April is
National Grange month, and in 2017 Grange is celebrating 150 years of service
to our communities. Locally there has been an active Grange since 1874, 143
years. While the full title is “Order of Patrons of Husbandry,” they are more
commonly known as “the Grange.”
The first Grange
in the Town of Covert was Farmer Grange #160, formed on April 2, 1874. This
evolved to Interlaken Grange #160 with the changes in the village name.
William E.
Gardner, an early Grange member, in a letter to Eva Clapp dated November 11,
1954, notes that the first meetings were held in the building south of what is
now the Interlaken Historical Society Farmers’ Museum. The building was another
casualty in February, 1891 when the Gambee Hotel and other buildings to
the south burned.
After a time,
the Grange then moved into the new Masonic Hall, and finally, into the rooms on
the second floor of the Case Block.
Covert Grange
grew out of the need for a second Grange located closer to the Hamlet of
Covert. They received their Charter dated April 1, 1911. The members secured
land and moved a former church from Searsburg to the lot. It was this building
that became home to Interlaken Grange #160 on April 25, 1970 when Covert and
Interlaken Granges merged.
Personal names
and buildings are part of the history of every organization. But what sets
Interlaken Grange, and its predecessors Covert Grange and Ovid Center Grange
apart from other organizations?
Part of the
answer is realized from the founding 150 years ago. Following the American
Civil War, seven gentlemen from different locations, William Saunders, Oliver Kelly, Aaron Grosh, William Ireland, John
Thompson, Francis McDowell, and John Trimble met at Mr. Saunders’ Washington,
DC office looking for a way to help re-unite the country. Then, as now, farming
and educating farmers and their families were part of the goals. Oliver Kelly, one of the seven founding members, began making personal visit to farmers thoughout the South,
inviting them to join in the fraternity designed to benefit the vast agricultural
community and help to heal the north/south bitterness.
As ideas for the
organization grew and evolved, Carolyn Hall, Oliver Kelly’s niece, encouraged
them to make The Grange not just a “family” organization in name, but to have
offices that only the ladies could fill, thereby insuring their participation.
Having an organization where all members of the family could participate was a a totally new idea. That idea of all participating is one of the reasons Granges
bring in whole families. Its not a Dads, Moms, or kids only group, its a family group.
Granges are
encouraged to do more than meet on a regular basis. They are to be involved in
their communities. Over the years, Interlaken Grange has taken on a number of
community projects. Did you know Granges were in the forefront of Rural Free
Mail Delivery [RFD], electrical co-ops to get power to the rural areas, and
continues today in assisting in getting Broadband Internet to the rural areas?
Have you been to
Lake View Cemetery in the past few years and noticed all the Veterans’ flags?
Interlaken Grange took on that Community Service project after Interlaken’s
American Legion Post retired its Charter. In addition to placing the flags in
early May, they also gather them after Veterans’ Day in November, followed by a
public opportunity to assist in the proper retirement of the flags. More
recently, they have also revived the Memorial Day Honor’s Service.
Dewitt’s Diary
Monday April 1, 1957
Temperature 40,
cloudy and south wind.
We did not go
fishing.
Burned over one
field of corn stubble.
Began plowing
sod on west field this afternoon.
I painted some
on the boat this afternoon.
Cloudy and warm
and acting like rain.
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