Category: Grange Principle and Practice

Meandering Around the Grange Way of Life

Growing the best fruit..

By Walter Boomsma, Guest Columnist

Many years ago, one of my consulting assignments included auditing the hiring process of a manufacturing company. That process included giving prospective employees a tour of the plant. I followed one of those tours, staying at the end of the line and observing.

One of those prospective employees would often reach down and pick up stray pieces of paper and trash on the floor. Based on my observation and recommendation, at the end of the tour, he was pulled from the group and hired on the spot.

Wherever you go, whatever your calling, aim to do good. Good deeds are ever fruitful of yet more good.

Lecturer to Candidates, Second Degree

It didn’t occur to me to ask if he was a Grange Member, but he could have been!

The second sentence of the lecturer’s instruction is a bit obtuse. Just prior to this advice, she asks the Assistant Steward if the candidates have been furnished with seed. The reply is that Ceres has provided corn and “enjoined” them to save the best for planting. The Lecturer notes that the candidates have been “guided by the lesson of faith.”

If we save the best seed for replanting, the harvest will increase. Doing good is much like planting seeds. Doing the most good produces even more good and that’s true regardless of who we are and where we are.

A candidate for employment picks up trash. He does some good and gets hired. He demonstrated that he aims to do good. His simple act demonstrates his potential as a good employee.

A candidate for membership in the Grange gets some good but simple advice. “Aim to do good.” It might be interesting if the lecturer were to ask each candidate to share an example of something good they have done. It shouldn’t be an intimidating question, although for some, doing good is instinctive and unconscious. The job candidate didn’t call attention to himself.

After receiving the Lecturer’s instruction, the Grange candidates move on to the Chaplain. The Chaplain reminds us “the springing seed teaches us to increase goodness…” and to “Do good, hoping for nothing in return, and your reward shall be great.”

This is not so complex or controversial. But in today’s society, where there is much complexity and controversy, a value of the Grange and Grangers is the demonstration of “doing good.”

A demonstration doesn’t have to be a protest.

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://abbotvillagepress.com, on Mr. Boomsma’s Amazon Author Page, or by contacting the author.

Meandering Around the Grange Way of Life

When Tradition Evolves…

By Walter Boomsma, Guest Columnist

An interesting bit of Grange Trivia is that during our early days, there was much disagreement when members started using the term “Granger” to describe members. Opponents noted strongly that we are “Patrons of Husbandry.” The conservative position was that the term “Grange” applied to the building where those patrons meet. Fast forward some decades. During a recent meeting at our hall, a visitor asked what the “P of H” stood for in our logo.

I just finished reading an excellent book called Brainscapes, written by Rebecca Schwarzlose. The sub-title, “The warped, wondrous maps written in your brain and how they guide you,” doesn’t quite do it justice. It’s a fascinating look into the neuroscience of our brains. Science suggests that, in many ways, our brains have a mind of their own. (Yes, I’m proud of that play on words.) As might be expected, there are some interesting observations regarding our brain’s evolution.

Last summer, when I learned to work with oxen, our instructor warned us that the first thing we’d have to do was convince the team we weren’t trying to kill them. Of course, he was explaining the avoidance of predators instinct remains firmly implanted in our oxen’s brains. That’s not a bad thing, but working with them requires an understanding of what and how they think.

We could say the same of human beings. We benefit from an understanding of what and how we think. A goal of books like Brainscapesis to create self-awareness and understanding.

Realizing that organizations are collections of human beings, we can broaden the term “evolution” to see how organizations change. Much like the biological term, those changes may be slow and triggered by environmental changes. Unlike biological evolution, the timeline is often much shorter. We went from being Patrons of Husbandry to being Grangers in 100+ years.

That early debate ultimately ended quietly. In retrospect, we could understand the change as a response to the environment. It’s much easier to say “I’m a Granger” than to say “I’m a Patron of Husbandry.”

In a larger sense, the debate continues. Consider, for example, the recent shift of officer titles. Those who favor “president” over “master” see this as “evolution” and a response to our changing social environment. Those who resist are concerned with what gets lost in the process. As is often the case, the odds are good that both sides are right and both sides are wrong.

Some would likely suggest that the Grange has evolved in a way that “Patrons of Husbandry” is no longer an accurate description. Yes, we are still “patrons” – people who provide support. But are we still supporting husbandry? Merriam Webster defines the word as “the cultivation or production of plants or animals, or the control or judicious use of resources.” So, while our focus on farming may be reduced, we are supporters of the “judicious use of resources.”

It’s easy to forget that change is as much about what we keep as what we abandon. If we learn the lessons of the Degrees, we are still very much interested in agriculture. But we’re not limited to elevating farmers. We also look to nature for the lessons it teaches us. In every sense of the words, we are Patrons of Husbandry.

Evolution happens gradually and often with a lack of critical thinking—it’s a reaction. Fortunately, humans have the ability to engage in higher levels of thinking. We can do more than react to changes in our environment and society. Perhaps unfortunately, society seems to be evolving at a rapid pace. (One interesting question Brainscapes raises is whether or not individuals are keeping pace with the evolution of society. Our brains are powerful organs, but not without limitations.)

We are rightly proud of the Grange’s survival as an organization. Whether or not we continue to survive and prosper will largely depend on how we evolve. While it’s important to adapt to our environment, it’s more important that we do so consciously and deliberately. Let’s not wake up some morning and discover we’ve lost what got us here.

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://abbotvillagepress.com, on Mr. Boomsma’s Amazon Author Page, or by contacting the author.