MICHIGAN STATE GRANGE MASTER/PRESIDENT
Christopher D. Johnston
6241 Grand River Road
Bancroft, MI 48414
(989)634-9350 (H) (989)666-6648 (C)
msgprez19@yahoo.com
MICHIGAN STATE GRANGE OFFICE
404 S. Oak Street
Durand, MI 48429
(989)288-4546
msgrange1873@yahoo.com
Christopher D. Johnston
6241 Grand River Road
Bancroft, MI 48414
(989)634-9350 (H) (989)666-6648 (C)
msgprez19@yahoo.com
MICHIGAN STATE GRANGE OFFICE
404 S. Oak Street
Durand, MI 48429
(989)288-4546
msgrange1873@yahoo.com
MARCH/APRIL 2025 GRANGE NEWS
Day of Learning
Mark your calendars for March 29, 2025 at Fredonia Grange #1713 in Marshall, MI. This all day event is for you to hear from the department directors on their programs. Lunch will be a potluck so bring your favorite dish to pass. Come for the learning and enjoy the fun and fellowship that comes with all Grange events.
National Grange Project Sustenance
The National Grange has developed another project for local Granges to participate in. This is based on three pillars: Food Security, Self-sustainability, Individual and Community Resilience. Below is the basic information about the program, but there is a lot more information on their website https://www.nationalgrange.org/projectsustenance/
From the National Grange Website:
Food security is multi-dimensional. Availability, access, affordability, use and stability of food and clean water are each a piece of the puzzle. In the United States, about one out of every seven people are food insecure according to feeding America.
Most people assume that in rural communities where most food is grown, food is abundant, accessible, affordable, and the supply is stable, yet rural Americans are more likely to face food scarcity, live in food deserts, encounter challenges to clean drinking water, and have economic challenges to accessing food with adequate nutrition.
Granges, since our earliest days, have tackled the issue of food insecurity from every angle. From the fight against railroad monopolies charging farmers exorbitant rates to ship food and threatening the food supply chain for millions, to common modern Grange events and projects such as low-cost community dinners, free food pantries, and community gardens, Granges are no stranger to finding innovative ways to ensure members, their neighbors, and those around the nation and world can access food. Each of these modern projects fall under the first ribbon of the Project Sustenance banner.
In addition, many pieces of National Grange policy align with this portion of Project Sustenance, such as advocacy for the Farm Bill and funding for infrastructure projects to ensure clean water for rural communities.
Grange Month
While any month can be Grange month, we choose April to be the month to celebrate, engage, promote, and invite Grange. We celebrate our accomplishments, engage the public in our endeavors, promote ourselves and our programs, award deserving individuals and invite friends and family to join us in our mission.
Grange Revival
For those looking for a summer trip across the country…… Look no further, the bi-annual Grange Revival is happening again this year in Utah. Thousand Lakes RV Park in Torrey, Utah will be home to Grange campers, aka members, from across the country. If you are considering making this trip please visit the National Grange website for all the necessary details. https://www.grangerevival.com/
Day of Learning
Mark your calendars for March 29, 2025 at Fredonia Grange #1713 in Marshall, MI. This all day event is for you to hear from the department directors on their programs. Lunch will be a potluck so bring your favorite dish to pass. Come for the learning and enjoy the fun and fellowship that comes with all Grange events.
National Grange Project Sustenance
The National Grange has developed another project for local Granges to participate in. This is based on three pillars: Food Security, Self-sustainability, Individual and Community Resilience. Below is the basic information about the program, but there is a lot more information on their website https://www.nationalgrange.org/projectsustenance/
From the National Grange Website:
Food security is multi-dimensional. Availability, access, affordability, use and stability of food and clean water are each a piece of the puzzle. In the United States, about one out of every seven people are food insecure according to feeding America.
Most people assume that in rural communities where most food is grown, food is abundant, accessible, affordable, and the supply is stable, yet rural Americans are more likely to face food scarcity, live in food deserts, encounter challenges to clean drinking water, and have economic challenges to accessing food with adequate nutrition.
Granges, since our earliest days, have tackled the issue of food insecurity from every angle. From the fight against railroad monopolies charging farmers exorbitant rates to ship food and threatening the food supply chain for millions, to common modern Grange events and projects such as low-cost community dinners, free food pantries, and community gardens, Granges are no stranger to finding innovative ways to ensure members, their neighbors, and those around the nation and world can access food. Each of these modern projects fall under the first ribbon of the Project Sustenance banner.
In addition, many pieces of National Grange policy align with this portion of Project Sustenance, such as advocacy for the Farm Bill and funding for infrastructure projects to ensure clean water for rural communities.
Grange Month
While any month can be Grange month, we choose April to be the month to celebrate, engage, promote, and invite Grange. We celebrate our accomplishments, engage the public in our endeavors, promote ourselves and our programs, award deserving individuals and invite friends and family to join us in our mission.
Grange Revival
For those looking for a summer trip across the country…… Look no further, the bi-annual Grange Revival is happening again this year in Utah. Thousand Lakes RV Park in Torrey, Utah will be home to Grange campers, aka members, from across the country. If you are considering making this trip please visit the National Grange website for all the necessary details. https://www.grangerevival.com/
MAY/JUNE 2025 GRANGE NEWS
Spring has Sprung!!
Spring has Sprung!!
As I drive the country roads, I see tractors tilling the fields and the planters are out planting the seed, sprayers are out fertilizing the wheat crop; I am reminded of the lesson of the First degree, Faith. Every year farmers gamble more than most do on the biggest sporting event of the year. The farmers plant a seed in dirt and pray for rain and heat to help germinate the seed and make it grow. So that hopefully they can harvest enough in the fall to cover their yearly cost of living and to jump start the
next crop year. This is the ultimate leap of faith that can be witnessed each and every spring. The founders of this great organization took a similar leap of faith, when they started this journey that we know today as the Grange. The founders planted the seed and we are reaping the bountiful harvest of fellowship, friendship, unity, solidarity, and a sense of belonging. People join organizations to find a group of people that are mostly like minded, and for a sense of belonging. If they dont find that sense of belonging they will move on to the next opportunity. When we invite people to come join us, make sure we are giving them the opportunity to find their sense of belonging. Together, we can become the seed of the next season of growing the Grange, that the founders tilled the soil for…
Michigan State Grange Annual Picnic
This is your notice to be looking for the upcoming information in the next issue of
Michigan State Grange Annual Picnic
This is your notice to be looking for the upcoming information in the next issue of
the Michigan Grange News about the annual picnic. Last year the picnic was held
in conjunction with the degree day in St Joe County at Burr Oak Grange.
The 7th Degree
After many years of discussion about recording the 7th degree as a stage production for historical purposes, it has been completed. In late March, Connie and I made a trip to Boone County Grange Building in Rockford, Illinois. The equipment from National Grange is being housed in the Grange hall there. The local high school has a full production theater stage that we rented for a weekend, and almost the entire cast of the seventh degree made the journey as well. We met for dinner Thursday evening at the Grange hall and then went upstairs to sort and help arrange what needed to go to the school. On Friday we moved everything, set up the stage, and did a walk through with the recording crew as they got their cameras set up. Saturday, we met at the school, got our costumes on and proceeded to perform, in costume, the Seventh Degree while being videoed. It was a surreal event for those
who have been on the cast for some time to realize we may never wear those fabulous costumes again. Or ever see the hand painted backdrops displayed. As the
National Session this November is being held on the cruise, this will be the premier of the recorded 7th Degree. Future plans for the video have been discussed but will need to come before the Assembly of Demeter to determine its future use.
Until next time….
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