Successful
Actions of Chichester - MI
“The town of Chichester, New Hampshire, has about 2500 residents,” says Hannah West, long-time member of Chichester Grange. “Our grade school is K-8 and has about 250 students.”
“ We’re about ten miles northeast of Concord. The town goes back to 1727. For a long time, it was an agricultural community. Toward the beginning of the 1900’s, the town became more of a bedroom community with people commuting into Concord at first, and now some folks commute all the way into Boston,” says Hannah. “We currently only have one working farm in the town. It’s quite rural. We have a school, _____________________, and a number of community organizations.”
“Chichester Grange was organized in 1888, and it’s been going the whole time. We haven’t stopped and started like some Granges have. We’re just about to celebrate our 100 th anniversary. Grange used to be the place to go in town, someplace where there was something going on. Now, we have so many new residents in the town, and Grange isn’t quite so much the place that attracts interest like it used to.”
“We have a lot of older members in Chichester Grange. We have just under 60 members. We did become an Action Grange, but we still remained pretty traditional. Our ages range from 26 to the mid-90’s. In fact, some of our oldest members are still active,” says Hannah.
“We’re looking for activities to do in our Grange to encourage more townspeople to take part, but so far we’ve been relying on our brains and our words,” says Hannah.
“I guess that’s partly where I come in,” says John West, past New Hampshire State Grange Master and current National Grange Chaplain. “What we’ve done with money has been different than what we hear from most other Granges, and it has been very successful. You see, I don’t believe in dues notices. To me, they seem like a rather nasty bill, and I didn’t want to send out that kind of bill.”
“Our dues have been a dependable source of funds for our Grange, but haven’t produced enough for extras. So for the past six years or so I have sent out a letter to our members, and we’ve gotten fantastic results!” says John.
Here’s what John says in his letter.
Dear Chichester Granger,
“Another season in the work of our Order has passed.” That line from the Master’s charge at the conclusion of the 4 th Degree fits perfectly as we prepare for another year of service to our communities.
With our numbers holding pretty steady this year, Chichester Grange continues to meet on first and third Wednesdays of each month to socialize, learn, share tasty food, and plan ways to keep doing good things. Ongoing projects include the Annual Awards Night, care of Memorial Park, Chichester Old Home Day, funding animals for Heifer International, and presenting dictionaries to third graders in four local schools.
At the Awards Night, the Grange honored a Community Citizen, Policeman, Educator, Postal Worker, Youth, and Business for their contributions to the making the Chichester, Epsom, and Pittsfield area a good place to live. Recipients seem to really appreciate the thanks and recognition the evening represents.
Four tubs of beautiful flowers planted by Barbara Frangione stood on freshly spread mulch in Memorial Park. Lilacs, daffodils, and other plantings also added beauty around the Ray Munsey memorial tree and bench. A faithful little crew of Grange volunteers watered things throughout the summer to keep them growing.
Monthly Old Home Day Committee meetings, with Grangers and other community people working together, produced an exciting “Pioneer Days” event in August. The ever-expanding talent show moved to Thursday night at Chichester Central School, having outgrown the Grange Hall. On Saturday some 500 enjoyed Linwood Marden’s bean hole beans, roast pork, a fine parade, lots of entertainment, displays, exhibits, sales booths, and a tractor pull. Music groups, a school marching band, and a mock shoot out added excitement, and beautiful fireworks concluded things at night.
Grangers and others continue to turn in their empty aluminum cans for recycling to raise funds for Heifer International to purchase animals for people in developing areas of the world. It enables us to share our prosperity and good fortune with others.
Having completed the original five-year commitment to provide free dictionaries to third graders in Barnstead, Chichester, Epsom, and Pittsfield, we have again arranged funding to continue this popular effort. The first recipients are now in high school, and we are starting with another class. An annual tour to the Grange Hall by Chichester third graders together with the dictionaries helps keep us part of public awareness in this area.
An exciting new project this year combined the Grange with the Chichester Historical Society and many private donors to fund a new painted stage curtain in the Grange Hall, created by Pam Smith. An historical advertisement curtain was skillfully restored as well, and three curtains too damaged for effective repair were placed in storage. Vermont “Curtains Without Borders” ladies were aided by local volunteers.
Of course, the Grange continues its support for the Red Cross, the local food pantry, the NH Food Bank, the State Grange Educational Loan Fund, and many such worthy causes. Annual donations help with State and National Grange programs and projects as well. Members reported contributing more than 700 hours of community service work in the local area.
Within the Grange Hall itself, work is in progress to install a new electric kitchen range and a range hood for safety. The gas range had become a liability, since the Grange was being charged a high fee just for having a propane tank in place. Apparently the gas company felt we didn’t use enough fuel for them to make sufficient profit otherwise. In spite of the cost of the new range and the necessary wiring, annual soup suppers, fund raising meals, and other food events will benefit in the long run.
Grangers continue to enjoy themselves with a Youth Night, Home Economics Night, and all the other programs. The annual “Eat Out” in July drew nearly half the Grange membership to the Cat ‘n Fiddle Restaurant in Concord for great food and sociability. Then this fall exhibits won prizes at Stratham, Hopkinton, and Deerfield Fairs, providing publicity for our Grange and prize money to help with projects.
Clarice Constant, Scott Edmunds, and Edgar Reed all received 80-year membership awards, tributes to long service and evidence of our members’ longevity. On the downside, we suffered the loss of longtime members Eleanor Ambs and Frances Weeks, both of whom passed away in September. Our active membership ranges from 26 years of age to the mid-90’s, and more new members are seriously needed.
Our Secretary is finishing his second year as National Grange Chaplain, the Lecturer continues as Editor of the Granite State Granger, and the Master is a State Grange Deputy. This past summer the Master was a member of the winning Youth Drill Team in competition at the Northeast Youth Rally in Nashua. In addition, she is making a big change in her personal life in that she and Marty Boisvert, our newest member, are getting married on November 3 rd!
The members of Chichester Grange are a friendly, supportive group, whether it is by attending meetings, participating in projects, promptly paying their dues, or making generous monetary donations. Speaking of dues, those of you who still need to pay them should remember to send your $25.00 checks (made out to “Chichester Grange”) to me, by January 1 st, 2008, if possible. For 50-year members, of course, that is voluntary, but every dollar goes to keeping the organization out there working! It’s always satisfying that so many of you value our work enough to keep sending money each year even when you don’t have to.
Best wishes to you all for good health, happiness, and a bright tomorrow!
Fraternally,
John H. West, Secretary |
“We have been amazed by the results of these letters. People who don’t have to pay dues still send in money. This year we have pure donations of $805 so far,” says John.
“We do the Dictionary Project, but we find someone else in the community to pay for the project for us. Money is just not a problem. Every time we ask, we receive. Of course, one gentleman sends us $500 every time we ask!”
“Third graders are required to study New Hampshire state history,” says John, “So when we give out the Dictionaries, we have them come do a tour of the Historical Society and of the Grange. While they’re at the Grange, we put them to work. We put students in the stations and then teach them one thing in the 20 minutes they are there. Usually we show them how to present the flag. They love that, and of course they love the manual.”
John fills in a few details. “Chichester Grange dues are $25, and $16 goes to New Hampshire State Grange. Our dues are fairly small in New Hampshire compared to some other states. Our annual letter goes out to every member, and then I call everyone to remind them to come to our ‘Eat Out’ in July and well over half our membership turns out for that event. It draws some people who have a hard time getting out for a meeting, but they can get to a restaurant.”
“We elect officers for two-year terms,” says Hannah. “And then after two years, we move people around to another office, by election. People get used to switching, and that way we feel like any one of us could step in and fill a seat if we needed to do so. Everyone knows all the roles.”
John agrees. “If I hear somebody brag about being in office for 20 years, I think they really shouldn’t brag! We have eight sitting past masters in the current membership of Chichester Grange. Most of us have held any office we qualify for, and sometimes more than once. But we stay fresh by rotating the roles around.”
“Our meetings themselves are social events,” says John.
Hannah agrees, “Social fun is part of our regular meeting. We open and close every meeting except for the ‘Eat Out’ and our Awards Night. We do a different opening on Awards Night so our guests don’t have to sit through such a long meeting. If I had one complaint, it’s that our meetings can sometimes be long.”
John chimes in. “Hannah has only been a Grange member for about 20 years. I’ve been in Grange for 51 years. And yes, sometimes meetings go long, but that’s because we have so much to discuss and do. I tell other Granges to look to their communities and see what they need. And never say you can’t do it because you don’t have enough money. Ask!”
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