Maine State Grange

Climb into the Time Machine

Sometimes the idea of traveling back in time seems like a great idea, doesn’t it? Wouldn’t it be fun to travel back 106 years to attend the Installation Ceremonies held at Ocean View Grange? Before you say “Yes,” when Larry Bailey, current Master of Ocean View Grange, sent this photo, he commented, “It must have been very cold in January 1916.  These folks had stamina as there was little heat and no running water but in those days the indoor ‘outhouses’ we had were still functioning.”

Since Valley Grange had one of those until just a few years ago, I remembered a January meeting when one of our “old-time” members returned from a trip to the indoor outhouse rubbing her arms to get warm and saying, “Well, that was a trip down memory lane.” Maybe a trip isn’t such a bad idea.

Before we leave for another time, what was life like for our Grange Brothers and Sisters in 1916? For starters, only 8% of them had telephones, so they didn’t call each other to find out who was going. As Larry points out, there was no running water and probably not much heat. They probably had some hot coffee–it only cost $0.15 per pound–but they most likely pumped the water by hand and heated it on the woodstove.

It’s interesting to note that the scheduled start time was 8:00 pm, a bit late by today’s standards. A reasonable guess is that this was done to accommodate completing chores on the farm. There’s no mention of refreshments; people truly came for the installation and not the food.

They probably hadn’t watched the second-ever Rose Bowl on January 1st, but they may have talked about it before and after the ceremony. (Washington State beat Brown University 14-0.) According to at least one major newspaper, the biggest threats to America in 1916 were the number of unmarried men and women (17 million), an increase in divorces, a declining birth rate due to “birth restriction” by parents, an excessive infant life waste (due to illness and disease), a large number of “defectives” in schools and “increasing idiocy and insanity.” The next problem on the list was “Enormous number of drug and alcohol victims.” Are we really describing life 100 years ago?

We can guess it was a “younger crowd” making its way to the Grange Hall on that day than it might be today. The average life expectancy for men was 49 and for women 54. Wouldn’t it be interesting to know the average age of Grangers then versus now?

So after completing the farm chores, harnessing the horses or cranking their Model Ts, these Patrons arrived at the hall hoping someone got there early enough to start the wood stoves and put the coffee on. Our time machine has allowed us to join them. We arrived during a light snowfall and parked between the buggies and Model Ts unnoticed.

We feel a bit like guests and remain in the background even though we are, by definition, fraternal brothers and sisters. Conversation ceases as we find our seats in the upstairs hall. Then we hear the words, “We have met on this occasion to install the officers of this Grange; let us first invoke the blessing of God.” We are not startled by the three raps calling us to stand; we expected that. We notice it’s a bit difficult because we are still wearing our heavy winter coats as we listen to the Chaplain’s invocation. The installing master starts things in earnest with the familiar words, “Since God placed man on earth, agriculture has existed. There is no occupation that proceeds it, no order or association that can rank with the tillers of the soil….”

We notice that many in attendance are nodding their heads in agreement. They know that truth first hand. They are part of it, and it is part of them. We can hear the children downstairs playing. Some of those who have joined us upstairs pretend to smoke because they can see their breath until the hall warms up.

We are in is a strange time and yet not. We find comfort in hearing familiar words. “The Order of Patrons of Husbandry is the only association whose teachings accompany its members in their daily pursuits…” They are more than words. Our attention drifts to look around the room and consider how true that is for our brothers and sisters over 100 years ago. The tired looks and calloused hands offer us an explanation. The faint “earthy” smell is not objectionable. They brought the earth with them in much the same way the teachings accompany them as they work the earth.

Caught up in another time, we realize how well it all fits. We might just as easily have visited their farms and homes to experience the meaning of the Grange. Yet after a long day of work, they left the comfort of those homes and farms. The first to arrive saw a cold and dark Grange Hall. But they came not out of obligation. They came for a reason. They knew the hall would light up and warm not only from the crackling wood stoves and kerosene lamps but also from the Grange Ritual and teaching and the bond it creates.

Hopefully, on the return trip, we’ll consider how true it is for us 100 years later. Some of us want to stay in this time, perhaps because life seems simpler. How long would we need to stay before we realize that it is not simpler; it’s just different? Will our halls not be brighter and warmer thanks to the comforts we now have? What have we gained, and what have we lost?

Some of us are anxious to return to the present time where things are familiar and more comfortable.  We are grateful to our ancestors and our visit in time for the reality we experienced and shared with them. And we are more deeply committed to the Grange way of life with its teachings that accompany us not only through time but also, if we choose, to wherever and whenever we travel.

“The Order of Patrons of Husbandry is the only association whose teachings accompany its members in their daily pursuits…”

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Some resources used for this post:
https://dailygenius.com/facts-about-the-year-1916/
https://www.theodysseyonline.com/america-1916-what-happening-100-years
https://mashable.com/article/american-perils-1916 is the source of the biggest threats to America in 1916. It does an interesting comparison to 2016, one hundred years later

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.

Who Are We, Really?

Some recent posts on social media have raised the point that in the early days of the Grange, the term “Granger” was adopted by opponents of the Grange organization in an attempt to ridicule members and their position as “Patrons of Husbandry.” This was offered as a “fun fact,” and it certainly is of some interest. One of the founders, Reverend Aaron B. Grosh, attempted to clarify the issue by explaining that the Grange is actually a place. He offered that Masons, for example, are not referred to as “Lodgers.” Why should Patrons of Husbandry be referred to as “Grangers.”

As a writer and communicator, I am fond of the expression, “Words do not have meaning until people give them meaning.” Language is also fluid and ever-changing. When I was a young scholar, using the word “ain’t” would earn a reprimand from the teacher. And if I’d said I was going to google something I’d have earned a blank stare.

The word “granger” is of French origin and means “farmer,” although some dictionaries actually qualify that by noting that if the word is capitalized, it refers to a member of the Grange. It’s an interesting distinction and one of the reasons National Grange hounds us to always capitalize the word in print. Think “trademark protection.” (I could go on—I did some googling.)

Reverend Grosh admonished, “Propriety and justice demand that each organization have its own chosen name, whatever that may be: In this case the chosen chartered name is Patrons; in full, Patrons of Husbandry.” By his logic, we might most accurately say we are Patrons of Husbandry who meet at a Grange Hall.

During Dictionary Day presentations I usually get the kids to look up 3-4 words including patron, husbandry, and steward. This allows me to make the point that a member of the Grange is a patron (someone who provides support) of husbandry (which isn’t about getting married, it’s about growing things). I’m not sure it’s a difference but our focus is much broader today than it was 150+ years ago and that’s why we are giving them a dictionary—to support their growth and learning. Members of the Grange also are good stewards—in third-grade language, “someone who watches over things.” They can be good stewards by taking care of their dictionary and using it wisely.

So, in a manner of speaking, call us what you want as long as you understand that we are about supporting agriculture and rural living using the principles of good stewardship. Admittedly, that’s a little more challenging than “we are Grangers,” but it is, hopefully, more precise. But is it more accurate?

Just as language is fluid and ever-changing, to at least some extent, our organization has changed and will change will continue. One of the reasons the Grange still exists is, I believe, the sound foundation of values and practice the founders built. That foundation is far more important than the words we use. It matters less whether we care called Grangers or Patrons. Since we are, by design, a grassroots organization each individual Grange has changed and is changing. We do well to consider change consciously and deliberately both in practice and in language. The language is important but what’s more important is the answer to the question, “Who are we, really?” The answer to that question isn’t found in words, it is found in actions. There are words in “the ritual” to remind us of who we are, but saying the words isn’t the same as “doing” the words.

“A Patron (or Granger) places faith in God, nurtures hope, dispenses charity, and is noted for fidelity.” That’s a great summary of who a Granger (or Patron) is and how he or she lives, isn’t it?! But those are just four words. The important question is “What meaning are you giving to those words?” And the answer to that question is found in what you are doing today and every day.

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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.

Memories and Memorials, Sad versus Somber

I’ll confess to stifling a smile during this year’s Memorial Service at the 155th State Grange Convention. For some reason, I recalled leaving a convention at the Skowhegan Rec Center a few years ago. The “labors of the day” were complete except for a rehearsal of the next day’s Memorial Program.

There’s a playground abutting the center and I was pleased to see a number of children swinging and sliding. As I headed to my vehicle, a parent approached me tentatively. “Excuse me. Do you know what is going on inside the building?”

I answered briefly, explaining the convention and its purpose. “Well,” Dad said. “My daughter went in to use the bathroom and she said it’s a funeral!” I again stifled a smile, realizing with the altar in place, the music… it did, in fact, resemble a funeral. I asked to meet his daughter and explained what she’d seen, offering (with Dad’s permission) to take her inside and show her. She and her Dad seemed visibly relieved. They thanked me for my offer but declined the tour. Swinging and sliding were much more interesting.

Another confession from this year’s service is that I “enjoyed” it. Chaplain Clay Collins does a nice job in part because he understands an important truth. Somber doesn’t equal sad. Perhaps our collective realization of that explains the trend away from funerals to celebrations of life. It’s more than a semantic difference.

During the reading of the ever-familiar poem by A. L. Frink my mind was still a bit stuck on that little girl’s perception of what was happening. The idea of a funeral was disconcerting. The idea of honoring and remembering people was reassuring. It’s more than a difference in labels. It’s a difference in vision that can move us from sadness to seriousness and that seriousness can be hopeful

Shall claim of death cause us to grieve,
And make our courage faint or fail?
Nay! Let us faith and hope receive:
The rose still grows beyond the wall.

This year’s convention was certainly “different” with many reminders of the uncertainties we face as individuals and Granges. But, thanks to the Memorial Service, I left realizing that wherever there is a wall, there is also a way to grow around it, over it, under it, through it. We just need to find or make the way and continue to “scatter our fragrance” just as we did in days of yore. Just as we will forevermore.

With thanks to Chaplain Clay, there’s a complete copy of this year’s Memorial Service in the Chaplain’s Section of the Program Books and Information Page. I commend it to you and encourage you to view it seriously but not sadly. Local Chaplains may choose to adapt portions of it for local memorial services that are typically conducted in the spring. One change from the printed program is that Steven Haycock filled in for James Owens for the tribute to State Deputies.

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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.