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The Grange
Webster's Collegiate Dictionary definition: GRANGE:
1. A granary; 2. A farm, especially a farmhouse with outbuildings; 3.
An outlying farmhouse, with its barns and other buildings. 4. One of
the bodies of "The Order of the Patrons of Husbandry", an
association of farmers to further their interests. An association.
Granger: A member of a grange or the GRANGE.
VISION: the Grange is:
An Initiator of Community Action
A Facilitator of Leadership Development
An Advocate for All Families
The Conveyor of Issues to Those in Power
HISTORY OF THE GRANGE
The idea of The Order of Patrons of Husbandry, more
commonly spoken of as The Grange, was conceived immediately after the
Civil War. Oliver Hudson Kelley, born January 20, 1826, an employee of
The Department of Agriculture, was sent to the Southern states, by the
Commissioner of Agriculture to survey the state of agriculture in
rural areas. Mr. Kelley was deeply struck with the level of
destruction of agriculture in the south and the burden that was to be
imposed during reconstruction. When he returned to Washington, he met
with six others and they developed what we now know as the Grange.
During this great age of fraternal groups they developed an
organization with seven instructional degrees and a ritual to
celebrate the work of the organization. The first formal meeting was
held on November 15, 1867, to work out the details. The local
Grange is the Subordinate Grange; there are four degrees at this
level. Next is the County level, the Pomona Grange with the fifth
degree. The State Grange is at the next level and is attained by the
sixth degree. The National Grange is the seventh degree. The degree
work is both inspirational and educational.
The plan of the Founders was both simple and sufficient; a series of
community associations, first at the local level and finally at the
national level where groups of people should be brought together as
fraternal brothers and friends. Having acknowledged their common needs
and interest by means of degree work and ritual, it was hoped they
could discuss with candor and tolerance their many common problems;
and arrive at mutual agreement on ways of meeting these needs;
transforming strangers into neighbors, perhaps even enemies into
friends, as misunderstandings should be wiped away, prejudices
removed, intelligence diffused and cooperation established.
The Grange grew rapidly through the west and south. By the ninth
annual session of the National Grange, there were 762,262 members. In
the late 19th century farmers were forced to pay excessive freight
charges to ship their produce to market and they had to pay high
prices for their supplies, so through the direction of the Grange they
formed cooperatives. The Grange also was influential in fostering
better schools, and introduction of the teaching of Agriculture in the
schools. With the help of other organizations some of the Grange's
achievements have been: securing rural mail delivery, rural
electrification, the Postal Savings Bank system, Parcel Post,
agricultural colleges and experimental stations. In securing
legislation friendly to the farmer and preventing the passage of
legislation harmful to agriculture, the Grange was in the forefront in
getting new information out the the rural communities before the
advent of telephones, and radio and has always advocated self help
instead of asking the government to do it for them.
The Grange has been serving New York since it's very beginning. The
first Subordinate Grange was organized at Fredonia, New York, on April
16, 1868. In 1873, the New York State Grange organized. There are
approximately 314 Subordinate Granges currently in the State. State
Grange Headquarters is located in Cortland, New York.
Borodino Grange #1272, applied for a charter on April 9, 1912. The
local Subordinate Granges served a social as well as political purpose
of the larger organization. In earlier times with lack of ready
transportation and entertainment the grange filled a vital community
need. A few projects of the Borodino Grange were:
1.) The Community Christmas -- A community
Christmas Party with potluck dinner open to the community, a play
presented by children of the community, a decorated tree, a visit from
a real live Santa, a gift for each child, a popcorn ball (over 300
made by the Grange members) for distribution to each person present.
The last of these parties was held about ten years ago.
2.) A Christmas basket and or a plant was
presented to senior citizens and shut ins—not just Grange members.
3.) Benefit dinners held for those in need
either because of illness, an accident, or loss of a home from fire;
assisting members of the community who were "down on their
luck".
4.) Sponsored card parties, square dances, plays
and skits and gettogethers for the community.
5.) Sponsored resolutions to be presented to the
State government that benefited the community. Example: The caution
light in the center of the town. For many years the Grange sponsored
the town library. The Grange participated in the New York State Fair
putting on demonstrations and hosting the Grange Building. The Grange
supports many organizations, Easter Seals, Lung Association, SAVES,
Marcellus Ambulance Corp. and the Fire Departments. Hosting a Harvest
Dinner each November raised money for supporting these organizations
and for maintaining the Grange building. During World War II, Grangers
were airplane spotters at a tower on Rose Hill Road. Bandage rolling
and other Red Cross activities were handled at the Grange. A loan
closet with crutches, canes, wheel chairs, and even a hospital bed
were available for use of people in the community. The Grange members
dug two fire ponds, one on Rose Hill Road and one on Becker Road.
Today, the members still contribute to organizations and the ladies
knit or crochet baby hats for premature babies as well as making
quilts and crocheted blankets.
In addition to the Subordinate Grange, Juvenile Grange #86 was
organized for youth, ages five to sixteen years. Membership was not
limited to Grange member's children,. Meetings were held the same
evening as Subordinate Grange thus families could all be together. The
organization had a Master, Secretary, Treasurer and Chaplain. This was
a great teaching experience learning parliamentary procedure, how to
conduct meetings, present programs, and keep records. They
participated in craft and cooking contests as well as community
projects. Winners in this Juvenile Grange went on to enter County
contests, and eventually State and National There were County wide get
togethers for all the Granges. Many of our members went to Summer
Camp; the Subordinate Grange provided grants for those unable to pay.
A deaf camp, Path of Life, in Chenango County was supported by the
Grange, and some of our hearing children spent a two-week session with
the deaf children. Juvenile Grange is sometimes referred to as Junior
Grange.
Compiled by Horace Ireland and Ruth Vinzant
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The Grange Building
On August 25, 1829, a meeting was held at the schoolhouse in
Borodino for the purpose of forming a religious society. Trustees
Merritt Leonard, John Baxter, Dexter Coe, Charles Vary, Benjamin
Trumble and Ira Coe, voted unanimously that the newly formed society
would be known as THE FIRST RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF THE VILLAGE OF
BORODINO. The proceedings were duly filed and recorded in the Onondaga
Court House, September 1, 1829. (Miscellaneous Records, Book-E, pg
276) Construction may have been started in the fall of 1829, but the
completion date in unknown, therefore the date Circa: 1830 is used.
We have no record as to how long the building was used as a church. A
newspaper article in the Syracuse Journal, March 14, 1867, stated that
a public meeting was to be held to consider turning the building into
a gristmill. Two years later, August 29, 1869, the same newspaper
stated that a stock company had purchased the building and it would be
turned into a public hall. Perhaps this is when the annex and stage
areas were added. On February 20, 1872, the sixty-first annual meeting
of the Town of Spafford was held at the Borodino Town Hall. It was
used until around 1900.
Borodino Grange # 1272 was organized April 9, 1912. They purchased the
building about 1919 and continued to use the building for their
meetings and other activities until their membership began to decline
and the few remaining members found it difficult to support the
building. The building was offered to the Spafford Area Historical
Society for One Dollar ($1). At the March 1997, meeting the membership
of the Spafford Area Historical Society voted unanimously to accept
their offer. The legal process was completed and the building turned
over to the Spafford Area Historical Society on Monday, September 8,
1997.
Funds are now being raised to restore the building. This large two
story Federal style building is in the process of being preserved and
used for community functions and gatherings. The Grange still holds
it's meetings at Borodino Grange 1272.
Compiled by Barbara Shoemaker, Town of Spafford
Historian.
Grange Display
The Grange Building has always been
open to the public. An invitation to the public has been stated in all
the SAHS newsletters. We have had many inquiries asking to see the
upstairs from folks that remember the various activities that took
place at the Grange. The organization has been an integral part of the
community.
Inside the case (L to R): Grange | Junior Grange | Grange Women
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