The Grange comes back to life

To most of us, "The Grange" conjures up movie images of a modest rural building with wholesome country dances, moonshine in the parking lot and neighborhood meetings where farmers and ranchers battle out issues concerning their livelihoods.

The Grange was the place for potlucks, sewing bees, 4-H meetings, holiday parties and even weddings. It's a crucial part of our rural heritage, and yet very few of today's generations even know what the Grange is.

The Whitepine Grange is just such a place. Located near Hwy 200 on Faro Lane in the Whitepine neighborhood between Thompson Falls and Trout Creek, the Grange building stands quietly tucked in the trees. It's a white, windowless structure with an outhouse in the back that harkens back to the pre-plumbing days.

Whitepine Grange #102, as it's officially known, was established in 1937. Since then, the plumbing was added, a furnace installed, and a full basement modified into three classrooms. The upstairs kitchen is outdated but functional, and still works for occasional potluck dinners and annual Grange get-togethers. The main floor also includes a hall big enough to accommodate country dances.

An out-of-tune upright piano stands in the corner, patiently waiting to be put back into use. The walls of the hall are lined with vintage theater seats that came out of the old Masonic Temple in Thompson Falls. Some of them still in working condition.

Peggy Carlson, Trout Creek, has served as the Whitepine Grange secretary since her family joined the Grange in 1967. "There used to be 13 granges in Sanders County back then," she recalls. "The Grange was a support system for rural communities. It was a neighborhood meeting place."

In actuality, the Grange is a national fraternal organization, like the Elks, Eagles, Oddfellows, Lions and Moose. The Grange's official name is "National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry." The rural Grange halls are therefore the ruralites' meeting place, which is maintained in accordance with rules of the national organization. It's a proponent of faith, family, patriotism and the rural way of life.

"The Grange gets involved in legislative issues concerning farmers and ranchers," Carlson said. "And we offer a meeting place for the neighborhood, not just for actual Grange members but for everyone. "

Due to changing socio-economic conditions, membership in Granges are dwindling, as people go elsewhere for their social get-togethers and entertainment. Yet, the Whitepine Grange has managed to roll with the times by availing its building to other groups in need of gathering spots.

It has served as an election polling place. For several years the Grange served as a 4-H meeting site, as well as a Mennonite school. When the Mennonites built their own school just down the highway and the old furnace began to falter, 4-H found other places to meet. Polling was no longer conducted there because the building was not up to code. The Whitepine building sat mostly vacant, except for line dancing classes held there on Tuesday afternoons.

In late 2018, Sanders County Dog Training Club approached Grange officials about "adopting" the building to use for dog training classes and equipment storage. This necessitated replacing the old furnace at considerable expense.

Word spread through the neighborhood, and several local groups contributed to the purchase price. A new furnace was installed with donations from the dog club, Huckleberry Festival Committee, Trout Creek Community Improvement Association, Thompson Grange and a local trucking company.

"We could immediately see the need for supporting and resurrecting the building and the organization," said Debb McNary, Huckleberry Festival chairman. "The Grange has been such an important part of our heritage for so long! Here's this great building that is available for various groups to use at little or no cost. We need to keep it going."

"It's a versatile building," says Peggy Carlson, "and it needs people in it once again." JoAnne Pruett still conducts her Tuesday line dances and Sanders County Dog Training Club holds classes there at least three days a week. Other groups interesting in renting the facility can contact Carlson, who oversees booking events.

Currently there are only a handful of members in the Whitepine Grange. Carlson, who is in her eighties, admits it's becoming more difficult for her to manage the secretarial task, lamenting the loss of her friend and Grange partner Mary Naegeli who died several years ago.

"Mary and I worked well together for years and years," she says. "Without her now, the energy just isn't there anymore."

Still, she hopes the interest can be renewed once again through recruiting newer, younger members of the Whitepine neighborhood into the organization. Due to the dog club's involvement, several new members joined last year, and she is more than eager to hand over the reins to someone else who can breathe new life into the organization.

A general information and membership recruitment meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 23, at 7 p.m. at the Whitepine Grange. The meeting is open to the public. Anyone who lives in the west end of Sanders County is particularly encouraged to attend and find out what the Grange has to offer as a meeting place and a neighborhood organization. For more information, contact Jan Manning, meeting coordinator, at 827-6385.