Maine State Grange

Meandering Around the Grange Way of Life

Playing Jenga Grange…

By Walter Boomsma, Guest Columnist

A while back, we created a “Valley Grange Busy Box” – a tote containing activities that might appeal to children of various ages. Nestled among the puzzles, play dough, coloring books, and crayons is a metal box containing a game called Jenga.

Depending on your perspective, it’s either a simple or complex game. It starts with a tower of 54 blocks. Players then take turns removing a block from the tower. The player then places the removed block on top of the tower. The tower grows taller but loses stability until it ultimately crashes.

We had two middle school-aged volunteers helping us during a recent event. Since there was some downtime, I dug out the busy box and offered them the Jenga Game. A small audience formed to watch the play.

The tension and drama that builds during the game is hard to appreciate until you’ve watched it played. Sometimes, the removal of a block creates a crash. Other times, placing the removed block on top creates it. You need a steady hand, good hand-eye coordination, precision, patience, concentration skills, and a strategic mindset while playing.

Of course, the primary objective of any game is “fun.” But I found myself wondering this: What is the objective? Is the objective to build the tallest unstable tower, or is the objective to hear the blocks come crashing down?

As each girl studied the tower and attempted to remove a block, many observers held their breaths. Many observers repeated this as she attempted to place the removed block on top. There was almost a collective sigh of relief when she succeeded.

Since I could not stay and watch the game, I found myself listening for the crash. When it came, there was a collective sigh of relief from the tension and drama that built as the players removed and added blocks.

And you thought Jenga was just about playing with wooden blocks.

We could play Jenga Grange. Or we are without realizing it. The Grange is built on many different blocks–more than 54. I think of things like “ritual” as a block. Or maybe there’s a “meeting ritual” block and a “joining” ritual block. Even those Granges maintaining the meeting ritual find it increasingly difficult to maintain the joining rituals (degree days). It’s easy to lose sight of the fact that the Grange is–or was–a learning organization. The rituals are the lessons of the Grange. Lecturer’s Programs are another block. You’ve removed a block if you have a meeting with no Lecturer’s Program. You’ve removed a block if you are not following the meeting ritual.

The Grange is a fraternal organization. Some additional blocks have been potluck and bean suppers. “Work parties” that benefit the Grange itself, community organizations, and individuals are blocks that also built the Grange. In years past, Pomona Meetings sometimes became a weekend affair. Plays and dances met the social needs and opportunities of the era.

You might see how we can compare our programming and practice to playing Jenga. If you find yourself using phrases like “Remember how we used to…?,” you’re describing a block that got removed. Chances are removing that block made the tower more wobbly.

That’s not to say that removing things is always wrong–it’s to say that removing things impacts the stability and structure of the organization–either positively or negatively.

It might be a different subject, but adding things also impacts the stability and structure of the organization, and not always in a positive way. Remember that sometimes the tower crashes when a block is removed, and sometimes it crashes when a block is added.

The early day founders and leaders of the Patrons of Husbandry were disciplined and thoughtful when building the organization. By design, every member, every community, Pomona, and state Grange builds and maintains the organization by removing and adding blocks–even those that may seem minor. A question we might consider is, “Will what we are about to do (or not do) make this tower taller and stronger?”

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.