Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, and Report for America
CHARLOTTE — On the spacious first floor of the Charlotte Grange, Tai Dinnan and Trina Bianchi flipped through the organization’s manual, which describes the Grange’s values of faith, hope, charity and fidelity and how they correspond to the seasons.
Over the past 15 years, the Charlotte Grange has lost much of its institutional knowledge of rituals and traditions as older generations of members have passed away, said Dinnan, the Grange’s president. Last year, the Charlotte chapter received notice from the Vermont Grange that they are requiring all community granges to do at least the basic rituals.
Those requirements include displaying the Grange charter, the American flag and a Bible, which is opened and closed at the beginning and end of meetings. Officers also have designated seats during meetings, according to Brenda Rousselle, member of the Vermont State Grange executive committee.
“It’s a matter of making sure the Granges are aware of what their obligations are and how to conduct meetings,” she said.
The Charlotte Grange is attempting to reengage in Civil War-era rules and traditions by modernizing them as best they can.
“We feel especially interested in maintaining that connection and the name that we’ve always had, if there’s a possibility of adapting it a bit to what we feel like is most relevant to our current culture,” Dinnan said.
The National Grange was founded in 1867 as an agricultural movement that advocated for the social and economic rights of rural farmers and their families. Throughout the years, the institution has kept its roots in agriculture but has adopted a more educational and community service focus.
There are approximately 1,400 community Granges in the U.S., with close to 33 in Vermont, Rousselle said. Besides Charlotte, another community Grange nearby is in Essex Junction. For more about the national scope of the organization on the website.
The Charlotte Grange was first formed in 1908 and moved into its current East Charlotte location on Spear Street in 1958, where it has since hosted meetings and community events.
“Before when people needed to know what was going on in Washington, what was going on in Montpelier, that’s where they would go to find out,” said Dan Cole, president of Charlotte’s Historical Society. “When I was growing up, several farmers were in the Legislature, and they would try and represent the interests of the dairy industry.”
At its peak in the 1950s, the Vermont State Grange had about 20,000 members, the Bennington Banner reported in 1985. Membership declined during the ’60s as the dairy industry became more centralized and urban areas gained greater influence over farming and agricultural policy, Cole said. That was when the Charlotte Grange, along with the Vermont State Grange, shifted its focus from traditional rural practices, often related to religion, into more community activities such as picnics, county fairs and musical entertainment.
The Charlotte Grange serves a different purpose and population with more concentration on community connections or community health than farmers socializing, Dinnan said.
This summer, for instance, the organization is again sponsoring Grange on the Green, a concert series located on the Charlotte Town Green every Thursday. The Grange also hosts clothing drives and monthly poetry gatherings.
For an organization founded in the 1800s, the Grange was quite progressive. It was the first national organization to admit women on an equal basis with men and required four leadership roles to be held by women. For context, it wasn’t until 1920 when women were allowed to vote nationally.
Cole thinks the Grange’s commitment to equality was influenced by the Quakers, who had an enclave in East Charlotte.
“From as long as I have ever found any records of Quakers, they have Quaker preachers who are female, and have for generations and generations and generations,” Cole said.
But some of the traditional rituals at the Charlotte Grange have faded over time. The group is working with state Grange leaders to relearn and implement traditions such as the obligation ceremony, a formal welcome required for new members who are asked to state their commitment to the Grange’s mission and practices.
“The Grange has a rich history, and it’d be nice to keep it alive,” said Bianchi, the Charlotte Grange’s treasurer and a member of its building committee.
At the same time, the Charlotte Grange wants to modernize some aspects of the organization’s governing documents.
The group’s “Grange Matters” committee is in the process of drafting proposed amendments to the Digest of Laws, a document that states the organization’s rules. The goal is to update some of the original language to “remain aligned with our town’s inclusivity statement,” Dinnan said.
Dinnan gave the example of substituting “his almighty father” to “higher power” in the Digest of Laws as well as taking out some of the gendered language. The Charlotte Grange already adapted some language in the past, replacing references to a Grange “master” with “president” and “overseer” with “vice president.”
The proposal is due to the secretary of the state Grange on Aug. 1. If the state delegates pass the resolution, it would advance to the National Grange convention in November.
If approved, a newly drafted digest would be an option for any community Grange to use, while still allowing Granges to retain the traditional language if they choose.
“We are so happy that they are working that hard to remain in the Grange family,” Rousselle said.
Emily Rodin is an intern for UVM’s Community News Service through Report for America’s Local News Internship Program.