Good Day! Vol. 7, Iss. 3 - October 2023

Good DAY!

A quarterly publication of the National Grange Vol. 7, Issue 3 l October 2023

™

Grange Revival "Grange with your feet up" with coverage of this year's Grange Revival, which was held in Curtis, Michigan in July.

Also inside: The latest on the National Grange partnership with Rural Minds.

Good DAY!

N & V

GRANGE NEWS & VIEWS

5

L

LEGISLATIVE & ADVOCACY UPDATES

17

F

FOUNDATION

20

S RA

THE STATE OF RURAL AMERICA

24

I

IDEAS FOR GRANGE PROGRAMS & ACTION

29

M

MEMBERSHIP NEWS & RECOGNITION

35

J

JUNIOR GRANGE

53

Y

GRANGE YOUTH

58

H & L

HOBBIES & LIFESTYLE

67

F & R

FOOD & RECIPES

75

L W

81

LAST WORD

™

44

PERSPECTIVE Grange Revival

On the cover: The sun sets over Lake Manistique at the Log Cabin Resort & Campground in Curtis, Michigan, where the 2023 Grange Revival was held.

Photo by Philip Vonada

Follow us on Social Media National Grange, National Junior Grange National Grange Youth, National Grange Lecturer @nationalgrange

@nationalgrange

@nationalgrangeofficial @national_grange_youth @national_junior_grange

National Grange

Good Day! Magazine is a quarterly publication of the National Grange. located at 1616 H St. NW, Washington, DC 20006.

ISSN: 2688-6030. | All comments and questions can be directed to pvonada@nationalgrange.org.

Reproduction or distribution of any part of this magazine is prohibited by anyone other than a Grange member or a chartered Grange without written permission from the National Grange Communications Department.

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WHAT’S THE GRANGE? The National Grange was founded as a fraternal organization for farm families in 1867 – opening its doors to men and women equally from the start.

From rural free delivery of mail to the direct election of U.S. Senators by the people, Grange has influenced many aspects of American life and culture.

Today, we continue to advocate for rural Americans and those interested in all areas of agriculture – including those who just like to eat – and our local Granges provide millions of dollars and hours of service to their neighbors annually.

Each Grange operates as a grassroots unit, taking on projects most appropriate for their communities and advocating based on their members’ beliefs.

®

Learn more at www.nationalgrange.org.

OUR

Officers

William “Chip” Narvel, DE, National Steward

Chris Hamp, WA, Vice President champ@grange.org

John Plank, IN, National Assistant Steward

Executive Committee Chair lschaeffer@grange.org Susan Noah, OR

Executive Committee Member snoah@grange.org Leroy Watson, NH Executive Committee Member & Grange Advocacy Board Chair leroyawatson@nationalgrange.org William “Buddy” Overstreet, TX, Executive Committee Member boverstreet@grange.org Ann Bercher, MN, National Lecturer

lecturer@nationalgrange.org

Betsy E. Huber, Publisher National Grange President President, Grange Foundation President, Grange Advocacy betsy@nationalgrange.org Philip J. Vonada, Editor Communications Director pvonada@nationalgrange.org communications@nationalgrange.org Stephanie Wilkins, Subscriptions Manager IT Director swilkins@nationalgrange.org

Amanda Leigh Brozana Rios Membership & Leadership Development Director & Grange Foundation Associate abrozana@nationalgrange.org Loretta Washington Sales, Benefits, Programs & Membership Recognition Director lwashington@nationalgrange.org

Kathy Gibson, MA, National Lady Assistant Steward Barbara Borderieux, FL, National Chaplain

Samantha Wilkins National Junior Grange, Youth & Young Adults Director samantha@nationalgrange.org

Joe Goodrich, VT, National Treasurer Debbie Campbell, PA, National Secretary

Pete Pompper Community Service Director communityservice@nationalgrange.org

Christopher Johnston, MI, National Gatekeeper Cindy Greer, CO, National Ceres

HEADQUARTERS PHONE (202) 628-3507

Kay Stiles, MD, National Pomona Welina Shufeldt, OK, National Flora

GOOD DAY!™ MAGAZINE

4 ®

Staff

Burton Eller, Advertising Partner Legislative Director Executive Director, Grange Advocacy beller@nationalgrange.org

Betsy Huber, PA, President betsy@nationalgrange.org

Lynette Schaeffer, IL,

OUR

www.nationalgrange.org

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Betsy E. Huber

Autumn is harvest time on the farm and in our Granges.

Farmers planted their crops in the spring and anxiously watched

to try some more projects myself.

them through the growing season. Will there be enough rain,

In

addition,

it

or too much? Will we have an unexpected late or early frost?

is harvest time for

Will weather events challenge us with hail or wind, hurricanes,

resolutions

or tornadoes? Will we be blessed with a bountiful crop or will

our

this be a year of struggle?

policy. Throughout

Fall is also harvest time for the Grange. Members have

setting

legislative

the year, members

been working all year on projects or produce to enter in our

have been composing resolutions to address problems and

contests—needlework, photographs, wood- or other crafts,

issues they see around them. By bringing these ideas to the

vegetables and flowers from the garden. Community service or

Grange and gaining the support of fellow members, they can

Lecturer’s notebooks, talent performances, entries and projects

have much greater influence in achieving their goals than they

for all the Junior and Youth contests. Growing, making, and

could as individuals. State Sessions are the harvest for these

entering all these can sure keep a Granger busy! Luckily for

efforts, where they are winnowed and refined to be sent on to

these crops we don’t have to worry about the weather, just

the National convention in November.

finding the time to devote to them. I’ve found that, even

The harvest, the ingathering of products of the year’s labor, is

though I am always too busy, I can find the time to do what I

also a time of celebration. Gathering the bounty and gathering

want to do, what interests me. I hope you find something in

with family and friends to view all the beautiful entries - the

our variety of contests that interests you too.

result of lots of hard work - is a joyous time for all. Besides

All our work of the past year culminates at State Grange

the fellowship with Grangers, seeing the products produced by

conventions, most of which happen in September and October

them is a wonderful and valued part of our Sessions. Be sure to

each year. This is the Grange harvest season of plenty—plenty

watch for the next Good Day! issue for a full report of winners

of talent possessed by our members and proudly exhibited at

and policies from this year’s National Grange convention. Or

the state contests. I love to look at all the Grangers’ entries

better yet, why not attend in person? It’s not too late to register

at the State Sessions I get to visit, and they always inspire me

at www.nationalgrange.org. See you in Niagara Falls!

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ADVERTISE WITH US Our quarterly publication welcomes advertisers. Up to a 20% discount may be offered to Grange members on their ad purchases. All rates shown are for pre-designed content submitted at least 2 weeks in advance of press date for an issue. You may request rates for ads to be designed by our staff.

GOOD DAY!™ 2023/24 PRESS DATES Issue

Due Date

Hits Mailboxes

V8, I1

February 28

April 2024

V7, I4 V8, I2 V8, I3

November 30 May 31

August 31

January 2024 July 2024

October 2024

Classified ads are also welcomed at $0.50 per word up to 25 words, $1 thereafter; $2.50 per website, email, or other link regardless of word count; $5 per photo (will appear no larger than 1.5”x1”). Special requests (bold design, font increase) available for extra charge. All copy should be submitted no later than 10 days prior to the due date.

National Grange assumes no responsibility for that which is advertised in Good Day!™ and reserves the right to reject ads deemed offensive or irrelevant.

Please contact Philip Vonada by email at pvonada@nationalgrange.org or by phone at (814) 404-7985 for details.

WRITE FOR US This is your chance! This is your magazine.

Submissions may be made by any Grange member in good standing, especially including Junior and Youth members, and must be your own original work.

For Juniors, you may get your parent, guardian or another mentor or adult’s assistance to write or draw the piece, but we expect all those who assist to adhere to high ethical standards and allow the Junior’s work to be reflected without influence by the adult/ older assistant.

All work must be in good taste and appropriate for our audience. The National Grange reserves the right to reject any submissions.

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Guidelines & The Fine Print Entries may include: photo essay (at least three photos that together tell a story with captions identifying the people in the photo if applicable and what is happening in the scene); short story (max. 1,500 words); poem; essay/article (maximum 1,500 words and must include at least two relevant photographs with captions); skit (no more than six speaking characters; should not take more than 10 minutes to perform and should not require an elaborate set); D-I-Y (do-it-yourself) project with supply list, step-by-step instructions and photos of each step; or open category (examples include but are not limited to a coloring book page related to Grange or agriculture; comic strip or box; recipes, etc.).

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Each entry must be submitted digitally and include name, address, phone number, email (if applicable) and Grange details (name, number and state of Subordinate Grange and office held). Junior 1+ members can list the Subordinate or State Grange they are affiliated with. E-members can list National Grange E-member.

Submission

is

acknowledgment

that

publication is authorized. In the case of Junior submissions, this is acknowledgment of right to publish by both Junior and their parent/ guardian.

All submissions must be made via email to pvonada@nationalgrange.org.

From the desk of the PHILIP J. VONADA

Editor

During my county fair a few weeks ago, I had the

And with the juggling metaphor, also remember that

great pleasure of interacting with the same gentleman

if you drop a ball, you probably still have several other

twice, both times while working at one of our Grange

balls in the air; you have other things (events, community

booths. He was an ecclectic gentleman, and he told

outreach, fundraisers) to focus on - and when you get

me about how his daughter had once won the National

those right, you can throw that dropped ball back in to

Grange Talent Contest as a juggler. (JoAnn Swaim from

the mix.

I know that it’s easy to say but harder to put into

Seipstown Grange, PA, won 1st place in Portland, Maine,

practice. Try something new this Grange year. And while

in 1999).

Intrigued, I asked him for more information. And

I hope you don’t fall, trust that if you do, you have the ability to bounce back.

that’s when the show began.

His wife, who was wandering our fairgrounds with him, pulled a bag out and handed him a few colorful balls, and he began to demonstrate various juggling tricks. Two balls; three balls; off the floor, under a table.

The juggling was impressive, but what has stuck with me is what he said as he was juggling: “It’s all about trusting that it’ll bounce back... The harder you throw the ball, the easier it will bounce back.”

Wow. It took me a minute to let that sink in. How often do we trust that we will bounce back when we fall?

It’s been my experience over the past few years that, too often, we are afraid to try new things because we’re afraid to fail - we’re afraid to fall.

The thing is, that hinders us from meeting new people, from impacting new communities, from reaching out and growing our Order. We can’t constantly be afraid to try new things, or we’ll never go anywhere. We have to trust that - even if we fall - we will bounce back.

We are a resilient organization - there aren’t many groups like ours who can claim a longevity of over 150 years of meaningful work. That didn’t happen by staying in our comfort zones and always getting things right the first time. We have bounced back hundreds, probably thousands, of times - both in local Granges and at the National Grange.

Trust that you will bounce back.

Photo by alexey turenkov on Unsplash

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Editorial: Make it fun and they will come!

By Christine Hamp

Grange Revival Experience Team

things to see and do and experience for all ages and interests. This Team

Grange

The

2023

currently consists of Jody and Jodi

Grange

Revival

Ann Cameron (CT), Karie Blasingame

event,

also

(IL), Tony and Janet Fishovitz (PA),

known as Grange

R ev iv a l

TM

Revival

3.0,

in

books!

the

is

A total of 127 members, family

and friends traveled from all corners of the country to converge at the Log Cabin Resort and Campground in Curtis, Michigan on the Upper Peninsula. We had a great mix of firsttimers and repeat offenders (oops, attenders).

Our dream in 2018 was to create an event to share with Grange friends that is not and will not be held hostage by a clock or schedule. We call it

Amanda Brozana-Rios (PA) and Duane and myself (WA).

“I think everything was planned amazing.

I have already secured a place for my family for Torrey 2025 Revival 4.0.”

- Lorri (NV)

it includes quirky, roadside attractions;

it to a cruise ship experience – if you’d is okay too! We, the Grange Revival Experience Team, expend great effort

gathering into tomorrow’s plan. My rule for a great roadtrip is to make sure

‘Grange with your Feet Up’ and liken like to participate, great, if not, that

Quirky Roadside Attraction: Marg Ohlsen and Duane & Chris Hamp outside the Stormy Kromer factory in Ironwood, Michigan.

Photo by Lana Korte

It is always fun at the end of each day to find out where everybody went,

natural wonders; history; and great local food and drink.

The Revival Roadtrip Bingo game

what they saw, what they learned and

has become a favorite and is a

places where folks will want to go,

where they found great food and/or

great way to keep the entire carload

places which have many and diverse

drink. Often, we turn this intelligence

engaged. This game is customized

to find locations that are destinations;

for each Revival (i.e., find a Stormy Kromer) and helps to emphasize how important it is to “Enjoy the Journey.”

“We have a cabin and we have already figured out our driving plan. We're not really excited or anything.”

Natural Wonders: A buffalo in Theodore Roosevelt National Park outside Medora, North Dakota.

Photo by Chris Hamp

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- Tricia (NH)

This page also provides space to check off state and provincial license plates (between Spokane and Curtis, Michigan we were able to check off Everyone attending every state except this year’s Grange Delaware – to our Revival received friends in Delaware, one of these limited-edition it’s time to get out wooden lapel pins. and about)!

You’d be hardpressed to come up with a clear-cut reason as to why this event has become such a looked forward to favorite.

For many it is as simple as great fellowship, fun and food; for some it has become a hard and fast date on the calendar that brings the entire, spread across the country family together for a vacation; for others it is the chance

to sit and visit with friends; or to see an area of this beautiful country that they have not yet checked off their bucket list.

Or perhaps the allure of Revival is due to our commitment to make it valueadded and affordable. The registration fee is $75 for members, $60 for Golden Sheaf and Youth members and $40 for Junior members.

This rate has been the same since the first Revival in 2019 and will remain the same for 2025.

This year, as part of the registration packet, each Great Local Food & Drink: Duane, Margaret, & participant received a custom Chris getting their roadtrip off to a great start with lapel pin; a long-sleeved, huckleberry shakes in St. Regis, Montana.

2-color, hooded pull-over; a reusable divided meal tray; to a chartered tour of the Soo Locks entry to a chartered tour of the Soo and five amazing dinners or suppers Locks and five amazing dinners or (depending on where you live)! suppers (depending on where you My absolute favorite moment of live)!

Grange Revival, after our initial arrival

“It was great and we were glad to help.

Looking forward to Utah. In fact, can’t wait. Already made our reservations.”

- Gene (IN)

History: The Great Peshtigo Fire Memorial and Museum in Peshtigo, Wisconsin.

Photo by Chris Hamp

This year, as part of the registration packet, each participant received a custom lapel pin; a longsleeved, 2-color, hooded pull-over; a reusable divided meal tray; entry

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and hugs and greeting of everyone of course, is a couple of evenings later when we unveil the location for our next Grange Revival – two years in the future! The smiles, anticipation, excitement and the scramble to get space reserved is so rewarding. This is definitely a group that is still buying green bananas!

After a long search, we were able to announce Torrey, Utah as our Revival 4.0 destination for 2025.

Read more coverage of the 2023 Grange Revival in the Perspectives article, beginning on page 44.

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Dave Hay honored with third 50-year milestone.

By Sandra Lepley

Originally printed in Daily American reprinted with permission There have been three 50-year milestones in Dave Hay's life this year.

The well-known Somerset County, Pennsylvania, writer and historian has written for newspapers for 50 years on May 17. He and his wife, the former Virginia Long, celebrated their 50th anniversary on June 10. And, on Wednesday evening at the Berlin Area Historical Society, Hay was honored for 50 years as the lecturer of Hillcrest Grange.

Under the byline, David R. Hay, 75, of Somerset, has been a well-known columnist and writer for both the former The New Republic newspaper and at the Daily American newspaper, writing thousands of articles in 50 years while continuing a full-time career as a postal carrier with Somerset Post Office. And, as if all that didn't keep him busy enough, he planned programs and handled publicity for Hillcrest Grange for 50 years.

Kathy Blough, who coordinated

the event for the Grange, said that she originally thought about getting a church for the venue to allow for more space but Hay told her he didn't think many people would attend. The society's outer room was packed with Hay's family and friends who spent the evening honoring him for service not only to the Grange but to the community in general.

And, in the midst of all the wellwishers, I had the privilege to speak as one of many on behalf of Dave Hay, who I have always considered a kindred spirit because of our common ground of newspaper writing.

When I met Hay more than 33 years ago in the Daily American newsroom, we struck up a friendship that would be lasting and many times throughout the decades, our conversations led us to what was going on in the news or what was going on in the newsroom.

There was always so much excitement in that newsroom and we enjoyed being a part of it all!

Dave actually started working in the Daily American newsroom as a

photojournalist for $63 a week for 14 months before being drafted into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War in the late 1960s. When he came back home from the service, he went back to the Daily American for a time but later took a civil service test and began working for the postal service in 1970.

But, his love of writing and photojournalism stayed with him. He turned those passions into a way of capturing the stories of local people and families and it served him well because he became well known as the publicity person for the Grange news.

Each program he planned for Hillcrest Grange became a way to weave that information and photos into a story for the newspaper. And, the readers loved it!

On Wednesday evening, Dave Hay expressed how "humbled" he felt for this honor and how it "amazed" him that he was able to plan and manage programs for the Grange for 50 years. He said Grange was always a "stepping stone" for him in life. He said how writing stories "expanded his

Let’s hear your story

Indeed, being a Grange member is one of the most rewarding experiences. For many, the story of how they came to join the Grange does not capture the essence of how they came to be a Granger and what that means in their lives.

We want to hear from you!

What is your #GrangeStory that tells how you became a Granger? Did you see application of degree lessons to your daily life and relate them to friends and coworkers? Did you find yourself embracing new ideas and finding ways to overcome differences?

Submit your story of no more than 650 words and a photo, if applicable, to Philip at pvonada@nationalgrange.org by November 30th for potential inclusion in a future issue of Good Day! or use on our social media.

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friendship circle" and he had an "unquenchable interest in learning about farms and families."

"I enjoyed building friendships along the way with the other families and in the end, they became more than just friends but were like family to us," said Hay. Hay discussed the losses in his life that have made things more difficult in recent years. He talked about how the Grange hall was like a second home to him but was sold to become a private residence a few years ago. He talked about the sale of his family's beloved Blue Lick Valley farm last year. He talked about the loss of his sister, Linda Lou Hay, who died April 1, 2022, and now the most recent loss of his younger brother, Dan Hay, who died July 27 at the age of 71 years. "But, we will get through it," said his wife Virginia and Dave agreed. Dave gave his wife, Virginia, credit for all her support for 50 years and how she cooked and helped entertain their many visitors and friends.

At the end of the evening, many gathered to take photographs of Dave Hay, by the new bookcase donated in Dave's honor, by the quilt in the historical society building where Dave has been the longtime curator, with other grange members who were also honored and with his wife Virginia. It was a celebration of life for a man who has that unique ability to give his talents back to the community and give his friendship to others.

Highlights in the life of David R. Hay • June 10, 2023, marked the 50th wedding anniversary of David and Virginia Hay, married at the Meyersdale Church of the Brethren.

• January 26, 2023, marked David’s 75th birthday.

• Deacon at Somerset Church of the Brethren for the last 44 years.

• Member of Somerset Church of the Brethren for 45 years, with many of those years also serving as the church historian and photographer.

• Member of the Adult Fellowship Sunday School Class.

• Retired on February 1, 2003, after a 32-year career as a clerk and city carrier at the Somerset Post Office.

• Member of the Glades Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution of Somerset for 53 years. Past secretary of the chapter.

• President of the Somerset Chapter 1861 of the National Association of Retired and Current Federal Workers for more than 10 years.

• Life member of the Somerset County Historical and Genealogical Society.

• Life member of the Berlin Area Historical and Genealogical Society. He has volunteered for the past 18 years, and for the past 14.5 years has served as the Curator of the Berlin Area Historical Society.

• 2023 marks Dave’s 60th year as a member of the Hillcrest Grange.

• August 2023 - Dave completed his 50th year as the Hillcrest Grange Program Director/lecturer. He had the pleasure of assisting with Hillcrest’s 50th, 75th, and 100th anniversary celebrations.

• Has served 20 years as Lecturer of Somerset County Pomona Grange.

• Hillcrest Grange publicity chairperson for 55+ years.

• Served 16 years as a member of the PA State Grange Lecturer’s Committee.

• Had the honor of being named Outstanding Lecturer of PA State Grange three times.

• 6th and 7th Degree Grange member since 1964.

• Has had a long association with the Meyersdale Republic weekly newspaper and the Somerset American.

• Wrote a weekly column for The New Republic newspaper for 49.5 years; the newspaper closed in November 2022, just 6 months short of his 50th anniversary.

• Coordinator of the Retired Employees of the Somerset Post Office dinner meetings for the past 20 years since retirement.

Hillcrest Grange commissioned Craig Engle of Garrett to make a bookcase placed at the Berlin Area Historical Society for a selection of Dave Hay’s binders and books. Hay was honored with the bookcase during a Hillcrest Grange meeting that celebrated his 50 years as Lecturer of Hillcrest.

Photo courtesy of Sandra Lepley

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New York prepares to shine at 157th Convention the Junior Tour on Saturday will see the Power Vista with over 50

By Philip J Vonada

interactive exhibits about electricity and hydroelectricity, Old Fort

National Grange Communications Director

Niagara, and will have some time to explore the Niagara Falls Just a few weeks away, the

State Park Observation Deck. The Youth tour will also take part in

157th Annual National Grange

a community service project at Community Missions of Niagara

Convention is about to be one

Frontier, which supports people who have been underserved,

of the highlights of the Grange

marginalized, or faced challenging situations.

year. The northeast region has been putting together the lastminute details that really make each convention unique, aiming to create a convention that will

As you make your plans to attend, of course, the wonder of Niagara Falls is worth taking the time to visit, but consider these other local attractions: • Aquarium of Niagara • Albright-Knox Art Gallery • Artpark

truly WOW the attendees, including a great host banquet, the

• Asha’s Farm Sanctuary

return of the Friendship Dinner, and a Showcase that will be full

• Becker Farms & Vizcarra Vineyards

of vendors, partner agencies, and more.

• Blackman Homestead Farm

To show off the region, the tours have been planned to really make an impact. Those who are on the General Tour on Friday or

• Buffalo & Erie County Bntanical Gardens • Buffalo Museum of Science • Buffalo Zoo • Carnegie Art Center • Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum • Hidden Valley Animal Adventure • National Comedy Center • Niagara Adventure Theater • Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center • Riviera Theatre & Performing Arts Center • 7 Gates Screampark (for those who want a bit of a scare) Some of these locations require tickets in advance - so don’t wait too long to make your plans. In addition, there are hundreds of nearby farms, wineries, breweries, shopping centers, and more that are waiting for you to discover in the region. If you don’t want to drive (or won’t have a car), you can consider hopping on the Discover Niagara Shuttle.

The Niagara Power Vista will provide a hands-on opportunity to experience the power of electricity.

Photo courtesy of Destination Niagara

We can’t wait to see you in the Empire State. Remember to bring your passport if you plan to visit Ontario, just across Niagara’s famous Rainbow Bridge.

Registration Information

General Registration ($37) will be open through October 20, 2023 Late Registration ($42) closes for meal options on November 8, 2023 Registration on Site will be available at the late registration cost, but you will not be able to obtain tickets to any meals Register at https://www.nationalgrange.org/157th-annual-national-grange-convention/

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Along the Way... Fredonia Grange No. 1

By Norman Houser Author, The Pennsylvania Rambler www.thepennsylvaniarambler.com Pennsylvania Grange Member The historic community of Fredonia, New York was quiet as I walked the sidewalks in the early morning sunshine. Despite its size, the small community had made its mark on the history of the United States. From the first natural gas well drilled in the U.S. to the Cushing Brothers whose U.S. Civil War service has been the subject of books to the birthplace of the first local unit of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union of America (WCTU), it is easy to become lost in Fredonia’s history.

While the history of the town was pulling me in many different directions, one particular building was drawing me closer and closer until I stood respectfully before it. Located at the intersection of West Main Street (U.S. Route 20) and

In April 2008, Fredonia Grange was honored with the placement of a historical marker outside of the Grange Hall.

Photo by Norman Houser

Forest Place, the impressive stone building easily catches the attention of visitors. At the top of the building are the words “Fredonia Grange, No. 1” and a large tablet over the entrance announces: “Organized April 16, 1868. Erected 1915.”

The hall for Fredonia Grange No. 1 is one of the most important buildings in the history of the Grange.

The

Fredonia

Grange,

create any new local Granges. The first major failure of the journey occurred in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Kelley arrived in Harrisburg to promote the newly formed fraternity and spoke to a group of men about founding a local Grange. While those who listened to him showed interest, there was a fear about giving money to the newly formed organization. The men gave $15 to Kelley for a dispensation,

which was founded by Oliver Hudson

but a Grange was never organized, nor did they ever meet

Kelley, remains an important part of

again.

the community, being the first dues-

Kelley, disappointed by another failure, traveled northward

paying Grange in the organization’s

to Wayne, New York to visit Francis McDowell. McDowell

history.

listened to Kelley’s disappointment and encouraged Kelley, Potomac

giving him $50 and telling Kelley: “Every cause has to have a

Grange #1 was organized as a

martyr and I think you are making a good one for the Grange.”

In

January

1868,

“practice” Grange. The Grange Founders wanted a working Grange to be used for new Granges to see how the Grange and its Degrees would work. Kelley, who was thrilled with having a working Grange set out from Washington, D.C., to travel home to Itasca, Minnesota.

Early 1868 found Kelley in doubt The original Fredonia Grange Hall still stands on West Main Street in Fredonia, in Chautauqua County, New York.

Photo by Norman Houser

about the future of the Grange.

Kelley had believed more people would begin showing interest in the fledgling fraternity, but after visiting numerous locales, he had failed to

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Encouraged by his friend’s words, Kelley left Wayne and headed towards Fredonia with an enthusiastic spirit.

In Fredonia, Kelley met with A.S. Moss who was interested in the newly formed fraternity and was the driving force behind the formation of Fredonia Grange No. 1. In early 1868, Moss invited Kelley to assist in the creation of a new Grange. Unlike the failure at Harrisburg, those who listened to Kelley eagerly accepted the idea of the farming fraternity and provided the funds to create a local Grange and help Kelley’s desire to create a national organization.

Fredonia Grange started with only fifteen members, but by the time the charter was signed had grown to fifty members.

On April 16, twenty-one of the fifty members signed the charter, including Ulysses “U.E.” Dodge, the first Master/President of Fredonia Grange.

The Grange originally met at Armory Hall, which was located opposite the present hall on West Main Street. On December 10, 1868, Fredonia Grange became the first “secret society” to admit women when twenty-one women were brought in as new members. The following January the name was voted upon and it officially became “Fredonia Grange No. 1.”

According to the Buffalo Inquirer (Feb. 28, 1905), by 1905 Fredonia Grange had grown to 341 members and had an average attendance of 91 members. The search for a new hall began and it was determined to erect a new building and started raising funds – among the first to donate was U.E. Dodge, who donated $1000 for the erection of the new hall. In 1915, the current hall was dedicated and the members began meeting in the new building, a building where they continue to hold their meetings.

Ulysses E. Dodge would serve as Fredonia Grange’s first Master, serving from 1868 until 1874, then served as Lecturer for 20 years.

Photo from the American Agriculturalist, Vol. 81, 1908.

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On October 17, 1935, Fredonia would be honored by the National Grange with a large bronze tablet, celebrating its importance in the Grange’s history. The plaque is inscribed with: “1868-1936. Presented by the National Grange to Fredonia Grange No. 1 in recognition of the first working Grange in America.

Also the first unit in organized agriculture. Organized by Oliver H. Kelley.”

The original charger application for Fredonia Grange #1, dated April 17, 1868, signed by William Saunders, Master/President of the National Grange, Oliver Hudson Kelley, Secretary of the National Grange.

Scanned from the National Grange archives Over 150 years have passed since Oliver Hudson Kelley founded Fredonia Grange. Despite hardships and the passage of time, it continues to grow as it adapts to the community’s needs – it continues to be an example to other Granges across the United States.

The mention of Fredonia Grange’s history cannot be complete without mention of those notable people who were members. Both New York State Masters/ Presidents George D. Hinckley (1873-1878) and Sherman J. Lowell (19161919) were members of Fredonia Grange. Lowell would serve as the National Master/President from 19201923.

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The plaque presented to Fredonia Grange by the National Grange in 1936 still hangs in the Grange Hall.

Photo by Mark Mackey, current Master/President of Fredonia Grange #1

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Expanding affordable broadband access We’re focused on making internet access, affordability and adoption easy so more Americans can tap into the potential of the internet.

Because connection doesn’t happen by accident—it takes effort.

AT&T is proud to help lower the monthly cost of broadband for eligible customers by participating in the Affordable Connectivity Program.

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GRANGE ADVOCACY ADVERTORIAL

© 2023 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the Globe logo and other marks are trademarks and service marks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies.

National Grange Signals ACP Support to Congress September 18, 2023 Dear Mr. Speaker, Minority Leader Jeffries, Majority Leader Schumer and Minority Leader McConnell, We, the undersigned organizations, representing millions of rural Americans and their livelihoods, urge you to renew the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) and the critical investment in broadband connectivity it brings to constituents.

All Americans, whether in rural or urban areas, should be able to benefit from the ever-expanding online world we find ourselves in today. We use broadband for nearly everything in our lives – from accessing a bank account and submitting homework assignments to filing taxes and remaining active in our faith community. The ACP equips millions of families in communities across America with affordable access to the resources of the online world each month.

When Congress enacted the ACP as part of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in 2021, you upheld your responsibility to address America’s digital divide. But millions of rural Americans still face financial challenges to obtaining acceptable internet connectivity. Failing to renew this key benefit program would be an upsetting step backward and a slight to one of Congress’ key commitments.

Overwhelmingly, rural communities’ connectivity has been categorized as a long-term problem to address. These Americans have been overlooked as lawmakers view the digital divide through the simplistic, narrow lens of “who can we help with the most immediate impact”. This is because the historical narrative around broadband access holds that households are unconnected because they simply lack access to high-speed internet infrastructure. Indeed, broadband deployment has been toughest in hard-to-reach areas, which in turn causes high costs for internet on rural consumers. However, the ACP has alleviated such high costs through providing a discount. This affordability initiative ensures the billions of federal dollars that Congress and The White House have designated to states help build out more broadband infrastructure, through the Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, are going to have a tangible impact for the Americans who need it most.

The FCC’s enrollment data on ACP has also proven that the digital divide is as much of an affordability issue as it is an access issue. Of the twenty-eight million households in the U.S. that lack broadband internet in their home, eighteen million households say it is simply because they cannot afford an internet connection. That is forty-seven million Americans who will continue to remain on the wrong side of the digital divide, simply because they lack affordable Internet. With only 20.5 million subscribers already taking advantage of this $30/month consumer program of the 51 million eligible, it’s imperative that Congress continues funding for the ACP to keep our families connected to the world and continue getting even more rural communities connected as well.

Once more, polling has shown internet connectivity is a very strong bipartisan issue, with Democrats, Republicans and Independents overwhelmingly supporting Congressional renewal of the ACP this year. According to a national survey from the Digital Progress Institute, 78 percent of voters support continuing the ACP, including 64 percent of Republicans, 70 percent of Independents, and 95 percent of Democrats. 68 percent of rural, suburban, and urban households also support continuing the program.

Limiting the ACP to such short-lived and modest success would not only prevent further rural households from benefiting from the ACP – but it may also cause the millions who currently rely on this program to lose trust in Washington. We urge you to consider the diverse groups this program benefits and who will suffer if it is not funded once more: Farmers, ranchers, women, black and tribal-owned businesses, small-town artisans, and more. Broadband internet is vital to these communities— this incredible opportunity to get America online shouldn’t be wasted.

A real, positive impact has been made on the lives of many of your constituents because of the ACP. As you address longerterm challenges to funding broadband connectivity, we ask you to renew your commitment to close the digital divide and ensure all Americans have the opportunity to access a high-speed broadband connection in their home now.

Thank you for your consideration of our views. We stand ready to assist in whatever way we can.

Sincerely, Justin Tupper, President, U.S. Cattlemen’s Association

Jack Alexander Chairman, Rural & Agriculture Council of America

Betsy Huber President National Grange

Tina Metzer Co-Founder RuralRISE Tech

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17

You say you want a Resolution...

By Mark Noah

So how do we go about writing our resolution?

Legislative Director, Oregon State Grange

• Write your conclusion. What do you want? This is your ‘Resolved’ section. Be specific! Do you want letters written to

A Grange resolution is just a document stating an issue and calling for an action. It should have a title, a call for some sort of action (the Resolve) and some arguments and explanations in support (the Whereas statements).

If presented as part of a committee report, no motion to adopt is required; if submitted by an individual, a motion and second are in order. So, isn’t a resolution just a motion that has been reduced to writing, then? Why all the fuss and bother with a resolution process, why not just make a motion and be done with it?

First, not many of us invoke the right to call for the maker to present their motion in writing. That means our Grange secretary must interpret what the maker of the motion is saying. How many times has that led to a lengthy discussion about what was said versus what was heard?

legislators or others? If you want your resolution forwarded to others, list them. If you want a specific Grange policy or bylaw changed, quote it or cite it specifically by section, page number, or line number if possible.

• Create your title. It should summarize what you are trying to accomplish but keep it short and to the point.

• Add some explanation of the issue, some factual arguments in favor. These are your ‘Whereas’ sections. Don’t be too long-winded or you’ll lose your audience. Refrain from personal opinions. Quote facts, refer to supporting websites, and other evidence in support of your conclusion.

• Submit your resolution to your Grange for consideration.

You can probably hand the secretary a typed copy, or email it to them prior to the meeting. Provide supporting documentation

We’ve all been in Grange meetings when a motion on the floor generates so many questions that we spend too much time adjusting language or working out details, or people ask questions that nobody (including the motion maker) can properly answer.

To express our idea clearly in our Grange meeting and to others beyond our immediate personal contacts, to gain support and have impact, we need a way to present it accurately, complete with arguments and conclusions, in a manner that won’t become distorted by compounded errors of verbal repetition. We need to write a resolution.

Reducing a question to writing requires the writer to be precise in their choice of words so their meaning is clear. The supporting arguments (the ‘whereas’ statements) provide information that facilitates informed and efficient deliberation.

At least, that's what they should do.

But why do resolutions seem to use such archaic goofy language ("Whereas," "therefore be it Resolved")?

Turns out, those are statements of precision that are commonly used in formal legislative settings. One could say ‘Because of this’ or ‘And not only that, but this too’ but ‘Whereas’ says the same thing in only 2 syllables.

‘Therefore, be it Resolved’ flows nicely and is a specific reference to your conclusion, much better than ‘Because of all of the previous arguments and statements, here’s what we propose.’ You want people to debate your issue, not your use of language.

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Brittney Pittman, John Timble Legislative Experience, debates a resolution on the floor at the 2021 National Grange Convention.

Photo by Philip Vonada

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if possible.

If you want to create, or change, state or national Grange

Some errors show up regularly in resolutions. Your conclusion,

policy you will need to send your resolution for consideration at

the Resolve, should ‘stand on its own’ as we always hear at state

those levels. Any Subordinate/Community Grange or Pomona

and national conventions—it needs to be a complete sentence

Grange (County-level) can send a resolution directly to their

that states your action clearly and specifically.

State Grange to address State or National Grange policy,

Your Whereas statements should be factual and supportable.

but only State Granges can send resolutions to the National

‘Because I say so’ isn’t enough. Referring to the publicly stated

Grange. If your resolution would change National Grange

opinions of others might help, but is their opinion factual and

policy, your state Grange delegates must adopt it and send it

supportable? Try to include references for your data or quotes.

to the National Grange for consideration.

Don’t re-state your arguments in the Resolve. The word

We frequently just think of resolutions as the way we set

Therefore is saying ‘for that reason; consequently’ and refers

legislative policies for State or National Grange lobbying efforts,

to your Whereas arguments with concision. I know, when all is

or change Grange bylaws, or manage Grange operations, but

said and done Whereas statements are dropped and only the

they don’t always need to be aimed at State or National levels.

Resolve is printed, but at that point the argument has been

Our Community/Subordinate Granges can send resolutions

won and the supporting statements aren’t needed.

to local entities about matters that affect their members, their

If you are supporting a specific piece of state or national

neighborhood and their communities. It helps to include

legislation, be aware that bills die at the end of the session

some explanation of why your Grange is taking this approach

and numbers are reused in the next session so the point of

along with the resolution. Sometimes you also might need to

your resolution will be lost. Refer to the action called for in the

explain what a Grange is, so your resolutions can also be a

legislation, not just the bill number.

form of outreach to spread the word about our most excellent

It is not enough to simply construct your resolution, set its

organization!

sails and launch it out on the great Grange seas to seek its

Resolutions are useful. Your Grange can write one about a

fortune. You should be there as much as possible to guide your

streetlight or pothole or anything else you want to focus on,

idea along, offer explanations and show support.

and send it directly to people you think can help. Your idea is

National Grange delegates are expected to consider a lot

now the opinion of a group of constituents, and (to paraphrase

of resolutions in a shorter and shorter period of time, so you

Margaret Mead) small groups of thoughtful, committed,

want your resolution to claim some of that delegate time and

organized citizens can change the world.

attention that can be so scarce.

Anatomy of a Resolution

This resolution was passed at the 2022 National Grange Convention

TITLE Summarize your Resolution in a memorable and succinct way

Removing Medical Debt from Credit Bureau Reports

WHEREAS WHEREAS: 1 in 5 American households have medical debt according to CFPB (Consumer Financial STATEMENTS Lay out your argument with as much detail as necessary

RESOLVED STATEMENTS Ultimately, what do you want the Grange to do or support?

Protection Bureau) and many of these unpaid bills show up on people’s credit reports; and

WHEREAS: the CFPB found medical debt on 43 million credit reports, with medical debts making up 58% of all bills in collections which can deflate and individual’s credit scores; and WHEREAS: the CFPB announced recently it would investigate whether medical debt should be included on credit reports at all. Three major credit bureaus promised to remove 70% of medical debt from consumer credit reports within the next year and by 2023, only reporting unpaid medical debts exceeding $500.00. The VA (Veterans Administration) has also stopped reporting most veteran’s medical debts (co-payments) to the credit bureaus; therefore be it RESOLVED: the National Grange supports the efforts of the Veteran’s Administration (VA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to eliminate most medical debt being reported to credit bureaus.

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Grange Foundation supports basketball with Deaf Awareness Grant MKSD, serving as a coach and Athletic Director. She currently

By Joan C. Smith

serves as the Lady Assistant Steward of the New Jersey State

Chairperson, Grange Foundation

Grange and is also their Deaf Awareness Committee Chair.

and Carolynne Reed

This year, Carolynne Reed, Delia Yates, and Emmanuel

Teacher, Marie Katzenbach School for the Deaf

Sterlin from MKSD supervised three girls and five boys from

In 2020, the Grange Foundation awarded New Jersey State

the Marie Katzenbach basketball team who signed up for

Grange and Carolynne Reed of Hamilton Grange #79 the

the Gallaudet University-sponsored John Perry Boys & Girls

$1000.00 Deaf Awareness Grant for their project, which was delayed due to Covid-19. The money was banked until the deaf basketball camp re-opened for players.

With COVID-19 under control, the students from the Marie Katzenbach School for the Deaf of New Jersey (MKSD) could then register to participate in this Gallaudet Universitysponsored 2023 Basketball Camp. The camp was paid for, in part, by this grant from the Grange Foundation, another nonprofit organization, and the respective parents.

Mrs. Reed is a teacher at MKSD, which is in the West Trenton area.

When she was 16, she attended a Grange

Youth Conference where Wade Cadle, then an intern with the National Grange, who conducted a signing workshop of the song “Sunshine on my Shoulder”, “it was then I decided that it was ‘cool’ and started moving forward in a career as a sign language teacher,” said Reed. Carolynne received a Grange Foundation Deaf scholarship award in 1985 and continues in that career, now starting her 37th year of teaching at the

Basketball Elite Camp hosted at the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut.

Gallaudet University is the oldest and finest school of higher learning for the deaf and hearing-impaired in the world offering liberal arts degrees. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs that are specifically designed for students who belong to the deaf community. The University has sponsored this camp for several years with students and coaches serving as role models for other deaf students across the country.

The Grange Foundation has an endowment program with Gallaudet, which supports higher learning of deaf students and those involved with deaf education. In the 2022-2023 school year, three post-graduate students took advantage of this opportunity and performed internships in special projects with the University.

In 1817, the first permanent school for deaf children opened in Hartford, Connecticut. At the time, most Americans still lived on farms or in small towns. The scattered population made it difficult to establish schools, especially for deaf children, who were few and far between. The founding of the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1817 was a crucial milestone in the way society related to people with disabilities. The 2023 Gallaudet Basketball Camp was held at this location.

The camp’s intensive basketball training was held July 5-9, 2023, under the coaching staff of the Gallaudet team, headed by Stephanie Stevens and Kevin Kovacs. The students performed drills, honed specific skills, played as teams, had social skill-building opportunities, and learned to be better communicators with their teammates and coaches. They were learning from deaf Gallaudet students and coaches using American Sign Language (ASL).

The five days of basketball camp were morning sessions that started at 9:00 a.m. and continued until 10:00 p.m., with

Carolynne (left) poses with Gallaudet Coach Stephanie Stevens (right), two of her student/coaches, and a coach from Pittsburgh.

Photo provided

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only meal breaks. There were basketball players and students from all over the United States who came to learn how to improve their skills. The eight MKSD players supported by the

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grant worked hard learning new skills and drills that they can apply during their basketball season this coming year and beyond. Some of the MKSD players won awards either individually or on a mixed team from other deaf school students that they practiced with during the week.

Mrs. Reed says, “the MKSD players, the coaching staff, and I would like to send a BIG THANK YOU to the Grange Foundation for providing this awesome opportunity for our players to meet, learn, practice, and play with their deaf peers from other deaf schools and improve their basketball skills for this coming season.”

Carolynne (aka Coach Reed) and the winning girls’ team at the John Perry Boys & Girls Basketball Elite Camp in Hartford, Connecticut. Photo provided

Grange Foundation awards 2023 Partnership in Agricultural Literacy to Pennsylvania school

By Joan C. Smith Chairperson, Grange Foundation Each year, the Grange Foundation sponsors a search for an effort that has impacted Pre-K – 12th grade students, related to agriculture literacy. This effort is in conjunction with the USDA-funded National Agriculture in the Classroom (NAITC).

Formerly the “Agriculture Advocate of the Year Award, the “Partnership in Agricultural Literacy” was restructured to allow for an organization to be the recipient, like a Grange, Lions Club, Rotary Club, FFA, or other club.

As reported in the previous issue, the Community Agricultural Partnership at Summit (CAPS) Elementary School in the Butler Area School District of Pennsylvania, was named the 2023 winner of the Partnership in Agricultural Literacy Award.

The focused school concept has seen students, teachers, staff, families and the community immersing themselves in a world of agriculture, both during the school day and at their homes.

Through the collaboration of the CAPS development team, a mission statement was generated to guide the implementation of the program. This mission statement reads: CAPS is committed to • Using an innovative agricultural focus to expand the walls of student learning by utilizing explicit instruction, paired with authentic experiences, to meet the needs of the whole of the child.

• Cultivating lifelong learners and informed citizens with respect and appreciation for conservation, agriculture, and the

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outdoor environment.

• The ongoing development of lasting partnerships to ensure the long-term sustainability of this model program serving our school and local community.

Once the mission of the school was finalized, a school development team was convened to prioritize projects for the new school, leading to an initial three-year plan for the implementation of classroom lessons and activities on the campus. The school development team was comprised of school staff, parents, district administrators, state agricultural leaders, post-secondary educational institutions, local agricultural business owners, and community farm families. After the initial planning was completed, a school advisory council was established of community partners to help guide the implementation of agriculture into everyday classroom lessons.

Staff worked to design lessons for their classrooms centered around National Agricultural Literacy Outcomes, utilizing resources and materials made available from the National Agriculture-in-the-Classroom program. Grade-level teachers worked together to develop agriculture kits for use within established curricula, allowing an agricultural overlay for classroom instruction. CAPS is also working with their local agricultural partners to offer authentic ag learning opportunities for the students, including lessons on pollinators, rain gardens, livestock ownership, fruit tree production, raised bed gardening, and many others. Each of these lessons helps students and families become more agriculturally aware and engaged in school activities.

CAPS works to use agricultural concepts as a pathway to learning. An integral piece of this program is leveraging

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the community partners and the CAPS enjoy being active participants in inquiry- the summer months at “Workday advisory panel that have pledged their based exploration to solve real-world Wednesdays,” CAPS staff members or time and expertise to share with students, problems and make connections to family groups assist with the maintenance staff, and families. The county 4-H agriculture. Guiding students through of raised beds, with several workdays extension educator assisted in planning this process enables educators to seeing over a dozen participants. These lessons by donating materials, workbooks, cultivate lifelong learners and informed days enable CAPS to maintain gardens and resources for an embryology unit citizens with respect and appreciation for when school is not in session, and allow using chicken eggs. Audubon Society conservation, agriculture, and outdoor participants to partake in harvesting and and conservation district members have environment as well as each other. tasting of new types of produce. extended topics by presenting additional CAPS has created an environment “The Grange Foundation is proud to information/activities and sustainability of agricultural literacy by providing present this award each year, and winners ideas. opportunities for students and like CAPS keep inspiring us with their Understanding that literacy, paired occasionally their families to be immersed passion, creativity and impact on both the with agriculture, creates an amazing in agriculture throughout the year children and communities they serve,” learning conduit is the foundation for the by incorporating it into the students’ said Betsy Huber, National Grange Ag Literacy Kits. These agriculture learning learning throughout the day. Multiple president. kits, available in the NAITC Store, are opportunities have been offered for “National Agriculture in the Classroom paired with developmentally-appropriate families to be engaged in agriculture and state and territory Agriculture in nonfiction and fiction books in one activities on campus, like utilizing the the Classroom programs depend on container. Try using the “Living Necklace” experience of numerous community educators like those involved with CAPS literacy kit as part of a plant discovery unit volunteers and agriculturalists. These to deliver agricultural literacy outreach and multi-age level collaboration using events allow students the opportunity to to students in innovative ways in their the “Plants/Vegetables” literacy kit for a gain a better understanding of agriculture communities,” NAITCO President Katie yearlong exploration of pumpkins. while generating school-wide excitement Carpenter said. “Their whole student Examples of ag integration into and laying the foundation for agricultural approach is producing positive impacts classroom activities include: learning expectations. for students beyond the classroom.”

• Weekly trips to the pollinator garden, In May, CAPS held a Spring Showcase Joan Smith, Grange Foundation apple orchard, Christmas tree orchard, that encouraged students and families to Chairperson, was able to present this or rain garden to make observations, interact with the agricultural components 2023 Grange Foundation award to CAPS compare and contrast changes, or teach of their learning, while connecting families at the NAITC Conference in Orlando, lessons. with community agricultural agencies.

Florida in June.

• Area and perimeter math lessons at CAPS provides opportunities for All Granges in the country can get the pollinator garden students to engage with their families in involved in the classroom by reading an • Soil and erosion exploration at the agriculture whenever possible. During agriculture book, taking animals to show rain garden to students, helping • Language arts is a school to establish stimulated by reading a garden, incubating or writing while eggs, bringing students immersed in outdoor to a family-operated agricultural focus farm, providing potting areas. soil, or just explaining At CAPS, why you love the country agriculture is infused life or farming. Many throughout lessons teachers welcome the to enhance the volunteering of time, established district energy, and materials to curriculum.

Explicit educate the students. instruction and You just may spark an hands-on learning interest that will last a are used to create lifetime.

Paula Shoop, Pennsylvania Friends of Agriculture Foundation (left), CAPS real-life educational teachers and principal, and Joan C. Smith, Grange Foundation Chairperson experiences. Students (right), at the NAITC Award presentation in June. Photo provided

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JEWELRY

Vintage Hall Dedication Plaques Designed in 1947, these wooden hand-carved plaques have felt backing. 11.5”x13”, with space to add an engraving for your Grange.

Limited number available.

Sold as-is. $25 each, including shipping.

New 1-inch pins!

Junior Grange pin - $5 4th Degree pin - $10 Member recognition pins are available in 5-year increments from 5 years through 80 years

Sesquicentennial Challenge Coin 150th Anniversary 2.25” diameter coin, emblazoned with the “esto perpetua” logo.

Was $25, now $15 plus shipping.

All Past Office (Master, Lecturer,

People, Pride, and Progress

Secretary, and Past Junior Master)

by David M. Howard This history book chronicles the impact of the Grange over the first 125 years of the organization.

Was $12.00, now discounted to $6.00.

pins, and various Degree charms and ties bars are on sale!

Prices vary.

Own a part of history commemorating the National Grange’s Headquarters in Washington, DC. These limited-edition pins are sure

Kelley Farm Challenge Coin Celebrating the 2013 exemplification of the 1873 Degrees at the Kelley Farm.

2.25” brushed nickel coin.

On sale: $15.00 + shipping Belt Buckle Solid pewter with antique finish, fits most standard belts. Buy 3 or more to receive a discount.

to be collector items! Each pin includes a card with details about the Grange Building. Available in bulk at major discounts!

Lapel / Grange Officer sash pins Buy 3 or more for a discounted price.

Available: E, F, H, L, M, O, P, S

10” Grange Decal Sticker This shiny and reflective sticker is sure to make your display or sign a stand-out!

Just $3.50 each

Order at www.grangestore.org or call (202) 628-3507 ext. 109 GOOD DAY!™ MAGAZINE ®

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Study finds gap between what rural residents want for end-of-life care and what they receive Lack of conversations among the family members, and more difficult access to healthcare are among the reasons responsible for the discrepancy.

By Liz Carey Courtesy of The Daily Yonder When it comes to end-of-life wishes, a new study has found that while most people have end-of-life wishes, only a little over a third of them actually get them fulfilled.

That is even more true with rural residents, researchers said.

Lula Reese said she didn’t have to ask her mother what she wanted as she neared the end of her life – she just knew.

“She told us she didn’t want to live with any of her children,” Reese said of her mother, Lula Simms. “She didn’t want to be a burden on any of us. We never talked about what she wanted. We just knew.”

Lula Simms lived in rural Bastrop, Texas, population 10,434, all her life and turned 100 in November, 2022. For the last two

home (76%), and to not be a burden to their

how to make (end-of-life wishes) happen

family (77%). But only one in three people

don’t necessarily take place,” he said in an

surveyed said their loved one’s wishes were

interview with the Daily Yonder. “One of the

honored. Of those who are least likely to

interesting things the study found was how

have their end-of-life wishes followed are

few conversations respondents had with

rural residents, the study found.

their doctors around plans for end of life.

Only 37% of the survey respondents

I think people have an idea of what they

said their loved ones died at home. Close

would like, but it takes some active planning

to half of them (47%) said their loved one

and advocacy to make that happen. In the

faced challenges related to their care – from

absence of that, I think people don’t realize

problems with insurance coverage to facing

what their ideal scenario would be.”

cultural or language barriers.

Dr. Kate Tindell, medical director for

Andrew Levack, senior program officer

Austin Palliative Care and Hospice, said

with St. David’s Foundation, said there are

most of the hospice referrals to her program

a number of reasons why ensuring a rural

have come from hospitalizations. That

loved one’s wishes are met may be difficult.

presents a problem for rural residents who

Key among them is that conversations

are further away from hospitals and more

about the end of life just don’t take place.

isolated, she said.

“I think a big part of it is that those

“The rural community I think tends to

conversations and that planning around

already have limited exposure to health

years of her life, her eight children cared for her in her own home with the help of hospice.

“She was in hospice for two years,” Reese said. “One day, she was different – she had stopped eating and she wasn’t the same. We took her to the hospital, and they told us she was transitioning.”

Simms died in February 2023, just a few days after her children rushed her to the hospital. For Reese, making sure that her mother’s wishes regarding the end of her life was never something that was written down. It was just something the family knew – her mother wanted to stay in her own home as long as he could. With the help of hospice, her family was able to make sure those wishes were met.

A new study from St. David’s Foundation in Texas has found that when it comes to end-of-life care, most Texans want to die at

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Dr. Kate Tindell, medical director for Austin Palliative Care and Hospice, talks to a patient. Photo provided

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care,” she said in an interview with the Daily Yonder. “I think (the

overcome. Many African Americans in her area face cultural beliefs

Covid-19 pandemic) really compounded that for them. Rural

that prevent them from having anyone but family care for loved

communities were suffering from the closure of healthcare access.

ones as they age. Other African American community members

The strain on health care from Covid makes it feel like we’re seeing

may distrust a system that has previously not cared for them.

them have less and less access.”

“In the African American community especially, there is a belief

Lack of access can lead to a less intimate relationship between

that you stay with your family,” she said. “But there’s also a lot of

patient and doctor who could discuss hospice with an elderly

distrust of the system. They don’t have a lot of trust in things put in

patient.

place for them by people who don’t look like them.”

“People have really disjointed health care now,” she said.

“We’ve sort of lost that sense that there is a captain of the medical

For Lula Reese, hospice was a way for her family to care for her mother as she transitioned through the end of her life.

ship who is aware of all the moving parts and is giving the patient

“We had heard of hospice, but we used to always think that

that guidance. I think that really causes people to not have the

hospice care meant that she was going to pass away in the next

kind of relationship that would allow them to have that kind of

five or six days,” Lula Creek said. “But we learned that wasn’t the

conversation (about end-of-life wishes) the way they would if they

case… Hospice and helped us take care of her, like giving her

had seen the same provider every single time for 10 years.”

baths and bringing her supplies when she ran out.”

Sometimes, it falls to non-profit organizations to get information

Even without those final wishes in writing, the family was able

about making end-of-life decisions to older rural residents. Sumai

to keep her in her home as long as possible, she said. Hospice

Lokumbe, is one of Bastrop’s OWLs – or Old Wise Leaders. She

helped them to care for their mother, as well as alleviate financial

works with the aging population in her area to make sure they get

burdens they know she would have feared placing on them.

the care they need. Many people in her community are unaware of

“We didn’t talk to her about hospice care, and you know, we

what hospice and palliative service is or have a misunderstanding

didn’t talk to her about what she wanted to do in her last days, ”

about what end-of-life care entails.

she said. “We didn’t find out about it until after we had her service.

“I explain to people exactly what hospice does and what it is,”

She had already written that her desire was just to live long enough

she said in an interview with the Daily Yonder. “They come in to

to see her children be grown. Her youngest child is in their fifties,

make sure you’re not in pain and make you comfortable and take

so she had everything she wished for. We never asked her if she

some of the stress off the family members, plain and simple.”

wanted to go into a nursing home. We just knew that was not her

In some instances, cultural differences create challenges to

desire.”

S GOOD DAY!™ MAGAZINE R A www.nationalgrange.org

25

Update on the National Grange and Rural Minds Partnership New Program to Build Mental Health Resilience in Rural America Resilience is the ability to adapt and face life’s challenges with determination and hope.

It’s a strength that we build in ourselves, in our relationships with family, friends and coworkers, and in our communities.

Recognizing that self-reliance and a do-ityourself mindset are common among many people who live in rural America, the National Grange and Rural Minds have partnered to develop the Rural Mental Health Resilience Program. This newly launched program is a collection of mental health resources and training to help rural residents become part of the solution to improving rural mental health and preventing suicide in their communities.

There’s a Mental Health Emergency in Rural America The need for taking action to improve mental health in rural America is great. For example, compared to residents of big cities, suicide rates are 64% to 68% higher among people living in rural areas. Farmers are twice as likely as people in other occupations to die by suicide. And although people who live in rural areas have higher rates of depression and suicide compared to city residents, they are less likely to access mental healthcare services.

In addition, people living in rural America often face barriers to accessing mental healthcare services. Shortages of mental health providers are common in rural areas, which means rural residents must travel long distances to receive mental health services. Many rural residents also lack reliable broadband connections, which limits their ability to participate in telehealth appointments. Not having adequate health insurance to cover mental healthcare is yet another barrier for many rural families.

The stigma associated with mental health illness can also be a barrier to seeking help for many rural residents. Mental health is important to overall health, but some people don’t recognize mental illness as an actual health issue. Instead, a mental health challenge may be considered a personal weakness or character flaw, which adds shame to the struggles of someone already dealing with a mental illness.

How to Be Part of the Solution and Confront Mental Illness in Rural America One the most important first steps to ending the stigma and confronting the mental health emergency in rural America is to recognize that mental illness is a valid health issue – just like diabetes or cancer. It’s also important to talk openly with others about mental health challenges and to support those who may be struggling with a mental illness.

Providing potentially life-saving mental health information and resources, as well as helping to start a conversation about mental health with family, friends, and community members who may

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be struggling, are primary goals of the Rural Mental Health Resilience Program. The flyer on the next page provides an overview of the program. You can cut out the flyer and post it in your community to help spread the word about the new Rural Mental Health Resilience Program.

In addition, a list of materials that is part of the growing body of Rural Mental Health Resilience Program information and resources is on the back page of the flyer. You can find all the program materials online at www.RuralMinds.org/ resilience to view, download, print, and share.

Rural Minds Hopes to See You at the National Grange Convention!

Rural Minds will be participating at the upcoming National Grange Convention from November 14–18 in Niagara Falls, New York. In addition to being part of several sessions focused on rural mental health, Rural Minds will have Rural Mental Health Resilience Program materials on display at the convention.

“We are looking forward to meeting many of you at the National Grange Convention next month,” says Rural Minds Founder and Chairman Jeff Winton. “We greatly value our partnership with the Grange,” he adds, “knowing that it’s the combination of our organizations’ grassroots efforts that will lead to success in building resilience and improving mental health in rural communities, as we strive for a rural America where there’s no more stigma, silence or suffering around mental illness.

About Rural Minds Rural Minds is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the mission to serve as the informed voice for mental health in rural America, and to provide mental health information and resources.

The organization’s vision is a Rural America where there’s no more stigma, silence, or suffering around mental illness. Founded in 2021, Rural Minds is a national organization based in Mayville, New York.

Jeff Winton is the founder and chairman of Rural Minds. Jeff and his family come from a small farming community with a population of about 500 in upstate New York, where he still resides on a dairy farm that he owns and operates.

When Jeff’s 28-year-old nephew Brooks, also a farmer, died by suicide in 2012, Jeff’s late mother, Elaine, who helped raise Brooks, courageously ignored the guidance of family and community members and urged Jeff to speak at the funeral about Brooks’ struggle. An outpouring of support and hearing from other farm families about their own struggles around mental health convinced Jeff to devote a significant portion of his energies to connecting rural Americans to much-needed mental health services.

S GOOD DAY!™ MAGAZINE R A www.nationalgrange.org

Rural Mental Health Resilience A Program of Hope

Please cut out this flyer and post it in your community. Or you can download a PDF version to print out at www.ruralminds.org/resilience

Be part of the solution.

RURAL MENTAL HEALTH RESILIENCE PROGRAM™ There’s a mental health emergency in rural America: People living in rural areas have higher suicide and depression rates than those living in urban areas.

Farmers are twice as likely as people in other occupations to die by suicide.

Suicide rates of people living in rural counties are 64-68% higher than those living in urban areas.

Provide potentially life-saving mental health information for your family, friends and others in your community.

How to get started:

1

To access the FREE program materials,

visit www.ruralminds.org/ resilience Or scan this QR code:

Help Those Struggling with Mental Health in Your Community In response to the mental health crisis in rural America, Rural Minds and the National Grange have developed the Rural Mental Health Resilience Program.

Free program materials include: • Rural mental health fact sheets and flyers to share in your community • Lists of organizations that provide mental health support and services • Guide for planning, promoting, and leading community meetings that raise awareness of mental health challenges and provide access to helpful information.

This program harnesses the self-reliant and do-ityourself mindset that is common among people living in rural America.

Data: The Centers of Disease Control – www.cdc.gov/suicide/facts/disparities-in-suicide.html

Help is available If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs help, call or text 988. The 988 Lifeline connects you with a trained crisis counselor who can help. It is free, confidential, and available 24/7.

If this is a life-threatening emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest hospital emergency room.

2

Download and print the information you select.

3

Share the resources with others to help improve mental health in your rural community.

Contact us with questions, comments or suggestions at info@RuralMinds.org or call us at 800-226-8113.

©2023 Rural Minds and the National Grange.

Program materials may be copied and distributed for educational purposes only.

Rural Mental Health Resilience

RURAL MENTAL HEALTH RESILIENCE PROGRAM™™

A Program of Hope Be part of the solution.

The Rural Mental Health Resilience Program will include the following free materials. Current and upcoming resources can be found online at www.RuralMinds.org/resilience to download and print.

We encourage you to use any or all program materials to improve mental health in your rural community.

Use these materials to learn and spread the word about rural mental health: 











Rural Mental Health Resilience Program Flyer – Provides a program overview (The Program Flyer on the back of this page can be cut from the magazine and posted on a bulletin board in your community.)

Rural Mental Health Emergency Fact Sheet – Highlights the most relevant rural mental health data and statistics Rural Mental Health Lifestyle Challenges – Discusses the mental health barriers unique to those living in rural America Overcoming Stigma That Surrounds Rural Mental Illness – Talks about stigma and how to help overcome it Myths About Mental Illness and Suicide – Dispels common misconceptions about mental illness and suicide Suicide Awareness and Prevention Resources – Provides information to help recognize and respond to suicidal behavior







PowerPoint Slide Presentation – Provides rural mental health facts, challenges and resources

Conversation Starters – Suggests how to start the conversation about mental health with someone who may be struggling Sample Email Content and Social Media Posts – Provides content that can be personalized to help promote the Rural Mental Health Resilience Program

Use these materials for hosting a rural mental health event: 









Use these materials to talk to others about rural mental health: 

Key Messages for a Community Talk – Outlines a conversational-style presentation with rural mental health facts, challenges and resources



Event Planning Roadmap – Provides an action plan and timeline for developing, promoting and leading a rural mental health resilience event Event Flyer – Provides a template to promote a local event





Interview Q&A – Prepares the event spokesperson for a media interview with sample questions and answers for accurate and consistent communication Social Media Post – Provides templates for social media posts to help promote the event

In addition, find free mental health resources at the following links: 



Crisis Resources: www.ruralminds.org/ crisis-resources Mental Health Resources by Topic: www.ruralminds.org/mental-healthresources-by-topic

For complete program details, visit www.RuralMinds.org/resilience or scan this QR code:

Event Brochure – Includes an event overview and background information on Rural Minds and the National Grange Banner/Yard Sign – Helps to raise awareness for upcoming event Press Release – Provides event information that can be customized by organization hosting the event Media Alert – Provides basic information for local news about the event in newspapers or on radio or TV stations

©2023 Rural Minds and the National Grange.

Program materials may be copied and distributed for educational purposes only.

Please cut out this flyer and post it in your community. Or you can download a PDF version to print out at www.ruralminds.org/resilience

Knowing that many rural Americans are resilient and self-reliant, the Rural Mental Health Resilience Program was developed for folks who want to take it upon themselves to confront mental health challenges in rural America.

This section highlights bright ideas for Grange Programming

This fall, older adults should protect their health Courtesy of StatePoint With cold and flu season upon us, it’s time to protect yourself, not only from those seasonal threats, but also from other health risks.

“During the holidays, our lives get very busy with family and friends,” said Dr. J.B. Sobel, chief medical officer for Cigna Healthcare’s Medicare business. “Before then, please take time to ensure you get the preventive care you need to stay healthy.”

Preventive care is critical for everybody, but particularly for older adults, and especially in fall when risks can increase, Sobel said. Recommendations vary based on age, gender and health status, but the following are some of the most common for seniors, according to Sobel.

Vaccinations There are a number of vaccines older adults need to consider to protect themselves. Flu and pneumonia, for example, are among some of the most common causes of senior deaths.

There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to vaccination. Timing and frequency vary, depending on your health history. Ask your health care provider which vaccines are appropriate for you.

• Flu. This vaccine is administered annually, generally before the end of October, and is designed to match the latest circulating flu strains.

• Pneumonia. Administration varies based on health history. If you’re 65 or older and you’ve never had the vaccine before, then you’ll likely need two shots, which are administered a year apart.

• Shingles. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends two doses of the shingles vaccine for healthy adults aged 50 and older, spaced two to six months apart, to prevent shingles and related complications.

• COVID-19. Ask your doctors about current recommendations for prevention of COVID-19 infections.

• RSV. Earlier this year, the Federal Drug Administration approved two separate vaccines to address respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in older adults. RSV, a common respiratory infection, usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms, but can be more severe in older adults and children. Talk to your doctor about whether you should get an RSV vaccine.

Health Screenings The following health screenings are commonly recommended for older adults.

• Mammogram. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women in the United States, according to the CDC. Every woman is at risk, and risk increases with age.

Fortunately, breast cancer can often be treated successfully when found early. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends women 50 to 74-years-old at average risk get a

I

mammogram every two years.

• Colorectal screening. Colorectal cancer risk increases with age. Screenings can find precancerous polyps early, so they can be removed before they turn into cancer. The USPSTF recommends colorectal cancer screening for adults age 45 to 75.

Though colonoscopy is the most comprehensive test, there are other options you may consider with the help of your provider.

• Bone density scan. USPSTF recommends women aged 65 and older, and women 60 and older at increased risk, be routinely screened for osteoporosis, a disease in which bones become weak and brittle. Screening may facilitate treatment that helps prevent fractures.

• Eye exam. Routine eye exams can identify early signs of eye disease that are more likely as people age. People with diabetes in particular are prone to retinopathy, which leads to vision loss.

It’s recommended that people with diabetes have annual retinal screenings.

• Mental health checkup. Many people experience seasonal depression during fall. Mental health is strongly linked to physical health. Talk to your health care provider about both, including your personal and family history. They can connect you with additional mental health resources.

To prevent unpleasant surprises, Sobel suggests talking with your health care provider, pharmacist or insurer about preventive care costs. Fortunately, costs are often covered fully by Medicare or Medicare Advantage, he said.

The information contained in this article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen.

Photo (c) Jelena Stanojkovic / iStock via Getty Images Plus.

GOOD DAY!™ MAGAZINE www.nationalgrange.org

29

Honor your veterans this year with National Grange Patriot’s Program The National Grange has long honored and revered veterans

have done well for their nation, teach others about the sacrifice

of the Armed Forces in the United States. This fall, consider

of soldiers in this time and potentially interest their members or

hosting a program that highlights the National Grange Patriot’s

others in doing more to recognize our veterans.

Program, sponsored by Potomac Grange #1 in Washington, DC.

If your Grange is interested in these certificates.

Please

This year, the Patriot’s Program at the National Grange

submit the following information to Loretta Washington, National

celebrated a decade in existence, with hundreds of veterans -

Grange Sales, Benefits, Programs, and Membership Recognition

both Grange members and community citizens - having been

Director at lwashington@nationalgrange.org.

honored.

• Name of the Grange, Grange #, and State

The program is simple, and includes certificates, as well as

• Name of the President

DVDs that can be used to allow members and communities to

• Name of the Lecturer

learn more about the wars our service men and women have

• Name of the veteran

fought on behalf of our nation since WWll.

• What war or conflict

DVDs are available on WWII and the Korean War. Additionally, there is a program available on the Women of WWII.

• The date of the event when certificates will be presented • Where certificates should be mailed

Certificates are available to World War ll, Korean War, Vietnam, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and more

Please allow at least two weeks for turnaround, so submit your requests in advance, if possible.

recent conflicts.

The Patriot’s Program is an excellent example of a program that allows the Grange to honor those in the community who

Baileyville Grange #1991 (PA), honored the following veterans at their annual corn boil on August 1, 2023: (front L-R) Robert Oliver - Vietnam War & Korean War; Joseph Fye - Vietnam War; Mearle Barto - Vietnam War & Korean War; (back row) John Roan - Vietnam War; Larry Moore - Vietnam War; Eugene Moore - Afghanistan; (not pictured) Larry Harpster - Vietnam War; Ben Johnston - Vietnam War. Photo provided

30

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Riverton Grange #169 (CT) honors veterans at each of their monthly meetings, and retires an American Flag in their honor. Pictured is 100 year-old WWII U.S. Marine Corps veteran Theodore R. Marolda being honored. Photo provided

GOOD DAY!™ MAGAZINE www.nationalgrange.org

Can avocado peels help curb a plastic waste problem?

By Addison DeHaven

Published with permission of South Dakota State University Over the past two decades, the United States has been importing more and more avocados each year, underlining a growing obsession with the nutrient-dense fruit. Simultaneously, the U.S. and the rest of the world have been dealing with a growing environmental crisis spurred on by an overreliance on plastic. Could avocados—specifically avocado peels—provide a potential solution?

According to a study conducted by Srinivas Janaswamy, an associate professor in South Dakota State University’s Department of Dairy and Food Science, and Shafaet Ahmed, a graduate research assistant working under Janaswamy’s tutelage, the fibers of avocado peels could possibly be used to make biodegradable films—something that could ultimately replace plastic as a packaging material.

“Plastic’s inability to biodegrade has amassed waste, known as white pollution, causing severe environmental damage,” Janaswamy said. “Consequently, the demand for alternate, environment-friendly, biodegradable, clean and green plasticreplacing material is rising.”

Janaswamy began this work over two years ago after receiving funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to create a strong, sustainable and flexible packaging material that biodegrades relatively quickly and is made from agricultural Srinivas Janaswamy, an associate professor in South Dakota State University’s residues.

While plastics Department of Dairy and Food Science.

Photo provided are a desirable packaging material used in nearly every sector of American life, it takes nearly 700 years for plastic to biodegrade in the environment. Further, less than 20% of plastics are recycled. Plastic pollution is a worldwide problem, and finding potential solutions continue to be a focal point for researchers.

“We cannot even imagine our lives without plastic right now,” Ahmed said. “From the morning until the evening, we are constantly using plastic. A viable alternative needs to be addressed, and biodegradable films from bio-based materials are a prudent choice.”

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Photo by Hitoshi Namura on Unsplash

Cellulose extraction Previous research has found cellulose, an agricultural biomass, to have properties that make it a suitable replacement candidate for plastic. Cellulose is also widely available, with almost 700 billion tons produced annually. A large majority originates from fruit residue, like avocado peels, which are approximately 28% cellulose.

For this project, the researchers extracted cellulose fibers from the avocado peel to create a powdered peel extract. A “green” chemical modification process then improved the properties of the extract and made the film more suitable for packaging. The films had both strong and transparent properties.

“Our avocado peel fiber films are strong and biodegrade within 30 days at 22% soil moisture,” Janaswamy said.

The films made by the research team were five times stronger than polyethylene, one of the most widely produced plastics in the world.

“The outcome opens up novel opportunities for developing plastic replacement and biodegradable packaging films,” Janaswamy added.

The results of this research provide Janaswamy and Ahmed with future avenues for their work. They will now work to improve the properties of their films while also studying what role plasticizers may play in biodegradable packaging.

Funding for this project was provided by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. This study was published in an edition of Industrial Crops and Products, an academic journal, earlier this year.

A link to the study can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j. indcrop.2023.116926.

GOOD DAY!™ MAGAZINE www.nationalgrange.org

31

Worried about winter driving? Take time to prep your vehicle and trunk Courtesy of Brandpoint

Get your vehicle ready

Face it, winter driving is no fun - and it can be downright dangerous. While you may already be familiar with techniques for careful winter driving, like slowing way down and going easy on the brakes, you could be neglecting crucial safety steps

Every winter, make sure to bring your car in for an overall safety check - with a focus on brakes and tires - so you’ll know your car can handle winter weather more effectively. Have the mechanic check all the fluids and test your battery strength.

Sub-zero temperatures can challenge most

to take even before you get on the road.

batteries, so don’t wait until it’s too late to

Along with making sure your vehicle is

be sure your battery is in top condition.

winter-ready, it’s also vital to pack your trunk

Beyond just ensuring that your tires are

with must-have emergency essentials, in

in good shape (with adequate tread life)

case you get stuck somewhere during a

and that they have the correct air pressure

severe winter storm.

(which can drop along with the temps),

Approximately

70%

of

the

U.S.

installing all-season tires is a good idea if

population lives in a region that sees five

your region is regularly affected by snow

or more inches of snow each year. Between

and ice. Additional items you’ll be happy

the snow, icy roads and bitter cold, this

that you checked are your wiper blades

kind of weather is a real hazard that needs

(installing winter blades can make all the

to be taken seriously. Nearly one in five

difference when visibility is paramount),

yearly weather-related crashes occurs on

making sure your car’s coolant/anti-freeze

snowy, slushy or icy surfaces. To help you

is fully topped up and that the heating

and your vehicle be fully prepared for safe

system is in good working order.

travel no matter how frightful the weather becomes, the experts at State Farm offer their recommendations for prepping for winter weather before heading out.

Restock your trunk Now is also the ideal time to get rid of any junk you’ve got cluttering up your trunk. Instead, make sure you have

everything you might need organized, packed and ready to use in case of an onroad emergency - such as items that will keep you warm, connected and able to survive in case you get stuck in your car for an extended period of time.

Here are trunk essentials to make sure to include.

Safety essentials: • Hazard triangles • Jumper cables • External battery charger • Tire changing tools • Spare tire (in good condition) • Small snow shovel • Ice scraper • Fire extinguisher • Wiper fluid Supplies to keep you warm and comfortable: • Hats, gloves, scarves and blanket • Hand and foot warmers • Wool socks • First aid kit • Thermos/bottles of water • Shelf-stable snacks in air-tight/critterproof containers Tools to stay visible and connected: • Flashlight and extra batteries • Bright cloth to tie on your car and/ or flares • Phone charger (make sure all cell phones and tablets are fully charged before heading out!)

You can adjust the contents of your emergency supply kit to suit your family size and the area where you live. Once your trunk is fully packed with these essentials, you’ll feel much more secure venturing out on the road all winter long. Make it a habit to refresh and repack your trunk once or twice a year by adding reminders to your calendar.

Learn more safety tips to help you and your vehicle handle any kind of weather at StateFarm.com/simple-insights.

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GOOD DAY!™ MAGAZINE www.nationalgrange.org

We’re working to drive patient-centered progress in innovation, affordability and access to life saving prescription drugs.

PhRMA is proud to support the efforts of the National Grange and its members.

Learn more at PhRMA.org

GRANGE ADVOCACY ADVERTORIAL

33

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Honoring THE BUILDERS OF OUR

GRANGE MILESTONES 150 YEARS CONTINUOUS SERVICE ®

• • • • •

Cadmus Grange #350, Kansas Burns Grange #160, Michigan McMinnville Grange #31, Oregon Willamette Grange #52, Oregon Sanatoga Grange #25, Pennsylvania

L egacy

125 YEARS CONTINUOUS SERVICE • Freedom Grange #857, New York • Yorktown Grange #862, New York

100 YEARS CONTINUOUS SERVICE • Manson Grange #796, Washington • Sharon Grange #800, Washington • Skokomish Grange #379, Washington

MEMBERSHIP ANNIVERSARIES 80 YEARS CONTINUOUS MEMBERSHIP Connecticut • Georgia Ballard, Senexet #40 • Esther Rebillard, Winchester #74 Vermont • Grace Piegon, Blue Spruce #574

75 YEARS CONTINUOUS MEMBERSHIP (CONT’D)

75 YEARS CONTINUOUS MEMBERSHIP

New York • Alice Britenbaker, Veteran #1108 • Robert Stine, Kirkland #684 • Clyde Stoker, Cortlandville #461

Connecticut • Mildred Briggs, Killingly #112 • C. Ronald Estabrooks, Senexet #40 • Doris W. Monaco, Glastonbury #26

Oregon • Glenn Mollenhour, Warren #536

Maine • Nancy Gowen, Highland Lake #87 • Shirley Hatch, Danville Junction #65 • Donald Proctor, Danville Junction #65

Vermont • Rita Bean, Middle Branch #463 • Helen Cobb, Ferrisburg #539 • Charles Matteson, Bomoseen Valley #273 • Betty Paskiewicz, Taconic #491 • Merton Snow, Taconic #491

New Hampshire • Irene Lynde, Concord #322 • June R. Smith, Harmony #99

Anniversaries listed on these pages are collected from certificates requested by local and State Granges. If you want to ensure your members are recognized for their continued service, you can send in their anniversaries to Philip Vonada at pvonada@nationalgrange.org.

We also highly suggest that local Granges request anniversary certificates, Silver Star and Golden Sheaf recognitions, or commendation letters from the National Grange. If you have questions about how to do so, contact Loretta Washington at lwashington@nationalgrange.org or by phone at (202) 628-3507 x109.

M GOOD DAY! MAGAZINE ™

www.nationalgrange.org

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50 YEARS CONTINUOUS MEMBERSHIP Connecticut • Susan Addison, Winchester #74 • Dana Forchette, Winchester #74 • Mark Sullivan, Winchester #74

•

Roger Miller, Clear Creek Valley #1843

•

Grange Neilley, Clear Creek Valley #1843

•

Jack Shaeffer, Clear Creek Valley #1843

•

Joan Wade, Pleasant #1615

Maine • Sally Jo Kinney, St. George #421 • Elizabeth Vanidestine, Bangor #372

Oregon •

Teresa Cernac, Warren #536

Rhode Island

New Hampshire • Doris Gould, Crown Point #65 New York • Joanne Basta, Owahgena #1358 • Victoria Clark-Wood, Albright #440 • Charles Sterns, Owahgena #1385 • Paula Turner, North Cameron #355

•

Kathryn Stedman, Perryville #14

•

Roger Stedman, Perryville #14

Vermont

Ohio • Kevin Blakely, Collinsville #2264 • Glen Fullmer, Pleasant #1615 • Linda Fullmer, Pleasant #1615

•

Bonnie Paquette, Blue Spruce #574

•

George Spaulding, Middle Branch #463

•

Susan Williams, Gasetts #327

•

Beverly Wright, Middle Branch #463

Washington •

Joy A. Rosando, Black Lake #861

•

Rodney Snyder, Fertile Valley #1094

Welcome New Members TO THE Grange Family Abernethy #346 (OR) • Sheila Lehto Ada #570 (OR) • Kathryn Dawson • Rand Dawson Adna #417 (WA) • Daryl Lund Almond #1102 (NY) • Teresa McMahon • Katelynn Roulo Animas Valley #194 (CO) • George Sam Foster • Glenn Martin • Patricia Martin • Dot Wehrly Ausable Valley #973 (NY) • Andrea Baer • Amy Brelia • Nico Brossar • Mike Carter • Lindsay Eberhart • Mallory Finnegan • Courtney Grimes-Sutton • Holly Hillyer • Marion Inglish • Susan Loomans • Benjamin Shankwitz • Charles Smithson • Sally Smithson • John Sokol

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Barlow Gate #157 (OR) • David Hanley • Kristy Kennedy Beavercreek #276 (OR) • Betty Fish-Furguson • Andrea Rademacher • Joseph Rademacher Bethlehem #137 (NY) • Donna Biscone • Lisa Janiche • Dorothy Starr Big Knob #2008 (PA) • Maggie Cornie • Wyatt Cornie • Stephanie Duez • Mitchell Goehring • Jared Hutman • Landon Palka • Ryland Philips • Bryan Yeck Blanchard #440 (ID) • Janie Anderson • Robert Anderson Buell #637 (OR) • Michael Eisele Cedar #534 (WA) • John M. Olson

Chimacum #681 (WA) • Aleta Anderson • Suzanne Martin • Heidi Ruegg • Mary-Lou Vibrans Chumstick #819 (WA) • Elizabeth Ising • George Ising • Jessica Ising • Marilyn Ising • Soren Ising • Charles Kocher • Karlyn Kocher • Kathleen Kocher • Michelle Kocher and 2 Junior members Clarkston Heights #982 (WA) • Jay Parker Sanders Clearwater #299 (ID) • Cindy Cameron • Darwin Cameron • Jim Farris • Jim Gribble • Madelon Gribble • Albert Humphrey • Alice Humphrey • Don Lewis • Patrice Lewis Cocheco #81 (NH) • Calvin Cline

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Collinsville #2264 (OH) • Kenny Coleman Colonel Harper #1508 (NY) • Robert B. Orcutt • Dale M. Orcutt Columbia #267 (OR) • Olivia Ashe • Qiddish Ashey • Carolyn Coons • Michelle Gregory • Carrie Huntington • Elsa Lemoine • Emile Lemoine • Patricia Marienthal • Elanor McAlpine • Michael McAlpine • Theodore McAlpine • Beatriz Parga • Janina Ruiz • Noelle Studer-Spevak Copake #935 (NY) • Margaret Avenia • Marion Baty • Les Baum • Mary Ann Carrick • David Craw • Joyce Craw • Amelia Harnish • Maria Iorillo • Debora Macheski • Hannah Mandel

NEW MEMBERS (CONT’D) • • • • •

Elimar #523 (OR) • The Groom Room

Dorothy Nowack Emily Rubin Michael Saltz Liz Shelly Rob Solomon

Empire #148 (CO) • Jim Allen Morley Enterprise #489 (OR) • Carl Christiansen • Hope Christiansen • David Folmar • Beth Mathews • Sara Rase

Corinth #823 (NY) • Randy Dollinger • David Lockhart • Terry Towers Crescent #1123 (WA) • Dale Durrwachter

Entiat #1014 (WA) • Everlyn Gildersleeve • Terry Gildersleeve • Elahiela Gomez • Gerry Sorenson

Creswell #496 (OR) • Mary Baker • Aaron Canizales • Josh Carr • Cindy Catmull • Sierra Hass • Rose Miller • Tiffani Munoz • Layli Nichols • Nicole Payne • Timothy Payne • Deborah Rausch • Jane Vincent • Debbie Yee

Fairdale #1157 (PA) • Marilyn Burton Fairview #1351 (PA) • Julianna Kelley • Elyse Knoerdel • Tyler Parrish • Andrew Patrella • Micaela Redmond • Peter West

Cuba #799 (NY) • Chris Jones • Julie Jones

Fargher Lake #853 (WA) • Fred Hudgin • Carol Steward

Diamond Lake #506 (WA) • Koyes Reedy

Feather River #440 (CA) • Meredith Blakettackleman • Jac Clark • Michael Flanigan • Valerie Flanigan • Kelby Gardiner • Nicole Grose • Therese Halsey • Littledove Headrick • Tomas Hepner • William Jacks III • Selena Jayo • Pamela Jo Johnson • David James Kinateder • David Kitchens • Matthew Kitchens

Dorena #835 (OR) • Eleanor Buell Dublin #1409 (OH) • Taylor Anderson Eagle Creek #297 (OR) • Chris Clemence • Jess Clemence • Shella Hough • Carol Hurt • Ore Hurt • Lenny Weinrich Elba #783 (NY) • Jeanne Covington

• • • • • • • •

Holly Klauck Hayden Lampe Lyndsey Langsdale Levi Mullen Kristina Ocean David Orvis Todd Reasor Jenni Wiley and 3 Junior Members

Fern Prairie #866 (WA) • Steve Dykman • Teresa Dykman • Audrey Spurlock Fernwood #770 (OR) • ARE Manufacturing, Inc. Five Mile Prairie #905 (WA) • Nick DeGroat and 1 Junior member Florissant #420 (CO) • Bob Robinson • Cynthia Robinson • Scott Sensabaugh • Tina Sensabaugh Fort Colville #533 (WA) • Mary Tieszen • Robert Tieszen Freedom Plains #857 (NY) • James Smyth Fruitland #999 (WA) • Heather Craft Fruitvale #348 (WA) • Tom Cullen Gardenspot #278 (WA) • Scott Randall • Tara A. Riordan Gardner #68 (KS) • Shirley Allenbrand • Bill Hilton • Julie Hilton • Rob Jochem • Tink Taylor

Girard #788 (PA) • Dennis Harmon • Jill Harmon • Randall Watson Golden Gate #451 (CO) • Effie Bachman • Oreston Bohl • Joanne Dileo • Matthew Flynn • Greg Kildow • David Kinnart • Brad Rockman • Carol Rockman Goldendale #49 (WA) • Astric Frederick • Angela Kruger • Mariatha Rising • Theone Wheeler Goldson #868 (OR) • Shawna Kast Gouglersville #1743 (PA) • Donald O’Connor Grassroots #2112 (PA) • Amy Aimino • Averie Gerhart • David Heilman • Zach Jobe Grays River #124 (WA) • Denise Blanchard • Nicole Langer Green Bluff #300 (WA) • Timon Behan • Evette Wilie Happy Valley #322 (WA) • Joseph Zimmerman Harmony #1201 (PA) • Heather Clark • Emily Coy • Melanie Rorabaugh • Roger Rorabaugh • Erik Witenski • Nathan Witenski

HAS YOUR GRANGE RECENTLY WELCOMED A NEW MEMBER? Make sure they are recognized!

Anyone may submit the names of new members so they can be recognized in Good Day! by emailing Philip Vonada at pvonada@nationalgrange.org or by calling (814) 404-7985. ®

NEXT ISSUE DEADLINE: NOVEMBER 30, 2023

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37

NEW MEMBERS (CONT’D) Harrison #422 (ID) • Debbie Gregoire Hickory #1285 (PA) • Clifford Dixon • Erin Heath Hookstown #1980 (PA) • Mercede Johnson • Eden Schrier • Paxton Short Hoosick #1127 (NY) • Wallace Shaffer, Jr. Hope #269 (OR) • Kristy Bellavitz • Deb Lindberg • Zeb Olsen Hopewell #2688 (OH) • Brenda Keroot • Ann Searight • Mary Temple • Terry Temple Hurricane Creek #608 (OR) • Kevin Kennedy • Micaela Kennedy Illinois Valley #370 (OR) • Charline Hickerson Irving #377 (OR) • Jeremy Brooks Issaquah Valley #581 (WA) 1 Junior member Junction City #744 (OR) • Ashley Igou • Cory Snyder And 3 Junior members Kuna #59 (ID) • Jeffrey Brummler Lake Vista #336 (CO) • Melissa Brunner • Dolly Gardner • DeEtta Johnson • Tulli Kerstetter • Julie Paige Lincoln #122 (NY) • Bonnie Sonneville Little Deschutes #939 (OR) • April Clark • Ellen Finazzi • Diane Sauer Logan Hill #1086 (WA) • Dwayne Lorenzo • Jessica Lorenzo • Sonja Lorenzo • Steve Lorenzo and 5 Junior members

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Long Beach #667 (WA) • Shirley Reed Boardman • Jerry Caird • Marci Caird • Cheri Diehl • Linda Dunn • Nancy Elwood • Wes Elwood • Tammie Lewis • Jean Matthew • Sheryl L. McDonald • Susan Mitchell • Kim Pitzer • Michele Reed • Vicki Reninger • Holly Smith • Patrick Smith • Dayna West • Karen Whitmore Lummi Island #925 (WA) • Laurie Hawkins Manor #1101 (WA) • Grant Whitmore • Isabella Whitmore • Lilianna Whitmore • Rebecca Whitmore Manson #796 (WA) • Jennifer Phillips • Colton Wilfong • Kyle Wilfong • Wendy Wilfong Mapleton #584 (OR) • Janette Brown-Moss • Mel Moss Marys River #685 (OR) • Jill Przybyla Marvel #479 (CO) • Greg Boheimier • Gavin Dougharty Matlock #357 (WA) • Stephanie Ayres • Martin Foshaug • Terri Frost • Amber Hart • Amanda Keschner • April Kloempken • Robert Lewis • Verena Lewis • Kirsten Masteller • Pattie McLean • Collin Morris • Lorraine Tindall McMinnville #31 (OR) • Paul Opperman • Erin Shepard • Jan Teruya • Rocky Teruya

Millers Mills #581 (NY) • Alissa Collins • Chad Collins • Kelsey Collins • Stacy Collins Middletown #684 (PA) • Sue Geisler Foster • Daniel Gallup • Merrill Pierce • Webb Stone Mingo #1084 (NC) • Shannon Jackson • Melissa Stone • Shawn Stone Molson #1069 (WA) • Linda Heinichen • Lori Mehmke • Roger Trepanier Moro #27 (CA) • Bailey Dunn • Christy Dunn • Jimmy Dunn • Justine Dunn • Haley Forest • Jonathan Forest • Kyle Forest • Roger Haas • Tammy Haas • Laura Haggard • Luke Haggard • Matthew Haggard • Kathleen Hendrickson • Patricia Kennedy • Ronald Kennedy • Justin Laughlin • Anne Limon • Laurie Moore • Kenneth Penfold • Terilyn Penfold • John Solv • Carla Wixon • Dan Wixon and 1 Junior member Mount Hope #902 (NY) • Roseann M. Leola • Matthew Ludwig • Gregory J. Napolitano • Angela Vala Mount Lookout #339 (CO) • Sara Staber Mount Pleasant #349 (NY) • Duane Flint Nampa Valley #131 (ID) • Christian Anderson • Gregory Harnes • Ivy Harnes • Brandi Horsley

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• •

Victoria Murphy Leverda Packwood

New Market #362 (MD) • Braxton Cliber • Hallie Cliber • Jeb Cliber • Kayden Cliber • Rowan Cliber New York State Grange Associate Member • Cheryl A. Smith North Carolina State Grange Associate Members • 5B Farms • Ronnie Clifton • Randy Hubers • Celia Spillman North Willapa Harbor #947 (WA) • Patti Alford • Ronette Clifford • Scott Oddy • Barry Peterson • Karen Piukkula • Jeri Ramsey Oak Grove #198 (OR) • Nancy Fischer • William Fischer • Heather Freeman Orcas Island #964 (WA) • John Olson • Suzanne Olson Oroville #985 (WA) • Steve Bell • Roy Bryant • Kim Byers

Welcome New Granges!

The following Granges were newly-chartered or reorganized since our last issue.

Feather River #440 (CA) Grassroots #2112 (PA) Moro #27 (CA) Palo Cedro #443 (CA) Scott Valley #386 (CA)

NEW MEMBERS (CONT’D) • • • • • •

Suzanne Cheney Barry Itail Joan Krajewski David Mattson Suzi Segar Dawn Yattaw

Palo Cedro #443 (CA) • William S. Bascom • Jeffrey Brown • Shelly Carlock • Brian Chalmers • Larry Cornelius • Sharyn Cornelius • Chad Fowler • Melody Fowler • Sharon Gripp • Colt Hawkins • Fallon Hawkins • Macie Hawkins • Tai Hawkins • Ashley Jones • Maureen Jones • Bruce McPhee • Joseph Moore • Jackie Park-Burris • Janet Snow • Betty J. Stephenson • Ernie Stephenson • Laura Tedder and 1 Junior member

Plumsteadville #1738 (PA) • Elizabeth Wertz Prospect Point #1067 (WA) • Crystal Trout Prosperity #315 (WA) • Heather Senn Putnam Valley #841 (NY) • William Smith • Valerie Smith Quincy #321 (OR) • Candy Uskoski Red Lion #1781 (PA) • Judith Englert • Andy Flinchbaugh • Katie Flinchbaugh • Leah Flinchbaugh Redland #796 (OR) • Roberta Eaglehuse-Ortiz • Jesus Rodriguez • Staci Savage • Michael Wilson Rhinebeck #896 (NY) • Sarah Baldwin • Georgeta Penepent Ricard #993 (NY) • Rosalie Platt

Patterson #616 (NC) • Caleb Donor • Melissa Donor • Lori Blackledge • David Freeze • Laurel Harcum • Raymond Harcum

Rickreall #671 (OR) • Jaquiline McBee

Paradise Valley #389 (ID) • Michele Becker • John Brantly

Rockford #501 (OR) • Beth Flack • Theresa Franger • Jody Weldon • Ellie Wheeler

Perry Valley #1804 (PA) • Philip Beaver • Jay Bratton • Frank Campbell • Nathan Lesh • Kathryn Magill Plattekill #932 9NY) • Gladys I. Figueroa • Rose Ann H. Guerrieri Bilotti Pleasant Grove #475 (OR) • Hines Meat Co • Rock & Sons • Stafford Meat Pleasant Park #156 (CO) • Linda Leo • Peter Stevenson

Salisbury Center #624 (NY) • Jack Carlin • Elaine Carlin • Kevin Dillenbeck • Marianne Dillenbeck • Vicki Hilts • Jeff Lanphere • Lorie Pye • Sarah Sterusky Sammamish Valley #286 (WA) • Jill Nivison • Susan Webster • Torrey Webster San Juan Island #966 (WA) • Bev Bishop • Jessica Clark • Victoria Compton • Jeffrey Dalbok • Cady Davis • EDC of San Juan County • Eric Ellison • Gretchen Gubelman • Chloe Klein • Pete Melson • Jennifer Oettinger • Liz Pillow • Manya Pickard • Katey Rissi • Myah Thompson • Greta Yocom San Poil #684 (WA) • Kathy Debus • Lynne Flagg

Rimrock #941 (WA) • Brittany Gordon

Sand Lake #546 (OR) • Majorie Parrott • Candyce Pengelly • Rose Wharton

Rochester #86 (NH) • Cindy B. Haskins

Santiam Valley #828 (OR) • Pamela Detray

Rome #226 (WA) • Marcus Anderson • Alide Smith • Kelley Uusitalo • Alexandra Williams Rose #1051 (NY) • William D. Klino Rose Valley #953 (WA) • G.E. Douglas Roy #702 (WA) • Kendra Burns • Jason Gibbs • Leonora Smith and 1 Junior member

Sauvies Island #840 (OR) • Samantha Gross • Delores Harned • Douglas Shade • David Wolfe Sequim Prairie #1108 (WA) • Melanie Byme • Kaidence Cary • Hannah Hampton • Donald Cole Meyer Sheffield #1610 (OH) • Faith Blankenship Silver Lake #105 (WA) • Karen Kidney • Clifton “Dale” Wiese • Sara “Nicole” Weise

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Silverton #748 (OR) • Amanda Baker • John Baker • Judy Gabriel Skyline #894 (OR) • Richard Helzer • John Martin • Bridget Shaw • Dick Williams Smithville Valley #1397 (NY) • Shontay Eldred • Kayla Pickard South Fork #605 (OR) • Fred Brockman • Dawn Norman • Sara Smith Springwater #263 (OR) • Karyn Hardie • Joseph (Tony) Skoien • Wanda Skoien • Judy Whitten • Mike Whitten Spruce Hill #772 (PA) • Nora Houser Stanford #808 (NY) • Kaylee Cassinelli • Charlotte Murphy Summit Park #261 (WA) • Wendy Hammons • Winnie Peterson Tigard #148 (OR) • Bradlee Mertz Triangle #533 (OR) • Wendy Keizer • Laurie Parker Tunk Valley #1019 (WA) • Bonnie Martin • Karla Peterson • Ron Peterson Twisp Valley #486 (WA) • Gabby Beaudin • Andy Parkinson • Deb Schuler Upper Big Wood River #192 (ID) • Julie Flolo • Herbert Romero • Greg Travelstead • Chandra Vaughan Valley #1360 (PA) • Jessica Blosser • Joshua Blosser • Julie Bowers • Tom Bowers • Steven Singleton

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NEW MEMBERS (CONT’D) • • • •

Cathy Smith-Singleton Jody Snyder Hayden Wamsley Olivia White

Waller Road #1111 (WA) • Frank Fuller Warsaw #1088 (NY) • John Kantrowski • Linda Kantrowski

Washington #313 (OR) • Melissa Liston

• • • • • • •

Willamette #52 (OR) • Ethan Bennett • Dee Curwen • Annette Foglio • Gary Foglio • Mary Anne Haines • Jess Hanson • Randy Keller

Williams Valley #452 (WA) • Judy Bailey • Scott Bailey • Janet King • Sean Rory O’Riordan

Julie Masters George McAdams Jan Sitarz Phoenix Starchild Nancy Taniguchi Tionni Waters Christina White

Wolf Creek #596 (OR) • Shiloe Weston Yorktown #862 (NY) • Andrew Frederick

MEMORIAL NOTICES FLOYD DEAN KISTLER

Past President, Indiana State Grange (1995-1999) Mississippi where he received laboratory

Turkey Run State Park (with anyone who

technician training. Dean made many

would go with).

lifelong friends during his time in the

Dean was very kind and generous. He

service. After receiving an honorable

was always committed to his family who

discharge, he returned to Indiana. He

lovingly called him Pap. He had a big

continued his military service in the US

heart and held on to all that mattered

Air Force Reserve until 1963.

most to him.

Dean founded the Crown Point Clinical

Dean is preceded in death by his

Laboratory which he operated for nearly

parents Floyd Elroy and Letha Marie

40 years. He was truly a pioneer in his

[Stewart] Kistler, sisters Garnet Emma

industry. Dean made his home in Lowell

Rearick, Esther Denelia Hayes, Grace

where he became an active member

Thelma Straw, Thale Mae Feltis, Lura

of Indian Trail Grange #2361. He later

Elnora Feltis,

served as the President of Indiana State

Dorris Baggerly, and Janetta Jane

Grange from 1995-1999. He cherished

Grice, brothers Lee Grant Kistler and

National Delegate, of Valparaiso, IN

the relationships he made while active

Kenneth Keith Kistler, two nephews,

(formerly of Lowell, IN) passed away

in the Grange.

and two nieces.

Floyd Dean “Pap” Kistler, 88, past

on Friday, June 16, 2023 at Aviva of Valparaiso.

Dean was a man with diverse hobbies and interests. He enjoyed music of all

Helen Marie Brown,

Dean is survived by numerous nieces and nephews (and their families)

He was born on November 21, 1934

kinds. He could play any song on the

The family would like to express their

in Winamac, IN to the late Floyd Elroy

piano “by ear” and had a beautiful

heartfelt thanks to the staff of Aviva

and Letha Marie [Stewart] Kistler. Dean

singing voice. Dean was fascinated with

and Dunes Hospice for their tender and

grew up on a dairy farm and attended

the old west. He enjoyed numerous trips

passionate care of Uncle Pap.

Fairview School. He graduated from

to Wyoming, especially attending the

Dean is buried at Winamac Cemetery

Star City High School in 1952 where he

Cody Rodeo. Dean loved the outdoors,

(McKinley Addition) in Winamac, IN. The

was a Yell Leader.

especially vegetable gardening and bird

American Legion and VFW conducted

After high school, Dean enlisted in

watching; he canned his own vegetables

military graveside services.

the United States Air Force. He served

for numerous years. He was a talented

Memorial contributions may be made

four years at Greenville Air Force Base in

cook and baker. Dean valued trips to

to Indian Trail Grange or Dunes Hospice.

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M GOOD DAY! MAGAZINE ™

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BRUCE ALAN ROY

Past First Gentleman, Ohio State Grange (2018-2022) Bruce Alan Roy, past National

Delegate,

passed away on July 16, 2023, at the age of 62, leaving family and friends to mourn.

Born to Greg and Edna Roy on September 29, 1960, Bruce was a lifelong resident of Westerville. He worked in the floral industry for over 35 years, owning Ole Barn Flowers for part of those years. He was also a member of IPMS Model Group, Monroe-Dan Emmett Grange #847, and Knox County Pomona Grange #31.

Bruce helped run the Ohio State Grange office (being “First Dude”) with his wife Sue when she was the State Master/President. He was a prolific fine scale model builder for over 55 years, enjoying gathering with his friends over pizza and building models. Bruce was always willing to help anyone with any task, big or small.

He had a unique sense of humor and enjoyed jokes and the occasional prank.

He is survived by his wife Sue Osman Roy, sons Cameron Alan Roy (Yiceimis), Joe Fox (Suzanne), granddaughter Nikola Fox, daughter Jessica Fox, sister Linda Moorehead (Joe) and his mother Edna Roy. Bruce will be remembered as a loving husband, father, son, brother and friend.

Burial was held at the Fancher Cemetery, Westerville, Ohio.

The family wishes to thank the EMTs and staff at St. Anns Hospital for their efforts to save him, and the compassion shown to us by these groups. Donations can be made to Knox County Granges or the charity of your choice. .......................................

Condolences can be sent to: Sue Roy 718 Kienle Avenue Westerville, OH 43081

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MARIE (LAMARCHE) BROUILLETTE

Past First Lady, Vermont State Grange (1992-1996) Marie (Lamarche) Brouillette, age 87,

Retired Federal Employees) St. Albans

passed away peacefully on August 8,

Chapter and a member of the NAPUS

2023, with her family by her side. She

(National Association of Postmasters).

was born June 21,1936 in Fairfield,

Over the years she also served the

Vermont, the daughter of the late

Town of Sheldon in the roles of Auditor,

Joseph and Irene (Cabana) Lamarche.

Justice of the Peace and Library Trustee.

Marie grew up in Enosburg Falls,

She was a member of Fletcher

Vermont and graduated from Enosburg

Grange #473 as well as the Vermont

Falls

After

State Grange for over 65 years, serving

high school, she attended Bishop

High

School

in

1954.

in many offices, including Ceres and

DeGoesbriand School of Nursing and

Pomona of the Vermont State Grange.

St. Michael’s College for a year, and then

In 1963, Marie and Richard were named

worked for New England Telephone

the

Company in Burlington, VT until 1957.

Couple of the year.

On October 5, 1957, Marie married Richard

Brouillette

and

moved

to

Sheldon with him.

In 1965, Marie began working at the

Vermont

State

Grange

Young

She was also an active member of St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, where she

Hardie, Lydia, Jeremiah, and Lawrence

served as a lector and President of the

Stebbins, and Rowen and Odin West.

Ladies of St. Anne’s.

Brothers: Lawrence Lamarche of Porters Corners, NY and Clement Lamarche

United States Postal Service in Sheldon,

Marie is survived by her two

where she became Postmaster in 1978.

daughters, Teresa Richards (Donnie)

As Postmaster she would go to area

of Milton, VT, and Mary Brouillette

schools and promote the Ben Franklin

of St. Albans, VT; three sons, David

predeceased by her husband Richard of

Stamp Club. In 1979, she was voted

Brouillette (Jerri) of Sheldon, VT, Mark

55 years, a grandson, Jason Brouillette,

Franklin County Business Woman of the

Brouillette (Wendy) of Montgomery,

and a son-in-law, David Stebbins.

Year by the Franklin County Business

VT, and Andrew Brouillette (Susan)

A visitation was held on August 15 at

and Professional Women Organization.

of Sheldon, VT. Her grandchildren,

Goss-Spears Life Celebration Home in

Marie and Richard both served as co-

Matthew

Abbey

Enonsburg Falls, and a mass of Christian

chairpersons for the Franklin County

Miller (Tyler), Laura Hardie (Ben), Eric

Burial was celebrated on August 16,

Field Days, which was held on their farm

Stebbins (Erin), Kristine Lucey (Mike),

2023 at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church.

from 1980 to 1984.

Nathaniel Brouillette (Ashlyn), Bradley

............................

Condolences can be sent to:

Marie retired from the post office

Brouillette

(Katy),

Brouillette (Jori), and Katie West (Leon).

and his wife Mona of Mount Dora, FL. Besides

her

parents,

in 1992, and from 2003 until 2009 she

Her

Kameron,

Teresa Richards

was the President of the state NARFE

Jace, and Chloe Brouillette, Rylee and

1238 Lake Road

(National Association of Active and

Trevor Miller, Juniper and Maverick

Milton, VT 05468

42

great

grandchildren,

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Marie

was

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GRANGE ADVOCACY ADVERTORIAL

43

Grange Revival

The bi-annual event that has become a staple for Grangers to meet in fellowship and fun

44

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GOOD DAY!™ MAGAZINE www.nationalgrange.org

by Karie Blasingame, Mandy Bostwick, and MaryBeth Southworth Communication Fellows

For five days in July, Grangers from all over the United States gathered in Curtis, Michigan – on the Upper Peninsula – for Grange Revival 3.0.

Even through all the rain, Grangers were able to persevere and soldier on, and have some great fun while at it. By the end of the week, everyone there was proudly known as an honorary “Yooper.”

Whether in their own RV, bunking in one of the cabins, or pitching a tent on a campsite, the Log Cabin Resort and Campground on the shore of Lake Manistique, was the perfect location for 150 “Revivalists” to spend the week of July 18-23.

One key point of Grange Revival is that there isn’t much of a set “schedule.” Attendees are free to come and go as they please, exploring what the surrounding area has to offer.

Apart from the nightly meal and a few other key events (which still aren’t mandatory), folks can simply set out on their own adventures.

The meals together are great fun, as everyone gathers around in their lawn chairs to eat great food and chat about the goings-on of the day. Meals are planned by the Revival Experience Team and cooked by the attendees, and

each campsite provides a side dish or dessert.

What is nice about this is nobody needs to make sure that there is enough of everything for everyone, even though everyone typically does.

Jody and Jodi Ann Cameron spearheaded the meal Chris Hamp welcomes everyone to Grange Revival on tent this year, with meals the first night of the event. Photo by Philip Vonada that included sausage chairs, there was something for and peppers, grilled pork loin, roast beef, a hamburger bar, and everyone in the UP. A quick hour’s drive from the chicken and broccoli alfredo. There’s campground sits Fayette Historic State nothing quite like Grange cooking!

Other delicious fun was had with Park, the site of Fayette, a ghost town the fan-favorite Dutch Oven Dessert on Snail Shell Harbor. This specific site night and the make-your-own ice cream was chosen in 1867 by its founder to build the Jackson Iron Company’s iron night.

Grangers were able to do different and steel smelting operation, an ideal things while they were in the UP. location to use the limestone from the While some enjoyed staying at the bluffs and the native hardwood trees to campground to work or play, while heat the smelting furnaces. By 1891, it others got to do things that they are was no longer a boom town as other passionate about. For the Giguere methods for making iron and steel were family, this included a little jaunt into discovered and the forests had been Canada to find fruit that only grows in stripped. At the historic site, visitors July, which led to an impromptu jam- can explore more than 20 buildings, including the superintendent’s house, making and canning lesson.

From ghost towns to ice cream to doctor’s office, hotel, and furnace lighthouses and even giant Adirondack complex. Visitors can take a step into

The Grange Revival attendees pose in front of their boat following a tour of the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie.

Photo by Philip J Vonada

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GOOD DAY!™ MAGAZINE www.nationalgrange.org

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life in antebellum Fayette via a guided tour or mosey around on their own for an afternoon of historic fun.

Some Revival-goers chose to support the local viniculture and checked out the local wineries and breweries.

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan may not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of wine country, but the region is home to a growing number of vineyards and wineries. Despite the area’s harsh winters and short growing season, the unique climate and soil conditions of the region make it well-suited for grape growing.

The Upper Peninsula is also home to a number of smaller, family-owned vineyards and wineries. These operations often specialize in producing small batches of wine from locally grown grapes, offering visitors a chance to taste unique and distinctive wines that are not available elsewhere.

Giant-sized items were also a prominent feature in the UP. In Manistique stands a 15-foot-tall statue of Paul Bunyan.

Manistique, along with other historical lumber towns in the US, refers to itself as the “Home of Paul Bunyan”. Also in Manistique, were several moose adorned in various outfits including a moose outside a Big Boy diner dressed as Big Boy himself. In the town of Garden a giant Adirondack chair waits for visitors to take larger-than-life pictures.

For those with a sweet tooth, there was sure to be ice cream around just about every corner. The UP is known for its many delicious food options, and ice cream is no exception, whether you’re looking for a classic scoop of vanilla or a unique flavor you won’t find anywhere else. Flavors that could be found were the classic Mackinac Island Fudge, Michigan Cherry Fried Pie, and even one called Pirates’ Treasure.

Grangers enjoyed shopping at several of the UP’s quilt shops during the Quilt Shop Hop. Photo by Beth Southworth

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The National Grange Officers in attendance at the 2023 Grange Revival.

Overall, the UP provided Revival attendees a must-visit destination for anyone that was looking for natural beauty, outdoor adventure, and a taste of Michigan’s unique culture and history.

Revivalists also enjoyed trips to nearby Pictured Rocks, the Shipwreck Museum, farmers’ markets, and more, including a quilt outing.

On Thursday afternoon, everyone enjoyed traveling through both the Canadian and American Soo Locks, which connect Lake Superior to Lake Huron. Even though we boarded the boat in the pouring rain, there was plenty of coverage to keep everyone out of the elements - if they wanted to be. But when the boat got to the Locks themselves, the rain went away and the sun came out, so everyone could explore more of the boat and see what was happening. Then we were able to get our awesome group photograph with the sun shining and the puddles of water drying out.

Many Grange members share interests beyond the Grange. Anticipating that other quilting enthusiasts would be attending Revival, Beth Southworth planned a harvesthued scrappy quilt for attendees to work on. A kit was made for twelve blocks that were brought to Revival; two sewing machines and a cutting board were set up in the dining area of Amanda Brozana Rios’ cabin.

Throughout the week, several attendees came to the cabin and constructed or selected quilt blocks. Bonnie Mitson gave helpful hints to quilters on developing more accurate quilting skills and a better quality quilt.

Among her suggestions were to cut the quilt binding on the lengthwise grain to avoid stretching; setting your stitches before pressing seams to the side melts polyester thread and shrinks cotton thread for a better seam; lastly, she encouraged pressing at each stage of construction to insure pieces go together smoothly and to uncover areas where stitching was uneven resulting in seams coming loose during quilting. Thank you Bonnie for sharing your skills! To date, four blocks have been returned for the quilt. Remaining

GOOD DAY!™ MAGAZINE www.nationalgrange.org

Michigander and Yooper Naomi Fletcher regaled attendees with the tale of the Yoopers and the Trolls.

blocks can be returned at the National Convention to Amanda Brozana Rios or Beth Southworth, or they can mail completed blocks to Beth Southworth - 220 Wynonah Dr., Auburn, PA 17922 by mid-November.

Friday was a highlight for many of the quilters attending Grange Revival. Three vehicles left camp at 8:00 am heading for Negaunee, about two hours away. Amanda arranged seating so people met others they were unfamiliar with and new friendships could be strengthened. First up was Time Flies Quilt and Sew, followed by Alley Kat Quilt Shop. Lunch was in a lovely Mexican restaurant near the harbor, which was suggested

by UP local Naomi Fletcher. After lunch the quilting crew went to Tebears Sewing and Quilting.

Most of the folks on this minitour found wonderful fabrics to supplement existing projects or to start new projects. Amanda Brozana Rios suggested that fabric be purchased to construct a group quilt, so everyone bought coordinating fabrics from throughout the store and choices were made. Naomi Fletcher took

the fabric home to cut out the blocks and they will be mailed to the quilters who attended the shop hop and to others who had other plans that day so they can sew at their home and return at a later date.

On Saturday, several quilters made an additional stop because all quilters know - one can never have enough fabric! Miss Good Stitch was a well-stocked quaint shop on Superior Street in Munising. As well as fabrics, there were other souvenirs to bring home. So we did!

Thoughts have been kicked around about having a day or two pre-Revival 2025 to have some quilting days where we could enjoy each other’s company and quilt together. If you are interested in extending your Revival experience let Amanda Brozana Rios know.

Ongoing throughout the Revival was the fan-favorite cornhole tournament. This year’s winners were Jim and Jules Kiel (FL), with Wayne Campbell and Ken Danko (PA) coming in second, and Chris Heath and Beth Merrill (NH) claiming the bronze medal.

Throughout the week, others just enjoyed spending time around the Log Cabin Campground, playing card games, fishing, kayaking, sitting on the beach, roasting marshmallows over campfires, or more… and for some people, a simple trip to the nearby Dollar General was a real highlight of the day!

Grange Revival is planned by the Revival Experience Team – Chris and Duane Hamp (WA), Amanda Brozana Rios (PA), Karie Blasingame (IL), Jody and Jodi Ann Cameron (MA), and Janet and Tony Fishovitz (PA). Thank you to each of them for their hard work, and we look forward to seeing everyone in 2025 in Torrey, Utah.

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Quilts of Valor presented at Grange Revival

On Wednesday evening of Grange Revival, Bonnie Mitson, a Quilts of Valor Foundation member, presented two veterans in attendance with Quilts of Valor, recognizing their service and honoring their legacy.

Alice Tuck served in the United States Air Force from 1964-1967 and was stationed at Stewart Air Force Base in New York as an Airman 1st Class. In addition, she is a Gold Star mom, losing her son in 1996. Alice is a member of Rochester Grange #86 in New Hampshire.

Lieutenant Colonel Scott Walter Plakyda served inthe U.S. Air Force from 1995-2018, graduating from the USAF Academy in Colorado Springs as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1998. He then attended pilot training at Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi, where he spent four years a student, then Instructor Pilot, leading to being awarded a Fighter Pilot slot, flying the A-10 Warthog. In 2004, he served at Osan Air Base in South Korea, then was stationed in Germany, followed by three deployment tours in Afghanistan with the 81st Fighter Squadron. In 2008, he was hired by the Whiteman Air Force Base 303rd Fighter Squadron, where he served as Active Duty for 10 years , before transitioning to a full-time reservist. After 20 years of continuous service with the USAF, he retired from service, but is now a commercial pilot with Southwest Airlines.

Additionally, Norm Shaffer from PA was awarded his Vietnam Service Pin, having previously received a Quilt of Valor from PA State Grange.

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Susan and John Plank, Matt Horton, and Gene Lohrman braved the rain on the boat tour of the Soo Locks.

The Giguere family provided pancakes for all on Thursday morning morning.

Ellen Garneau samples some of the delicious Dutch Oven Desserts on Thursday night.

Jim and Jules Kiel were the grand champions in this year’s Cornhole Tournament!

The Stormy Kromer cap is a staple of the Upper Peninsula.

48 were encouraged to bring their own, then posed Attendees with their hats.

The 15-foot-tall Paul Bunyan Statue in Manistique was a fun photo opportunity for those looking for weird roadside attractions.

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The Freeman family from Nevada enjoyed the boat tour of the Soo Locks.

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Book now for Revival 4.0 Lodging Options Primary Gathering Spot: Thousand Lakes RV Park, Campground and Cabins 1110 UT-24, Torrey UT 84775 435-425-3500 or 800-355-8995 http://www.thousandlakesrvpark.com/ Email RV size or request for tent site or cabin to Tammy at: reservations@thousandlakesrvpark.com Also booking two years in advance: Sandcreek RV Park and Campground 540 UT-24, Torrey UT 84775 435-425-3577 https://www.sandcreekrv.com/ Harry (owner) – call and say you are with the Grange Also know we are coming: Cowboy Homestead Guest Cabins 2100 UT-12, Torrey UT 84775 435-691-4384 or 888-854-5871 https://www.cowboyhomesteadcabins.com/

**There are many, many additional campgrounds, motels and resorts in the immediate vicinity with all types of cabins, rooms, yurts, glamping tents, and more! **Another option is to look into renting a RV as the Thousand Lakes RV Park, Campground and Cabins has more than enough RV spaces.

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The Lighthouses of the Upper Peninusla

by Charlotte Bethany and Barbara Borderieux, National Grange Chaplain Historically, lighthouses have warned sailors away from dangers in the water, now they draw history buffs and lighthouse enthusiasts to them. Grangers are not immune to the mysterious pull of lighthouses. The location of the Grange Revival in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan was an exciting one for these lighthouse devotees. Michigan has more lighthouses than any other state in the United States.

At first, this seems strange since it is not on the ocean, but the location of this state on three of the Great Lakes, along with underwater hazards and unpredictable weather, makes it a prime location for lighthouses.

During Grange Revival, our lighthouse friends visited some of the many lightstations in the Peninsula and a few of the shipwreck museums.

The Keweenaw Waterway A few diehard Grangers Lower Lighthouse in Copper drove 4 hours to Copper Harbor.

Harbor, daring the winding roads to see the Keweenaw Waterway Lower Lighthouse and take a sunset cruise on Lake Superior, where they saw the Copper Harbor light.

The Copper Harbor light on Lake Superior.

The drive to Sault Saint Marie to see the Soo Locks provided the perfect opportunity to see the Point Iroquois Light Station.

This historic lighthouse is located on Lake Superior and was retired after 107 years of service. The museum and grounds are open to all and you can climb this 65-foot tower, a mere 72 steps, for a stunning view of the Great Lake and a glimpse of Ontario. It was also a great place to promote the Grange when the opportunity arose to connect with other visitors and share who the Grange is and what we do.

And, it was fun to learn about some of the unique rocks

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on Lake Superior: Yooperlites, a rock that glows in UV light, can be found here and along Lake Superior’s coast in the Upper Peninsula.

Whitefish Point Lighthouse and Shipwreck Museum near Paradise, Michigan was also a fascination for many of the visiting Grangers.

This lighthouse has a unique design. The

The Point Iroquois Light Station.

Whitefish Point Lighthouse and Shipwreck Museum. entrance, though unclimbable now, was from the second floor of the lighthouse keeper’s house.

The grounds offered a shipwreck museum that chronicled the 200 shipwrecks that litter the lake floor in its vicinity, including the SS Edmund Fitzgerald which was the last major shipwreck in Lake Superior in 1975.

Grangers were also treated to Grand Island East Channel light which can be seen from the Pictured Rocks boat tour out of Munising. The old wooden The Grand Island East lighthouse stands out against the Channel light, seen from the lush green island backdrop. It is Pictured Rocks boat tour. only visible from the water and was a picturesque example of lighthouse construction.

Grange Revival offered many opportunities to indulge in some favorite pastimes such as viewing a bright piece of US history.

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Awww.nationalgrange.org fresh Old Hanna’s Town Ale is tapped at the All Saints Brewing Launch.

Photo courtesy of Food21

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Youth & Junior Winners from Regional Conferences At this year’s Regional conferences, many Junior, Youth, Young Adult, and Youth Alumni members competed in our various contests.

The top three places in Grange Baseball will compete at this year’s National Grange Convention. Best of Show winners in Sign-a-Song will perform at the National Grange Evening of Excellence, and Public Speaking Best of Show winners will present at Grange Honors Night.

Great Plains Regional Winners:

Western Regional Winners:

Impromptu Speech Youth 1st - Logan Knox (TX) 2nd - Emily Shufeldt (OK) 3rd - Travis Knight (OK) Youth Alumni 1st - Lori Wuest (TX) Prepared Speech Youth 1st - Emily Shufeldt (OK)* 2nd - Logan Knox (TX) Youth Alumni 1st - Lori Wuest (TX) Sign-a-Song 1st - Karryn Overstreet (TX)* Grange Baseball Youth 1st - Logan Knox (TX) 2nd - Karryn Overstreet (TX) 3rd - Travis Knight (OK) Juniors 1st - Landon Knight (OK) 2nd - Jayla Shufeldt (OK)

Northeast Regional Winners:

Impromptu Speech Juniors 1st - Skylea Sonnier (OR) Youth 1st - Solana Sonnier (OR) 2nd - Jade Naylor (OR) Young Adult 1st - JC Junkman (OR) 2nd - Jim Dumolt (OR) Prepared Speech Youth 1st - Solana Sonnier (OR)* Grange Baseball Youth 1st - JC Junkman (OR) 2nd - Jim Dumolt (OR) 3rd - Jade Naylor (OR)

Conference 2

Prepared Speech Youth 1st - Susan Burrows (MA)* 2nd - Garret Phelps (NY) Sign-a-Song Youth Alumni 1st -Kathy Gibson (MA)* Grange Baseball Youth 1st -Garret Phelps (NY) 2nd - Elizabeth van Kleeck (NY)

Eastern Regional Winners:

Impromptu Speech Youth 1st - Bryce Danko (PA) 2nd - Asheton Medlin (NC) 3rd - Karly Denning (NC) Prepared Speech Youth 1st - Asheton Medlin (NC)* Sign-a-Song Youth 1st - Asheton Medlin & Taylor Rogers (NC)* Grange Baseball Youth 1st - Asheton Medlin (NC) 2nd - Shae Smith (PA) 3rd - Bryce Danko (PA) Juniors 1st - Raegan Hartsell (NC)

Northeast Regional Winners: Conference 1

Impromptu Speech Youth 1st - Mikayla Piers (VT) 2nd - Melody Falker (VT) 3rd (tie) - Jasmin Richard (RI) 3rd (tie) - Desiree Richard (RI) Prepared Speech Youth 1st - Mikayla Piers (RI)* 2nd - Juliana Gerlach (RI) Sign-a-Song Youth 1st - Mikayla Piers (RI)* 2nd - Juliana Gerlach (RI) 3rd - Melody Falker (VT)

Midwest Regional Winners:

Impromptu Speech Young Adult 1st - Samantha Hanson (IA) 2nd - Emma Edelen (IA) Prepared Speech Youth Alumni 1st - Diana Nordquest (OH) Grange Baseball Youth 1st - Jordan Loiselle (IA) 2nd - Samantha Hanson (IA) 3rd - Ciera Vallmer (WI) Alumni 1st - Karie Blasingame (IL) 2nd - Gene Edelen (IA) 3rd - Diana Nordquest (OH) * Best of Show winners

Contestants and winners at the Eastern Regional Conference, held in Mt. Olive, North Carolina in August.

Photo by Philip Vonada

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Ambassador Team reflects on year of leadership

by Caryn Herman 2022 Communication Fellow Nampa Valley Grange #131 (ID)

Junior Grange Ambassador Nettie Hartley (RI) and Outstanding Young Patrons Gail Switzer (PA) and Autumn Whitaker (NC) are finishing up their year as inspiring youth advocates for National Grange. Selected as the leadership team in Sparks, Nevada in November, they will be passing on their sashes and the leadership among Youth and Juniors to the next team this year in Niagara Falls.

Samantha Wilkins, the National Grange Youth and Junior Director said, “The year has been a whirlwind, yet has been a ton of fun working with young people who are willing to think outside of the box. Each of these young leaders is at different stages in their lives such as high school, college, and early in their careers and motherhood. Watching them work together as a team for the betterment of the Grange has been amazing.”

What did they learn?

These young women all found their time well-spent: connecting with Grangers across the map opened their eyes, challenged what they thought they knew, and inspired new ideas.

Autumn Whitaker and Gail Switzer lead a workshop about enneagrams during the Western Regional Conference. (Learn more about enneagrams in the next article!) Photo by Samantha Wilkins

Nettie was inspired and challenged to add new Granges in Rhode Island after being “blown away” by seeing eight or nine charters being signed at one meeting in California.

Realizing every state operates and manages its Granges differently was great to witness, she said.

“My favorite part of being OYP was getting to know other Grangers that I typically would not have met or spent time with,” said Gail Switzer.

Seeing how each Grange functioned fostered creative thinking from everyone, and realizing that the Grange is the Grange, no matter the time zone.

It was indisputable that the connection between like-minded youth and young adults is important in moving the Grange forward.

“I hope to continue being someone youth & young adults feel they can reach out to,” said Whitaker, “Being able to develop my own leadership abilities as a youth in the Grange, I only wish to provide those opportunities to our youth today.”

Making friends and building relationships is key. The strength of family, sharing, leading by example, fellowship, support, pride, and strength in unity was sensed. But most of all, each of them conveyed the way the Grange has shaped and made them into who they are today.

“I’ve been a member since I was in the 6th grade,” Autumn said. “I wouldn’t be the person From left - National Grange President Betsy Huber, Oustanding Young I am today without the endless love and support Patron Autumn Whitaker, Junior Ambassador Nettie Hartley, Outstanding to be nothing other than myself.”

Young Patron Gail Switzer, and National Junior & Youth Director Samantha For Switzer, it was also important that she Wilkins pose at the U.S. Department of Agriculture on National Ag Day. Photo by Philip Vonada be able to include her daughter in the Grange

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events she attended. “When I (and many others) describe Grange, I first say it’s a family organization,” she said. “I’ve always felt like my best Grange friends were more like family and this year, the feeling resonated even stronger... My goal was to reach young families to show that it may not always be easy, but staying involved in Grange with a young one is worth it. We are a family organization and we need to be better about ensuring our families are supported and can make Grange feasible even with little ones crawling or running around our meetings.”

Nettie, Gail, and Autumn led workshops at each of the regional conferences in 2023, attended camps, fairs, and festivals, hosted “Spring Training” for Grange Baseball during Grange Month, led meetings for Youth Yammerings and Junior Jibber-Jabber. They also had the opportunity to attend National Ag Day events in Washington, DC, which included meetings with their U.S. Senators and Representatives. They also took active leadership in connecting with Junior and Youth members via social media.

This fall, Nettie will also attend FarmAid in Indiana, and all three will be attending several State Grange conventions and sessions.

For this year’s National Convention, the Outstanding Young Patrons will start by working with resolution committees to set and develop National Grange policy Gail will work with the Education & Health committee, while Autumn will work with the Grange Growth committee.

All three will then arrive at the Convention early to work alongside and learn from the Delegates, then will help lead Youth & Junior activities, working to engage the Youth in attendance in leadership development.

The Youth & Junior Leadership Team (and Gail’s daughter Lena) at Holly Grove Farms in Mt. Olive, NC, during the Eastern Regional Leadership Conference.

Photo by Philip Vonada

While the team put in quite a bit of work, some fun was always in order, too!

Photo by Samantha Wilkins

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What’s your personality type?

Youth Team uses enneagram to show how we interact and lead

by Gail Switzer and Autumn Whitaker 2022-2023 National Grange Outstanding Young Patrons Are you the peacemaker, challenger, enthusiast, loyalist, helper, individualist, investigator, reformer or the achiever? Not quite sure, then read on…

Personality tests have been around since World War I as they were used as a tool to identify soldiers that would be prone to nervous breakdowns during the war. Personality tests have since grown over the past several decades and have become a $500 million industry. There is quite the variety of personality tests to choose from and the one focused on during the Youth/Young Adult workshop at the regional conferences was the Enneagram Personality Test.

The Enneagram personality test outlines 9 different enneagram types which describe various individual behavioral tendencies, motivations, and desires more specifically than other personality frameworks. Each type outlines various attributes of the enneagram but the test also highlights “wings” which are secondary types. An Enneagram with its wings is a complete description that illustrates how complex we are.

They make understanding ourselves a lot easier. When you take wings into account, Enneagram types are more accurate and precise.

You also have a dominant wing, which is one of the two enneatypes located at your core type sides. One of them has more influence than the other. The enneagram test is a helpful tool for personal development and building important relationships.

The following table includes a description of the nine enneatypes including the strengths and weaknesses of each type:

Enneagram Type

Description

Strengths

Weaknesses

Type 1: The Reformer

Desire for fairness, accuracy and order; bold advocates for the rights of others.

Deeply motivated, attention to detail, defending rights of others

Perfectionist, highly critical of themselves, self-righteous

Type 2: The Helper

Desire being fully loved and accepted; extremely attentive to the needs of others.

Supporting and encouraging, warm, loving, positive attitude

Seeking approval of others, overbearing at times

Type 3: The Achiever

Desire to feel valued and accepted; seek accomplishment and admiration.

Drive to accomplish and succeed, charismatic and confident

Difficulty accepting failure, perceived as insensitive or overcompetitive

Desire their own identify and self-expression; need to be authentic.

Imaginative and creative deep thinking, ability to connect deeply

Fixating on what they don’t have, focus too much on themselves

Type 4: The Individualist

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Type 5: The Investigator

Desire to feel helpful and competent; prioritize developing intellect

Ability to remain calm in crisis, thinking through complex problems

Disconnecting from their feelings, difficulty relating to emotions of others

Type 6: The Loyalist

Desire to feel secure; seek thorough loyalty; want to feel they can truly trust others to support them.

Protecting and caring for others, ability to consider both logic and emotion

Fearing important life decisions, high levels of self-doubt and insecurity

Type 7: The Enthusiast

Desire to feel stimulated, engaged and satisfied; go to great lengths to seek excitement and joy

Ability to see options or solutions, think quickly and creatively

Making impulsive or rash decisions, tendency to grow bored easily

Type 8: The Challenger

Protect themselves and remain in control; advocate for the underdog, protect others

Acting decisively, fair and logical decision-making

Perceived as intimidating, difficulty following rules or orders

Type 9: The Peacemaker

Desire internal peace, strive harmony with others

Remains calm and adaptable, ability to see multiple perspectives

Tendency to minimize problems, avoid difficult situations

The enneagram personality test also

unveil mysteries to feel resourceful. They

changed and what’s not fair, so

breaks down the types into triads which

are also very analytical people that only

they can take action.

include the heart, head, and gut.

trust their own thoughts.

Heart Triad - Types 2, 3, and 4

5s - Really smart people who love to

So why is this relevant or important

think and observe life. Get lost in

when we talk about Grange? Enneagram

their thoughts and detach from

compatibility with other enneatypes can

real life and other people.

be helpful as it gives different inputs into

Make decisions based on feelings.

Hold their hearts in their hands and are very empathetic. Give themselves to

6s - true idealists who are very

others, and sometimes this unrestricted

committed to their values and

generosity leads them to neglect their

principles. Always analyzing other

The idea behind these personality

own needs.

people’s attitudes towards them

tests is that they help you form better

and different situations.

relationships with the people you interact

2s - passionate, dedicated people

your relationship and leads to new levels of healthiness.

7s - excited to live and gather as

with. Enneagrams should be seen as

intimacy.

many experiences as they possibly

a way of understanding how different

Common for them to overexpress

can, their thoughts are constantly

types typically match with each other and

their feelings.

racing. Fear losing chunks of life,

get more insight into how your behavior

they bounce from one thing to the

affects those you choose to bring into

other and end up getting lost.

your world. Enneagram compatibility

who like to form deep and strong bonds

and

cherish

3s - strong, skilled, and always achieve their goals. Although this ability

should NOT determine how you like

may seem impressive, it comes from a deep thirst for recognition.

Gut Triad - Types 8, 9, and 1

someone when meeting them.

4s - introverts, constantly under-

Trust their gut to satisfy their main

Think about your enneatype and the

express their feelings. They can

desires. Tend to deal with anger either

strengths you have and how that can

see and imagine amazing things

by letting it out or repressing it.

benefit our organization. Think about

where no one else could, but they

8s - use their gut feelings to recognize

the “weakness” and how you can be

aren’t confident enough to stand

challenges. Always staying one

more mindful about those actions but

out.

step ahead. Their wild style and

also how your weakness can be paired

desire to lead come from their

with another Grange member’s strength.

need for control.

As we continue to grow our great

Head Triad - Types 5, 6, and 7

9s - use their gut to detect conflict.

organization we must utilize each other

approach reality with rationality as they

Run from conflict. Deny Anger.

to continue to better our mission and

try to better understand things and

1s - gut tells them what needs to be

Like to use their brains and always

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continue to support rural America.

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The 2023 Whippoorwill Award:

Complex Representations of Rural Identities and Places

By Chea Parton Founder, Literacy in Place

and Erika Bass Now finishing its fourth award cycle, the Whippoorwill Award (whippoorwill.weebly. com) continues to recognize quality rural literature for young people. Every year, the award committee selects up to ten books that portray and honor the complex experiences of rural cultures and communities. The award was created with a desire to help young rural readers, teachers, librarians, and other community members locate books that position rural people as more than just the butt of a redneck joke.

This

fourth

cycle

celebrates

books

published in 2022, and the winners include ten books diverse in genre and representation that depict rural people and experiences in nuanced ways and celebrate rurality, even as they tackle important social issues and challenges in rural places.

Several of the criteria the Whippoorwill Committee uses to evaluate submissions revolve around the representation of rural identities

(The

Whippoorwill

Committee,

2020) including these: • The literature portrays characters and settings accurately and authentically in terms of physical characteristics, social and economic statuses, intellectual abilities, and other human attributes.

• The literature avoids stereotypes of rural people and places by representing the complexities of the situation, problem, and/or people.

• The literature contributes to the body of diverse YA literature by providing representations of diverse people and places.

In our deliberations, members of the committee find ourselves frequently returning to how and whether submitted and winning books continue to complexify, deepen, and add nuance to our understanding of what rural identity is and what qualifies as a “rural book.” Anecdotally, over these past four cycles, the selection committee has noticed an increase in the number of submissions featuring multiply marginalized rural representations and identities. Rural identities are already at the margins or marginalized, in that they are often portrayed in stereotypical ways or as foolish, backward, and less deserving

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of success or excluded from mainstream or valued pursuits and accomplishments. Many characters in this year’s Whippoorwill winners are multiply marginalized because they are rural and have identities that intersect with other marginalized identities including LGBTQIA+ identities; feature characters who are Black, Latinx, Indigenous and bi-racial; or have a disability.

Even this year’s genres invite readers to consider multiple marginalization. Several titles are from the horror genre and/ or feature the supernatural which tend to be considered pedestrian and less than realistic fiction. We have also begun to notice how in- and out-migration tend to play a frequent role in helping us analyze and think about rural culture and identitybuilding.

Horror and Rural Identity The identities of both places and people play a huge role in the construction of horror stories. However, rural horror stories are not always as simple as being far-fetched or scary. Instead, they can offer valuable windows into unique and often invisible or underappreciated characteristics of rural cultures and communities.

Likewise, horror is rooted in primal empathy because mortal humans all share the same weaknesses and are connected to one another by our fears of death, disease, and loss (as well as our search for joy, love, and community). Benicio del Toro explains, “to learn what we fear is to learn who we are. Horror defines our boundaries and illuminates our souls”. Horror also provides opportunities for readers to acknowledge, name, and critique the worst aspects of our world—to critically read what is wrong with the world—and who they are in it. Horror doesn’t shy away from the negative aspects, from the monsters, of the world so that we might call them by their names and vanquish them.

This year’s winners include several texts that use horror conventions to invite critical thinking and discussions about rural people and places. Angel Falls by Julia Rust and David Surface explores generational trauma and healing through the use of the preternatural and geographical features. The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson invites readers to face rural sundown towns and their role in the systemic oppression of Black folks. Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers traces how systems of white supremacy and indigenous oppression have impacted past, present, and future generations of rural native people. The Gathering Dark, a collection of short stories from contributing editor Tori Bovalino, explores a number of

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issues salient to rural places such as the conflict to leave or stay, feelings of isolation and connection, and what it means to be an insider/outsider of the community. All these stories face and critique social issues that exist in rural places; however, none of them paints rural people and places as all bad—or all scary. The treatment of rural communities and the issues that exist in them invite nuanced and critical readings of the identities of rural people and places, asking us to think about how we can make the world better.

Queer Identities in Rural Places Just as horror gives us a specific look into the darkness that exists in the world, the number of submissions of books containing queer rural identities provide evidence of folks who are striving to bring light into darkness. In our current cultural moment multiple legislative decisions, all-to-frequent book bans, and near constant political rhetoric have made life more difficult for folks with queer identities, including those in rural spaces. Rural identity is complex; it includes both objective and subjective components. Growing up rural means taking on many societal and cultural perceptions and reconciling those with individual perceptions of identity.

Because of this, rural students who are navigating identity exploration are often marginalized and are underrepresented.

The increase of submissions featuring rural LGBTQIA+ identities helps to disrupt the notion that rural America is homogenous (and straight).

Award winners telling queer rural stories this year included stories with characters that both accepted and struggled to accept their LGBTQIA+ identities, and stories where their LGBTQIA+ identities were both challenged and heart-warmingly accepted by families and community members. For example, The Complicated Calculus (and Cows) of Carl Paulsen by Gary Eldon Peter features a gay main character who knows and accepts his

queerness as he works to navigate how that identity fits into the greater identity landscape of the people around him. In A Little Bit Country, readers see both—a character who tries to hide and deny his queerness and another who accepts it openly—while occupying a rural town.

Among other salient themes, many of this year’s winners highlight the complexities of navigating rural places as queer youth. They don’t shy away from the challenges that queer rural young folks can face, but they also don’t depict rural places as wholly homophobic, offering readers an opportunity to engage with a more complex understanding of rural places.

In-/Out-Migration Rural places and people are not static.

Rural folks frequently out-migrate and leave their rural towns when their line of work or goals or interests lie outside of their rural. Despite the dominant narrative that in order to be somebody, rural young folks must leave their hometowns, sometimes they leave and stay gone for good and sometimes they return. Whenever geospatial borders are crossed, cultural exchange happens and the people and places are changed in the process, revealing aspects of the cultural practices and knowledges associated with those places.

Three of this year’s winners featured in-/out-migration in ways that invite readers to think about how we define rural identity and what qualifies as a rural book. In Rachel Bird by Becky Citra and Vicious Is My Middle Name by Kevin Dunn, the main characters move to live in rural places that belong to their mothers but not to them.

Rachel, in Rachel Bird, moves with her sister to live with grandparents she’s never met on a remote Canadian ranch.

Though she is from people who have generational ties to the land, Rachel does not (initially) identify as rural and it takes time before she chooses to learn the place of her people. Syd, in Vicious

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Is My Middle Name, moves to live with her grandparents in rural Appalachia.

She too is from the people but not the place. Like Rachel, she learns and cares deeply for that place throughout the book, eventually fighting for its survival.

An out-migrant story, Phil Stamper’s Golden Boys tells the story of four friends from rural Ohio who end up in nonrural places during the same summer.

One travels to France to study abroad, one travels to Boston to save the trees in Boston’s park system, one stays with family in Florida to work at their arcade, and one takes an internship with a senator in Washington, D.C. Although the majority of the action does not take place in a rural setting, Golden Boys is a Whippoorwill Book book because it tells the story of four rural people. Despite leaving their rural town, all the boys grapple with and maintain their rural identities. As rural people in nonrural places, their interactions with nonrural people reveal and highlight rural culture and knowledge.

One final identity that we saw this round (and that we’d like to see more of) is the representation of rural people with disabilities. There are characters with disabilities in both Golden Boys and Air by Monica Roe. Air importantly addresses the challenges of having a physical disability in a small rural place, particularly in terms of infrastructure.

Emmie’s school’s lack of accessibility for folks who use wheels for mobility drives the action of the plot. Her story gives readers the opportunity to think about rural infrastructure and support as well as what it really looks like and means to help someone.

All of these books are excellent, and we hope that you’ll pick one (or more) of them up and/or recommend them to the teenage readers in your life.

Read more about the Whippoorwill Award winners on the next few pages.

All images of book covers are courtesy of the publisher.

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The Gathering Dark by Tori Bovalino

Rachel Bird by Becky Citra

About the Book: A cemetery full of the restless dead. A town so wicked it has already burned twice, with the breath of the third fire looming. A rural, isolated bridge with a terrifying monster waiting for the completion of its summoning ritual. A lake that allows the drowned to return, though they have been changed by the claws of death. These are the shadowed, liminal spaces where the curses and monsters lurk, refusing to be forgotten.

Hauntings, and a variety of horrifying secrets, lurk in the places we once called home. Written by New York Times bestselling, and other critically acclaimed, authors these stories shed a harsh light on the scariest tales we grew up with.

About the Book: Rachel and her little sister, Jane, are spending the summer with two strangers who happen to be their grandparents. Up until their mom’s death a few months ago, Rachel didn’t know these people existed, and now she’s been packed off to the family ranch in the interior of British Columbia — a place with mountains, lakes, and zero cell service.

But her newfound family isn’t the only secret that’s been kept from her. Why did their mother leave her family so many years ago? Why does their grandpa stay hidden away in the basement, and what happened to their Uncle Jimmy? And the biggest question mark of all: who was the mysterious Stephanie?

Once Rachel shines a light into the ranch’s dark corners, nothing will ever be the same again.

Vicious is my Middle Name by Kevin Dunn

The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson

About the Book: With a partially-shaved head, purple Doc Marten boots, and the sinking realization that no one in a fifty-mile radius has ever heard of her favorite all-female punk band Lite Brite, 13-year-old Sydney Vicious Talcott wants to be anywhere but her new home of Beaver Dam, NC, especially when mean girl Brittany Winters treats her like the punch-line to every joke.

But just as life begins to seem more tolerable with her two new book-nerd friends and a growing appreciation for the beauty of the Appalachian Mountains, Sydney discovers that a shady corporation is planning to build an environmentally-damaging asphalt plant right next to the school. Her attempts to work through the system to stop the plant’s construction fail, so it’s up to Sydney to fight the corporation and their political lackeys the only way she can, using the do-it-yourself tools she has learned from punk rock. But before she can triumph, Sydney, her family, and friends must endure bullying, harassment, immigration raids, and more.

About the Book: When Springville residents - at least the ones still alive - are questioned about what happened on prom night, they all have the same explanation...

Maddy did it.

An outcast at her small-town Georgia high school, Madison Washington has always been a teasing target for bullies. And she’s dealt with it because she has more pressing problems to manage. Until the morning a surprise rainstorm reveals her most closely kept secret: Maddy is biracial. She has been passing for white her entire life at the behest of her fanatical white father, Thomas Washington.

After a viral bullying video pulls back the curtain on Springville High’s racist roots, student leaders come up with a plan to change their image: host the school’s first integrated prom as a show of unity. The popular white class president convinces her black superstar quarterback boyfriend to ask Maddy to be his date, leaving Maddy wondering if it’s possible to have a normal life.

But some of her classmates aren’t done with her just yet. And what they don’t know is that Maddy still has another secret... one that will cost them all their lives.

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A Little Bit Country by Brian D. Kennedy About the Book: Emmett Maguire wants to be country music’s biggest gay superstar - a far reach when you’re seventeen and living in Illinois.

But for now, he’s happy to do the next best thing: Stay with his aunt in Jackson Hollow, Tennessee, for the summer and perform at the amusement park owned by his idol, country legend Wanda Jean Stubbs.

Luke Barnes hates country music. As the grandson of Verna Rose, the disgraced singer who had a famous falling out with Wanda Jean, Luke knows how much pain country music has brought his family. But when his mom’s medical bills start piling up, he takes a job at the last place he wants: a restaurant at Wanda World.

Neither boy is looking for romance, but sparks fly when they meet - and soon they’re inseparable. Until a long-lost secret about Verna and Wanda comes to light, threatening to unravel everything.

Will Emmett and Luke be able get past the truths they discover…or will their relationship go down in history as just another Sad Country Love Song?

Air by Monica Roe About the Book: Twelve-year-old Emmie is working to raise money for a tricked-out wheelchair to get serious about WCMX, when a mishap on a poorly designed ramp at school throws her plans into a tailspin. Instead of replacing the ramp, her school provides her with a kind but unwelcome aide - and, seeing a golden media opportunity, launches a public fundraiser for her new wheels. Emmie loves her close-knit rural town, but she can’t shake the feeling that her goals - and her choices suddenly aren’t hers anymore. With the help of her best friends, Emmie makes a plan to get her dreams off the ground - and show her community what she wants, what she has to give, and how ready she is to do it on her own terms.

Air is a smart, energetic middle grade debut from Monica Roe about thinking big, working hard, and taking flight.

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The Complicated Calculus [and Cows] of Carl Paulsen

by Gary Eldon Peter About the Book: Set on a small and struggling family dairy operation in southern Minnesota, The Complicated Calculus (and Cows) of Carl Paulsen follows fifteen-year-old Carl as he confronts his crush on Andy Olnan, a handsome and confident but secretive “city boy” recently transplanted to farm life from Minneapolis who may or may not share the same feelings.

At the same time, Carl and his father clash over the future of their farm, a legacy of Carl’s late mother: how do they honor her dream for the family while also ensuring financial security? Carl discovers his own resilience in the face of grief, adult-sized decisions, and unrequited love, and along the way learns to cope with both the challenges and rewards of being different.

Man Made Monsters by Andrea Rogers About the Book: Tsalagi should never have to live on human blood, but sometimes things just happen to sixteen-year-old girls.

Making her YA debut, Cherokee writer Andrea L. Rogers takes her place as one of the most striking voices of the horror renaissance that has swept the last decade.

Horror fans will get their thrills in this collection – from werewolves to vampires to zombies – all the time-worn horror baddies are there. But so are predators of a distinctly American variety – the horrors of empire, of intimate partner violence, of dispossession. And so too the monsters of Rogers’ imagination, that draw upon long-told Cherokee stories – of Deer Woman, fantastical sea creatures, and more.

Following one extended Cherokee family across the centuries, from the tribe’s homelands in Georgia in the 1830s to World War I, the Vietnam War, our own present, and well into the future, each story delivers a slice of a particular time period that will leave readers longing for more.

Alongside each story, Cherokee artist and language technologist Jeff Edwards delivers haunting illustrations that incorporate Cherokee syllabary.

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Angel Falls by Julia Rust and David Surface

Golden Boys by Phil Stamper

About the Book: What if you had the power to heal your broken family? To bring back a lost loved one? Jessie and Jared are about to find out in a place called Angel Falls, where an ancient and mysterious power waits to fulfill their deepest wishes––with dangerous consequences.

Fifteen-year-old Jessie Reed would do anything to keep her parents together.

When her father inherits an old house from his elderly and mysterious Cousin Dorothy, Jessie accompanies him to the seaport village of Beauport while her mother stays behind in New York City. Fearing for her parent’s marriage and unnerved by the prospect of spending her summer in “a dead woman’s house,” Jessie strikes out on her own and stumbles across the isolated trails of Angel Falls, a wild and beautiful place that holds the ruins of a three-hundred-year-old town with a strange history. She encounters Jared Younger, a sixteen-year-old local boy who considers these forbidden woods his own.

Jared is a caretaker for his father, an artist crippled by depression. Jared feels powerless to save his father––until a series of unexplainable events brings him face to face with a power he never knew he had. Jared’s teacher, Chris Delany, offers to help him understand and control the strange thing happening to him––but are Delany’s motives as pure as they seem? Or, as Jessie suspects, does Delany have a secret agenda that puts Jared in danger?

About the Book: It’s the summer before senior year. Gabriel, Reese, Sal, and Heath are best friends, bonded in their small, rural town by their queerness, their good grades, and their big dreams. But they have plans for the summer, each about to embark on a new adventure.

Gabriel is interning at an environmental nonprofit in Boston.

Reese is attending design school in Paris.

Sal is volunteering on Capitol Hill for a senator.

Heath is heading to Florida, to help out at his aunt’s boardwalk arcade.

What will this season of world-expanding travel and life-changing experiences mean for each of them - and for their friendship?

Phil Stamper treats listeners to an emotionally resonant summer story, full of aspirational experiences, sweet romance, and joyously affirming friendship.

GROW Club

Travel Scholarship designated to assist Horizon Leadership Participants and National Youth Officers attending National Grange Convention

Application: http://grange.biz/gctravelscholarship

Deadline: October 20th

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STRUGGLING TO AFFORD INTERNET SERVICE? You may qualify for a monthly discount and a one-time device purchase discount of $100 through the FCC's Affordable Connectivity Program.

You're eligible if someone in your household...

• Participates in SNAP, Medicaid, Federal Public Housing Assistance, Veterans Pension or Survivor Benefits, SSI, WIC, or Lifeline; • Participates in the Free and Reduced-Price School Lunch Program or the School Breakfast Program, including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision; • Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year; • Participates in any of the following Tribal specific programs: Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance, Tribal TANF, Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, or Tribal Head Start (income based); or • Meets eligibility criteria for a participating broadband provider's existing low-income internet program.

The National Grange, America's oldest farm and rural advocacy organization, has been the leading voice on digital divide issues for two decades. Members in our 1,500 local chapters across the country make a difference in the lives of their neighbors through outreach and service.

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AGRITOURISM FEATURE

Farming history featured along the western bank of the Missisippi

By Elizabeth Hiner

Disclaimer: All of the locations and attractions written

Senior Communication Fellow

about in this column are open at the time of print. I have noticed recently that due to COVID and its repercussions,

Welcome back to our adventures across the United States.

With this set of states, we will be halfway across the United States from West to East, and bordering the Mississippi River.

So, we are on the road again, traveling south into Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana.

Our first stop is Iowa, which is home to corn, hay, soybeans, and oats, and whose livestock includes cattle, hogs, turkeys, and chickens (broilers and eggs). This industry has been hard hit by Derechos, the highest classification for straight-line winds which historically cause more damage than tornados.

Our first stop is to the Stensland Family Farms; we stopped at their creamery while we were traveling through South Dakota in the last issue. Here in Iowa, you can tour the working dairy farm.

The farm was established in 1915, a family-owned and operated, multi-generational farm just outside of Larchwood. The dairy herd is 200+ strong, with around 180 cows being milked at various times. They also farm 1,500 acres of organic cropland; all the forage their cows eat comes from the non-GMO crops grown on the farm, which gives the peace of mind of knowing they are getting the best-balanced diet possible.

You can schedule a first-hand look at where their dairy products come from. Book a tour, they would love to see you and show you around. You will get an up-close look at the dairy operation, creamery, and store with samples for all.

Our second stop will be the Living History Farms in Urbandale, just outside of Des Moines. There are three farms at this location:

The farming techniques practiced by the Ioway Indians in 1700 pre-dated written history and varied somewhat from European methods. Ioway farmers raised corn, beans and squash.

Photo provided by Living History Farms

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some of the places that I have previously suggested may no longer be in operation. As a rule of thumb, please verify before you plan your vacation around one of the activities.

the 1700 Ioway Indian Farm, the 1850 Pioneer Farm, and the 1900 Historical Farm. Each farm has demonstrations of what life was like for the Ioway Tribe, the pioneers, and settlers of the area. You can learn about the summer, winter, and traveling houses of the Ioway, along with their farming techniques and their crafts. At the 1850 and 1900 farms, you can see how farming progressed through the years.

Across the street, we can find the 1876 town of Walnut Hill featuring life in the post-Civil War era, with its shops and homes, some of which host special events, such as historical dinners and teas, classes, and day camps. Living History Farms give us a chance to experience life on the frontier at contrasting times in our history. For me, this would be an interesting and informative stop, as I enjoy learning about the Native Americans. Just while writing this article, I learned more - as I had never heard of the Ioway Indians before, and will now be doing a bit of research on them and any other tribes. It is amazing what you can find when you are not even looking!

We are now off to the Hawkeye Buffalo and Cattle Ranch in Fredericksburg. Take a wagon ride into the woods of this small ranch to see the buffalo. They do tours once or twice a month so - check if their tours will coincide with your travel plans to the area. You can follow them on Facebook for the tour’s times for each month. The tour includes the history and information about the bison and the farm itself. While on the tour, you may get to see deer, Sand Hill Cranes, hawks, songbirds and, now and then, an eagle. If you happen to live in the area, they also have a country store which sells meat.

Our last stop in Iowa is not strictly agritourism but is on a working farm. and that is the Field of Dreams movie set in Dyersville. For all the baseball fans out there, this stop is for you! They are open year-round, and on select Saturdays in July, August, and September, you can catch a ghost player game.

You can also rent the field to enjoy your own game with family and friends. The Field of Dreams also offers tours of the house and the opportunity to rent the house from March through December, for up to seven occupants. The Field of Dreams also offers a venue for weddings or meetings.

We are now off to Missouri, which has an array of different agricultural products for livestock (cattle, hogs, goats, chickens

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The view from the farmhouse of the baseball fields on the Field of Dreams set in Dyersville, Iowa.

Photo provided

preserve the winery and, with the help of Jim & Betty Held, reestablished the winery in 1965. And as they say, the rest is history.

Today, the winery offers tours of the massive underground cellars, wine tasting, dining, and a self-guided museum tour.

They also host live music events and holiday festivals.

Our next stop is in Springfield at the Rutledge-Wilson Farm Park. I lived in Springfield for a year and did not know this was there! This 207-acre farm was designed to provide educational and recreational resources, highlighting the agricultural heritage of the area, for the community. This was made possible with the support of the Rutledge-Wilson families and the 1/4-cent parks sales tax.

The park is host to a visitor center, gift shop, and an animal barn which houses miniature horses and donkeys along with the other farm animals. This farm offers a hiking trail through the demonstration gardens and plants, along with twenty acres of native prairie - you can even find a butterfly garden. You can bring the kids to the pond to catch and release fish, no license required. The park also offers Easter and Harvest festivals and is open year-round. For the kids, there is a farm-themed playground and there are summer camp opportunities for those who live in the area.

& turkeys) as well as hay, corn, rice, and soybeans on over ninety-five thousand farms statewide, the second highest in the US (Texas is first). They have all the usual farmers markets and wineries. However, I found a couple of different destinations, and here are those offerings: Our first stop is in Hermann, at the Stone Hill Winery. This winery is the second largest in the country and was established long before the Napa Valley. The first barrels of commercial wine were sold by German immigrant Micheal Poeschel in 1847, founding what would become the Stone Hill Winery. Their famous cellars were completed in 1869, helping Missouri become known as the largest wine producer just a year later. The winery was well-established with participation at eight World Expos between 1873 The Springfield Underground is a business park and storage area, with more than and 1915. World War I anti-German sentiment and 3.2 million square feet of underground space. the Prohibition era (1920-1933) closed the winery Photo used by Creative Commons License down, and the fields were turned into a mushroom farm run by Mary and Bill Harrison. They worked to Springfield is also home to the Underground Storage Business Park. The Springfield Underground was mined as a limestone quarry in 1946. In 1960, the caverns started to be used for warehousing, while mining continued. By 1994, around 2 million square feet of the mine had been excavated. The owners then created the Springfield Underground to market and develop it as an underground business park.

Now, there are over a dozen companies operating in space, including Buske, a logistics and supply chain organization, and the largest tenant, Kraft Foods. This has been one of their principal bulk cheese storage facilities for decades.

Our final stop on the way to Arkansas is to the Crystal Creek Ranch. I picked this one because of the array of services they offer.

One that most interested me was for post-9/11 Veterans. They offer a two-night stay at no cost to veterans who have PTSD to Workers pose at the Stone Hill Winery in the late 1800s. relax and recharge. The ranch also offers a two-night no-expense Photo courtesy of the Gasconade County Historical Society

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largest show cave and rank in the top ten attractions to see in the state. The caves were discovered in 1845 and developed Cosmic Cavern in Berryville, Arkansas is a natural wonder you won’t in 1927 want to miss.

Photo courtesy of Natural Wonders for public vacation for families recommended access. The walking tour runs about through their partners: Mercy Children’s seventy-five minutes in a year-round Hospital, Ozark Family Resource Agency, temperature of 64 degrees and 96% Jane Pitt Pediatric Cancer Center, humidity. The cave features the longest Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals of soda straw in the Ozarks (a hollow Cox Health, Parents Against Child Abuse, stalagmite measuring 9 feet tall), two Rainbow House, and ARC of the Ozarks. bottomless lakes, and wonderful cave You can enjoy a night or two on the formations. You have your choice of tours: ranch to rest before heading out on the the regular tour (group rates for more rest of our adventures. They offer a variety than ten people), or the wild tour which of housing options for their guests, like the occurs after hours and goes through parts sheep herder’s wagon, three log cabins, a of the cave not accessible on the regular barn, and the ranch houses, depending tours. If you are a Lord of the Rings fan, on the size of your group. this is a good place to connect with your For entertainment, you can find walking inner Gimli or Gollum. trails, paddleboats, fishing (need to bring Onward and upward, we are off to your own equipment, no license required), the Rabbit Ridge Farm. This is a thirdself-guided tours of the ranch, a museum generation farm that neither raises nor and much more. sells rabbits, but takes its name from the Now that we are all rested up, off to area where it is located. They are farming Arkansas we go. Arkansas is known for its and ranching as your grandpa used to do, rice, soybeans, feed grains, poultry, and raising cows, pigs, and chickens which are cotton. The offerings highlighted here are processed to sell in their farm store. a bit different than a regular farm visit, but For the Mahan family, it is not enough I think they are interesting and fun. that the farm be sustainable, but Our first stop is not agricultural but is regenerative too. You can find workshops a phenomenal creation of nature. We and tours (reservations required) in which are stopping by the Cosmic Cavern. The you can pick up information on their privately-owned caverns are Arkansas’s methods of farming. The ranch also offers

brunch on Saturday mornings except for holidays, holds a dinner once a month, and hosts weddings and corporate and private events, all of which require reservations, except for the brunches. So, after a good country brunch, we are on our way to the next stop, Saint Joseph Center.

Saint Joseph Center was designed by renowned architect Charles Thompson in 1910. The 56,000-square-foot building sits on sixty-three acres farmed since 1907 and is designated as a Century Farm by the Arkansas Department of Agriculture.

Saint Joseph was formerly run by the Benedictine Sisters, and was used as an orphanage, a school, a daycare, and a retreat center until the property was to be closed and sold by the Diocese of Little Rock in 2008.

This facilitated the creation of the St. Joseph Center of Arkansas, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to take over the property in 2010 with a fifty-year lease and all fiscal and management of the property. Their mission is to preserve and restore the historic property through sustainable farming and food production. They also promote agritourism, education, and community outreach through their community plots.

The Center offers a four-day Junior Naturalist Camp in the spring, yoga (with or without goats), apothecary classes, and more, all of which are seasonal. The farm store is open Wednesday through Sunday but you will need to check when the beer shed is open, as it changes days, depending on the month.

Our last stop in Arkansas is the Peebles Farm, a pumpkin patch and farm which is open from September 22 through the last

Support some of the locations mentioned in this article: • Living History Farms - lhf.org • Hawkeye Buffalo and Cattle Ranch - hawkeyebuffalo.com • Field of Dreams - fieldofdreamsmoviesite.com • Stone Hill Winery - stonehillwinery.com • Crystal Creek Ranch - crystalcreek ranch.com • Cosmic Cavern - cosmiccavern.com •

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• Rabbit Ridge Farms - rabbitridgefarm.com • Saint Joseph Center - stjosephcenter.org • Peebles Farm - peeblesfarm.com • Frogmore Plantation - frogmoreplantation.com • Avery Island/TABASCO - https://www.tabasco.com/visitavery-island/ • Crawfish Haven/Mrs. Rose’s B&B - crawfishhaven.net/

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The 2023 corn maze at Peeble’s Farm pays homage to country music legend Reba McEntire.

Photo courtesy of Peeble’s Farm day of October. They offer a corn maze, tractor-pulled wagon rides, horse and carriage rides, a playground, animals, pony rides, and you-pick pumpkins and cotton. There is also paintball, bubbles, a cow train, and hamster wheel races where you are the hamster, plus there is more to do and to eat. After a fun-filled day, we are off to our final state Louisiana.

Louisiana is our twenty-fifth state to visit on our agritourism trip across the United States. I think on our further excursions we will start in the deep South. But for now, Louisiana, here we come.

With the third-longest coastline and 41% of the wetlands in the nation, Louisiana is the top producer of oysters, menhaden (also known as bunker fish), alligator, crawfish, and shrimp. Other products include cotton, rice, soybeans, corn, sweet potatoes, sugarcane, livestock, and dairy products.

Louisiana offers a wide variety of well-known tourist attractions like Mardi Gras, the French Quarter, ghost and voodoo tours, and the Lafayette Cemetery in New Orleans, Lake Pontchartrain, and then there are the plantations.

Frogmore Plantation in Ferriday is an 1800-acre working cotton farm. You can tour the 19 restored early-1800’s antebellum buildings that come with a look at the history of early life on the plantation and feature a rare steam cotton gin. The tour also looks at the contrasts between historical and modern planting, harvesting, and ginning cotton. You can even try your hand at picking cotton.

Frogmore offers other tours in conjunction with your interests.

There is the Delta Music tour, the Plantation Civil War tour, Christmas on the Plantation tour, and the Plantation School tour.

Each gives you a look at life on the plantation through the years,

and last from one and a half hours to two and a half hours.

The next two plantations offer a look at the history of plantations and how it changed through the years, but are not true agritourism sites as there is not really any interaction with the farms, but they are great for the history buff or artist in the group.

Oak Alley Plantation in Vacherie offers a look at life on a sugarcane plantation with a tour of the house, blacksmith shop, and the formal, east, and west gardens.

In Melrose, the Melrose Plantation (or Yucca Plantation) is one of the largest built for and by free blacks of the era prior to the Civil War (1796). The plantation is now host to seasonal festivals and artist retreats and features the works by world famous African American folk artist Clementine Hunter, including her popular African House Murals.

Have you ever wondered how or why Tabasco Sauce was created? Take a visit to Avery Island in southern Louisiana, a salt dome formation where it all started in 1868. You can tour the Tabasco Museum, the pepper greenhouse, barrel warehouse, and more including the Jungle Gardens. You can enjoy a meal at Restaurant 1868!, the Tabasco restaurant, and treat yourself to authentic Cajun dishes and southern comfort food.

For our last stop, we are headed to stay at Crawfish Haven/Mrs. Rose’s Bed and Breakfast located just north of Kaplan. Crawfish Haven offers seasonal and weather-permitting excursions for crawfish fishing; you do not need to be a guest at the B&B to go on fishing trips. They offer a boat excursion and old-fashioned net fishing in the ponds behind the B&B, nets and instruction provided for both tours. In the evening you or the staff can boil up your catch for dinner, in true Cajun style.

We are officially halfway through the agritourism of the United States, and we have at least five more installments to go before the end of our adventures.

In the next issue, we are off to the deep south states of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida .

The Historic steam gin building at Frogmore Plantation.

Photo courtesy of Frogmore Plantation

The National Grange staff extend our thanks to Suzann Gilliland Peterson for her contribution to Good Day! magazine with the “Life on the Homestead” column. Suzann is taking time to be with her family, so the column will be on indefinite postponement. Thank you, Suzann!

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NOTES FROM A SMALL TOWN

When we all work together

By Christopher Dean

the event, even though the family paid for the whole thing. The

Massachusetts Grange Member

display was a huge success, tourists poured into town, lifting the retailers’ coffers, the streets and restaurants were full, everybody

I was walking down my street recently when I noticed a white box at the end of the yard of someone in my neighborhood.

Honestly, I know the house but not who owns it. The box was cardboard and filled with a half-dozen eggplants, large ones, and there was a sign on the front: “Free! Take some! Homegrown!”

What the heck, why not? So, I took two.

When I got them home, I looked up a recipe for them, which turned out nicely. All of this is to say that a total stranger put some extra eggplants outside in a box because they didn’t have any use for them, so they let everyone who walked by take a chance with them.

loved it from beginning to end. For the next two years, they paid for the whole thing but they made it clear that eventually, they would stop paying for it and the people in town would have to decide for themselves if they were willing to continue it.

A volunteer committee was formed to coordinate the transition from paid-for fireworks to “public subscription” fireworks and, this being the 20th century, of course, means that the committee set up a Facebook page to keep people informed as to how things were working out.

The family still pays a dollar to match every dollar that the committee raises, but that will be phased out soon so people in town have come up with various ways to pay for the thing which (when you think about it) must cost a pile of money.

Every summer, at the farmer’s market down by the waterfront, there’s a table selling the lanterns. The price is still the same, but they no longer supply the batteries. There’s a contest for shops

Maybe they shared them, but really, what they were saying was, “We have too many, so help yourself”.

The gesture was basically a nice one. I liked that I trusted my neighbor to put out food and that I ate it without any concern. It was about community and trust and I’m all about those things. Most people in this town are, to one degree or another. There are a lot of ways that we find to help each other out because of the general sense of mutual trust.

For instance, our July 4th events don’t include fireworks, they never have. Neighboring Gloucester has them on the 3rd, also the day of their parade, known locally as the Fishtown Horribles. Rockport holds its parade on the 4th, and it has a bonfire, a big one, that goes on until midnight.

In 2013, a very rich family that owns a house in town paid out of their pockets to have a half-hour fireworks display, and they chose to do it on the second Saturday of August.

The event has become known as “The Illuminations” and light is sort of the underlying theme of the day. The family encouraged people in town to buy cheap battery-powered plastic and paper lanterns to put out on their lawns, at a cost of three dollars per lantern; the lanterns even came with a black metal hanger for an extra buck, as a sort of fundraiser for

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The Illuminations firework display is a community effort Photo by Corey Spence

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in town to design the best window display, winning a prize but also encouraging people to buy more (and bigger) lanterns.

And we also have an all-volunteer fire department, a feature of small towns all over the country, so it’s hardly unique to

As a household, we make a point of not buying lanterns

Rockport, but this is just one more part of the town’s general

from the hardware store in town and always buying them

spirit of volunteerism. Other things that have been done by

from authorized dealers who send the money along to the

volunteers include the management of the town’s Christmas

Illuminations committee. There’s a local coffee shop that gives

Pageant and the town’s Harvest Festival; though the latter has,

money to the event by holding a fundraising dinner at their

regrettably, been shut down by the rise in price of just about

restaurant, and there are donation cans in certain stores and

everything.

people put their unwanted change into the cans. This is all very

Keeping the waterfront open and accessible to residents

much put on by everyone in town. People here have a definite

has been a job that has fallen to volunteers as well. As rich

sense of their town being special and wanting it to stay that

owners of seaside homes have been trying to keep the beauty

way.

of the land-and-seascapes all to themselves, local volunteers

Illuminations Night is always fun - we have friends in to see

have been working to maintain the rights of way that have

them, we go down the beach to watch them across the water,

been legally granted to residents for centuries. We’ve been

set off from Granite Pier, the old loading site for the once-active

maintaining the pathways that are allowed to grow over by

granite quarries that used to dot the landscape. Fireworks are

homeowners as a way of keeping townspeople off them. It’s an

fun, everyone loves them, it’s a nice way to spend time in town.

ugly change in the town’s general feel as locals politely remind

But there are other ways that the town’s community spirit shows

out-of-towners who buy property on the waterfront that the

itself.

buyers are required to honor the rights of way on their deeds.

In the summer, we have free concerts every Sunday night

There are all kinds of excuses that homeowners use to push

in July and August, put on by Rockport’s American Legion

their agendas on the rest of us. It’s sad, it’s frustrating, and it’s

band at the bandstand at Back Beach. You sit outside, run into

something that we’re working to change.

neighbors, and listen to the band’s annual John Phillip Sousa

But the frustrations of all of that are forgotten when we sit

tribute, or a tribute to Hollywood soundtracks or Broadway

together, with hundreds of out-of-towners, on beaches and park

musicals

or

American

benches, looking up at the sky

standard

tunes.

They’re

on the second Saturday night

a bit rough around the

of August. It’s always beautiful;

edges

but

wondrous,

no-one

minds.

that’s

okay,

even.

The

Sunday

explosions are close enough

summer nights have been

that they sound almost at the

always

with

same time as the flash of the

the bandstand concerts

associated

powder. There’s that sizzling

for my entire life. It’s all-

sound as the rocket shoots

volunteer, and it has been

up, there’s a pause, silence,

for ninety years. There are

and then it blasts into colorful

better concerts, but none

pieces and rains down on the

have the sound of waves

waterfront. A small victory for

at the beach, or crickets

volunteerism, a bit of color

in the gathering darkness.

and art, something special.

We judge the passing of

It’s a gift that a community

summer by how much

gives to itself, to each other:

sunlight is left as we head

a chance to smile with wonder

home.

at what can be accomplished when we all work together for Photo by Corey Spence

72

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the common good.

GRANGE ADVOCACY ADVERTORIAL

73

AM I

AT RISK?

MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE AT HIGH RISK FOR DEVELOPING SEVERE COVID-19 DON’T KNOW THEIR RISK. If you are 50 or over, have diabetes, cancer, mental health conditions, obesity, asthma, or a number of other health conditions, you are at greater risk of developing severe COVID-19.

According to the CDC,1 those who are impacted by severe COVID-19 are more likely to be hospitalized, need intensive care, require a ventilator, or even die.

It is important to know if you have one or more risk factors for severe COVID-19 and to be prepared to start treatment within days of getting COVID-19.

Scan to learn more about risk factors for severe COVID-19 and what to do if you have symptoms, or visit covidvaccineproject.org/treatments.

1

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “People with Certain Medical Conditions.” Reviewed May 11, 2023. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/ need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html

Pickling:

It’s not just for cukes anymore

By Ann Olson Bercher

Lecturer, National Grange President, State Grange of Minnesota Certified Culinary Specialist When exploring the topic of pickles, I discovered that many people either love them or hate them. I know this from personal experience while waiting for my son and grandson to get hamburgers from McDonalds without pickles - the wait gets a little longer to get the order filled. And when pickles show up on a plate at a restaurant, they get pushed to the side, or offered to me, and I gladly take them.

When I started wondering about the history of pickles, good old Peter Piper came to mind. When Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where did he pick them from?

And how were they pickled? And what kind of peppers? What on earth was he going to do with a peck of pickled peppers?

Personally, I enjoy a great pickle. I have also experienced some sad, limp, tasteless pickles. We all know where we found them. Anyone who has ordered a burger or sandwich at a restaurant has seen

it: the pickle spear. Why are burgers and sandwiches served with a pickle spear or sliced pickles on the side?

The origin of this practice goes back to the mid-1800s in New York when Jewish immigrants began opening Delis.

Pickles have been around for thousands of years as a way of preserving and transporting foods. The exact origins of the process of “pickling,” soaking cucumbers in salt brine, vinegar or other acidic solution, are unknown, but it is believed that ancient Mesopotamians pickled food as far back as 2400 B.C. The term “pickle” comes from either the Dutch word “pekel” or northern German “pokel” which means salt or brine, important components in the making of pickles.

The earliest method of making pickles was to submerge cucumbers in a salt-water brine.

That process created an acidic environment that bacteria cannot grow in. As long as the vegetable matter stays submerged, the lactic acid in the brine will keep the food safe.

Several historical figures boasted of many benefits of consuming pickles: Cleopatra believed they made her more beautiful; Julius Ceasar and Napoleon Bonaparte believed pickles would help make their troops stronger; Sailors making long voyages across the ocean ate pickles to help prevent scurvy.

During the 19th century, pickles were an essential component of daily meals and during the long winter months, offered tasty variety to an often monotonous winter diet of potatoes, rutabagas, carrots and possibly rancid meats. More recently, the Philadelphia Eagles credited their 41-14 win over the Dallas Cowboys on a day when temperatures reached 109 degrees to drinking pickle juice. A study at Brigham Young University

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backed up their claim of “increased endurance.” The study showed that drinking pickle juice relived cramps 45% faster than drinking no fluids and about 37% faster than water.

There are hundreds of ways to vary the flavor of anything you want to pickle, depending on what you put in the brine. Many traditional pickles still begin with salt-water brine. Pickles preserved in only this manner have a slightly sour flavor.

The longer the cucumbers stay in the brine, the sourer they become.

Often, the pickles are removed from the salt-brine and then bottled with a

color and with a sweeter flavor.

And yes, you can put them in a sandwich with just bread and butter. I hear they are also delightful with peanut butter.

Refrigerator Pickles are thin slices of vegetables marinated in a mixture of water and vinegar with any number of spices and or herbs and kept in the refrigerator.

These pickles vary in flavor, but almost always provide a delightful crunch.

Pickle making is easy and is not limited to using only cucumbers.

Just about anything can be pickled. Pickles can be made with cauliflower, radishes, onions, green beans, carrots, asparagus, berries, stone fruits such as peaches, eggs, meats and the list could go on!

While pickles are found on the side of sandwich plates, they also are found in the sandwiches, and in other foods such as potato salad, tuna salad, pasta salad, deviled eggs and Bloody Mary cocktails.

Pickles can also be fried.

Apparently, Elvis Presley loved a deep-fried pickle.

Around the world, favorite pickles and pickle combinations can be found: Eastern Europeans enjoy

vinegar and spice mixture. Here are some familiar pickle variations: Dill Pickles are made with white vinegar, water, white sugar, mustard seeds, fresh and dried dill and salt.

Dill pickles have a bright and slightly sour flavor with a crispy crunch.

Bread and Butter Pickles are made with white vinegar, water, lots of white sugar, onions, garlic, celery seed, red chili flakes and turmeric.

These pickles have a slight yellow

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Sauerkraut; in France, tiny, spiced cornichons are served with pungent cheeses and pâtés; in the Middle East, pickles are served with every meal; Russians pickle tomatoes.; Koreans eat a lot of kimchi (pickled cabbage); in Japan you will find pickled plums and daikon radishes; and in Italy you will find pickled eggplants and pickled peppers.

While I can’t answer the questions about Peter Piper and his peck of pickled peppers, I have found an answer about the pickles served with our sandwiches.

According to some culinary experts, pickles are provided as a palette cleanser. The tart, tangy acidity of a pickle provides a sharp contrast with the savory fats in meats and provides a nice crunch!

The flavor of a pickle also alters the flavor of the next bite. (Think about eating something sweet after eating something salty.) The acidity of pickles helps bring out the flavors of food by removing or neutralizing more intense flavors.

Next time you order a sandwich in a restaurant, or make up your own sandwich at home, take a bite of that pickle between bites of your sandwich and see what you discover!

Pickle Recipes

These recipes are for quick and easy to make pickles (aka Quickles!). Try

some of these using your grocery store produce in small batches during the winter months, then choose your favorites. Next year, when the produce is really fresh from your garden or farmers market, go ahead and make some pickles and process them for long term shelf life.

Quick Pickled Makes 2 pints

Vegetables

This recipe is for you to play with. Cut the recipe in half if you wish to experiment more.

1. Wash and dry vegetables. Peel vegetables as desired, trim ends, cut into strips or other desired shapes and sizes. (More surface absorbs more

1-pound fresh vegetables (cucumbers, carrots, green

flavors)

beans, summer squash, cherry tomatoes, cauliflower

2. Divide your choice of herbs and spices between two clean pint jars

florets, broccoli florets, radishes, okra, asparagus,

3. Divide prepared vegetables between the two jars packing them as tightly

bell peppers, garlic scapes, fennel bulbs, cabbage,

as possible without smashing and leaving ½ inch of space at the top.

rainbow chard stems, beets, etc.)

boil, stirring often to dissolve the sugar.

2 springs fresh herbs (dill, thyme, rosemary) 1 – 2 teaspoons whole spices (peppercorns, coriander seeds, ginger slices, fresh chilies or chili flakes, cumin seeds, star anise, etc)

5. Carefully pour the hot brine mixture over the vegetables to within ½ inch from the rim.

6. Gently tap the jar on the counter to remove air bubbles.

7. Add rims and lids and let jars cool to room temperature.

2 cloves garlic, sliced or smashed 1 cup vinegar (white, apple cider, rice wine, red wine, white wine)

8. Refrigerate. These will be good in 2-4 hours, but flavor will improve over the next 48 hours. They will keep for up to two months. Meanwhile, if you empty the jar of pickles, you can reuse the brine for another batch.

1 cup water 1 tablespoon kosher salt or 2 teaspoons pickling salt 1 – 4 tablespoons sugar (honey, maple syrup)

4. In a small saucepan, combine vinegar, water, salt and sugar and heat to a

* The same combination of 1 cup vinegar and 1 cup water with ½ cup sugar and 1 tablespoon salt with your choice of herbs, spices and other flavorings will work for pickling 2 pints of fruits such as peaches, strawberries and apples.

From left to right: Ann’s pickled grapes, pickled yellow squash, pickled red onions, pickled peppers, and pickled blueberries.

At top: Can’t decide how to serve your pickles? Try a pickle platter!

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President’s Recipes Hot Dog Relish shared by President Betsy E. Huber

12 green tomatoes 4 onions 4 green or red peppers 4 cups vinegar 2 cups sugar

Easy Dill Pickles Fresh picked cucumbers, washed and soaked in cold water for 1-2 hours.

2 teaspoons mustard seed 2 teaspoons celery seed 1 Tablespoon turmeric

Put 2 heads of fresh dill, 1/8 teaspoon alum, and garlic (if desired) in each jar, add cucumbers, whole or

Grind tomatoes, onions and peppers, drain

sliced.

thoroughly, add vinegar. Combine with sugar, mustard

Mix 3 quarts water, 1 quart vinegar, 1 cup salt and

seed and celery seed and bring all to a boil; remove

bring to boiling. Pour into jars and process. Do not use

from heat and add turmeric. Place in sterilized jars and

for 3 weeks.

process.

Quick Pickled

Onions

Makes 3/4 cup Put these on anything and everything.

1 medium onion, sliced paper thin

1 ½ tablespoon maple syrup or honey

½ cup water

1 ½ teaspoon sea salt or other fine salt

¼ cup white vinegar

1 ¼ teaspoon chili flakes (optional)

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

1. Pack onions into a pint jar.

2. Combine water, vinegars, maple syrup or honey, salt and pepper flakes in a small saucepan.

3. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.

4. Carefully pour over onions.

Use a knife to stir and press into jar to pop air bubbles.

5. Let cool 20 – 30 minutes.

6. Ready to serve or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks.

Ann recommends serving the pickled onions and blueberries baguette slices with a fresh goat cheese.

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(see page 80) on

Quick Pickled

Cabbage

Makes 1 pint Great in sandwiches, tacos and alongside roasted or grilled meats and veggies

¼ head of red cabbage, finely sliced

½ cup vinegar (distilled white, apple cider, red or white wine) ¼ cup water 1 ½ tablespoons maple syrup 1 teaspoons chili flakes (optional, or more if desired) 1 pinch salt and pepper

1. Place sliced cabbage in a clean, hot pint jar.

2. In a small saucepan, or microwave safe bowl, combine vinegar, water, maple syrup, chili flakes, salt and pepper. Heat until hot.

3. Pour hot liquid over cabbage in jar. Add lid and let cool to room temperature.

4. Use when cooled or keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Try the pickled cabbage in a fish taco!

Pickled

Grapes

Makes 2 pints A stunning accompaniment to grilled meats, sandwiches, on cheese boards, or as an out of the jar snack.

1-pound red seedless grapes

1 teaspoon whole peppercorns

1 ½ cups apple cider vinegar

1 cinnamon stick

1 cup water

1 bay leaf

1 cup sugar

1 star anise pod

½ cup slivered red onion

1 whole allspice

2 teaspoons yellow mustard seed

The pickled grapes are a perfect accompaniment to grilled ribs.

1. Destem and sort through grapes. Rinse, dry and place grapes in a quart sized mason jar (or 2 pints) and set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine vinegar, water, sugar, onion, mustard seeds, peppercorns, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, star anise and allspice. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until onion is tender. Remove from heat and let cool.

3. Carefully pour cooled liquid over grapes in jar(s). Gently tilt and turn jars to incorporate spice between the grapes.

4. Cover jar(s) and refrigerate.

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Pickled

Banana Peppers

6-8 large Banana Peppers 1 cup white vinegar 2/3 cup water ½ teaspoon salt ½ - 1 Jalapeno pepper 1-2 cloves garlic

Makes 2 pints

Blueberries

Makes 2 pints

These are a great condiment for grilled

Use over a ripe goat cheese on a sliced toasted

bratwursts, hot dogs, pork chops, or

baguette for an amazing appetizer or snack.

with your favorite egg bake!

1. Rinse, dry and slice banana peppers into ¼ inch thick slices. (Removing seeds is optional) 2. Rinse and slice Jalapeno pepper into 1/8-inch-thick slices.

(Removing seeds is optional) 3. Peel and slice garlic into paper thin slices.

4. Place sliced peppers and garlic into 2 clean pint jars.

5. In a medium saucepan, combine vinegar, water and salt.

Bring to a boil and let cool slightly.

6. Carefully pour liquid over peppers in jars.

7. Cover jars and refrigerate.

Pickled banana peppers add a little bit of heat & sweetness to your salmon.

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Pickled

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3 3-inch cinnamon sticks 1 teaspoon whole cloves 1 teaspoon whole allspice berries 1 ½ cups red wine vinegar 2 quarts fresh blueberries, washed and picked over 1 cup white sugar 1 cup brown sugar 1. Cut a piece of cheesecloth into an 8-inch square. Place cinnamon sticks, cloves and allspice berries in the center of the square. Gather the edges and tie together with kitchen twine.

2. Place spice sachet in a large saucepan and add vinegar. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

3. Carefully pour in blueberries and cook for 5 minutes or until heated through. Gently shake the pot while simmering to prevent bursting the berries.

4. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 8 – 12 hours.

5. Pour berries and liquid into a colander set over a bowl. Let drain.

6. Remove the spice sachet. Transfer berries to hot, sterilized jars.

7. Place liquid in a medium saucepan over high heat. Stir in white and brown sugar. Bring to a boil and boil until thickened, about 4 minutes.

8. Ladle hot syrup over berries, leaving ½ inch headspace. Wipe rims, add lids and seal with a water bath for 15 minutes, or refrigerate.

THE LAST

Word

By Carolynn Chamlee

Senior Communication Fellow Battle Born Stockton Well Grange #29, NV

Is your communication as specific as it could be?

We are going to start with some art.

Draw three circles of three different sizes and a smile.

Set this aside until the end of the article.

If I use the term a couple, a few, a lot, or several - do you know precisely the numbers I have in my head?

We often use vague terms and words that don’t best communicate our thoughts and intentions.

Vague words are weak words that lack a solid definition.

These words either lack specificity or contain many definition entries that vary in meaning.

If I state “I will pick you up in a few minutes” you might expect that to be less than 5. You might even get upset if it took me 15 minutes to pick you up. Which of us is right?

I operate under a definition given by a Math Teacher in 8th grade. Your definition of “a few” might be what you can count on one hand - that assumes you have all your fingers.

For me: A couple is 2 A few are a number between 3-15 A lot or several is 16+

I’m willing to bet they are different for you, and these will vary from person to person.

What about SMALL/LARGE? If an apartment ad states “small dogs are welcome,” what does that mean? A Husky is small compared to a Great Dane or Tibetan Mastiff. If someone tells me they don’t like small dogs, what exactly does that mean? I have a 50-pound Corgi German Shepherd cross at home, she’s about the size of a Corgi but the length of a Shepherd, and when compared to a Jack Russel Terrier, she’s a big dog. Does that mean someone is afraid of my dog because she is smaller than a Husky? Would I be able to rent that apartment with my dog?

How about the words BAD/GOOD? I’m bad at asking for help, as in the past I’ve not received it when I asked or I was left holding the bag solo when help had been promised.

I am good at helping, finding solutions, and running myself ragged to make sure things go off without a hitch.

The main reason I am so willing to help is I know what it’s like to be in those situations.

In this case, if we change good to excellent and bad to hesitant it changes the context of the sentence.

I am excellent at giving help, but I am hesitant to ask for help. This sentence tells a completely different story.

Those are the amounts I give to these vague terms.

What about WANT/NEED?

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I always WANT coffee or ice cream, I don’t always NEED coffee or ice cream.

I WANT air to breathe, but I also NEED air to keep living.

I WANT all the horses, goats, and cute critters... You get the idea.

Recently, during a multi-day fundraiser, one family wanted to help and asked if help was needed before they drove 20 miles to the event. The Chairman in charge stated they probably did not as they had three adults and kids scheduled. Neither of them was wrong in what was said and heard, but it did cause hurt feelings as that family felt turned away.

Was help needed? No, there was more than enough to run the event. Was help wanted? Always, but if we do not communicate clearly messages get mixed up.

How can we do better at communicating with others so they understand exactly what we are talking about?

Be specific, and give details. Instead of saying “I’ll be back momentarily,” say “I’ll be back in five minutes;”

or for apartment ads, “Smaller dog breeds under 50 pounds welcomed.”

These two statements give hard details in the intended statement and convey the message. RSVPs are great for events, but sometimes schedules clear up and people are able to help at the last minute. Using the correct words can help avoid hurt feelings.

Let’s practice some art in round two.

Place your sheet of white paper horizontally and using a blue pen draw a large wonky circle for a head, a golf ball-sized circle for one eye, a horizontal peanut-shaped circle for the other eye, and a smile.

Does your second picture look like your first? I bet not and that’s the point. We can’t expect people to understand our wonky circle message if we don’t choose the correct words to convey that idea.

www.grangestore.org

GRANGE SONGBOOK PACKAGE This new package of Grange Songbooks is available at a discount through the Grange Supply Store. The package includes: Grange Pianist Songbook Junior Grange Songbook Grange Conference Songbook Grange Collection of Songs Individually, it would cost $15.50

NOW ON SALE for $6.00 plus shipping Get yours by ordering online through the Grange Supply Store at grangestore.org or by calling Loretta at (202) 628-3507 ext. 109.

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Grange Membership

BENEFITS Below is an overview of some of the benefits that are available to Grange members across the country.

A full, detailed list can be viewed on the National Grange’s website: www.nationalgrange.org/benefits

$

SHOP

We have partnered with MemberDeals, ODP Business Solutions, Lenovo, and UPS Savings.When you shop at these locations or use these services, you are giving back to the National Grange and receiving special deals in the process.

FINANCE

The National Grange has partnered with TSYS Merchant Solutions, which has been serving merchants for more than 30 years and offers a payment processing program tailored to your business needs. If you have a small business, this advantage could help you.

TRAVEL

HEALTH

R/

X

PHARMACY

INSURANCE

With discounts from Choice Hotels, Wyndham Hotels, Worldwide Hotel, and Avis and Budget rental car services, as well as RV accommodations with Harvest Hosts, these exclusive Grange benefits are sure to help you when planning your next vacation.

Our partnerships with Life Line, Hear in America, Start Hearing, Comfort Keepers, and eHealth Medicare are sure to give you peace of mind about your health.

We have multiple partnerships to help Grange members obtain discount pharmacy cards. CVS Caremark offers the RxSavings Plus Card. The U.S. Pharmacy Card is a free discount prescription card available to Grangers.

Last offer excludes members in NC.

We have partnerships with Member Options, United of Omaha Life Insurance Company, AFLAC, Farmers Insurance, and pet insurance through Nationwide to give our members discounts on insurance rates and deals. Clouse Insurance Agency can help find the coverage you need to protect your Grange Halls.

State-based and property-based restrictions apply. Contact agency directly.

Excludes Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, and North Carolina.

... and many more plus new ones added regularly. Check our website for all active benefits. www.nationalgrange.org/benefits

Remember that no trees bear fruit in autumn that do not blossom in the spring.

Let this remind all to cultivate youth, helping them to become educated, responsible, and involved adults.

- Installing Officer, Grange Ritual