| SEPTEMBER 21, 2012 -- Efforts to revive the Simsbury Grange got a boost Sept. 16, thanks to a fair that ran from 10 am. to 2 p.m. on the grange grounds, drawing in fresh faces with activities including hayrides, baking contests and children’s games.
The tractor-pulled hayrides were especially popular, taking folks on a 45-minute tour of farmland, woods and meadows under clear skies. The flavor of autumn was in the air, with cooler morning temperatures making perfect sweatshirt weather, warming up with the arrival of afternoon.
“The grange membership had been getting smaller and smaller each year, and the members were getting older,” said Susan Masino, grange secretary and one of its new members.
But the grange appears to be picking up, thanks to more new faces. According to Masino, holding an annual fair is a requirement for the grange to remain incorporated through the state organization. Masino and others scurried to get the word out about the fair, but organizers did not breathe a sigh of relief until people arrived on Saturday.
“This is awesome,” she said, as folks milled about the small event.
Jane Wendell, a 22-year member, said she was pleased about the turnout, that was larger than it had been in years. And, she said she is happy about young blood coming into the grange.
“We need to bring younger ones in as we get older,” said Wendell. “This is wonderful.”
Judges from the state level came by early in the day to judge the competitions, such as the baking contests. Singer/guitarist Bill Benson performed, providing mellow background music. Some fair-goers on the grass near where Benson was performing to listen and sing along to songs such as “The Dance,” a hit for country artist Garth Brooks.
A food cart sold steak dogs, chips and soft drinks. There were also children’s games and tables offering crafts. Inside the grange, homemade baked goods like chocolate cupcakes, pumpkin bread and brownies were for sale. And, a silent auction was set up.
The Martinez sisters, Caitlyn, 10 and Mikaela, 7, got an entrepreneurial lesson at the fair. At the suggestion of their grandmother, Marlene Wadsworth, the girls chose the fair to sell their handmade beaded necklaces for the first time.
“I heard about efforts to revive the grange, and thought it was a great cause,” said Wadsworth.
“Yes, it’s our first show,” said Caitlyn and Mikaela.
Wadsworth said she used to work in the jewelry business and wants the girls to gain a good business sense. So each girl was to make 20 necklaces, some priced at $1, and others with a pendant were priced at $1.50. Necklaces with beads using the Simsbury High School colors sold first. From the profits, the girls were to pay their expenses, then each was to save half of what was left and could spend the other half.
Masino said she got interested in joining the Simsbury Grange because she hopes to establish a junior grange branch that her son and daughter can participate in. Junior granges, she said, can be developed in accordance with the interests of their members.
“A junior grange can be co-ed and is less rigid than the scouts,” she said.
Local farmers who have been contacted are open to having junior grangers visit their farms, said Masino. And the Simsbury Historical Society is another resource she said could be tapped for the children to learn about the history of the town.
The Simsbury Grange used to host game nights and a lamb roast, and one of its members, Pina Cialfi, mends American flags. Current membership is around 20. But Masino said she hopes that number will increase in time, as word spreads about what a great organization it is.
Some people said they had driven by the grange and not even noticed it — at least, not until Saturday’s fair.
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