Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Garfield’s LaDow Grange members will be given a 90-day notice of a vote to disband, due to a continued lack of officers.
A letter will be sent next week to all residents of Garfield and Farmington by James Woomack, secretary/treasurer of LaDow which was formed in 1931.
Without a required slate of officers, the Grange will be forced to close, according to its bylaws through the Washington State Grange.
Wayne Miller, deputy for the state Grange, came to the Garfield chapter’s meeting last week at the Garfield American Legion Hall.
“Just about everything he suggested, I’ve already tried,” said Woomack.
If the Garfield chapter with its 48 current members does disband, a state Grange representative will take the chapter’s remaining funds, which will be held for seven years in case the chapter is re-started. After that the money folds into the state Grange organization.
If the Garfield Grange is no longer, one effect may be the end of the Garfield food pantry. Sponsored by the Grange, the pantry distributes food once per month from the Legion hall. Woomack picks up the items from Second Harvest of Spokane and Whitman County Council on Aging at Colfax.
“I’m also sending this letter in the hope that others that wish to keep the Grange and Food pantry open will come forward and help me save it,” Woomack said in his letter.
Garfield Grange is scheduled to nominate 2018 officers at their Sept. 21 meeting and to vote on these positions Oct. 19.
“If there are no nominations for Grange Officers, there will be a vote by attending members to disband Ladow Grange No. 995,” writes Woomack.
Ladow will meet July 20 with all area residents encouraged to attend.
“Come see if you wish to join and what you can do to help the community,” Woomack writes. “Meeting days and time can be changed.”
This year Ladow Grange funded $1,259 in college scholarships to the Garfield/Palouse High School graduates, donated to the 2017 all-night graduation party and friends of the Whitman County Library.
Ladow Grange will sponsor a car and motorcycle event July 29 in Garfield.
The Grange also supports distribution of dictionaries to local schools. That program is administered by member Hollis Jamison. The state Grange also runs summer Junior Grange camps for children and grandchildren of Grange members.
The national Grange established in 1889, two months before Washington Territories achieved statehood. The Washington State Grange is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of Washington’s residents through community service and legislative action.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
Reader Comments(0)