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Flood
Gives Grangers A Chance to Shine |
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| Clockwise from top: Jerry and Ann Zabriskie; Baw Faw Grange Hall welcomes outsiders; homemade sign directs people to Grange Hall |
By John Goodman
Communications Intern
There was less than a month to
go before Christmas when the
floodwaters of melted snow, dirt,
and debris overwhelmed the
Boistfort Valley in Lewis County,
Washington State. The devastation
left community residents
homeless and thousands of
acres of valuable fields covered
in up to one-and-a-half feet of
mud. When the waters finally receded
leaving a destructive path,
it was clear that some organization
would have to step up and
lead the charge to provide relief
for the community. But just what
organization fit the bill?
Enter Baw Faw Grange #34.
In January 2007, the Baw Faw
Grange agreed to become the
area’s primary feeding and housing
agency in the event of a natural
disaster, and this past winter, the
Grange’s investment paid off.
“We [replaced] all water lines,
wired the hall for standby power,
and put in a gas stove and a gas
griddle,” says Jerry Zabriskie, Lecturer of the Baw Faw Grange “Everything we had done paid off
in spades.”
Jerry and his wife Ann, who
serves as Baw Faw’s Secretary,
have led the local Grange’s
charge to cleanup and rebuild
their community. Like the Grange
hall, which the flooding spared
by a mere twenty feet, the Zabriskies’
home was left undamaged…
that is, this time. But the
Zabriskies were not without empathy
for those whom the floods
had affected. Thirty years ago,
the Zabriskies’ own home was ravaged by floods in Idaho.
“We knew what it was like;
we’ve been through this once.
We just decided to go down there
and help.”
And that’s exactly what they
did. On December 4, the morning
after the flood, Jerry and Ann
loaded up their motor home and
drove down to the Grange. For
several months, the Grange was
open everyday, providing meals
for volunteers and a shelter for
those who had to undergo the
painstaking process of restoring
their homes.
In the first six weeks after
the flood, the Baw Faw Grange
housed up to fifteen people and
served about 800 meals per
week. It also served as the fire
department’s command center,
as the fire station had been
among the damaged buildings.
Following those first few weeks,
the Baw Faw Grange continued
to serve about 350 lunches
a week, down from the three-meals-a-day that they served at
the height of the relief efforts.
Because of the large number
of donations, the only cost to the
Grange for preparing these meals
was time and energy. Most of the
home restoration is now finished,
and the Grange has been able
to conclude its role in providing
shelter for displaced residents.
According to Jerry, the Baw
Faw Grange was uniquely situated
in the right place at the right
time. “That’s why we’re so famous
now,” he says.
But regardless, there can
be no doubt that this episode is
about much more than a fraternal
organization using its hall to
house and feed displaced citizens – it’s about a Grange taking
advantage of an opportunity to
show an entire region the meaning
of “Grange values”.
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| WA Governor Christine Gregoire serving food at Baw Faw Grange |
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Even Washington Governor
Christine Gregoire couldn’t ignore
the sacrifices of the local Grange;
after winning a football bet with
Maryland Governor Martin
O’Malley, she turned her original
winnings of a dozen crab cakes
into 120 crab cakes, only to serve them all to the volunteers at the Baw Faw Grange.
“I explained what a tragedy
had happened here, and the Governor
was happy to send more,”
Gregoire expressed to the crowd
of volunteers
and displaced
residents.
“I am not
surprised that
anyone, including
the
G o v e r n o r ,
would take
note of this
Grange,” says
past Washington
State Grange Master Rob
Horgen. “I believe they have built
relationships in their community
that will last long past any memory
of the flood.”
The Baw Faw Grange and
neighboring Granges are building
on the foundation of those relationships.
Since the flood, area
Granges have welcomed numerous
new members into their
Orders, including twelve at the
Baw Faw Grange alone – mostly
young couples with children.
“What we’ve done is to
change the Grange,” says Jerry.
“It used to be more selective;
you had to be born into the community
or into the Grange. The
Grange is now a community
function. People who see what’s
going on are saying, ‘Wow, this is
something else.’”
Major feeding operations
conducted by the Baw Faw
Grange closed at the end of April,
but through it all, Jerry hopes that a tradition may have been established.
“Tonight we fed over 120
people Turkey ala King. Somehow
we are going to try to keep
that going at least on a once-amonth
basis.”
Now, the Baw Faw Grange
will focus on another Grange tradition:
influencing legislative affairs.
As Jerry explained, “By preventing
the legal removal of debris
from within a certain radius of
creek beds, creek setback laws
are causing the waters to dam
up, and they have the potential
to put people at an unnecessary
risk of floods and mudslides.”
Baw Faw Grangers have already
begun work on a Grange
bill that they hope to have passed
at the next Washington State
Grange Convention, thereby
creating a State Grange policy
stance on the issue for which
they can lobby the State Government.
But for now, life goes on in
Lewis County. And once again,
the Grange has proven its value
to the community.
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| The State of Action Grange |
Action Grange is dead; no it’s
alive; no it’s ???
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| National President Ed Luttrell in the Saunders Library in Washington, DC. |
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The reality is that every
Grange is an action Grange, every Grange is a regular Grange.
The action Grange program
was initiated in 1999 as a fiveyear
experiment that would allow
a group of Granges to try
new things outside our rules
to see if that would help them
grow. They were provided with
training on elements that should
help Grange members make a
positive difference in our organization
and in their communities.
As all experiments go, there
were some Granges that bought
into the program completely,
some that rejected it, and most
had a mixed reaction to it. The
delegates had reports on the
progress every year at National
Grange Session and responded
to those reports.
Over the last seven years
the National Grange delegates
have made a number of changes
to our organization. None of
these changes were huge and
earthshaking, but they were noticeable
to many of our members.
The list follows:
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In 2003, the Executive Committee
may be titled Board
of Directors.
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Subordinate Granges may
be referred to as Community
Granges. The terms are
interchangeable and your
Grange can use either.
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The Annual Word is optional
at the Subordinate and
Pomona divisions of the Order.
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The Alternative Manual was
approved.
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In 2004, Alternative officer
titles were approved. Master/
President, Overseer/Vice-President, Lecturer/Program Director, Gatekeeper/Greeter are to be
considered interchangeable. Your Grange can use either or both.
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The Welcoming Ceremony
was adopted and included as a method of receiving new members.
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In 2006, two study committees
were formed to look at
both the manual and updating the degree and installation ceremonies.
There were many lessons
learned by our members and
leaders as we progressed
through the program. Those
benefits were learned by Community
Granges and by the
National Grange. Our National
Grange departments focused
even more strongly on training
and communication, both
of these being an ongoing
process. The lessons learned
were:
Evaluation: Many things
were learned by our organization
by our members going
through the process of evaluation
which was the key to the
action Grange program. The
most important lesson is that
we must regularly and consistently
evaluate what our members
want and need from the
Grange and what our communities
need that we can provide.
We can not assume we know,
we must ask questions and listen
to the answers. Then we
can incorporate those ideas
into our Grange program. Our
programs will always be adapting
to meet the needs of our
changing membership.
Pride, ownership, and the
resulting excellence: We can
not be successful unless we
have and exhibit our pride in
the Grange and its activities.
Pride and enthusiasm are created
when our members have
ownership in the programs and
projects of their Grange. It is
when people see high quality
and a standard of excellence
that they want to become part
of the Grange.
Teamwork: One lesson that
was reinforced was the importance
of team work. We must
use the ideas, talents, and abilities
of each member in order to
achieve success. Each member
must be encouraged to give
voice to their suggestions and
to have their input incorporated
into the solution. No one person
should ever dictate what a
Grange does or how it does it.
We need leaders who bring out
the best in our members, not
those who tell them what to do.
Communication: Conflict and
other destructive behaviors can
often be prevented or reduced
when there is open communication
between members. We
must always strive to improve
the flow of communication. Our
leaders must utilize as many
effective methods of communication
as possible and not hold
secrets from their teams. Our
members must give open constructive
feedback to our leaders
so that they can work to
improve their methods of communication.
The results of the action
Grange program are definitely
mixed. From a pure numbers
viewpoint, the Granges that
participated are no different
than a group of randomly selected
Granges. There were
action Granges that achieved
great success, just as did some
Granges that didn’t participate
in the program. There were
action Granges that lost members,
just as many outside the
program did.
However, the Granges that
did adopt the principles of the
action Grange program, both
in and out of the program, did
achieve success. If we apply
the lessons that we have
learned from this experiment,
we can achieve anything. Each
of our Granges is now an action
Grange, each is now a Regular
Grange. We are all Granges.
Our challenge is to maintain
our Grange identity as an
organization while allowing
each Grange to have their own
unique local identity. We need
to make applying the lessons
we have learned an on-going
effort at all levels of our Grange.
There are no shortcuts to success.
We will adapt, change,
and grow because we have
done so in the past and want to
create a great future. With our
positive attitude and the lessons
learned, the future of the
Grange is bright. Every Grange
has that bright future if we are
all open-minded and proactive!
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News From the National Grange |
| 2008 National Grange Family of the Year Award |
The National Grange “Family of
the Year” Award is designed to
identify and recognize outstanding
Grange families. The Award
is intended to acknowledge the
accomplishments and achievements
of a family in their local
community and Grange. If your
family has done something outstanding
and has made a difference
in your Grange or community,
let us know. We want
to celebrate your accomplishments
and successes!
The Family of the Year
Award applications are due on
September 15, 2008. The application
can be downloaded by clicking here.
Winners will be announced
at this year’s National Grange
Convention in Cromwell, Connecticut.
If you have any questions or
need additional copies of the application,
please do not hesitate
to contact Samantha Johnson
at sjohnson@nationalgrange.org 888-447-2643 ext. 109.
| Grange Month T-shirt Contest Winner |
 The National Grange is excited to announce the winner of the first annual Grange Month Tshirt Contest! The winner for 2008 is Lana Wheeler, from West Minot Grange #42 in Maine. Honorable mentions include
Sheila Abels, Silverton Grange in West Virginia, and John & Shirley Lawson, Rumford Grange #52 in Rhode Island.
Back in January, members were called upon to get their creative juices flowing by designing a t-shirt for the National Grange, which would include our theme for the year, “Moving Forward.” The winner would receive 2 tickets to the Celebration Banquet at the 2008 National Grange Convention in Cromwell, Connecticut; recognition in a future issue of The New Grange; one of their t-shirts signed by all of the National Officers; and the honor of knowing that Grangers across the country are wearing their shirt for Grange Month!
The National Grange received 23 entries from around the country, from Grangers of all ages. Lana’s special edition design is being produced as a tshirt that will be on sale through the Grange Store for $12, beginning March 13, 2008. Learn more about the contest in the July/August Issue of The New Grange!
| Sales, Benefits, and Programs Manager Position Filled |
The National Grange is pleased
to announce the promotion of
Samantha Johnson to the Sales,
Benefits, and Programs Manager
position previously held by
DoriAnn Gedris.
Samantha has worked at
the National Grange office for
the past year and a half as the
Administrative Assistant to the
Legislative and Marketing &
Sales Departments. Samantha
is excited by this opportunity
and looks forward to this new
challenge.
Samantha was born in Huntington,
West Virginia and grew
up in Mobile, Alabama. She
graduated from the University of
Alabama with a history degree
and received her graduate degree
from American University
in Washington, DC.
To contact Samantha,
please email her at sjohnson@nationalgrange.org or call 1-888-4-GRANGE,
ext. 109.
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| By Leroy Watson, National Grange Legislative Director |
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This month, the Ag Talk column will
be devoted to commentary on different
perspectives on the current
agricultural economy. These three
recent columns by Grange leaders
in three different State Grange
newspapers show us the diversity
of circumstance that many farmers
face today as well as the diversity
of opinion on which issues should
be at the top of the local, state and
national agriculture policy agendas.
They also demonstrate why
consensus on the appropriate
policy directions for the future of
US agriculture can be challenging
for a broad based farm membership
organization like the National
Grange, not to mention, for our
elected Senators and Representatives
in Congress who continue to
struggle with reaching final compromises
for enacting a 2007/2008
Farm Bill.
By Jim Miller, Agriculture Director
Colorado State Grange
Prices received by farmers are at
or near all-time record levels. Tendollar
wheat and five-dollar corn?
Forecasters generally agree that
very strong corn, wheat, and soybean
prices will be around for
the next few years. World wheat
stocks are down to about a month
and a half – too low for comfort.
Corn prices remain strong due to
ethanol mandates, and soybean
prices are a reflection of the demand
for corn acres.
We should all be smiling, right?
Well, not so much. While net farm
income in Colorado is expected to
rise in 2008 to $843 million, it will
be far below the $1.3 billion in ’04
and ’05. The reasons boil down to
cost of production. Livestock producers
are competing with ethanol
plants for corn to feed livestock.
While ethanol plants create a very
high-protein byproduct that makes
excellent cattle feed, the cost of
that mash (called Distillers dry Grain, or DDG) is tied to the cost
of corn, and its price has doubled.
Cattle feeders in Colorado are losing
over $100 per head, some as
much as $120.
The livestock business is the
major part of Colorado ag, and
when profits are thin or nonexistent
on 70 percent of your industry,
it has a ripple effect throughout agriculture.
Grain producers are seeing
enormous gross sales, but energy,
fertilizer, land, and other input costs
are out of hand. Diesel is $1 more
per gallon over 18 months ago, fertilizer
prices are over $600 per ton,
and the price of glysophate, the
generic term for Roundup and the
most widely used herbicide, is expected
to rise 60 percent this year.
(I heard that Monsanto purchased
two of its glysopphate competitors
and shut the plants down to eliminate
competition to Roundup.)
What can be done? For starters,
we need to work hard to get
our Asian beef markets back.
Colorado beef is a big player in
the foreign market, and that would
help here a lot. And we somehow
have to get the price of energy
back down. Increased production
and exploration are necessary until
there are reasonable alternatives
found. Lower diesel and fertilizer
(made from natural gas) costs
would put the smile back on the
face of Colorado agriculture.
By Jimmy Gentry, President
North Carolina State Grange
The “not in my back yard” issue
continues to be a problem for agriculture,
and the solutions are not
always easy. With the loss of so
many dairies in North Carolina,
there will be a renewed effort by
the NC Dairy Producer’s Association
to recruit new dairies into the
state. It is a wonderful idea that
definitely needs to be pursued, but
we can already predict the conflicts that may arise between new
producers and their surrounding
neighbors. Fortunately, we have
the “Agricultural District” concept
in the state that provides some
protection from nuisance lawsuits.
But, there are a lot of counties in
the state that have not adopted
Agricultural District ordinances.
One large agricultural producer
in the state was recently sued
by neighbors because he wanted
to develop a Biodiesel processing
facility on his farm. The court ruled
that this was a legitimate agricultural
enterprise and approved the
facility, but they limited the amount
of Biodiesel that could be produced.
The neighbors were concerned
with safety and felt that the
facility should have been placed in
an area already zoned for industrial
purposes.
Unfortunately, conflicts such
as this are likely to continue, and
the solutions are not always easy.
Agriculture is extremely important
to our economy and our lives, and
it must be protected. On the other
hand, residents want to feel safe
and comfortable in their homes.
The challenge ahead will be to
continue the search for solutions
that will allow new agricultural
enterprises to be established and
current enterprises to expand,
while living in peace and harmony
with the surrounding neighbors.
By Devere Noakes, Agriculture Chairman,
Michigan State Grange
As I collect my thoughts and get
them on papers, it’s a good reason
to be in a warm and comfortable
house partially heated by a hundred-year-old Laurel nickel plated
cook stove with warming over and
water reservoir. We do most of
our cooking in winter on this old
timer and can’t beat buckwheat
pancakes made on a stone griddle
served with bacon and homemade
maple syrup!
Now to some economic facts
on the economy which may or may
not be in for a long range downturn.
One fact remains: corn, soybeans,
and wheat are at the highest dollar
per bushel ever on all three. Costs
are at the highest level ever, as
well.
The point I want to make is
that, for the first time in fifty-five
years, farmers can contract all
three of these products on cash
contracts at the cost of production
plus a profit for the 2008 and 2009
crop years. What this means is an
increase in income at the farm first
point of sale which multiples seven
times throu the economy. We
farmers buy inputs: seed, fertilizer,
and herbicides. Then those crops
are trucked to mills or other manufacturing
facilities.
This brings out the point that in
checking with machinery dealers,
I find farmers cannot buy a new
John Deere corn planter since December
2007 or a new John Deere
combine unless they were ordered
last year. International large tractors
and their combines are equally
sold out. All this is good for an
economy when farmers are paid
fair and profitable prices.
Another economic fact is the
enactment and signing of the $150
billion tax refund from the Federal
Government that could have very
good results. If we American consumers
buy U.S. made hard manufactured
goods with this refund
such as tires, auto and truck batteries,
clothing, shoes, wrenches
and tools, jumper cables, storm
doors, windows, et cetera, these
purchases will all have a five-time
multiplier effect throughout the
economy. This will increase jobs
or overtime and help small businesses,
contracts, and rural towns
as well as our cities.
President Lincoln has been
quoted as replying to those in government
who wanted to buy rails
from England when railroads were expanding in the 1850s. He stated, “If we buy the rails from England,
we in the USA will have the
rails and they will have the money.
But if we build the steel mills and
manufacture the rails here, we will
have the mills, the rails, and the
money.”
The lesson here is this: let’s buy
made in America with this money
and make the American economy
robust and financially healthy.
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