The Grange is people

Steve Dalton carefully places his sacred blue-velvet sash over his right shoulder and stands at the lectern.

As people begin to gather, he commands some to man their stations. He pounds his gavel, calling to order the Monday meeting of the Garden City Grange.

In gatherings that are equal parts ceremonial and community social event, similar groups meet in the thousands of Grange halls throughout the U.S., a tradition steeped in history and harking back to the nation's agricultural roots. Nowhere is that more evident than in Washington state, which has the largest number of Grange members in the nation.

"There's just something about the formality of it all and the marching that gets me," said Dalton, 34, master of the Garden City Grange, one of 15 in Snohomish County.

"Everyone memorizes their parts and knows exactly when and where to march around the room. It's very ceremonial and organized, and I like that."

The 137-year-old fraternal organization, which boasts 300,000 members in 37 states, was begun by a Minnesota farmer in 1867 as a group for farmers and other rural residents to share ideas, gain strength from one another or just share a meal and dancing. It is the nation's oldest agricultural organization.

Today, many people know the Grange by the chapters' small buildings that can be rented for square dances or community meetings. Few people without a close connection to the Grange realize that Grangers, as members are called, come from all walks and are active in many communities.

"It used to be that if you weren't a farmer, you weren't in the Grange," said George Ohlsen, a 49-year member of the Tualco Grange near Monroe. "That's changed over time. You don't have to be a farmer, but it's sure good to have a farmer's heart."

As the county deputy for the 15 Grange halls in Snohomish County, Ohlsen, 65, not only runs his own Grange chapter but visits others. He attends a half-dozen meetings or more a month and communicates concerns to the state Grange organization.

Ohlsen grew up on a farm and joined the Grange at 16 because everyone else in his family was involved.

"It was the thing to do," he said. "It was the place to go for socials and to find out what was going on in the world."

The Grange also came about to help farmers get crops to market, Ohlsen said. It operated much the same as labor unions that represented industrial workers, giving farmers a voice.

"Many of the early advancements in rural education, rural mail delivery and rural electricity came about because of the Grange," he said.

But it's always been steeped in ritual.

Early leaders of the Grange decided meetings should operate like those in fraternal organizations; hence the original name for the group, the Patrons of Husbandry. Meetings feature much ceremony, with songs, prayers and officers adorned in blue-velvet sashes.

From the beginning, the Grange has offered members a way to learn about changing farm technology and to buy equipment and supplies en masse at a discount. But a big reward has always been the socialization.

"In the early days, going to the Grange for Saturday dinner and a dance was the only time the families got off the farm all week," Ohlsen said.

Having a place where rural families can get together is one reason why Dalton joined the Grange.

"I wanted somewhere that my wife and I and our two daughters could go to celebrate the rural way of life," he said. "So many of the programs at the Grange offer a way to promote community service."

Emphasis on helping others

Though Grange membership still includes people who work the land, Snohomish County members include retired teachers, bus drivers, a county employee and artists. One thing they share is an interest in community service.

In Snohomish County, the current primary community effort is Project Dictionary. All 15 Granges in the county have agreed to give dictionaries to third-graders in their areas.

"You just wouldn't believe the looks on these kids' faces," said Mickey Dearinger, a member of the Horseshoe Grange in Cathcart. "They can't believe that they are getting one to keep as their own."

But the Grangers don't stop there. They help families in need during the holidays, send kids to summer camp and pick up litter along highways.

"Community service is a big part of what we stand for," said Joe Johnson, a master at the Horseshoe Grange. "We just think that you should take care of each other and your neighbors."

At Horseshoe, members also crowd the hall on the second Sunday of the month to feed anyone who stops by. The roast-beef-and-potatoes dinner brings out the lady Grangers to cook and the men to clean tables. About 100 people show up for the $7 dinner.

"It's another way we serve the community," Johnson said. "We deliver dinners out to those who can't drive, and it helps us make a little money to help keep up the building."

Granges also use other ways to pay the bills.

The Horseshoe Grange Hall, built in 1956, is rented out to home-schoolers and others. That's a common way most Grange chapters make money for the upkeep of the building. At the Garden City Grange near Snohomish, the 1925 building is used as an alternative high school on weekdays. The Tri-Way Grange near Mill Creek hosts Jazzercise classes and other events.

"Many people think that's all we are — a building," said Airdre "Pete" Ensign, a Garden City member. "But we're a lot more than that. The Grange is people."

Ensign joined the Grange in 1983 after a friend told her about the automobile-insurance rates available to members. In addition to a variety of insurance packages, the Grange offers members their own credit union and scholarship programs.

"I thought that was all I wanted," she said. "But a few meetings later, I was hooked."

Grangers are prominent at the annual Evergreen State Fair in Monroe. Rows of canned beets and tomatoes, jellies and jams, and fresh vegetables and fruit grown by Grangers are part of their displays at the fair.

"People know us for our fair booths," Ohlsen said. "They stop by and ask us about them, and they can't believe we do all that work."

Lobbying for rural causes

Grange members say the nonprofit organization is a true democratic grass-roots group because all policy originates at the local level and flows upward. That process drives Grange lobbying activities.

At the state and national levels, the Grange lobbies for issues of importance to the rural and agricultural community that makes up a large percentage of its membership.

"Throughout the years, the Grange has lobbied for rural causes," Ohlsen said. "We helped bring electricity to rural America. We saw that we got better rural schools and that rural ways are respected. Farmers and Grangers are good stewards of the land."

On the Grange's agenda this year is Washington state's blanket primary, which was recently tossed out by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"We were the ones who got it going in the first place," Ohlsen said. "We're pushing to keep it. We think that any registered voter should be able to vote for any candidate at the primary, regardless of party affiliation."

Grange lobbyists will be at the state Legislature in the coming months, campaigning to get the blanket primary back. If the Legislature fails to do that, lobbyists will begin the petition process to place it on the ballot as an initiative, said State Grange Master Terry Hunt of Olympia.

But Grangers insist they don't talk politics.

"We don't endorse candidates," Hunt said. "And we don't consider ourselves political. Our members vote on the stands we take on issues and the majority rules."

Young members sought

Some Grangers worry that membership may thin as the older members die.

"I like to tell the old guys that before they can die, they have to sign up at least two new members to take their place," Hunt joked. "But really, we do have some very active younger members, and we're looking for more."

There are more than 50,000 Grange members in Washington, Hunt said. Most Granges average between 100 and 200 members, with a core of about 20 to 25 who do most of the work. Others join to buy insurance and other merchandise, or to support family traditions, he said.

Some chapters have Junior Granges for ages 5 to 16, helping to draw young members to the regular Grange. They can become regular members at age 16.

Some Washington state chapters also are conducting membership drives, said John Scherrer, a member of the Grandville Grange near Granite Falls.

Garden City Granger Dalton thinks just letting people know about the real work of the Grange will bring in members. He shares information about the Grange with some customers who buy his handmade pottery.

"It's an educational process," he said. "Once we begin telling people about all we do and what we stand for, they're impressed, and they want to be a part of it."

Leslie Moriarty: 425-745-7800 or snohomishcounty@seattletimes.com

To learn more

Most Grange chapters hold formal meetings twice a month, and most members average two to five hours more a month on projects and additional time at social events. Membership dues average about $30 a year.

To find out more, go to www.wa-grange.org or call 360-943-9911.

George Ohlsen, the deputy of Snohomish County Grange chapters, can be reached at 360-794-7523.

Local Grange chapters

• Cedar Valley, Lynnwood
• Fern Bluff, Sultan
• Garden City, near Snohomish
• Fidelity, north of Marysville
• Bryant, north of Arlington
• Grandville, Granite Falls
• Horseshoe, Cathcart
• Kellogg-Marsh, northeast of Marysville
• Mansford, Darrington
• Mount Wheeler, Oso
• North Creek Valley at Turner's Corner, Bothell-Maltby area
• South Lake Stevens
• Stillaguamish, Silvana-Stanwood area
• Tri-Way, east of Mill Creek
• Tualco, near Monroe