Category: Grange Principle and Practice

Meandering Around the Grange Way of Life

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By Walter Boomsma, Guest Columnist

From the First Degree

During our Degree Day, someone commented that they wished more people could hear the words from the Degree Work. We continue to share them.

In the First Degree, the Overseer explains to the candidates:

“I greet these Sisters as worthy members of our Order. Man and woman are the educators of youth and co-students through life; therefore both must acquire knowledge and wisdom. Education adds the greatest charm to woman; it is a companion of which no misfortune can deprive her, a friend no enemy can alienate, an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity. In this Degree—your Spring season in our Order—begin anew the acquisition of knowledge.”

Grange members are often rightfully proud of the early history of our order regarding women, pointing out that the Grange was the first fraternal organization to grant female members equal standing and the right to vote on Grange matters. It is significant that the Grange’s structure included leadership positions that could be held only by women.

When the Overseer greets the “sisters” (female candidates) during the First Degree, we can see that the greeting is actually not about women. It’s about education. In fact, after the initial greeting, the Overseer points out that both “Man and woman are the educators of youth and co-students through life” and “both must acquire knowledge and wisdom.” It’s a clear recognition of equality in opportunity and responsibility.

So why does the Overseer specifically address the sisters? It seems the Overseer is acknowledging the reality of the historical differences between men and women. In less formal language, “Sisters, the Grange is about improvement. Your place in the Grange and society includes a challenge to enjoy the opportunities and benefits of acquiring knowledge. If you read our Declaration of Purposes, you’ll see that an important one is ‘To champion full equality and leadership opportunities for women and youth, and to promote high ideals of citizenship.’ Historically, you may have been viewed as a companion. The Grange expects more of you and from you.”

That’s not a political statement, and there’s no need to make it so. Since the Declaration of Purposes mentions youth, the Overseer could just as easily be addressing them.

“I greet these youth as worthy members of our order. You must acquire knowledge and wisdom. Education is a companion of which no misfortune can deprive you, a friend no enemy can alienate, an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity. In this Degree–your Spring season in our order–begin anew the acquisition of knowledge.”

Contemplation is difficult while experiencing the Degrees. When I’m acting as Overseer during a Degree Day, I’m always tempted to include, “Think about this,” with a forced pause. The only thing worse than not thinking (and learning; the Degrees are lessons) is pursuing a knee-jerk reaction.

Some will argue that the reference to sisters could be removed. The more important question is: should the reference be removed? When we think about it, maybe not. It actually makes sense and is kinda nice that the Overseer singles out the sisters for this lesson.

That doesn’t mean it’s a lesson limited to sisters. The Grange way of life works for all.

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Any degree or ritual quotations are from the forty-seventh edition of the 2023 Subordinate Grange Manual or the most recent edition of the Pomona Grange Manual. The views and opinions expressed in “Exploring Traditions” are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official doctrine and policy of the Grange. Information about the book “Exploring Traditions—Celebrating the Grange Way of Life” can be found at http://wboomsma.com, on Mr. Boomsma’s Amazon Author Page, or by contacting the author.

Meandering Around the Grange Way of Life

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By Walter Boomsma, Guest Columnist

From the First Degree

During our recent Degree Day, someone commented that they wished more people could hear the words from the Degree Work. We continue to share them.

In the First Degree, the Overseer explains to the candidates:

“I exhibit to you now a memorandum book, a knife, and a pencil. Note down the new and useful ideas that come to you that they be not lost; for new ideas are the material with which progress is made. The knife is used to prune a straggling branch, to cut off the nests of insects, or to cut a plant whose nature you may wish to study. In your intercourse with your fellow beings, correct an error kindly and with the smooth edge of affection, and do not bruise a wound you wish to heal.”

The ongoing references to agriculture and farming may be obvious to most. And, while these visual aids may seem a bit dated, they remain appropriate. “Record new and useful ideas in your smartphone…”When I am filling the Overseer’s role, I often take the liberty of changing the word “intercourse” to “dealings” and repeating the last sentence with emphasis. “In your dealings  with your fellow beings, correct an error kindly and with the smooth edge of affection, and do not bruise a wound you wish to heal.” It’s powerful advice. Read it again. “In your dealings with your fellow beings, correct an error kindly and with the smooth edge of affection, and do not bruise a wound you wish to heal.”

Of course, it’s not limited to correcting errors. Patrons of Husbandry should be known for treating others kindly. In simple form, it means to be gentle and considerate. While shopping recently, I was passing a woman riding one of those electric shopping carts. She dropped a credit card, and I said, “I’ll get that for you,” and did. A child caught up to us. After thanking me, the shopper (Grandma?) said to the child, “He helped me. You’re supposed to be helping me.”

Read that last sentence from the Overseer again. “Do not bruise a wound you wish to heal.” Grandma’s response wasn’t especially mean, but did she “bruise the wound she wished to heal?”

As it happened, I had noticed the child a few seconds earlier, stretched on tiptoe, trying to reach something on a high shelf for someone else in their shopping party. I redirected Grandma’s directions. “I almost stopped to help you get that item on the top shelf but you did it yourself.” I was tempted to add, “Being kind and helpful isn’t always easy, but it’s always good.”

By the way, before the Degree Police come after me, I think it’s okay to occasionally expand or emphasize aspects of the teachings of the Ritual. Yes, there are some hazards, and I’m not suggesting long editorial comments. In this example, I’m suggesting deliberately repeating one sentence. We need to guard against robotic repetition of the written words. Remember, the Degrees are ultimately about learning.

In the same conversation with the candidates, the Overseer concludes, “In this Degree—your Spring season in our Order—begin anew the acquisition of knowledge.”

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Any degree or ritual quotations are from the forty-seventh edition of the 2023 Subordinate Grange Manual or the most recent edition of the Pomona Grange Manual. The views and opinions expressed in “Exploring Traditions” are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official doctrine and policy of the Grange. Information about the book “Exploring Traditions—Celebrating the Grange Way of Life” can be found at http://wboomsma.com, on Mr. Boomsma’s Amazon Author Page, or by contacting the author.

Meandering Around the Grange Way of Life

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By Walter Boomsma, Guest Columnist

From the First Degree

During our recent Degree Day, someone commented that they wished more people could hear the words from the Degree Work. For the next few issues, we’ll be sharing some of them!

Early in the First Degree, the Overseer explains to the candidates:

“Friends, the Grange is a great fraternity, and the lessons of its ritual are expressed by the use of symbols drawn from the field, the farm and the farm home. The first four Degrees of our Order are based upon the seasons of the year, each conveying its appropriate lesson. You are about to enter the mysteries of the First Degree, symbolic of springtime on the farm, when all Nature is bursting into newness of life. The wild flowers are making the woods and the hills glorious with their beauty; orchards are in bloom, and the air is redolent with their perfume; plowing the fields has begun and soon the sower will go forth to sow.

Additional Laborers and Maids are needed for work in field and household, and we accept you as willing workers, now in waiting for the tasks to which you will be assigned: For in our fraternity there is work for all, and the idler has no place among Patrons of Husbandry.”

Of course, the idea is to do more than simply hear (read) the words. With this, we have the opportunity to digest those words. It was not an accident that the Degree Work starts with the spring season, “when all Nature is bursting into newness of life.” Joining the Grange is also about newness in our lives as we commit to live differently, in accordance with the “precepts of our order.”  There is work to be done on our farms, our communities, and ourselves. Joining the Grange was never meant to be a passive experience, and the “idler has no place among Patrons of Husbandry.”

Another advantage of reading and absorbing these words is that we’re allowed to drift off into visualization. We can take the time to see what the overseer is describing. Imagine standing at the gate to a farm, ready to enter and become responsible for what happens on it. There is no sense of dread. Perhaps some anxiety and tension, but a deep sense of excitement and possibility.

As the Lecturer accepts the candidates’ applications (signets), he explains, “An honest man is the noblest work of God… The first and highest object of our Order is to develop a  better and higher manhood and womanhood.” That’s not just something we do to and for others. It’s something we do to and for ourselves.

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Any degree or ritual quotations are from the forty-seventh edition of the 2023 Subordinate Grange Manual or the most recent edition of the Pomona Grange Manual. The views and opinions expressed in “Exploring Traditions” are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official doctrine and policy of the Grange. Information about the book “Exploring Traditions—Celebrating the Grange Way of Life” can be found at http://wboomsma.com, on Mr. Boomsma’s Amazon Author Page, or by contacting the author.