Grange membership falling, recruitment a challenge

BY TIMES ARGUS

DEER ISLE, Maine — At its peak, the Deer Isle Grange had close to 100 members. But this summer, the fraternal organization folded because it couldn’t attract even seven members to its meetings, the number required to keep its state charter.

In an age when the Internet and television have replaced potluck dinners as a favored pastime, the Deer Isle Grange is the latest grange to go by the wayside. The Maine State Grange once had more than 60,000 members and was one of the most powerful lobbying forces in the state. Now there are about 135 community granges with just under 5,000 members, said Vicki Huff, master of the Maine State Grange.

Declining membership is perhaps the biggest challenge facing the Grange, the nation’s oldest farm and rural public interest organization. Nowadays, it’s hard to persuade younger people to join, she said.