– Trish Yerges

– The Observer

SUMMERVILLE his year Pleasant Grove Grange No. 475 nearly closed its doors for good.

"It was declared dormant in January 2006," said Phyllis Wilson of the Oregon State Grange, "but reorganization efforts are now under way."

Had it not been, in part, for the dedication of Hazel Mecham, grange secretary since 1984, the grange might not have held out this long.

"The grange went without a master for 1 1/2 years, and we had five members left," she explained, "but I kept things going, paying the bills, renting the hall out and keeping it clean."

Then one day last winter, a representative from the Oregon State Grange in Salem knocked on Mecham’s door requesting to inspect the grange hall in preparation for what seemed like its imminent sale. It was a reality check and that’s when Howard Butts and other Summerville residents came to the rescue.

On April 23, Butts officiated over an emergency meeting with about 28 neighbors. The immediate problem was identified, that Pleasant Grove Grange had hit some slack membership years, and there was an urgent need for the next generation to step up or lose the hall to the State Grange.

Neighbors responded by pledging their membership and electing 12 officers. Butts was elected as the new Grand Master.

"I think Howard will liven things up around here," Mecham predicted.

The new treasurer, Tom Bradbeer, said the reorganization caused membership to rise to 39, but more are welcome.

"Simply put, we’d just like people to come and participate in the grange," Butts said.

Membership fees are $30 per adult annually, and interested people may call Bradbeer at 534-5210 for information.

Mecham was pleased with the rescue efforts. "Well, it looks like this old place is going to live on. I’m glad about that," she said fondly as she locked up the old place for the umpteenth time.

A 95-Year History

The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry was formed in 1867 by members of the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the purpose of promoting legislative change for the improvement of agriculture. Subordinate and juvenile granges were comprised of adults and young people for the purpose of promoting community and agricultural development.

By the early 1870s, four granges had been organized in Union County. Among the first of these was Summerville Grange No. 130.

"It was founded in 1874 but became dormant in 1876-77 and subsequently closed," said Wilson of the State Grange.

Thirty-four years passed before another grange in the Summerville district was organized.

With help from grange booster W.R. Gekeler of La Grande a meeting was held Dec. 2, 1911, to discern the extent of community interest in a Summerville grange. Gekeler presided over a second meeting six days later at Pleasant Grove School on Hunter Road. The 12 officers elected included George I. Wade as grand master, William Bull as overseer and Victor Johnston as secretary.

The grange took its name from the school where the members met.

Within a few years, though, the fledgling grange membership started to wane as World War I took men out of the wheat fields and put them into the battle fields. According to Gekeler, "The grange, like many other organizations, experienced slack years during the war, but in 1922 started revival plans and now has one of the best halls and equipment of any grange in this part of the state."

By the close of 1922, the grange had grown to 42 members including the following families: Arnoldus, Baker, Bull, Cantrell, Childers, Dodson, End, Fries, Frizzell, German, Johnson, Johnston, Kuhn, Lanman, Lewis, Murchison, Neiderer, Newton and Patrick.

With a stronger membership and renewed zeal, the members built their first hall in 1923. Local carpenter and charter member John C. Lewis (1882-1971) built the hall with a kitchen, bathroom, a main auditorium and second smaller room where the young people met after the organization of Pleasant Grove Juvenile Grange No. 18 in 1925.

After Pleasant Grove School closed in mid-1939, the school house was sold and removed from the lot along with the stable. In 1946, a gravel driveway was laid to the grange, and Floyd Feck was hired to make a sign. The Imbler School District accepted the grange bid of $40 in January 1947.

"The Pleasant Grove Grange hall became the centerpiece of the community," said Past Master George Monroe of La Grande.

Monroe, who took the 5th degree from the State Grange, served as grand master and pomona master from 1989 to 2000. He remains on the executive committee, and as a past master he initiated Butts and the other reorganizers into the grange.

Monroe hopes that the challenges facing the grange can be overcome as the next generation takes over. A decline in volunteerism and organizational commitment and the competition of other recreational activities are among the things that threaten grange survival.

The grange annually awarded a $2,000 college scholarship and a 4-H scholarship. Grange business meetings consisted of committee reports on anything from hog cholera to proceeds from the last dance. Entertainment always followed, with songs, contests, lectures and amusing debates like "Are women naturally better wives than men are husbands?"

The grange hall was booked with events including the first Indian banquet for the Festival of Arts, home-ec bazaars, quilt raffles, cookbook and pie sales, carnivals, dairy promotions, fall harvest sales and very popular Saturday night dances. The hall was also rented out for banquets, reunions, showers, weddings and other social events.

As the reorganizers at Pleasant Grove take a fresh look at how the grange can take a leadership role in the 21st century, one thing is clear. They’re going to preserve the grange for the community it has served for the past 95 years.

"If you want to help the grange," Butts said, "we invite you to participate and become a member. Come to our fundraisers. Rent the grange hall and just enjoy it."