Author: Sonny Hays-Eberts

Issue 3 has been published and can also be read online here.

Issue 2 has been published and can also be read online here.

Marys River grange will be hosting an old time Harvest Festival at the Hall.

Crafted items, activities, musical entertainment, food and a bake sale to benefit the Philomath Gleaners. Come on out, have a good time and support your local community!

The first issue of the Marys River Messenger has been published and mailed to members. It can also be picked up at the City of Philomath and Out West Farm and Ranch and we hope to expand to a wider distribution.

We plan to produce the Messenger every two months. If you have events, stories or ads you would like included, please see the contact information inside the Messenger.

We hope the Messenger promotes our Grange, Grange events and member businesses to the public, informs our members and contributes to the Philomath community.

You can also view the Messenger online here.

Marys River Grange took a huge step forward in replacing it’s aging and leaking roof yesterday.

Fifteen Grangers welcomed around 200 visitors to the Grange Hall. Rummage items were sold, a new member was gained, pies were auctioned, a cord of firewood was given to the person who guessed it held 600 pieces (612 was the correct number), raffle tickets for both Marys River and Summit Star Quilters were sold, vegetables were sold, stories were told, old friends were met and new ones made.  We picked the perfect name for the day.

The support from the community was a joy to experience. But the most touching moments of the day were hearing the stories from people in the area about the Grange  and our Hall and how it impacted their lives.

Our motto for our fund raising project has been “It takes a community to raise a roof”, and that was so evident yesterday. We are thankful and proud of everyone who has supported us, donated to us, our members and friends who contributed to making this a success, those who publicized it and spread the word and those who came out and visited us yesterday, talked with us and supported us with your purchases.  We raised a little over $4000 in six hours, and that is such a tremendous help.

We could not do this alone, and your support inspires us to better serve our community.

Marys River Grange was part of the Philomath Frolic Parade today and had a great time representing our Grange with eight members, Cody the Havanese and a 1960 Studebaker Scout pickup decked out with Grange and US flags as well as a fiftyish year old replica of the Grange Hall at that time.

It was a beautiful day to walk, the cheers for the Grange were great to hear, and Cody was the star of the show.

 Heading out from the staging area

All American made.  There were a lot of Fords, a few Dodges and a Chevy or two. But only one Studebaker in the parade.

Reppin’ the Grange  The school bus behind us as decorated as a Bee, and even better, the very nice driver gave us and the Mariachi band who marched in front of us, a ride back to the staging area afterwards.

Amazing Grange Day, or AG Day (a play on agriculture, the roots of the Grange) will be held August 11th, from 10AM until 4 PM.

If you have items to donate, or would like to volunteer to help with set-up, operation or cleanup, please contact 541-829-2907.

Our fundraising efforts also include a GoFundMe page.

Marys River Grange Hall now has WiFi capability! If you are interested in using this in combination with a rental event, please see the rental page.

Marys River Grange has submitted one Grant application and is completing a second. A fund raising committee will be meeting shortly and seeking input from members about fundraising and Grange involvement.

After obtaining estimates, it looks like we can renovate one chimney, replace two others with stove pipe and install a roof using 50 year asphalt shingles for slightly less than $25,000. It is a lot of money to raise, but it will help preserve our Grange Hall for decades to come.

Stay tuned for updates.

Two areas of concern were recently addressed. The southeast corner in the back of the stage had sagged and a support on the south wall had also sagged a great deal.

JayB Construction did a fantastic job of working on the Grange Hall and allowed members to do some of the excavation work to reduce costs, saving the Grange over $600.

The south wall was raised nearly six inches! The wood pieces placed on the old timber indicated by the arrow show just how much the wall had sagged.

The rotting old supports in the basement have also been replaced with pressure treated supports.

Grange members are continuing to complete the acoustic insulation of the stage and complete the connecting room before moving on to our next huge project, replacing the roof.  Stay tuned for updates and how to help.

Here’ is a photo of the original Grangers in 1935 in front the Hall with original hand split cedar shakes.

Six Grange members put in a morning of cleaning a two mile stretch of Highway 34 sponsored by Marys River Grange. Many bags of trash were cleaned as well as some larger signposts and debris. Cans and bottles which could still be returned for deposit were donated a local organization. Drivers, residents, and we presume wildlife too, were pleased to see the cleanup take place.