Future in Jeopardy for the California State Grange

[ Photo: 1945 California State Grange Convention, Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium ]


For everyone who uses the Santa Cruz Live Oak Grange, please read. Urgent!

I'm writing as someone who first joined in 1999 and has served as Executive Committee member, Gatekeeper, Chaplain and currently Treasurer. I have an understanding of what this Grange has been since its inception in 1932 and I carry an idealistic hope for what it can be in the future: an accessible and effective force for positive change working for, among other community service objectives, an affordable and healthy food system based on produce grown and harvested in an environmentally, socially, economically and spiritually sustainable fashion.

As some of you may know, in April of 2013, the national Grange Master issued a decision that declared the California State Grange as no longer part of the Grange family, and followed up with a variety of lawsuits to enforce that decision. Major points of that litigation have been initially decided in a summary judgment by one judge in favor of the National Grange, however the organization formerly known as the State Grange as appealed those decisions to a higher court. In the meantime another organization was created on 2/21/2014 by the NG to replace the former State Grange. It has been named " The Grange Of The State Of California's Order Of Patrons Of Husbandry, Chartered."

The President / Master of this new organization, Ed Komski, will be visiting the SCLO Grange Sunday, 1/3/16 from 4:00-6:00 to answer questions. This event is closed to the general public - it is open to current (paid dues in 2015) grange members and probably to new paid and returning paid members as well. Payment online via credit card / PayPal is an option:
http://www.greengrange.org/membership

As I understand it, this new organization has declared the authority and the intention to move in and take over any and all of the 160ish community granges which do not relinquish, in a timely fashion, their connections with the former State Grange and sign new bylaws and other documents aligning themselves to this new, two-year-old organization. Case law supporting their legal right to take over existing active granges and take control of their assets has not yet been provided by them. The process of aligning with them, however, appears to insure that they will henceforth have the authority to at will and without cause, close one or more of these newly aligned community Granges and sell the property, taking the proceeds of those sales for their own benefit.

And so it is that the SCLO Grange has been discussing this issue and will continue these discussions while considering our legal options. In the belief that a diversity of perspectives leads to more rational and well-informed decisions, I encourage all of you to re-join the Grange and attend this Q&A (followed by an optional potluck meal) as well as the monthly business meeting on Tuesday, 1/5/2016 at 7:00 PM, preceded by an optional potluck meal at about 6:15.

In service,
Paul Franklin
Treasurer