The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
FIRMLY PLANTED ROOTS
Winchester Grange stays true to agrarian past with craft and bake sale
WINCHESTER >> With deep snow covering the ground as the first official day of spring nears, the Winchester Grange couldn’t have labeled its event on Saturday any more appropriately: “The Annual Cabin Fever Craft and Bake Sale.”
A steady stream of customers and browsers wandered into the Winchester Grange, located near Winchester Center, what was once one of the agricultural hubs of Litchfield County. Many of the farms that graced the area are now gone, replaced by housing developments ad open land. But the Winchester Grange remains with its roots firmly planted in its agrarian past.
“When I first joined the Winchester Gange 61 years ago,” said Ramona Fazio, current Lecturer (program coordinator) for the Grange, “we had so many more members and even a Junior Grange, which we don’t have anymore. But we remain active, in fact we are one of the largest Granges in the state with close to 200 members.”
A number of Granges in Connecticut have closed in recent years as the state turned away from farming and young
people lost what were innate and strong ties with the land. Still, Granges, such in Winchester, continue on, helping preserve the warm feeling of rural neighborhoods, and also lobbying for legislation at the state and even national levels that safeguards the welfare of farmers and the future of agriculture.
Earl Phillips, a member of the New Hartford Grange, harkened back to the days when “the Grange and its events were the only game in town.” He added, “Things have changed since those times and the Granges that have survived are being driven by a dedicated core of individuals.”
According to the website “United States History,” Oliver Hudson Kelley, an employee of the Department of Agriculture in the 1860s, made an official trip through the South and was “astounded” by the lack of sound agricultural practices he encountered. Joining with other interested individuals in 1867, Kelley formed the National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry, a fraternal organization with its own secret rituals. Local affiliates were known as “granges” and the members as “grangers.” In its early years, the Grange was devoted to educational events and social gatherings.
Growth was slow, but the attraction of social events drew new members. Farm life in the 19th century was marked by tedium and isolation that was broken by Grange events and meetings.
Reportedly, following the “Panic of 1873,” the Grange spread rapidly throughout the farm belt, since farmers in all areas were plagued by low prices for their products, growing debt and discriminatory treatment by the railroads. These concerns helped to transform the Grange into a political force.
Early Grange influence was particularly strong in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois, where political pressure yielded a series of “Granger laws” designed to give legislative assistance to the farmers. In the 1890s, local Granges began to build their own halls for meetings and other purposes. Eventually, the Grange movement spread to every state in the union.
The Winchester Grange was formed in January of 1888, although a new Grange hall had to be constructed after a fire leveled the original building in the 1950s. The first “Master” of the Winchester Grange was Tunis Goodenough, with dozens of subsequent masters leading to today’s holder of the office, Todd Gelineau.
Saturday’s event featured vendors selling a variety of items, such as homemade crafts, jewelry, needlework and home decorations, as well as a bake sale. The event is one of the major fundraisers sponsored by the Winchester Grange. The proceeds from the event goes towards the many community projects and donations sponsored by the organization.
“This year, we will be buying a dictionary for every third-grader in Winsted,” said Fazio. “We try and remain active in helping the community and conduct a number of events to raise money for the Grange’s upkeep and for our outreach efforts.”
One of the challenges Granges face is recruiting new, younger members. Marie Steiner joined the Winchester Grange five years ago and she is glad she did.
“There is a nice feeling of friendship and neighborliness here. It’s something that you don’t find all the time in the outside world. Everyone helps one another.”