkey supper.
“We're thinking of maybe only having the turkey supper, just because that's where we get our volunteers,” she says jokingly.
The society is lucky because the hall is rented a fair bit during the summer, she said.
She says they're hoping rentals and the turkey supper, along with some grants will enable them to keep the hall running.
