| JANUARY 19, 2008 -- Like just about all the local farmers, Gertrude Prelli's parents made sure when their daughter turned 14 she joined the Riverton Grange.
Sixty-five years later, she's still a member.
The odds were against it. As farms disappeared, so have most granges - clubs devoted to agriculture and rural life. In Riverton, a village in Barkhamsted where the Grange family is graying but strong, traditions and fraternity have kept the chapter from un raveling. Friday, the Riverton Grange celebrated its 100th anniversary.
The celebration included a catered buffet chicken and beef dinner. "This one is for us," Prelli said, of the dinner. "We usually do potluck, but didn't want to delay the ceremony to clean up."
The Riverton Grange is going strong, with 93 members, most over the age of 60. Few are farmers. Fellowship remains the draw, said Prelli, whose son Philip, 59, is also a member and the state's Commissioner of Agriculture.
Friday's dinner honored past members, two of whom have been grangers for 72 years, and the descendants of charter members. The group with 36 members in 1908 in what is now the Riverton General Store. Along with Gertrude Prelli, the other 72-year member is Virginia Butler of West Hartland.
Riverton boasts one of the oldest granges in the state. Torrington's Hope Grange began in 1875, about the time Bloomfield's Tunxis Grange began. Stafford's Grange began in 1874.
In the 1880s, local granges served as a lively social and business venue for farmers, as well as a political voice. Formally known as the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, the collective Grange promoted legislation for tax reform, the improvement of rural schools and country roads, and secured money for state agricultural colleges. They pushed to bring electricity to rural homes, and claimed a voice in local and national elections.
The monthly calender was filled with a balance of business meetings, dances, dinners, agricultural fairs, and plays. Rituals for initiatiation no longer involve secret pass words but still focus on the conferral of seven degrees which highlight the importance of four seasons and faith, hope, charity and fidelity.
As agriculture waned and television competed for evening entertainment, membership fell and young people stayed away, or joined other civic organizations that fall under the same community service umbrella, Prelli said. When the Victory Grange in Colebrook and the Laurel Grange in Canaan closed, core members joined Riverton.
At meetings held on the first and third Fridays these days, about 25 members show up. They socialize, organize fundraising events, and hear guest lecturers discuss every thing from gardening to identity theft. An agricultural fair, where competition is for the best gourds, beans, pies, breads and cookies, is held every September. A popular turkey and ham dinner draws crowds during the Riverton Fair in October.
Statewide, 75 granges remain. Promotion of community service and discussion of contemporary topics such as ecology and conservation has so far failed to reverse a trend of declining membership that forced more than 145 Granges to fold since the 1960s.
Gertrude's daughter, Gail Prelli, is the Grange master, its president. At 50, she is one of the youngest members.
"Our members have be come friends and have shared our lives," Gail Prelli said. "We have fun, and laugh and have a good time. There is a sincere effort by neighbors to keep track of their neighbors."
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