USA > New York > The History of New York State Grange, 1934-1960 > Part 2
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19
Henry D. Sherwood, 1944-52, was an outstanding State Master, good enough to have been elected Master of the National Grange if he had wanted it. I always like to see Henry coming, because I can tell by the twinkle in his eye that he has a good story for me. Another sign that Henry is around is his pipe. I guess it is true that most fishermen and pipe smokers are good fellows. It certainly goes for Henry.
Leland D. Smith of Brasher Falls, Master at this writing maintains all the leadership and other fine qualities of those Masters of the State Grange who preceded him. A quiet man, one has to know Leland well and see him in action to appreciate his high courage, his ability, and devotion to the Grange, to farmers and to America.
Fraternally yours,
E. R. Eastman
16
A MESSAGE TO ALL READERS
By JAMES A. McCONNELL
Any history of the New York State Grange is bound to be a recital about people, leaders, farm problems and issues affecting rural people, directly or indirectly. Some of these problems and issues were local, many of them statewide, and not a few national in scope.
As I think back over the years about my contacts and first hand knowledge of the problems of rural people and the leaders of the times, I realize what an important part the Grange has played in the agricultural affairs of the Empire State. This has been particularly true in the community, but also has been a vital factor in state matters, and of course the local Grange for many years has been a powerful force in forming public policy at the national level.
I have been rather intimately associated with the Grange for something over forty years. I joined it as a young farmer after my father passed away, and I went home to help my mother with the farm. The local Grange, of which I became a member, was an organization without a home, except as it met in a room set aside for this purpose in the home of the Master. I'll have something more to say of this later.
Some years later I became well acquainted with the Grange leadership in New York State in my work with G. L. F., as well as the leaders in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The fact that the G. L. F. headquarters were at Ithaca, New York, gave me more frequent contact with the New York State Grange leadership.
Through the years I have been impressed with the work of the Grange in many lines, such as, the development of local leadership, a builder of agricultural communities, its work on national problems which affected agriculture, and some that didn't. The Grange has great capacity for discussing and resolut- ing on a broad front. I have been particularly impressed with the sound thinking and leadership of the State Grange leaders in this period.
I have noted particularly the work of the Grange and its effectiveness in the local community. In the rural areas the Com- munity is a formless thing unless the people living in it develop leadership, organizations, goals are set and work is done. This,
17
of course, is carried on all of the time, but more intensively in the formative period. The Grange has been outstanding in this job of building communities in rural areas.
Grange Halls which, in themselves, were a problem and took lots of effort and work to build and furnish and keep up and maintain, have been the community center for agriculture for as long as I can remember. G. L. F. hardly ever went into a community to hold a meeting but what it got in touch with the Grange ladies for facilities and food. They responded nobly.
I believe there are very few cooperatives, local and statewide, in New York, but what were hammered out in meetings held in Grange Halls of the State and aided by the Grange leadership. In my work as a young field man with G. L. F. I leaned heavily on the Grange leadership in communities, and on the use of the Grange Halls to bring together and organize the sort of thing needed to build a live, going G. L. F. agency.
But above all, in my experience, the Grange has been most effective in building and developing leaders where oftentimes leadership did not appear to be.
I want to recount one instance of local Grange action I saw recently: In my own old home community, where as I said at the beginning, we had no Grange hall, the local Grange had rather a tenuous existence. A few years ago something sparked the younger Grange leadership, and over a period of a very few years, this leadership found the support for laying out and build- ing and financing a modern Grange home. They not only accom- plished this in a few years, but paid off the mortgage. The amaz- ing thing to me was how this movement sought out and brought to the front leadership where I had no suspicion that leadership existed. This leadership was young and vital, and of course pro- gressive. It has made a very distinctly better rural community because of its efforts.
I am sure this history will not fail to catch this emphasis on community building, which in my observation, extending back for almost a half century, is one of the great contributions to agriculture that the Grange made.
Fraternally yours,
James A. McConnell
18
Chapter 2 STATE MASTERS
GRANGE SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATIONS
1. FRED J. FREESTONE
"Each year sees the Grange recognized as never before; each year sees new conditions arising, new problems to face."
The speaker was a tall man with friendly face and great love of the Order. State Master Fred J. Freestone was giving his annual address, Lake Placid, 1934. Listen! He continued: "The Grange in New York State is financially and numerically strong. It is recognized by people in all walks of life as a very powerful farm organization, whose helpful influence reaches into the home, the community, and agricultural life all over the State."
Fred J. Freestone, fruit farmer, and Susan, his wife, joined Lodi Grange No. 213, Seneca County, and later transferred to In- terlaken Grange No. 160. To obtain a correct picture, a brief resume of his eight years of leadership is right and proper. No record which began abruptly in the middle of an administration would do either group or leader justice. The History of New York State Grange, Volume 1, by Leonard L. Allen, notes that Fred J. Freestone was chosen State Lecturer February, 1923, following the death of State Lecturer Blanche Alexander, who served from February, 1922 to October, 1922.
At the February, 1923 session, National Master Sherman J. Lowell commended the delegates: "You have elected to the office of State Lecturer a regular peach," he stated, "a Freestone peach."
After one year as State Lecturer he was twice elected Over- seer. 1928-35 saw him State Master. 1929-41, he was a member of
19
the National Grange Executive Committee, and its chairman from November, 1933 to November, 1941. Charles M. Gardner's fine "The Grange-Friend of the Farmer," indicates by dates that Mr. Freestone served twelve years as chairman of that august body, a period not exceeded by any other.
The eight years in which Mr. Freestone headed New York State Grange were signally successful. To a decided degree this was due to his own love of the Grange, his able leadership, and loyal support of Susan, his wife. He had the staunch cooperation of a devoted corps of officers and members, including a closely knit Deputy Association.
In 1931 Mr. Freestone was the recipient of an unsought invita- tion from Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt, to become a member of the newly created New York State Power Authority. Member- ship added to State Grange prestige, and gave a voice to Agricul- ture in decisions sure to affect the destiny of farming. He was a Commissioner for eighteen years, when he was tendered a resolu- tion in recognition of long, valuable service, rendered as trustee and also vice-chairman.
As a Director of the Farmers and Traders Life Insurance Company, Mr. Freestone recently received his 25 year pin. Such recognition of service, and others of like value, were tribute not only to the man, but also to his Grange training and record. Chairman of the New York State Agricultural Conference Board, he was also a member of: Governor's Agricultural Advisory Com- mittee; State Budget Advisory Committee; Governor's Rural Electrification Committee; Rural Electrification Administration; State Rural Electrification Conference Board; National Agricul- tural Conference Board; Advisory Board of New York State Fair; Executive Committee National St. Lawrence Association; Presi- dent Rural Rehabilitation Corporation; President National Sea- way Council; Director National Grange Insurance Company; Director Wheeler National Bank,-and he declined nomination for Governor of New York on independent ticket in 1930. He was a member of the Dutch Reformed Church, a Past Master of Farmerville Lodge F. & A. M., and past Patron Interlaken Eastern Star Chapter.
At the 1934 Lake Placid session, another Grange member of distinction, Mr. L. R. Simons, Director of Extension in New York State, made this significant comment: "The Grange is deepest in the hearts of the rural people of the State of any Farm Organiza- tion." This spirit radiated throughout the Freestone administra- tion; it showed in the growth and development of personality, and consequent ability of the membership to serve Agriculture and the rural community. It was reflected in the measure of esteem in which the Grange was held.
20
October 17, 1936, Mr. Freestone, in behalf of the National Grange presented to Fredonia Grange No. 1, this tablet:
"Presented by the National Grange
To Fredonia Grange No. 1
In recognition of the first working Grange in America; Also the first unit in organized Agriculture,
Organized by Oliver H. Kelley."
The tablet was unveiled by former State and National Master Sherman J. Lowell, assisted by Miss Edithe Hinckley, grand- daughter of George Hinckley, first Master Fredonia Grange. Miss Hinckley and Mr. Lowell were both members of Fredonia Grange No. 1.
In June, 1948, 500 people from 33 counties witnessed State Master Henry D. Sherwood present Fred J. Freestone with his Golden Sheaf Certificate. He received 600 letters from friends throughout the nation. He was awarded for Veteran Service in 1958.
This was the man, who, at his demise July 16, 1961, was cur- rently listed in "Who's Who in America."
HIS ADMINISTRATION February 1928 - December 1935
MEMBERSHIP RECORD: 7,180 members gained.
ORGANIZATION: 47 Granges, organized or reorganized.
HOME OWNERSHIP: 200 Granges became home owners. "One of the satisfactions of my stewardship as your State Master has been the increase of Grange Halls in New York State." He esti- mated that the six hundred Grange Homes in the Empire State represented an investment of six million dollars.
GRANGE HALLS DEDICATED: Over 189.
SIXTH DEGREE INITIATES: Totaled 17,248, a number probably never exceeded by any administration anywhere. This large number was attributable in no small degree to the twenty-nine special sessions of 1930, plus the four special sessions of 1934, in preparation for National Grange sessions of those years. It would almost seem that from those years a fragrance as of a rose garden might emanate, that in the memory of those thousands there is a perfume like that of a cherished rose,-symbolic of a flower eternal in their lives.
At each sixth degree session the "Big Drill" was used, to the tune of repeated applause. These drills dated back many years
21
in State Grange history, Among drill masters were Raymond Hitchings (assisted by Neal Gilmore) and Harold M. Stanley, all of Onondaga County. Edson Walrath, Jefferson County, occasion- ally substituted. At the 1934 Niagara Falls session, George A. Hauser, Niagara County, officiated well. More than one Patron viewed his partner, usually friend wife, with deep admiration and innate pride. "I wore a dress suit, just think of that,-me, an old farmer! My wife got a snap shot of me in that get-up,-and we have it yet." (Actual quotation.)
Pride in such participation in the beautiful degree may have been contributory to Grange growth in those years. In 1934, Charles M. Gardner, beloved High Priest of Demeter, paid the following high tribute to this unique phase of New York State Grange degree work:
"Seventy-two members were used at each meeting in a sixth degree drill of rare charm and dignity, all the participants in formal evening dress. This was in keeping with the plan used in 1930, which made all the special sessions so successful and was largely responsible for the great class of. 11,125 seventh de- gree initiates at National Grange, Rochester. . . This was a larger number than ever initiated into any fraternity in a single day."
DATE OF ANNUAL SESSIONS: Weary of battling blizzards, wielding snow shovels, and the debatable charm of occasional snow-blocked railways experienced at the annual February ses- sion, the delegates at Lake Placid, 1934, voted to hold the next session the following December.
HONOR GRANGES: At the December, 1934, Niagara Falls session, New York led the nation with 208 qualified Honor Granges. Eighteen had won this honor for five years, and were Model Granges. A Signal Honor came when New York State Grange was presented with a beautiful altar cloth marked "Model Grange, 1935." State Master Freestone received a gold key, while Mrs. Freestone, State Lecturer Stella Miller and State Secretary Harold M. Stanley were recipients of specially designed gold pins.
JUVENILE GRANGES: The very effective County Juvenile corps developed. February, 1928, there were 62 Juvenile Granges with 1,821 members; December, 1935, there were 274 Juvenile Granges, membership 7,759, a notable gain of 212 Juveniles and 5,938 members.
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT: "One of the outstanding achievements in the past year is the development of Rural Elect- rification. We would commend our State Master for his ability to further such a good cause." This is a portion of the 1939 session committee report on Master's Address, signed by Ells-
22
worth Greene, Chairman, of Ontario County, and Howard Woods, Secretary, Erie County.
THREE IMPORTANT MORAL QUESTIONS point out Mr. Free- stone's position and that of the State Grange. We quote Mr. Freestone:
OUR HERITAGE: "There is creeping upon the American people a tendency to commercialize and desecrate the Sabbath. This is fostered by large, powerful groups whose income is increased through elimination of Sabbath observance. ... For more than sixty years the Grange has been the support of the church. .. . Let us not forget that the very life and strength of our nation sprang from an atmosphere of God-fearing men and women. May we ever keep in mind the fact that if America is to endure, she must remain true to her ideals lest she cast away the anchor that holds us fast to liberty."
TEMPERANCE: At the 1933 Geneva session, he emphasized another point for which the Grange has stood consistently: "Our members are proud of the fact that the Grange has always had courage to fight for its principles and ideals, regardless of their popularity. The Grange has from the beginning advocated temperance." In 1934 he added, "Just as it is a true principle that neither nations nor individuals can spend their way out of a depression, so it is equally true that they cannot drink their way out of it. ... Perhaps the greatest hazard from unlimited supplies of booze is for those who drive cars. In our own National Grange Mutual Company, since repeal of the 18th Amendment, alcohol is involved in 12% of the accidents reported. We must continue to stand as a rock in this matter of temperance. We country people can and must stop it" (drink hazard) "in our own com- munities."
WE STAND FOR HONESTY: In 1935 he asserted positively: "Almost equally disturbing is the wild craze for gambling which is sweeping the country. ... it behooves the Grange to maintain its well-known attitude of opposition to every form of dis- honesty."
MR. FREESTONE'S CONCEPTION OF THE ORDER: "It must help us to live a well-balanced life, help us solve work-a-day problems, give us something of philosophy, something of humor, and, above all, something to sustain the soul or spirit. As we draw aside the curtain of time for a glimpse into the future, if we but see the guiding hand of the Supreme Master, we will press forward to greater service to agriculture and all mankind, realizing that the Hope of Rural America is the Grange, an organ- ization of the farmers, by the farmers and for the farmers."
23
2. RAYMOND COOPER
A graduate of Fair Haven High School, Raymond Cooper taught school for twelve years, then studied law for one and one- half years with a Syracuse law firm. After this he settled on a fruit, dairy, general purpose farm near Hannibal. He and his wife Edith, a true helpmate in every sense of the word, had deep agricultural interests.
In his own county of Oswego, Raymond Cooper was to be called "Mr. Grange." He first joined North Hannibal Grange No. 672, on February 16, 1900. A worker there and in Oswego Pomona Grange, 1924 saw him Lecturer of New York State Grange, in 1928 State Overseer, from December 1935 through 1939 he was State Master.
While Raymond Cooper was State Lecturer two valuable Grange activities were originated. The first Cornell Short Course for Grange Lecturers was held in April, 1927, and Lecturers who met and studied there will never forget that happy, informative training. The second notable event was the first Middle-Atlantic Grange Lecturers' Conference, held at New Brunswick, New Jersey in August, 1927. Mr. Cooper deserved high commendation for the vision evidenced in the development of these two educa- tional spheres. They gave Lecturers opportunity to widen their viewpoints of the lecture hour potential in Subordinate and Pomona Granges. For years after the School and the Conference first originated, their values were reflected in the quality of Grange work, reports, letters and programs.
Raymond Cooper held county or State Grange office for twenty-nine busy years; no one could ever question his deep love of the Order. Following his service as State Master, he served on the Executive Committee, December 1939-42. Until the 1959 State Grange session he had never missed a New York State Grange regular session since he first took the sixth degree at Poughkeep- sie in 1914.
24
In National Grange Monthly messages he repeatedly express- ed his philosophy in life. Since most readers no longer have access to these, we believe portions should be preserved for his- tory. Here are sentences that portray the pride of the true farmer as he tills his land:
"After all, though we need all we can get and more sometimes to meet the farm and home expenses, interest, taxes, etc., isn't the greatest joy in producing a good crop?" Again: "We need to cultivate hope at all times, even as we cultivate our crops. If we do this we are sure to harvest a better crop of happiness than as if we cultivated doubt and fear and distrust. If we can grow to meet all conditions of life with a smile, we shall learn that this is a pretty good world after all, and that our lives, for good or ill, for happiness or unhappiness, are pretty much as we order them."
Raymond Cooper was one to whom fraternity meant much. He expressed his belief that Fraternity has the answer to all the world's problems.
Beside his interest in the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, his hobby was a love of poetry, and many of his own friendly rhymes added a pleasing touch to good Grange gatherings. In 1950 his book "Just Scribbles" was published and his many friends prize their copies highly.
"To seek new ways to help the living, To be a little kinder day by day,
a little kinder, more forgiving,
As we pass along life's way," reflects his philosophy.
In 1957 his many friends of Oswego County honored Mr. Cooper with an "open house", a complete surprise. This delight- ful event, held at Sandy Creek Grange Hall, featured a memor- able "This is Your Life" program. Pomona Lecturer Irma Mattison, of Oswego County, was in charge. Appropriate gifts were presented. Guests numbered over 400, from different sec- tions of the Empire State, and included State Master and Mrs. Leland Smith, State Lecturer Fern Palmer, and other distinguish- ed Grange officers and members.
HIS ADMINISTRATION December 1935 - December 1939
Again we meet the changing challenge of the years, with many shining facets of Grange work. Each State Master has garnered his sheaf of good harvest. Reader, you will find this true of Raymond Cooper.
MEMBERSHIP: State Master Cooper's report to the National Grange, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1937, contained these words:
25
"Our membership drive in April, followed by the National Grange Equality Campaign, brought many hundreds of new members into the Grange. During the year ending June 30th more than ten thousand have been taken into our Subordinate Granges and more than three thousand into our Pomona Granges by initiation, demit, and reinstatement." That same year many Subordinate Granges made a gain of over 25 members, some 50, some 75. One year six new Granges added 400 to the member- ship.
In 1938 intercounty meetings for ritualistic promotion creat- ed much interest. During the four year period 216 Subordinate members earned gold pins for ten or more new members.
GRANGE HALLS DEDICATED: 25 are recorded. State Master Cooper related in the National Grange Monthly the fine dedica- tion of Brookfield Grange No. 1280, one of the seven Subordinate Granges of Nassau-Suffolk Counties. Most of these Patrons lived on large acreage duck or potato farms. Mr. Cooper mentioned the hurricane disaster of 1938, which brought suffering to many Grange members: "Our hearts go out to them, for we have learn- ed in the Grange that we all belong to the great universal brother- hood."
GOLDEN SHEAF CERTIFICATES: 272.
SILVER STAR AWARDS: 5,729.
SIXTH DEGREE: Was conferred on 2,812. In 1937 the Executive Committee voted to discontinue the historic "Big Drill" to provide extra seating space. Beautiful and elaborate rose drills replaced their spectacular forerunners.
HONOR AND MODEL GRANGES: 275 Subordinate and two Pomona Honor Granges. Eleven Subordinates became Model Granges. 347 Juvenile Honor Granges and eleven Model Juveniles were recorded.
CONFERENCES: In 1939 State Master Cooper accompanied State Lecturer Stella Miller and State Juvenile Superintendent Beatrice Kidd around the State for thirty-eight regional confer- ences. The State Master instructed Grange Masters, and in the evening showed the Dean Vivian (Ohio University) ritualistic slides.
FARM FAMILY VALUES: State Master Cooper, in the Septem- ber 1939 National Grange Monthly, expressed Grange thought: "We find that we need to place more emphasis on the farm home and the protection of the family-sized farm, if we would save democracy and civilization, for it is in the farm home that we must look for the proper foundation for the best leadership and
26
citizenship." "The present tendency toward corporation farming, whether it be under the ownership of one individual or a group of individuals, must be curbed. This is a serious matter which should receive the study of Grange folks as well as legislators, but proposals for remedial legislation should come from the Grange and other farm organizations."
TEMPERANCE: "Our Order has always taken a decided stand against the manufacture, sale and use of intoxicating liquors," State Master Cooper affirmed, "no person can engage in the manufacture or sale of intoxicating liquor, and become or remain a member of the Grange. The Grange should use, in the future, as in the past, all the power of its influence against this greatest of all curses to the human race."
In his 1936 annual address, State Master Cooper gave an ex- cellent statement as regards Grange contribution to the past and promise for the future. "Our farm people have much to be thankful for in the happier life that we enjoy because of the Grange. Its record is one to be proud of. In planning for the future we should ever remember this record as well as the ideals of the Founders of the Order. Let us take for our goals in the days ahead: A broader education including experimentation and greater research along agricultural lines; a constructive legisla- tive program, cooperating with all other farm groups; a greater development of cooperative marketing; a more abiding faith in the soil and in each other; a hope that ever gives us courage to struggle against adversity; a charity that tries to understand, thus developing a fraternal love for all mankind; a fidelity which is ever true and faithful; a spirituality that sees good in all relig- ions."
Howard Geer, Genesee County, 1939 Chairman of the Com- mittee on Master's Address, gave emphasis to Raymond Cooper's service as follows: "Worthy State Master Cooper's loyalty and helpfulness have been greatly appreciated, and we feel sure his advice and cooperation in the future will inspire us to higher goals."
Following an illness of over one year, Raymond Cooper was called to the "Great Grange" on March 7, 1959. As to his service to the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, there is no death.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.