Easton Grange feeds off love of 1890s hall, locavore trend
By Justin Graeber | The Enterprise
EASTON — In 2009, the Easton Grange was going the way of countless other chapters of the fraternal organization established in the 1860s to promote America’s farmers – it was dying.
Five people could be counted on to attend monthly meetings of the group, but that wasn’t enough to meet its quorum of seven. Things looked bleak for Easton Grange No. 196 of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry.
Three years later, the Easton Grange is experiencing a resurgence and counts 44 members.
Grange members attribute the turnaround to two things: a collective desire to save Grange Hall at the intersection of Washington and Elm streets in North Easton, and the increasing popularity of locally grown foods, the so-called “locavore” movement, and rising interest in agriculture.
