| JANUARY 3, 2015 -- After being dormant for more than two years, the Litchfield Grange is back in business with 14 new members eager to restore the organization as a key part of the community.
A recruiting drive that began during the summer concluded in late November with the new members receiving the Grange’s charter — which had been suspended — from Connecticut State Grange Vice President George Russell.
The new members are James Fischer, Andrew Graves, Lynne Alexander, Karl Ebner, Barbara Putnam and Jonathan Wilson, all of Litchfield; Joan Spear of Bantam; Deneen Bernier of Northfield; Richard Grinvalsky of Morris; Jessica Falwell of Warren; Carol Prescott and Richard Prescott of Thomaston; Alicia North of Cornwall; and Deborah Laws of Winsted.
Several of the members are well-known locally for their community involvement. Fischer is a wildlife biologist and researcher at the White Memorial Conservation Center; Alexander is the president of the Litchfield-Morris Rotary Club; Putnam and Grinvalsky are organic farmers, and Wilson is a business leader in the center of town.
Thirteen new members were needed for the Grange’s charter to be reinstated by the state Grange, which assumed management of the Grange’s hall on Bantam Road after the Grange closed.
The state Grange is providing resources and a mentor to help the organization grow. Todd Gelineau, secretary of the state Grange and a member of Winchester Grange, is serving as mentor. Gelineau led the summer recruitment effort.
The Litchfield Grange was established in 1889 as a support organization for local farmers. It evolved into an organization focusing on community service and held an annual agricultural fair and other events to raise money for its scholarship fund.
A meeting of the new Grange will be held Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. at the hall. Officers will be elected and there will be a discussion about fundraising, community service projects and the idea of establishing a buyers club within the Grange. Several of the new members were part of the former Litchfield Corner Co-Op that sold the products of local growers. Since the Grange has had a long tradition of supporting cooperatives, incorporating a co-op into the structure of the new Grange would be a natural, Gelineau said.
Anyone interested in joining the Grange is welcome to attend the Jan. 8 meeting. |
