The picture shows a view of all (10) Old Grange Fraternal Jewelry Items in this lot. The first item here is a necklace. It has a pendant with an enameled wheat stalks and an enameled Grange emblem. It has an 24'' gold color metal chain. The back of the pendant or charm reads as follows: STEM OF WHEAT BY PJ WILSON © PROVIDENCE COLLECTION Next there are (2) matching cuff links. Each of these has an enameled ''PH'' Grange emblem with wheat stalks. They are made of a gold colored metal, perhaps brass. There is a fancy glass emblem with an enameled Grange emblem in the center and a gold colored metal frame. This appears to be from something like a pendant, ring, or pin. There is a two part pin connected by a chain. One pin had a shield with ''P of H'' and a plow, and the other pin has the number ''124''. There are (3) different single earrings with enameled ''PH'' emblems. Two of them could be used as small necklace pendants or charms The other (3) items in this lot are all pinback buttons. One is a Junior Grange pin. It has the Liberty Bell and the Bicentennial year '76. Another is marked ''GRANGE JUNIOR MEMBER'', and the third smaller one has wheat stalks and is marked JUVENILE MEMBER''. These appear to range from near mint to mint condition as pictured. Below here, for reference, is some background information on the Grange that was found online: ''The National Grange of the Order of the Patrons of Husbandry was founded in Washington, D.C. on December 4, 1867, by Oliver Hudson Kelley, a Mason and a clerk with the Federal Bureau of Agriculture, and six other men. Known as ''the Farmer's Masonry,'' the order uses a seven degree ritual system, with signs, passwords, grips, and regalia. Both men and women are admitted, 14 years of age or older as equal members, since Kelley was persuaded by his niece, Caroline Hall, to admit women into the order when it was first founded. The first lodge was Grange No. 1 in Fredonia, NY.æ It was instrumental in passing the ''Granger Laws'' which put an end to various abuses by the railroad industry in the late 1800's.'' ''The order uses the Holy Bible in its ritual, which is placed on an altar in the Grange, and 43 passages from the Holy Bible are quoted in the Subordinate Grange's four degrees. The Grange Master administers vows to the candidates in each of the four degrees, and the candidate is hoodwinked in the first degree, showing Masonic influences.'' ''The county level administers the fifth degree called ''Pomona,'' while the state level administers the ''Flora'' degree. The National Grange administers the Degree of ''Ceres'' or "Demeter" which is exemplified annually. The order forbids alcohol in its meetings, and stresses temperance outside of the Grange.'' ''There was a time in the not too distant past when the local Grange Hall was the center of community life in many small towns. It was a place of social gathering, a political rallying point, an economic cooperative, a fraternal order, a service organization and an agricultural forum. It instilled love of God, family and country. It helped farmers band together to protect their mutual interests. And, more than any other institution it embodied an American way of life.'' |