Friday Harbor Grange receives state civic award

Published 4:51 pm Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Reorganized in 2012 after a span of 91 years, Friday Harbor Grange #225 with 15 members was selected as the overall first place winners in the 2015 Washington State Grange Community Service Contest.

Members of the Grange organized the Community Thanksgiving Dinner. Turkeys were donated by a local business, while members seasoned the turkeys and placed into pans. The turkeys were sent home with 32 volunteers to cook. In addition to roast turkey, the dinner included traditional fixings. Contributions from service clubs and individuals were used to pay for the expense of the dinner.

Members and an additional 80 volunteers spent the entire day working the dinner, cooking, cleaning, and serving to almost 500 community members. The Grange had a variety of projects that contributed to their winning entry. Grange members gave away 425 flowering currant shrubs to residents for Arbor Day.

In cooperation with the SJI Historical Museum, they sponsored the second annual Pioneer Festival. They also built eight picnic tables for the historical museum picnic grounds.

Numerous other service projects were reported as well. For their efforts, Friday Harbor Grange will be official representative in the National Grange Community Service.