Part III - Culture, a supplement to the Big Rapids Pioneer Newspaper. Used with permission.
The old Fern Grange building, nestled on a lot next to a cluster of hardwood trees, is still in use today, more than a century after it was cnstructed to serve the agriculture needs of its founding members. The building is located on East M-20 just east of the state road's intersection with Mill Pond Road. (PIONEER/Jim Bruskotter)
FERN GRANGE HISTORIC LANDMARK OF COLFAX TOWNSHIP
Fern Grange 803 has been in operation for more than a century now from a small Grange Hall near Clear Lake and just down the road from the Colfax Township Hall.
Organized by Frank Saunders Nov. 29, 1899, the Grange Hall was a meeting place where members discussed education, farming, and business and was a Mecosta County area branch of the Michigan and National Grange.
The National Grange was established in the United States in the post-Civil War era primarily by farmers to establish an organized voice for agricultural interests. While the Grange still represents agriculture, it also has developed family and youth programs, working closely today with the local chapter of Big Brothers/Big Sisters.
Members believe being a civic organization that gives back to the community is what being a Grange member is all about - it's also about family, as many current members can trace former family to the Fern Grange, including mothers, brothers, cousins and grandmothers.
Over the years, many people have served the Grange, but it was the vision of the first members and officers who allowed the organization to end up where it is today.
The initial charter members of Fern Grange, located on M-20 near McKinley Road, included G.F. Burrett, Hulda Burrett, Mr. and Mrs. A.J. Granger, Horace Lintemuth, George Priest, Guy Stephenson, Cary Totten, Ella M. Totten, John J. Totten and Sarah Totten.
The first officers were John J. Totten, master; Michael Lintemuth, secretary; and A. J. Granger, treasurer.
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