A group of Elgin citizens have revitalized the Rockwall Grange. Originally established on Oct. 1, 1926, by W.R. Gekeler and J.A. Nice, Rockwall grange members first met at the old Thorny Grove schoolhouse until 1928 when the grange hall was built.

Many granges closing doors, but Elgin organizationexperiencing resurgence

ELGIN – After nearly 86 years, the Rockwall Grange is still alive, active and fulfilling its mission to serve the community of Elgin.

Originally established on Oct. 1, 1926, by W.R. Gekeler and J.A. Nice, Rockwall grange members first met at the old Thorny Grove schoolhouse until 1928 when the grange hall was built.

Its purpose was to become a meeting place for rural citizens and support agriculture. In social terms, the grange was a rural center for farmers and neighbors to meet, talk agriculture, enjoy entertainment and offer mutual support. It was a place for fellowship.

That was before television, the Internet, cell phones, texting and a host of after-school club meetings and team sports events. With changing times and many activities competing for people’s time, the grange seemed to slip in rank of importance in people’s lives. As a result, in the last decade grange organizations have been closing their doors due to lack of interest. Their properties were being sold and furnishings shared with surviving granges.

Rockwall Grange nearly suffered the same fate in April 2009. However, due to a group of caring Elgin citizens lead by Cindy Chandler of Elgin, the grange was revitalized and is still serving Elgin citizens today.

A group of 13 new charter members quickly went to work to repair the neglected grange hall. It needed a good clean-up, but the dance floor was in good condition, said Chandler. Still, after closer inspection, she said the hall needed a new furnace, a new septic system, new wiring and siding, so the organization began looking for funding to upgrade the hall.

“This building has a lot of history and should be preserved,” Chandler said. “Thank goodness for the Wildhorse Foundation. They have really helped us a lot to upgrade the grange hall.”

Chandler received their first grant award from Wildhorse Foundation and used it to upgrade the wiring, which no longer met code. The entire building only had two outlets, so with this money, the grange members were able to upgrade the kitchen. That’s when they made an interesting discovery.

“Some of the kitchen cupboards were designed and made by Edna Teter Rush,” said Chandler. “We’ve kept the cupboards in the kitchen when we upgraded the room last year.”

Among historians, Rush is a well known name in Union County. She attended Thorny Grove school as a young girl and returned there in 1927 to teach classes. In 1981, she authored “The One Room School” so her signature cupboards at Rockwall Grange are now one of its celebrity features.

Another area of the hall that was upgraded were the windows. They were old and not heat efficient, so when the windows at Stella Mayfield were replaced in 2011, the Elgin School District donated the old windows to the grange hall.

“This year’s Wildhorse grant was over $5,000 and we used it for a septic system,” said Chandler. “We put in a hot water tank. Before doing this, we had to boil water if we wanted it hot. We also put in a hand-washing sink. Both of the bathrooms had taller toilets installed too.”

Chandler said that the grange has applied for a grant from Meyer Memorial Foundation and will learn if they are awarded anything on June 19. If they get the grant, the grange members will use it to put new siding on the hall.

At a recent Rockwall grange meeting, Chandler said a regional representative was present and commended the members saying, “Your grange is one of the up and coming ones.”

Chandler and the other grange members are proud of their efforts to revitalize the organization and upgrade the hall. Much of the improvements were possible because of the Wildhorse Foundation, but the grange has also benefitted in small ways from other granges that have closed too.

“We received bench seating from the Cove grange and kitchenware from a grange on the west side of the state,” she said.

People are starting to use the building again. The grangers charge rental at $65 per day or $15 per hour with a $75 cleaning deposit.

Chandler said they are trying to host an event monthly for the community to enjoy.

“We’re looking at a June event where we will have a Miss Elgin pageant for the (regional) parades each year,” she said. “The grange hosts a large annual yard sale in July downtown during Chief Joseph Days. They will also have pancake breakfast for the bicyclists who visit in August or September.”

In past months they have leased the building out for two weddings, a few memorials and other parties. They also hosted prime rib dinners, barbecues, cowboy poetry, holiday events and book signings. The grange also gave out two scholarships in 2011 to high school graduates for $50 and $100, and they will continue to do that each year.

“Because we’re a community service organization, we help clean Galloway Cemetery on Middle Road too,” said Chandler. “Even though we’re a grange doing quite a bit, we still need new, young members or we’ll disappear one day,” she said.

That’s still the bottom line. Service organizations must have intergenerational and service-oriented participants if they are to survive our changing world. Chandler and the other Rockwall grange members are hard-working volunteers, and they are willing to show the next generation how to serve the Elgin community.

For more information on joining the Rockwall grange or leasing the grange hall, call Shirley Keating at 541-805-9526 or Chandler at 541-437-3745.