Successful
Actions of Hayfield - PA
Hayfield Grange, located in northwest Pennsylvania, was organized on April 15, 1886, and continues to meet in the hall where they were organized. The hall - an old cheese factory – is a two-story frame building. “The first floor is handicapped accessible, but the second floor is not,” says Susan Tau, who has been named the 2005 Granger of the Year by the Pennsylvania State Grange. “Our Grange is located in a rural area though we do have several members from urban localities.”
Currently Hayfield Grange has 108 members. Two nearby Granges have consolidated with Hayfield during the past year. Five years ago there were 121 members. “The average age of our members is 65-70, and we get an average of 20 out to regular meetings,” says Susan.
“We meet every other Saturday night during most of the year. Our meetings are open without the password. We do use the regular manual.
Programs have included giving a Community Citizen Award to a retired educator, Prescription Drug Card, a guest speaker from their Soil and Water Conservation District, Support Our Troops, Hospice, St. James Haven, shelter for men; and Women’s Services.
“One of our more popular programs was about the history of Grange ritual using a Hollywood Squares game show format. We had a lot of fun with that.”
“We partner with nine other organizations to participate in the Dictionary Project. For the third year, we’ve given dictionaries to all the third-graders in our four area schools. That’s between 250-300 dictionaries each year.”
“Our Community Service Committee, in conjunction with a local church, put together 60 TLC boxes to send to the three elementary schools in the district in which the church and Grange are located. The TLC boxes contain hat, mittens or gloves, scarf, pencils, pens, crayons, coloring books, game books, small games, some personal care items like toothbrush and paste, soap, shampoo. We even include some clothing such as a top and pants or a sweater. The schools involved give us a list of names, ages, sizes, and any particular needs that a child might have.”
“We have contributed funds to Hospice, Women’s Services and St. James Haven, Project Support Our Troops and sponsored a 55-Alive Safe Driving Course. When a speaker from Support Our Troops spoke at our Grange Open House meeting, we presented supplies. The newspaper published a list that included personal care items, snacks, canned meats, and batteries to name a few. Later we gave $100 toward shipping costs, too.”
“We provide hats, mittens, and gloves for a pre-school in the school district where the Grange is located. We give them to a local women’s group who also supplies jackets, snowpants, boots, and so forth at Christmas time. About 25 children are involved every year. And our Grange provides ‘hospital dolls’ for children who are ill or injured in conjunction with the Pomona Grange.”
When asked what makes Hayfield Grange successful, Susan says, “I think it’s the willingness of our members to assist those in the community whether it be individuals or other organizations. Our Grange has always been involved in community service projects, but has become more involved over the last few years.”
“We have a good rapport with the local daily paper and many people who aren’t members tell us that they read our news in the paper. They often bring us Campbell product labels, canceled postage stamps, non-perishable food for a local food pantry, hats, mittens, gloves, Christmas cards for local nursing homes and whatever else we might be collecting for the community.”
“We’ve started a quarterly newsletter that we send out to members, and have a brochure that’s specific to our Grange. It lists activities and programs. We now even have a website.”
“Since participating in the Action Grange program, I've seen some of the members become more relaxed in the ritual. We have always been a very ritual-oriented Grange, though we had already discontinued taking up the password before Action Grange. I'm sure that there will not be any major changes in using the ritual, and I personally would not favor that as an option. Rituals are part of our every day life. Any other civic organization or church has ritual. Grange has ritual to express the values of the organization.”
Contact Hayfield Grange at hayfieldgrange800@yahoo.com |
