| APRIL 1, 2026 -- Over the years, it has been said that the Grange is the best kept secret. This is partly because many of our longer-term members were trained, or taught, the Grange was a “secret” organization.
Imagine with me, if you will, holding our ideals, events and activities a “secret” today. You approach someone and ask them to join the Grange:
Us: Hey friend, would you like to join the Grange?
Friend: What do you do?
Us: I can’t tell you, it’s a secret!
Friend: Can I come to a meeting to see if it’s something that interests me?
Us: No, what we do at a meeting is a secret!
Granted, this was back in the days when we believed we were a “secret”
society. Ooooh, I said society. Shame, shame- like it or not the definition of Society is “an organization or club formed for a particular purpose or activity.” The Grange, your Grange, should indeed have a particular purpose, for if not you cannot be relevant, and you might as well be that secret society we were taught we are, and promoted, poorly I might add, years ago.
There was a time when your procedures were indeed kept a secret, but those days had better be behind us. We need to boast about our activities and accomplishments. We need to make sure we are relevant in meeting the needs of our community. We are competing with less available time; more desire for work/life balance and technology.
Go to the National Grange website and get information on Project Sustenance https://www.nationalgrange.org/projectsustenance/ this program encompasses every ideal, purpose and mission of the Grange. It’s simple, it is what you are already doing, or should be doing, with all the tools to promote and publicize your community involvement.
This is worth talking about, no secrets, no ceremonies, nothing but raw community support and hopefully involvement. This is how we retain our relevance; this is how we Grange!
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