| JULY 15, 2014 -- Way back in 1950 six Granges, five of whom met on the 2nd and 4th Fridays (It seems the 6th member was a Grange that was located in a convenient, centrally located area) decided to form a “club” that met on a fifth Friday once a year so they could get together with Grangers with whom they could not neighbor. Thus began the 2-4-5 Club, though that was not officially the name for five years. After it received an official name, the club decided it needed an official banner. One of the ladies of the club made a triangular banner out of blue felt with the yellow numbers 2-4-5, placed down the center. It was hung on a rod and was presented each year to the Grange having the most members present. After ten years or so, the members voted to have one permanent officer, the Secretary. This person would keep the minutes and send out the notices of the meetings each year. Other officers were chosen from members attending, with the Master and Lecturer of the host Grange filling those chairs.
Although rules changed slightly through the years the meetings were mostly programs (with each attending Grange providing a number) and refreshments (with each Grange bringing enough food for their members). Counts in the old minutes books numbered in the 80s and 90s. Sometimes Granges would come in a bus. Programs were varied and hilarious. In one everyone in the hall put their shoes in a pile in the middle of the room and then tried to find them. (Can you imagine 180 shoes to go through?) Then there was the one where members were given a page of newspaper and told to tear out a cow (behind their backs). What a trip through time these minutes present.
Through the years Granges have closed and attendance has dwindled. This year the club lost one of the three remaining attending Granges and that dealt the final blow. At what would have been the 64th annual meeting on May 30, the club decided to dissolve. And thus ends another piece of Grange history. |
