Township may buy Grange

Preliminary talks of purchase of Pioneer Grange optomistic.

By: Joseph Harvie
   The Township Council is interested in buying the historic Pioneer Grange building on Ridge Road and using it as a recreation center for the eastern side of town.
   "I think it would be a nice opportunity for the township," Mayor Frank Gambatese said Sunday. "It is part of the agricultural era of our township, from when Granges were the central meeting place for farmers in the area."
   The council and Grange have held preliminary talks about the possibility of the township purchasing the Grange building because maintenance was becoming too costly for the organization to afford, the Rev. John Maltby, an executive member of the Grange, said this week.
   Price was not discussed, members of both sides said. The tax assessor’s office said the building and land have been assessed at $380,000 for tax purposes.
   If the Grange does sell the property, the township plans to allow it and other community groups to use the building for meetings and events.
   Pioneer Grange No. 1 in Dayton is the oldest still-running Grange in the state, Grange Lecturer Joan Luckhardt said.
   The Granger movement began in 1867 as a way to give farmers a political voice. The movement grew quickly during the 1870s, especially in the Midwest, as low agricultural prices, growing indebtedness and discriminatory treatment by railroads were causing farmers economic hardship, according to the Houghton Mifflin "Reader’s Companion to American History." It’s political peak was in about 1875, and the Grange has functioned as a social and service organization for much of its history.
   The Dayton Grange was formed in 1872, Dr. Luckhardt said. Some of the more famous members were H. Norman Schwarzkopf, father of Army Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, who led American and coalition troops during the first Gulf War, and Milton Underwood, who was famous for using Elsie the Cow, mascot for Borden Milk, in advertisements and traveling across the country with her.
   Grange members said the organization will remain in operation, but building maintenance is becoming increasingly difficult, which is why it is considering selling.
   Dr. Luckhardt said some expensive repairs were performed over the summer. She said the Grange membership is declining and the members that are left are growing too old to be responsible for maintaining the building.
   "As we age we worried about what would become of it," Dr. Luckhardt said of the Grange building. "It is getting harder and harder to get on the ladder and change the light bulb. We put a roof on and had new electrical system installed over the summer."
   Dr. Luckhardt said selling the building township would allow it to pass responsibility for maintenance onto the township, which would remove the strain on the Grange’s budget.
   Mayor Gambatese said the building could be used as a meeting place for township groups and others who want to put on small plays. The Grange, unlike the nearby Wetherill Historic Site, is equipped with a stage and a maple dance floor that Dr. Luckhardt said is one of the best around because it was designed to withstand square dancers.
   The Grange also has a kitchen and eating area that can seat up to 100 people.
   Dr. Luckhardt said Grange members only use the building a couple times a month for dinners.
   "Every fourth Tuesday of the month we have a pot luck dinner at 4:30 p.m.," Dr. Luckhardt said. "The county Grange meets a couple times a year for an afternoon and that’s about the use of the building there currently."
   She said she would like to see the township purchase the Grange so that it will be used by more of the community.
   "We are talking in more serious terms as to what’s possible when we have a holiday gathering," Dr. Luckhardt said. "Everyone loves the activities we have there and also there is no place in town for some kids to go and just hang out because the schools are closed."