A new wheelchair ramp outside of the Fredonia Grange, west of Burlington, proved beneficial during the recent installation of officers for Pomona Grange and other Skagit County Grange halls.

About 80 Grange members trekked up the ramp and into the hall for the Jan. 11 ceremony.

“The ramp made a big difference in our attendance and will make a difference in the breakfast attendance, too,” said Deputy State Master Vernon Egbers of Mount Vernon, referring to the public pancake breakfasts held in March and November.

Grange reporter Norma Waits of Clear Lake said the ramp was long overdue and was sorely needed by members and visitors who have difficulty navigating stairs.

The ramp took only two weekends to build in fall 2008, but members had been raising money for it for four or five years. It took a lot of pancake breakfasts to accumulate cash for the materials and a contractor, Waits said. Numerous Grange volunteers assisted with the project, she said, helping to keep costs low.

Many Fredonia members thought the ramp was too expensive, Egbers said. “But my thought was if we were going to do it, do it right, so it fulfills all of the requirements,” he said.

The National Grange is the United States’ oldest national agricultural organization, according to online information at http://www.nationalgrange.org. It was formed after the Civil War to unite the nation’s farm population and improve farmers’ economic and social position.

Originally called Order of the Patrons of Husbandry, the Grange was ritualistic with several levels of hierarchy, even incorporating names from Greek mythology for three of the female officer positions. Ceres was the goddess representing grain and the growers of grain; Pomona was the goddess presiding over fruits; and Flora represented the goddess of flowers and springtime.

A Pomona Grange serves as the organizing body for subordinate or community granges within each county. The Skagit County Pomona Grange oversees Fredonia and four others — Rexville Grange near La Conner, Samish Valley Grange north of Sedro-Woolley, Skagit Valley Grange west of Sedro-Woolley, and Summit Park Grange near Anacortes.

Egbers said Fredonia Grange was organized and chartered Dec. 2, 1913. He joined Fredonia in 1939 and now manages the county Grange activities as deputy master. He said the original hall burned down, then was rebuilt in 1918 at the present location along Highway 20.

Since Pomona doesn’t have its own facilities, it rotates through subordinate Grange halls for its meetings, Egbers said. It was Fredonia’s turn to host the Pomona 2009 installation of officers.

Micheal Custance of Clear Lake is the newest Skagit Pomona master, a position comparable to president, and he has been a member for seven years. He said Skagit County at one time had 67 community Granges; today there are only five active ones.

Many of the original Grange halls were once used as schools; now they open their doors to serve as Red Cross shelters when the need arises, Custance said. Some Granges hold monthly or bimonthly dances. Others organize community dinners or, like Fredonia, pancake breakfasts to raise funds for building repairs or member activities.

Granges can be found in roughly 3,600 rural communities in 37 states, with about 300,000 members engaged in varied agricultural, economic and education issues. Custance said the family-oriented membership is open to the public, and anyone interested should call Egbers at 360-757-8290.

“We do a lot of legislative work, too,” Custance said.

Grange membership is a heritage to many members. Custance said his wife has been a member since she was a child and he “had” to join when he married her.

“My mother-in-law made it a requirement,” he said with a grin.

Richard Waits of Mount Vernon is the 2009 overseer for Skagit Pomona Grange. He grew up involved in Grange activities at Fredonia, where he also serves as master.

“My granddad was one of the original members,” he said. His grandmother, Norma Waits, now the Fredonia reporter and a Pomona officer, also served as a master.

Subordinate or community Grange masters in addition to Waits are David Pemberton at Rexville, Delbert Olander at Samish Valley, Ken Johnson at Skagit Valley and Tami Gilden at Summit Park.

Members also newly sworn in as Skagit Pomona officers are Barbara Hoffman, lecturer; Fred Hall, steward; Dennis Hall, assistant steward; Mary Ann Weeks, lady assistant steward; Betty Whited, chaplain; Helen LaMarsh, treasurer; Jean Swift, secretary; and Robert E. Lee, Earl Whited and Gloria Hoffman, executive committee.

Other officeholders include Mildred Long, gatekeeper; Mary Hall, Ceres; Norma Waits, Pomona; Edna Waits, Flora; Charmaine Slattery, women’s auxiliary chair; and Flora Egbers, musician.

When each of the newly elected Pomona Grange officials were announced, their counterparts in each of the community Grange groups also stood and were recognized, Norma Waits said. She said not having to navigate stairs was part of the reason so many members were on hand to witness the afternoon ceremony.

A second part of the ramp project — inside the Grange hall — is expected to be completed in February and will make activities even easier to attend.

“Anyone with a walker won’t have any more difficulty with stairs,” Egbers said, then joked, “I’m planning for myself.”

Kathy Boyd can be reached at or 360-416-2153.