Category: Grange Principle and Practice

Meandering Around the Grange Way of Life

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Changing the Grange…

By Walter Boomsma, Guest Columnist

I have written previously challenging members to realize that the Grange was created to create change. In fact, it could be said that the Grange has a history and tradition of causing change.

But what about changing the Grange itself?

We tend to see a bit of a disconnect here. For an organization that was formed to cause change, we tend to resist changing the organization itself. That wasn’t always the case. During the Grange’s growth years, many changes were made. So how is it that these years, when growth is the exception, we seem to be more focused on preservation? Could there be a correlation?

For starters, in order for change to take place, someone has to decide it’s their responsibility to worry about whether or not the change is necessary and potentially positive. One of the changes to consider is whether or not we’ve been too protective of the status quo and keeping things the way they’ve always been. No, I’m not suggesting change for the sake of change, but I am suggesting that it might be time for an organization with success in growth and permanence based in large part on change to consider how we’ve ended up with so much resistance to change.

While this article isn’t about change management, a basic premise is that change requires leadership. As noted, “someone has to decide it’s their responsibility.” We tend to think that the Grange was founded “all it once” when, in fact, many changes were made by the founders and early leaders during those formative years.

What if those leaders resisted making the necessary changes to create the explosive growth of the earliest Grange? We might, for example, still have separate degrees for men and women. It would also be very difficult for those associated with the business of alcohol to become part of the Grange. There would be no “National Grange,” the official “Patrons of Husbandry” would apply (technically, it still does) and the term “Grange” would more accurately apply to local halls.

There were undoubtedly some thorny debates many years ago. One was about adopting the term “Granger” to apply to members. Many argued against it. “The Grange is a place, not a person!” I suspect it would have been extremely interesting to sit in Grange meetings and listen to some of those discussions.

One problem with a fraternal organization is that it’s easy to become a bystander and simply enjoy the fraternity. It’s harder to become a leader who sees and acts on other priorities, such as keeping the organization relevant and exciting. A fraternity without clear purpose and relevance is ultimately doomed to non-existence.

It won’t be a debate, but this might be a great time of year for a lecturer’s program that includes a discussion of how much a family’s holiday traditions have changed over the years. Then, contrast that with how much your local Grange’s traditions have changed over the years. Or perhaps more appropriately, how much your local Grange’s traditions need to change.

When I was a young adult, everyone gathered at “Mom’s” house for at least part of the holiday. Mom made sure there was a filled stocking hanging on the wall for everyone–even the occasional girlfriends of the unmarried. (Sometimes, names on the stockings had to be switched at the last minute.) As the family grew, it became increasingly difficult to find room to hang them. She held out as long as she could but eventually admitted it was time to rethink that tradition. Truthfully, I think she was ready for a couple of years, but it took a while for her to work up the courage to announce the change. She’d been dropping some hints, and no doubt would have been thrilled if someone else had suggested it. It’s easier to be a bystander than a leader.

It’s easy to leave things as they are, but things rarely stay the way they are, especially when left alone. Other forces are at work. Mom’s Christmas budget was certainly a factor. It was a fun tradition, but I think she enjoyed it the most.

We survived the change. The family wasn’t destroyed, and no one suffered permanent psychological damage from not finding a stocking. Most importantly, we almost unconsciously realized that the stocking tradition was ultimately about inclusion. We didn’t need stockings to make everyone feel welcome to the holiday celebrations.

Sometimes, we lose sight of what we are actually trying to keep.

Any degree or ritual quotations are from the forty-sixth edition of the 2013 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

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It’s Not in the Manual…

By Walter Boomsma, Guest Columnist

Many of our Grange Traditions aren’t covered in the Manuals we often refer to for help with the Ritual. But they are no less important.

I recently called attention to one that happens during many Grange Meetings when the Master asks, “Are any members in sickness or distress?” Typically, the Chaplain reaches for a box of cards, and when the answer is affirmative, one is passed around for members to sign.

Like many traditions and rituals, this part of the meeting can become almost automatic. Occasionally, we ought to stop and remember this portion of our meeting strongly reflects our fraternal nature in a very visible manner. A fraternity demonstrates friendship and mutual support within a group. Sending a card does that.

A hospice nurse recently did some listening and some research. She has a 94-year-old patient who “talks about the Grange and his 70+ year membership on a daily basis.” She found me through the Maine State Grange Website and wondered if the Grange might “have some information” or be willing to reach out to him. (His circumstances are such that he is separated from his family and Grange.) I immediately thought of our Chaplain and her box of cards. Then I realized we could start a card shower for him.

When I finally went off autopilot, I decided to write to him and send him a copy of my book, “Exploring Traditions.” I also leveraged my position as Communications Director to “get the word out” that we had a brother in “distress.” Let me share with you the email his angelic hospice nurse sent.

I cannot thank you enough! I had the pleasure of personally delivering the book and letter to him! Along with it was a handwritten card from the National Grange! He loved these gifts! Our team (social workers, chaplains, volunteers, nurses) now get to sit with him and read a section of your book to him with each visit! He so much appreciates all of this! Thank you again! 

One (Grange) team helps another (Hospice) team. Or maybe those two teams become one team that demonstrates friendship and mutual support. I hope, for a moment, you can picture that nurse sitting next to our brother’s bed, reading about the Grange Way of Life to him. Perhaps his eyes are closed and there’s a smile on his face as he remembers seventy years of meetings, programs… and being a Granger.

“As we in form thus enclose you within a sacred circle, so does this Grange in the name of our noble and beneficent Order pledge to you a pure friendship, enduring through life to shield you from harm… let us ever hold fast and firm our obligations of Fidelity.”

from the Altar Circle conducted during the Fourth Degree

So be it.

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

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Where do I find a Manual? (Part Two)

By Walter Boomsma, Guest Columnist

Last month, I briefly covered the contents and use of the Subordinate/Community Grange Manual. Several questions triggered a bit more research on my part. While I haven’t seen an official announcement, apparently, a new edition (Forty-seventh, 2022) has been approved and released. I’ve not yet seen any announcement but have been able to piece a few things together.

The 2023 Manual is available in two ways. You can (at least as of this writing) download a free PDF copy from the National Grange Store. (I’ll provide the link at the end of this article.) You can also order a printed copy from the National Grange Store for $15. plus shipping. Note, however, that both of these will be 8½  x 11 (letter-sized). If you order the printed copy from National, it will come in a looseleaf notebook. If you download the PDF, it will print 8½ x 11. It is set up for two-sided printing—the entire manual is 80 pages. I printed one and spiral-bound it—it looks about 3/8” thick.

The good news is that the print is large and easy to read. Also, using the PDF, you can print just the pages you need. The bad news is that a smaller, perfect-bound edition is no longer available. This will obviously be a problem when performing rituals and ceremonies that require walking around and standing in different places while speaking (reading) a part. I’m still thinking about that. The larger size and print will be great when working from a station—much easier to see and read, and if you do use a looseleaf edition (either by purchasing or making it yourself), you’ll love it.

For those who are technically inclined, the PDF can certainly be added to a tablet or laptop. I haven’t checked on this, but I think it could be made available on a Kindle! There are, of course, PDF reader apps available for smartphones—I’m not sure how practical that would be from a size perspective.

You may know that, at least in theory, manuals are not sold to individuals—only to Granges. The official policy is that they can be loaned to individuals, but the steward is responsible for ensuring copies are returned to the Grange. As a publisher, I can tell you that controlling digital copies (which includes PDFs) is a huge challenge in general. I’m not sure how this will work with Grange Manuals, but I did want to make you aware of the “rules.”

Questions come up most often regarding some of the “new” items such as alternative opening and closing, welcoming ceremony, obligation ceremony, etc. These alternatives tend to be shorter and use more contemporary language. They were introduced in the previous edition (Forty-sixth, 2013) and remain present in this new edition. The vocabulary deserves some attention. Let’s see if we can simplify it using the newest edition.

The “traditional” Opening, Order of Business, and Closing of the Grange is found on pages 5 – 7.

An “alternate” Opening, Order of Business, and Closing of the Grange is found on pages 8 – 9. This alternate opening is sometimes used (or a version of it, at the master’s discretion) for what are commonly called “open meetings.”(It omits the “taking up” of the word.)

Both versions include welcoming guests, but the procedure for that is given separately on page 70. Okay so far? There is a large section starting on page 11 with the traditional version presented with English and Spanish side by side.

Membership potentially involves three sections: Obligation Ceremony (page 44), Welcoming Ceremony (page 47), and Ritual of Degrees (page 15). The manual makes it clear that of upon completion of the Obligation Ceremony, members are “considered Patrons and eligible to participate in all the benefits of the Order.” It is not clearly stated that the Welcoming Ceremony achieves that result.

The “traditional” Installation (of officers) Ceremony starts on page 57. The “alternate” Installation of Officers Ceremony starts on page 65. Since the traditional version requires a “team,” more and more Granges are opting to adopt the alternate version for a “do it yourself” approach. The Manual notes that “Any Master, Past Master, or Fifth Degree member may install officers.” In either case, the installation instructions will be extremely helpful in both deciding and executing the installation.

There’s much more in the manual, more than can be reviewed here. One of my favorite reviews of my book included, “It answered questions I didn’t know I had.” The same can be said of the Subordinate Grange Manual. At times, the manual covers what may appear to be minute details. But it also leaves us with this closing paragraph:

“Attend to every duty promptly, and keep constantly before the minds of the members the important fact that the great object and crowning glory of our organization is to ‘educate and elevate the American Farmer and improve the quality of life in rural communities.’”

Any degree or ritual quotations are from the forty-sixth edition of the 2013 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.