8
Community
April 21
2022
This Old Building
Vernonia Grange #305 will celebrate
National Grange Month with a ceremony
on April 23
By Scott Laird
They just don’t build them like this anymore!
That’s what pops in your mind, if you stop to
consider it, when you step inside the doors of the Ver-
nonia Grange building on North Street in Vernonia.
The old building was built in 1907 and has
withstood at least two floods that we know of, but is
still going strong as a community event space. It’s a
community treasure, with a storied history, and is full
of memories. It’s a place that connects us to our history
and to a time when things were simpler, but not neces-
sarily easier. It’s a place worth preserving.
“The pioneers of Vernonia must have built
this building – it would have been built by volunteers,”
says Maggie Peyton, a long-time Grange member for
over 25 years who currently serves as one of the Verno-
nia Grange’s officers. In fact, later, in looking at some
very old minutes Peyton recently located, some dating
back to 1919, we noticed a few of the names of those
early community founders – Parker, Treharne, Hall.
April is National Grange Month, so I recently visit-
ed the Vernonia Grange with Peyton, to see how this historic
building is getting on.
Peyton points out the unique architecture in-
side the building which incorporates a series of cable
support that provide a high and open ceiling. The old,
wood floor is definitely showing its age, and the metal
roof is rusting and in need of some work, but the build-
ing continues to host weekly ballet classes, and has
been the site of several concerts and dances in recent
years (there’s a nice stage at one end of the main room),
so those old floor boards still have some life to them.
Peyton affectionately says the building has a “Golden
Glow.”
The Grange as an institution is organized re-
gionally, in community groups, by counties, by states,
and nationally. Originally rural in nature, today Grang-
es are found all across the United States – in small
towns, in the suburbs, and in urban settings.
Recently the Vernonia Grange has undergone
some much needed upgrades and improvements to the
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Happy Tails
Pet Grooming
JOBS IN THE FOREST PRODUCTS INDUSTRY
Production workers wanted for entry level sawmill positions
Lumber is our business - since 1971
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old building, helping to make it more user friendly. Peyton
provided a tour of the building and showed off the new, ful-
ly accessible restroom and a new exhaust hood over the old
griddle in the kitchen. An external ramp, donated by Sandy
Welch, has been installed on the side of the building and
joins a new sidewalk, bringing the building up to cur-
rent code and making the building more accessible.
On Saturday, April 23 the Vernonia Grange will
celebrate these upgrades by hosting the Pomona, the
Grange organization that provides oversight county-
wide, for an initiation ritual, during which several
youth will be inducted into the Junior Grange program.
Founded in 1867, the Grange movement is a na-
tional organization with its roots (literally!) in agricul-
ture, but with a local, grassroots focus. The organi-
zation is based around family, with full membership
beginning at the age of 14, and women have been equal
members since its inception. Originally formed to help
rural people fully participate in citizenship and give
them a voice in issues that impacted them – how to get
a fair price for their agricultural goods – the Grange
continues to teach the values of faith, hope, charity, and
fidelity.
The Grange remains old-fashioned in many ways.
It was originally organized the same way other old fra-
ternal organizations like the Masons were, although
not to the same level. To become a member, you must
go through some secret rituals up to the fourth degree
(there are a total of seven degrees). The Grange was created
to help teach members leadership and citizenship, and con-
tinues to be a place for civil discourse, that will “...constant-
ly strive to secure harmony, good will, and brotherhood...”
states the original Declaration of Purposes, written by
the Grange Founders.
In a proclamation announcing April as National
Grange Month, Grange President Betsy E. Huber writes
more about Grange values: creating connections be-
tween people; developing the potential of families and
youth; education, advocacy and agricultural awareness;
volunteerism and community service; civic responsibil-
ity and involvement; openness to all. “Grange mem-
bers everywhere wish to celebrate and express their
pride in the legacy of their highly respected organiza-
tion,” writes Huber.
And while some of those rituals and values may
seem old fashioned, it’s clear that many people today
are reexamining and embracing some of the old
traditions the Grange promotes, like self reliance, food
self sufficiency, and civic engagement. Last fall the
HED CO
C
UNWC
ANNUAL MEETING
Join us for a free, Zoom
optional meeting with an
exciting presentation and light
refreshments. Family friendly, all
are welcome.
Vernonia Grange
Thursday, April 28
5:30 - 7:30 pm
Full service grooming salon
• Competitive wages and benefit package
• Starting at $19/hr depending on experience
• Must be able to pass drug screen
• Must have reliable transportation
Deluxe bath
Bath and hair cut
Walk-In Nail trims/buffing
Anal checked - expressed if needed
Call for Appointment
100% Satisfaction Guarantee
Kristina/groomer/owner
503-807-6213
Inside Creatures Feed and Supplies
998 Bridge Street, Vernonia
AGENDA
5:30 pm - Call to Order
5:40 pm - PRESENTATION:
A Year in Our Watershed: 2021
Annual Report
- Discussion and Q&A
Apply in person at
Olympic Forest Products
69480 Banzer Rd.
Mist, OR 97016
Monday - Friday
7:00 am - 3:00 pm
MIKE PIHL
LOGGING CO., INC
MikePihlLogging@outlook.com
VERNONIA
E
C
I
V
SER PAIR
& RE
503-429-7972
6:50 pm - Break
6:55 pm - Council Business
• Establish Council membership
• Bylaw Amendments vote
• Board of Directors Elections
▪ Member-at-large, 2 yr term
▪ Member-at-large, 2 yr term
maggie@nehalem.org • (503) 396-2046
claiuto@gmail.com • (307) 321-6867
503-429-1470
1984 mist drive
po box 321
vernonia, or 97064
• Auto Repair • Oil Changes • Brakes
• Tires/Wheels/Alignments
cell 503.789.1268
fax 503.429.0252
58605 Nehalem Hwy S
Next to Storage, Too