| SEPTEMBER 1, 2025 -- As summer is winding down, I see changes in birding as to who is getting ready to migrate away or maybe already has, and who is most active. Hot steamy days and the insects they bring make the flycatchers happy, while the goldfinches are in their breeding season so you’ll hear them singing. Typically Granges slow down a bit in summer and plan for the following year. Likewise, the Grange is changing and as time changes the world we live in, the Grange MUST change to keep up with it.
The State Grange hosted the Family Activities Day at Hillstown Grange #87 and the Grange Plot Dedication in Peoples State Forest in Barkhamsted this summer in August. I was glad to see them well attended. With the Annual State Session coming fast, anyone who has looked at the schedule will have seen the Membership and Public Relations presentation entitled “When Tradition Meets Reality”, aimed at addressing changes we are seeing creep into how our various Granges are being operated on the spectrum from traditional to non-traditional and the implications therein for the future of the Order. Another change mentioned previously was the moving of Mountain Laurel Pomona’s Fifth Degree from May to August, both to relieve a conflict in schedules, and to hopefully allow late year Grange joiners an additional chance to take the Fifth Degree before State Session. The hope was to gain more candidates for the Sixth Degree by spacing out Fifth Degree conferrals.
Being that we are approaching a change of seasons, it is good time to think of making changes in your Grange. Look to your past but tried and true successful programs and plan to continue them but maybe with some minor changes or additions to freshen things up a bit. Look to other Granges and local groups for new ideas. The Oxford Historical Society, of which I am also President, has held a Peach Festival for some years wherein we serve peach shortcake and have an extensive display of captioned historical photos from Oxford’s past. The town, believe it or not, has quite a history in peach farming with the former Hale Orchards (Past President of the CT State Grange). This has been very successful, as has our April Fiber Festival. A couple of years ago, we added an October tractor show because those with older tractors love to show them off. We are also getting programs up and running centered on our relocated and restored Mr. Munn’s one room school house. The point is that you should be trying out new things in our Granges to appeal to your local residents and bring them into your halls where you can talk membership.
Some time ago at a Board Meeting, Nancy Strong invited us to attend the Fun Day at Strong Family Farm, so on Aug. 16, Maggie and I drove out to spend several hours with Grangers at Vernon. I was glad to hear of several, including Alma Graham, who preceded our arrival. Hank heard “farm” and was in the car waiting with baited breath for our departure! We all had a great time looking around at the chickens, ducks, the farm store (the fudge we bought was great!), the gardens, and watching kids doing crafts with Dawn Percoski and having a great time. What a great place the Strong Family has developed. Agricultural tourism or “agri-tourism” is part of the newer face of agriculture everywhere.
With all the changes in society, one that bothers me is the lack of apparent respect for motor vehicle laws. When I took drivers’ education classes in Hamden High School, one of our classroom sessions was taught by our resource police officer. He explained the necessity of stopping at STOP signs in this way: STOP, he said means to STOP or cease motion of the motor vehicle. It does not mean to merely slow down and he emphasized his point the following way saying that if he apprehended one (a law breaker, hopefully) and commenced to beat on that individual and the person was to cry STOP, that plea indicated the person wanted a CESSATION of the beating, not a slowing down of its intensity. A “rolling stop” is not a STOP at all. In regards to the Grange, we have our Digest of Laws and various By-Laws of the State, Pomona and Subordinate Granges. How many of us are committing the “rolling stop sin of commission” in our interpretation and carrying through of our by-laws? Remember that to be a Grange member, one must be initiated into membership in one of the accepted ways. Our membership rosters should not be lists of people making donations but never initiated. Read over your by-laws and familiarize yourself with them as we should all be following them or end up risking our Charters. |
