{"id":97362,"date":"2025-08-15T10:42:42","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T14:42:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/?p=97362"},"modified":"2026-05-08T05:42:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T09:42:03","slug":"exploring-traditions-meandering-around-the-grange-way-of-life-july-2017-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-3-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-3-2-2-3-3-2-3-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/?p=97362","title":{"rendered":"Exploring Traditions – August, 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Meandering Around the Grange Way of Life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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By Walter Boomsma, Guest Columnist<\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Let’s Take a Class<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve been following this column, you know that I\u2019ve been \u201csort of\u201d reading Charles Gardeners book Friend of the Farmer 1867-1947.<\/em> I confess that it probably doesn\u2019t qualify as a page turner, but it is a fascinating read.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In the past, I\u2019ve raised a question about how we describe the action of new members and the degrees. Most of the current common language is quite passive. I often hear that new members should \u201ctake,\u201d \u201cget,\u201d or \u201creceive\u201d the degrees. Of course, as a writer, I find that it feels incomplete and maybe an opportunity. Could the reader form a mental picture of a new member being handed something labeled \u201cdegrees\u201d and then wondering where to put it and what to do with it. Wouldn\u2019t that make a great editorial cartoon for a Grange publication? It might also lead to questions like, \u201cCan I get the degrees online?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That could lead to yet another discussion around the question of how engaged the candidates should be while \u201cgetting\u201d the degrees. Are they available in the Grange Store? I can order my groceries online and pick them up without even getting out of the car. Is that possible with the Grange Degrees?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few years ago, I made a plea for us to consider celebrating the degrees. They are worthy of celebration. But it seems that the founders (as is often the case) had an even more straightforward and accurate approach. According to Gardner\u2019s book, they referred to the degrees as \u201cclasses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We could certainly discuss whether the lessons offered in the degrees are taught effectively when we \u201cdo\u201d the ritual. One of the reasons for these columns and my resulting book is to increase the effectiveness of the lessons of the degrees. Studying those lessons can be revealing and thought-provoking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can also consider the impact of the Grange Heirlooms. Created by the National Grange from the degree work and other sources, these snippets offer bits of wisdom that are no less applicable than they were 150+ years ago. In today\u2019s vocabulary, these might be thought of as \u201cmicro learning.\u201d I don\u2019t think it would hurt us if the Grange became known as an organization based on learning and discovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s an interesting distinction. What would happen if we stopped telling new members, \u201cYou should get the degrees?\u201d How about instead, \u201cJust wait until you learn the degrees?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, there will be a test. Life gives it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kindle Edition of  \u201cFriend of the Farmer\u201d is available from Amazon, currently priced at $2.99.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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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\u2014Celebrating the Grange Way of Life” can be found at <\/em>http:\/\/abbotvillagepress.com<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> on Mr. Boomsma’s Amazon Author Page<\/a>, or by contacting the author.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Meandering Around the Grange Way of Life By Walter Boomsma, Guest Columnist Let’s Take a Class If you\u2019ve been following this column, you know that I\u2019ve been \u201csort of\u201d reading Charles Gardeners book Friend of the Farmer 1867-1947. I confess that it probably doesn\u2019t qualify as a page turner, but it is a fascinating read. … Continue reading “Exploring Traditions – August, 2025”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2122,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[190,19],"tags":[34,176,25],"post_folder":[365],"class_list":["post-97362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grange-principle-and-practice","category-history-and-trivia","tag-grange-activities","tag-grange-degrees","tag-grange-heritage"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"post-thumbnail":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Walter Boomsma","author_link":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/?author=2122"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Meandering Around the Grange Way of Life By Walter Boomsma, Guest Columnist Let’s Take a Class If you\u2019ve been following this column, you know that I\u2019ve been \u201csort of\u201d reading Charles Gardeners book Friend of the Farmer 1867-1947. I confess that it probably doesn\u2019t qualify as a page turner, but it is a fascinating read.…","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1arC1-pkm","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2122"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=97362"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97362\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99349,"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97362\/revisions\/99349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=97362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=97362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=97362"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mainestategrange.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fpost_folder&post=97362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}