To the editor:
What do Robert Frost, Norman Rockwell, Harry Truman and Franklin Delano Roosevelt all have in common? They were all members of the grange.
The grange provides men, women and children of all ages and backgrounds with the opportunity to come together in a social atmosphere and work together for the betterment of the community.
All grange members have the opportunity to use their individual talents in a variety of different ways. From community service projects to legislative concerns, you have the power to do something positive.
The "Order of the Patrons of Husbandry," more commonly known as the grange, was organized in 1867 by Oliver Hudson Kelley. Kelley had been given the task of surveying the South after the Civil War and reporting to the nation's newly formed Department of Agriculture. It was during the tour of the South's devastated agricultural state that Kelley conceived the idea of a fraternal organization that would bring farmers together to heal war scars and to improve the economic and social position of the agricultural population. Upon his return to Washington, D.C., Kelley enlisted the assistance of six friends to frame a ritual and constitution and the National Grange was born.
Today the grange has grown into an organization concerned with the needs of all people, and with the interests in community service as well as agriculture.
The American principles of a basic respect for God, country and community, as well as respect for all persons and life, are part of the philosophy of the grange. It is non-partisan and non-denominational.
Currently the grange is active in 36 states and the District of Columbia. You can follow what the National Grange is doing on both Twitter and You Tube. Some current and notable grange members include state Sen. Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester), Krist Noveselic (former Nirvana band member) and Francis Ford Coppola (movie producer and director).
For more information about the grange you can visit massgrange.org or call me at 978-352-2986.
Jacalyn Carter
Laurel Grange #161 lecturer, West Newbury
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