Tag: Grange Heritage

Report of Grange Services

Have you ever been to a Grange meeting where the Master/President didn’t skip the agenda item “Grange Services?” I can’t recall one. Once in a great while, someone gets curious as to what it’s supposed to include. So, after a little research, I have an answer!

As you might well expect, there’s a little history involved. A comparison of old manuals suggests it was at one time a “Report of Insurance or Business Agent.” A 1908 manual that was assigned to my great uncle list it as such. Since over the years, the Grange did provide services to farmers, one might rightfully conclude this is the place where the status of the services would be reported. By the way, my uncle often shared his displeasure with the Grange Insurance Program when one of his cows was killed by lightning. They didn’t pay the claim because it was an act of God. His argument that “God isn’t in the business of killing cows” did not prevail.

In my research, I’m told that there are still a few states that offer a form of Grange Insurance. (State insurance regulations often have created issues for these, but some remain out west. Here in Maine, Halcyon Grange has a silo and, I believe, participates in cooperative grain buying, Those Granges have something to report on.

But what about the rest of us? Are our community Granges not providing services?

Perhaps not in the historical sense but when we truly think about it, the Grange is all about service. Now it probably happens that many of those services are reported elsewhere during the meeting.

But before we drop this agenda item or tap the gavel and skip over it, let’s think about some of the services the Grange offers its members. Just change the word “services” to “benefits.” Perhaps during the Grange Services portion of the meeting, there could be a review of one member benefit offered at the national level. There is an entire section on the National Grange Website devoted to member benefits ranging from health-related to travel-related to shopping. Your membership chairperson could select one or two and review them briefly as a “report of Grange services.”

The Heirloom Program also qualifies as a Grange service. Every month we have the opportunity to be reminded of an important practice or principle of our Order.

Yet another opportunity exists in what might be called the “soft” benefits of being a member. I remember some years ago conducting a survey that asked people what they enjoyed most about the Grange. The answers were certainly rewarding. Some spoke of meeting new friends. Others enjoyed the opportunity to learn new skills such as leadership and public speaking. One person wrote that her parents met at the Grange and married as a result. She was thankful for the Grange because, without it, she wouldn’t be here!

Maybe it’s time to do that again—if not officially, at least locally. We could report how our Granges have served us. Who will step up and accept responsibility for a “Report of Grange Services?” I’m not sure it matters who it is, but this seems to fall naturally to a membership chair. It wouldn’t hurt us to devote some time thinking about the services/benefits we receive from being a member. And it definitely wouldn’t hurt for other people to start hearing about those services and benefits.

Once again, we prove the value of tradition and ritual. Let’s make this one work for us! When the master calls “Reports of Grange Services” and raises the gavel, who’ll jump up and respond, “I have something to report, Worthy Master!

(Special thanks to Phil Vonada, Amanda Brozana Rio, Steve Verrill, and Vicki Huff for their thoughts and contributions that will help us refocus on Grange Services.)

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.

Nature’s Lessons Are There for the Taking

“Brothers and Sisters, my tribute is the seed corn. Have FAITH. Faith in the spring of the year and the springtime of life. Even as little children have faith in their parents, so should we have faith in the Great Provider. We prepare our fields and plant the seed having faith in its resurrection.” (Ceres’ charge to the candidates in the Fourth Degree.)

“I need not prompt you to nurture HOPE. Hope is the heavenly light that gilds our labors. Were we deprived of that source of consolation, life would indeed be dreary. When you see the blossoms open in the early summer, hope is there for the luscious fruit. The labors of the Husbandman and Matron encourage hope at every turn. Let the fruit blossoms be to you an emblem of hope.” (Pomona’s charge to the candidates in the Fourth Degree.)

“Let the flowers be to you an emblem of CHARITY. In kind words and deeds dispense charity, as freely as flowers do their perfume, and as generously as they cover all God’s footstool. Beautiful and adorn your homes with flowers. The home that is thus made fragrant and cheerful is prepared to be the abode of sweeter affections and more radiant virtues.” (Flora’s charge to the candidates in the Fourth Degree.)

As spring of 2022 unfolds, these three charges seem to have a special meaning and application for “Husbandmen and Matrons.” Or, perhaps more accurately, for everyone. As I pondered these three chargers, I found myself thinking it would be interesting to have the words on signs or painted rocks placed in our yards.

Even if we do not plant them ourselves, we have faith that seeds will become plants. Faith is not far removed from hope. Spring is perhaps the season of hope. Seeds become plants. Many of those plants develop buds that become flowers. And many of those flowers become fruit. How many times does this simple miracle take place each spring? We’ve come to depend on those miracles. We should also appreciate them.

”Resurrection” is an interesting word that I suspect Ceres chose quite intentionally. It means “rising from the dead” or “restoring to life.” I suppose we could debate whether or not a seed is “alive,” but we plant them in the sure hope that life will result. How amazing it is that all of the instructions and fundamental parts necessary are contained in that little seed.

If a tiny seed can create such life, how much can we create and accomplish?

We can certainly dispense charity. Flora’s suggestion recognizes the miracles we can be if we dispense charity as “freely as flowers do their perfume.” When we make our homes more fragrant and cheerful, we also make the world more fragrant and cheerful—not only with flowers but with the charity evidenced by our kind words and deeds.

“A good Patron places faith in God, nurtures hope, dispenses charity, and is noted for fidelity.” This salutation is included in the Master’s charge to the candidates and drives home previous lessons.

“Let the agate be to you an emblem of FIDELITY. May your principles… be as firmly impressed as the lasting colors in the stone, and may our friendship be as firm as the stone itself.”

Whether you are working in the garden or simply gazing out the window, nature’s lessons are there for the taking. Have faith, nurture hope, dispense charity, and be noted for fidelity. A tiny seed contributes much to our world. You can do the same.

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.

Barn Raising

Most would probably agree that the “Grange Way of Life” includes a healthy dose of “helpfulness.” Historically, the Grange served as a way for farmers to help each other achieve things both politically and practically. Of course, we are no longer limited to farmers and, in a sense, the emphasis on community is ultimately evidence of the Granger’s desire to be helpful.

Indeed, one of the challenges we face as an organization is the change in the definition of community. In the earliest days of the Grange, the farmers often were the community. Our communities are often defined differently in today’s world.

An oft-cited example of “community” is Amish barn-raisings. Amish friends and neighbors come together to help build a barn. A very practical need is fulfilled in a manner that brings the Amish community together. The work combines socializing with a practical goal. The goal is often accomplished efficiently—often a significant portion of a large barn is built in a single day.

Recently, however, a barn-raising resulted in a near tragedy. In the typical post and beam construction, the walls of the barn are built on the ground and then pushed into place manually by all of the builders using various length poles. You can perhaps well imagine the amount of precision involved in achieving this raising of the massive and heavy walls into place. During one such raising, a momentary distraction by some caused a loss of momentum and the wall came crashing down. Fortunately, no one was injured.

The idea of a barn-raising is certainly a wonderful example of people coming together to help each other and the amazing possibilities created by a strong sense of community. But this accident is also an example of how easily and quickly it is possible to lose that unity and sense of purpose. I have no idea how many Amish it takes to raise a wall into place. But if some become distracted, lose sight of the goal, and stop contributing, there is a danger of failure instead of success.

I don’t know of any Granges that have raised barns. (But I’m willing to bet many Grange Halls were built by the members.) But we do take on projects that are about helping each other and are similar we combine socializing with getting the work done. Certainly, those projects involve planning and require leadership. (Most barn-raisings are planned and led by one or two Amish “engineers.”) When we are undertaking projects, we should be demonstrating the Grange Way of Life. When it’s time to “raise the walls,” we need to keep looking up and pushing.

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.