Meandering Around the Grange Way of Life
by Walter Boomsma
Begin Anew
In the previous column, we looked at the chief objective of the Grange as defined in the First Degree. It was not a coincidence that I have been posted the Declaration of Purpose in a series that seemed fitting for Grange Month. Purpose is important. Some years ago, a client of mine attended a weekend retreat featuring a nationally famous speaker who truly could get people excited. Some may remember Tom Peters and his first book “In Search of Excellence.” My client bought into that even before he headed to the seminar. And he had a great weekend. Tom Peters had the ability to whip an audience into a frenzy. His message was timely.
My phone rang early Monday morning. It was my client calling. He related how great the weekend had been and admitted he was “fired up” more than ever. But it didn’t take him long to get to the real reason for his call. “I’m sitting here at my desk with all this energy, but I don’t have a clue what to do.”
We brainstormed a few ideas so he wouldn’t lose momentum, and I scheduled a visit the following week. Ron was a very bright man—he’d built his company from the ground up, and it was quite successful. He was searching for excellence, but he recognized that it can be challenging to turn rhetoric into specific tasks. The First Degree recognizes that as well.
The Overseer has further explained the Grange’s purpose using symbolism that includes the fact that the First Degree is symbolic of springtime on the farm “when all Nature is bursting into the newness of life.” Becoming a Granger should be similar. Much as my client felt energy and excitement, we should be bursting into the newness of the Grange Way of Life.”
The candidates remain at the Lecturer’s Station, where they have been again reminded of the “first and highest object of our order—to develop a better and higher manhood and womanhood.” The Chaplain’s charge uses plowing and tilling to introduce the importance of wisdom and understanding. The process by which the blindfolded candidates make their way to the Overseer is deliberate and well planned. The Assistant Steward warns them of the “worst enemies to progress—ignorance, attended by his companions, sloth, and superstition.” In today’s terms, “Wake up and smell the coffee!”
While there is much good counsel from the Overseer, let us especially note that the Overseer suggests several tools—a memorandum book, a knife, and a pencil. I chuckled a bit at the idea of how I might have advised that client if back then I knew the lessons of the First Degree. “Ron, the first thing I want you to do is get a notepad, knife, and pencil.” When he asked why, I’d have explained, “Note down new and useful ideas that come to you that they not be 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.”
Yes, there is more symbolism, but it’s timeless counsel. And I would suggest to you that as we are now literally entering spring and figuratively some encouraging newness with the pandemic the Overseer’s last sentence to the candidates is our “closing thought.”
“In this degree—your Spring season in our Order—begin anew the acquisition of knowledge.”
Perhaps the best place to begin to develop a better and higher manhood and womanhood is with ourselves. Are you ready with your notepad and knife?
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.