FAYETTEVILLE — National organizers are hoping to resurrect a chapter of the community outreach organization known as the Grange in Northwest Arkansas.
The Grange was founded in 1867 to provide social and legislative organization for farmers. Despite its many rural areas, there are currently no active Grange organizations in Arkansas.
National leaders hope to change that beginning Saturday with an introductory meeting from 2 to 3 p.m. at the Springdale Public Library.
A Springdale Grange was active until a few years ago but disbanded because of declining membership, said Christopher Szkutak, a national deputy for the group formally known as the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry.
“The most common misconception is that you have to be a farmer to join,” Szkutak said. “We accept all people as we advocate for issues important to rural America.”
Anyone over the age of 14 can join the Grange. Membership has been open to women since the group’s inception.
The Grange’s lobbying work and the fact young people can join separate it from other civic-minded organizations, Szkutak said.
At A Glance
Local Granges
In local units, men, women and youth, 14 and older, are admitted on equal terms. Each member gets one vote. The local Grange elects its own officers and controls its own affairs in community matters.
All Grange activities are for the purpose of developing leadership, improving community life, and expanding opportunities for all people.
Source: The National Grange Of The Order Of Patrons Of Husbandry
The Grange is a nonpartisan group and does not endorse political candidates, but instead backs “common sense policies,” Szkutak said. One of the more important issues for the Grange today is to make broadband Internet access available across the country.
Donna Keeton, Grange master for Oklahoma, said her organization has had success in lobbying the state legislature to keep the state income tax. Oklahoma has considered abolishing the income tax, which would result in higher property taxes, she said.
The Springdale chapter was formerly affiliated with the Grange in Oklahoma.
Membership in the Grange peaked at more than a million people in the early 20th century, and currently sits at 300,000 people in 37 states.
Steve Eddington, spokesman for the Arkansas Farm Bureau, said he couldn’t comment on whether the bureau would work with the Grange. Bureau employees, some of whom have worked there since the early 1970s, have no recollection of a Grange presence in the state, he said.
Declining membership and lack of activities ultimately led to the disbanding of the Springdale Grange, said George Anderson, the group’s former Grange master.
Anderson said he took over the Springdale Grange in 2000. The main focus of the group was to keep up the Grange Hall, a converted one-room schoolhouse on Butterfield Coach Road.
“For a pre-1900 building, it’s in great shape,” he said.
Anderson said he is unsure if he would join a new Springdale Grange.
The old Springdale Grange had community dinners several times a year and put on an annual homecoming for seniors who had attended school in the building. As those seniors got older, passing away or going into nursing homes, there simply wasn’t much more for the Grange to do, he said.
“I fulfilled my goal, so now I’ll let the national Grange take over,” Anderson said.