Western Yolo Grange #423

... was established in the early 1900’s; it is located in Guinda CA, Yolo County. They meet the second Thursday of each Month at the Grange Hall. 16787 Forrest Avenue Guinda, CA 95637. Western Yolo Grange has 127 members.

The National Grange was the first fraternal organization to include women.

Several generations of Grange members have contributed to the betterment of Capay Valley. The Grange is a family organization with individual and family memberships. Anyone 14 and older can be a member.

Our Grange serves many aspects of the community.

• Belongs to the Chamber of Commerce.
• Supporting sustainable and traditional agriculture.
• Participating in the “Adopt a Highway” program.
• Maintaining the Guinda Park and established a softball diamond at the park.
• Sponsoring the Almond Queen dinner, and co-hosting the Almond Festival.
• Supporting the 4H and the annual Christmas children’s program.
• Co-sponsoring Black History Day.
• Assisting at the Capay Valley Hoes Down.
• Hosting community dinners and events to help with a variety of charities.
• Sponsoring the Annual Halloween Party for the Valley children.
• Donating scholarships for two or three Esparto High School Students.
• Assists with the Will Baker Memorial Garden.
• Participates in the Mother's Day Garden Tour, making the kitchen available to charities and serving lunch for the event.
• Donating tables and chairs for charity events such as the Taste of Capay Valley – Valley Vision money raiser, and the Lions Crab feed.
• Note: Recycle program on temporary hold - The grange recycle program is on hold. The recycle program involves collecting news papers, magazines, and cardboard; doing our part to keep the community Green.

The Hall is used for many other functions.

• A Church has met there.
• The AA hold their celebrations there.
• The Stakeholders and Organic farmers meet at times.
• On occassion, the Organic farmers host a Contra Dance at the hall every 5th Saturday.
• The hall is also available to the youth for dances at a very minimal fee.
• Rental of the Certified Kitchen.

The Nimble Needles quilting group is part of the Grange, and contributes to rest homes and other charities.

Western Yolo Grange is active in political issues making their hall available for candidate forums. But the Grange does not indorse candidates. They do make a stand on propositions and bonds when it affects farms, water and property rights.

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Grange History

BIRTH OF AN AMERICAN TREASURE

The Grange came into being in 1867 because of the vision of Oliver Hudson Kelley, a Minnesota farmer and activist. He had long held that farmers, because of their independent and scattered nature, needed a national organization which would represent them much as unions were beginning to do for industrial workers. Farmers were at the mercy of merchants for both needed farm supplies and for marketing their crops. Railroads and warehouse companies were taking advantage of farmers as well.

Kelley and some of his friends organized the National Grange (officially known as the Order of Patrons of Husbandry) as a fraternal group similar to the Masonic lodge. The early leaders were responsible for promoting cooperatives which had the potential of helping farmers economically.

Effective lobbying efforts were undertaken early and this activity remains a bulwark of Grange service to rural America. Education of rural residents was championed by the early Grange and, due to Grange agitation; dramatic improvements were made in rural schools. The birth of the Extension Service, Rural Free Delivery, and the Farm Credit System were largely due to Grange lobbying. The Grange at all levels is strictly nonpartisan and does not endorse candidates for public office nor contribute to their campaigns.

At the national level, the Grange actively lobbies for causes which are in accord with organizational policy. All policy within the Grange originates at the local level and the organization remains as one of America's best examples of democratic grass-roots activism. The primary legislative objective of the Grange is to represent the views of rural residents and the agricultural community. These issues include transportation, farm programs, rural economic development, education, health and safety concerns and many others. Each year the policies are summarized and published in booklet form.

Early in its history Grange leaders realized that social interaction was especially important to rural residents. For nearly 130 years Grange halls have existed as community centers where residents gather for educational events, dances, potlucks, town meetings, political rallies and other meetings. Junior Grange, 4-H, FFA, scouting and Camp Fire groups have thrived because of Grange involvement and each year tens of thousands of Grange members participate in numerous community service projects.

A wide variety of social, leadership and educational opportunities for members of all ages have been made available throughout the organization’s long history. Members not only receive personal satisfaction from accomplishing something they enjoy, but they share in the greater reward of being an active part of an organized effort to bring people together for good times, constructive activities and honest, hard-working community building.

For a complete history of the National Grange, see People, Pride and Progress: 125 Years of the Grange in America by David H. Howard (Washington, D.C.: The National Grange, 1992; 336 pages, hardcover, bibliography and index, Foreword by former U.S. Rep. Thomas Foley, former Speaker of the House of Representatives). Copies are available from the National Grange, 1616 H. St. NW, Washington, DC 20006 for $12 each plus $3 each for postage/handling.

 

Grange Divisions

The Grange is America's Family Fraternity. Family and community are foundations of the Grange. Traditional family values are promoted and woven into the fabric of Grange activities and events. We promote good citizenship and patriotism.

The Grange seeks to educate the public of the role agriculture in today's modern society; to influence public policy through legislative advocacy; to promote the proper use of the environment and natural resources and to assist in protecting the property rights of the stewards of the land.

As America's first agricultural fraternity, Grange service to agriculture, communities and the nation is built upon democratic expression and organization. Each member has the opportunity to help formulate community, state, and national policies. The National Grange is comprised of four distinct divisions built one upon the other in logical sequence, plus a separate division for the Junior Grange.

• Local Grange - This unit of the organization is built around the community. Men, women and youth are admitted on equal terms. Those who are 14 years of age are eligible for full membership. Each member has one vote. The local Grange elects its own officers and controls its own affairs in community matters. It confers the first four ritualistic Degrees. Although regular Grange business meetings are for members only, the educational and literary programs are frequently open to the public. All Grange activities are for the purpose of developing leadership, improving community life and expanding opportunities for all people. Over 350,000 people are members of the Grange in 4,000 communities nationwide. Many Subordinate Granges own their own Grange halls. More than 100,000 regular meetings are held every year.
• Subordinate (local) Granges within a given district are grouped together on a county or regional basis into Pomona Granges that meet monthly or quarterly. The Pomona Grange confers the Fifth Degree of the Order, thus extending the lessons and opportunities of the Subordinate Grange. The Pomona Grange provides the leadership for educational, legislative, and business interests of the Subordinate Granges in its jurisdiction.
• The State Grange is a delegate body representing Subordinate and Pomona Granges and is composed of both men and women. With annual conventions lasting several days, State Granges consider many important matters relating to legislation and public policy, with particular reference to agriculture, other matters of concern to rural America and the general welfare of the state as a whole. Inasmuch as State Grange policies originate in the Subordinate and Pomona units of the Order and are conveyed through their delegates, this branch is in a special sense expressive of Grange thought and sentiment throughout the entire state. Voting authority is vested in the delegate body, which in most instances is composed of the Masters of Subordinate and Pomona Granges and their spouses, each having one vote. The Sixth Degree of the Order is conferred at these conventions.
• The State Grange - This is the parent branch of the Order which speaks with authority and understanding for the major branches of agriculture and America. All business sessions of the National Grange are open to any Subordinate Grange member in good standing. As spectators, they have no vote in the deliberations, but they do have ample opportunity to appear before committees and to testify. As the supreme legislative body of the Order, policies are developed through the channels of Subordinate, Pomona and State units and consequently embody the seasoned judgement of the membership. At the annual convention of the National Grange, one day is devoted to the conferral of the Seventh Degree, the highest degree of the Order. Degree candidates and members gather from all parts of the nation for this annual ritualistic event that competent critics claim cannot be surpassed in modern ritualism.
• Junior Grange - Believing that the future of a nation depends upon the training of its children the Grange structure includes the Junior Grange, open to children between the ages of 5 and 14. It is a distinct unit in itself. Junior Granges have their own ritual and degree work, conduct an educational hour at their meetings, provide wholesome social activities and undertake community projects -- all under the direction of an adult selected by the Subordinate Grange, which has jurisdiction over the Juniors. Thousands of children are members of Junior Granges and most of them "graduate" into the parent Grange when they reach the age of 14 years.

(the above information taken from the State Grange website, located at http://www.californiagrange.org/about_overview.aspx)