News & Events

Mayfest Salad Recipe

We’ve had several requests for the salad recipe that was served at this year’s Mayfest gathering. Happy to oblige!

Asian Cabbage Salad

SALAD INGREDIENTS

  • 1 head of Chinese cabbage sliced thin
  • 1/2 cup green onions sliced thin
  • 1/2 cup sliced or slivered almonds
  • 1 package ramen (any flavor)
  • 3 Tablespoons sesame seeds
  • 2 Tablespoons butter

DIRECTIONS

  1. Melt butter in a frying pan
  2. Add broken up ramen (throw away the MSG flavor packet), almonds & sesame seeds, and saute over medium heat until toasty brown. Stir frequently.
  3. Set aside and cool.

DRESSING

  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup white vinegar
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons soy sauce

Mix until sugar is dissolved. Combine with cabbage, browned nuts & ramen just before serving. Serve and enjoy!

Landscaping & Historical Hall Photos

The planting area closest to the Hall entrance has in recent years been a bit overrun by an enthusiastic vining plant. Attempts to cut it back annually helped keep it somewhat in check, but it just wanted to dominate the area. So this year we went in deep to remove as much as possible to give the bushes, rocks, and old nurse log a chance to shine.

Our neighbor, KG Realty, generously donated a huge pile of wood chips that came from tree removals on their property. We used some of that pile to mulch this area. As the wood chips age and settle, we will start planting some new filler plants. But in the meantime, the area looks nicely cleaned up!

As we did this work, the South Whidbey Garden Club pulled old photos from their archives and shared some history of this area at the Hall. In the photos below, you will notice an old nurse log that is still in place, slowly sinking into the earth and yet still an interesting part of the planting area. This log has been in this spot for over 50 years! It was installed by the Garden Club (with the help of others in the community), in the late 1960s.

The Garden Club has long been intertwined with the Hall, and we are so happy they are back meeting at the Hall each month and that they continue to provide assistance with our landscaping.

2021 Volunteer of the Year

Over more than a century of existence, the Clinton Community Hall has been supported by innumerable numbers of community members who have donated their time and skills to help keep the hall functioning. We love every bit of involvement, from small to large and everywhere in-between.

Occasionally there are volunteers who go above and beyond in their contributions to the hall, and deserve special recognition for what they give to the hall and to the community.

The board recently recognized Sean Wilson as 2021 Volunteer of the Year for giving so much not only in 2021 but also in 2020 and still continuing into 2022.

Sean is a part of the Architectural Design committee at the hall, tasked with providing insight and recommendations on the look and feel of the hall. His touch has influenced the new exterior paint colors and the new roof color & materials. He was part of the crew that painted the hall exterior in 2020, and he restored/refinished the historic Clinton Community Hall sign hanging along the roofline out front.

Sean also came up with the concept of our new holiday signs that get installed along the highway on Easter, Fourth of July and Halloween (and maybe more in the future?), and then built them for the hall.

He is currently working on some updates to the interior of the hall, which we are very excited about. You’ll see more news on that front in the coming year.

Sean has an amazing ability to combine thriftiness and style, with a focus on using locally-sourced materials whenever possible. We are incredibly grateful to all his many, many contributions to the hall and are happy that he is joining our roster as a Volunteer of the Year.

 

 

 

Behind-the-scenes these past two years

The past two years have certainly posed some challenges for an organization whose mission is “To provide a gathering place for residents of Clinton and South Whidbey that fosters a thriving sense of community and provides a vital connecting link for our rural population.”

Not being able to gather due to the pandemic has been challenging. But it has also provided an opportunity for your current board to focus on many improvements, changes and repairs to both the structure of the hall and to the grounds. In addition, there have been many new systems implemented in how CCH communicates with members and conducts the business of managing the hall.

As a board, we have been busy and would like to share some accomplishments and thank our members for their continued support and encouragement. You make a difference for us!

We hope that in 2022 the hall will once again become more active with community gatherings.

Financial Reporting and Technology Systems and Security Enhancements

  • Moved onto a free online service that allows for all CCH Board communication, planning and document storage.
  • Moved critical account information and passwords to a secure platform to ensure proper digital security.
  • Moved to a new, more up-to-date financial record keeping & accounting system.
  • Movement toward digitizing all documents for record keeping.
  • Started creating/updating instructions and best-practices to ensure knowledge can be efficiently passed on to future board members.
  • Use of videoconference meetings for regular and member board meetings.
  • Redesigned and updated the website.
  • Increased use of online banking (important for several reasons, but also because the local Clinton branch of our bank closed in 2021).
Increased Communication With Community 
  • Continued regular postings on Facebook.
  • Sending out a newsletter to members at least quarterly (and sometimes more-frequently).
  • Frequent renewal of reader board messages.
  • Posting updates on website, including photos of events.
  • Professional photos taken to highlight the hall facilities.
Interior and Exterior of Building
  • Painted all exterior walls and trim
  • New metal roof installed on the hall and on the small out-building south of the hall
  • Installed new gutters
  • Painted front doors
  • Updated kitchen with paint and drawer hardware
  • Installed new LED lighting in kitchen & closet spaces
  • Added shelving to utility room
  • Built new crawl space vent covers – front and back
  • Directional signage added to back side of hall (per member suggestion!)
  • Rebuilt the historical “Clinton Community Hall” sign mounted on front roof line
  • Installed new enclosed bulletin board by the front door
  • Added roofline cafe lights and WiFi-enabled “smart” controller devices
  • Installed an electric fireplace
Landscaping and Grounds
  • Extensive weeding of garden spaces and addition of mulch (ongoing)
  • Planted 700 daffodil bulbs in gardens in fall of 2020
  • Planted 40 Shasta Daisy plants in winter of 2021 and 30 more in fall of 2021
  • Planted Boxwood plants to provide a visual screen along southern boundary next to Simmons property
  • Replaced the STOP sign at exit of parking lot
  • Removed aging plants and added plants where needed
  • Removed vegetation along front of building and kitchen walls and replaced with gravel for easier and safer access to building
  • Extensive trimming of large fir tree by stop sign to improve visibility for traffic entering and leaving the parking lot
  • Parking curbs installed to define walkways and handicap parking
  • Totem pole removed (rotted base)
  • Built reusable, seasonal, wooden decorations to display on lawn bordering 525
  • Purchased new LED holiday lighting for the big community tree and for the grounds of the hall
  • Restoration of flagpole (in progress)
Finances & Fundraising
  • The board holds annual day-long retreats early each year to plan budgets and to ensure the organization is operating in a fiscally-responsible manner.
  • Our community came together and gave generously in 2021 to raise enough money for our new roof.
Hall Rentals
  • The hall was closed for rentals for much of 2020 and 2021. As it appeared the pandemic was coming under control in mid-2021, we started to slowly open to rentals again to test how we could balance community safety with rental use of the hall.
  • The board approved rental rate increases to bring rates into line with norms and with the time/effort it takes to manage rentals.
  • The board developed a Civic Use Rental program that offers greatly discounted rates to local non-profit organizations. This effort aligns with the mission of the hall to provide a gathering place for our community.
Events
  • The pandemic made it challenging to hold community events. In response, the board worked to develop several alternative events that could be held safely. Along with other community organizations, we sponsored Easter, Halloween and Christmas events with appropriate Covid precautions.
  • We have held our annual meetings the past two years via videoconference. This is not our ideal, but it has worked for the Board to communicate yearly accomplishments and financial reports.
  • The board is currently planning for the possibility of more-normal events and meetings in 2022, and is hoping that we will be able to once again open as a gathering place for our community.

 

And there’s still more on the list as we move forward! Thanks once again for helping to keep this community resource healthy and vibrant.

 

 

 

Get Involved

This hall exists because of members, volunteers, sponsors and donors like you. If you want to join others in supporting this historic building and community, let us know today!