Washington State Grange

November 2002 Grange News
By Dave Howard, Editor

Click here to read a related article, "Grange: the Different Fraternity"

The Grange is a fraternal organization -- a fraternity. There are many similar fraternities in the U.S., most with a long history. Among them are the Masons, the Odd Fellows, Elks, Moose and Eagles, the Shriners, Knights of Columbus, Eastern Star and Rebekah. Estimates are that at the high point of fraternities in America, during the 1920s, there were more than 800 different organizations with a combined membership at that time of 30 million. Even as late as the 1960s approximately 31 percent of Americans belonged to a lodge or fraternal group compared to 38 percent belonging to civic and service organizations (such as the Lions or Rotary), 14 percent belonging to veterans' groups and only 25 percent belonging to churches.[1]

Fraternal groups are not as popular today, however, and some reasons for that will be touched on in a later article. But, first, it needs to be acknowledged that fraternal organizations are distinctive from other forms of associations with differences that even members find difficult to explain. For the purpose of this article we will not focus on college fraternities; our primary concern is with community fraternal organizations such as those named above.

Officially, a fraternity or fraternal organization, according to the dictionary, is an association of members who join together for civic, social, economic, religious or charitable purposes. The term fraternity comes from the Latin word frater meaning a brother and a related term, "fraternize," means to associate with others in a cordial way. In other words, a fraternal organization is a formally established association that primarily attempts to foster bonds between unrelated people that mimic those linkages existing in the family unit. The aim of such groups is to foster a sense of family love and caring on the community level. [2] Many fraternities date from the time when men dominated the social scene and they remain exclusively male organizations (most with associated women's groups, however).

Brothers and sisters

Within fraternal groups (and in some churches) it is often customary to refer to fellow members as "brother" or "sister," an attempt to acknowledge the special family-like tie that exists within the group. Unfortunately, these terms are not used as often as in previous years and, when employed, I suspect they do not mean what they once did. But they do reinforce the tradition that the fraternal society is meant to foster a family atmosphere, a function that remains critically important in our society perhaps those ties are even more important nowadays because urbanization and industrialization have created greater isolation of individuals.

A striking example of fraternal brotherhood comes from our own Grange organization. Oliver Hudson Kelley, the Grange's principal founder, told the story of his trip through the South on behalf of the U.S. commissioner of agriculture immediately following the Civil War. [3] While traveling in Virginia, North and South Carolina in 1866 he, being a Northerner, was not usually considered a popular visitor in these former Confederate states. However, being a member of the Masonic fraternity, he wore the emblem of that group and in many places he met "brother" Masons who abandoned their bias against "Yankees" and accepted him as their friend and equal. This impressed Kelley and on the trip he vowed to organize a fraternity that would help farmers and others in both the North and South "know each other as members of the same great family" so all sectionalism could be abolished.

Along with these lofty ideals of recreating family-like caring on a community level come a host of other functions and purposes that are normally associated with groups. Many of today's fraternal societies either began in order to provide specific services to members or they later added them. In our fraternal Grange organization early goals were to provide social outlets for rural residents who had little opportunity to get together with others due to the remoteness of their homes; to provide educational opportunities at a time and in places where schools and adult education were almost non-existent; to act as a voice for rural residents in the halls of government; and to assist one another economically by forming cooperative enterprises. Examples of that latter goal endure to the present day with our Grange Insurance Association, a mutual insurance company founded in Washington state in 1894, and with a network of cooperatives around the country that were born in Grange halls.

Many other fraternal societies were formed as benefit groups that later evolved into mutual insurance companies. Originating in Europe in the 16th century, benefit associations provided payments to families upon the death of a member. For many years such home-spun benefit groups, often called "burial societies," also existed within the Grange. In some states these groups evolved into mutual life insurance companies that continue to have a thriving business.

During the early days of labor union organization, most unions adopted a fraternal model and a fraternity-like name. Some of those names persist even though most of the other fraternal trappings have long since disappeared. There are fraternal orders of police, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and so on. Years ago at union meetings I recall many of the older union members addressing their fellows by the term "brother so-and-so."

A silent role

Aside from economic benefits for members, fraternal groups have traditionally had an important role in maintaining our healthy civic life. The obvious first thought about that role concerns the multitude of charitable and community service activities performed by fraternal groups. There is fund-raising for everything from scholarships to fairgrounds to hospitals for crippled children. Groups supply volunteers to help with every community event ranging from manning the polls to marching in the Veteran's Day parade. Community needs are being met in organizational buildings Red Cross blood donations, branch libraries, food banks, after school activity centers and community meetings of all sorts.

Interestingly, fraternal service to the community and the strong desire by members to see more done to help others has been, in part, a factor that has resulted in recent membership downturns. "In the past, voluntary associations have performed those functions that government was unwilling or unable to perform," writes Murray Hausknecht. "[A]s more and more of those functions have been assumed by government ironically enough, often as a result of the activities of voluntary associations acting as pressure groups a powerful force sustaining associations and motivating membership has been sapped of strength." [1 (Page 115)]

But, beyond all the outward community involvement and service, there is a more quiet influence that voluntary associations exert upon our democratic society, one that is not necessarily intentional. A chief function of organizations is to keep citizens active and involved in their communities and sociologists, like Harvard's Robert D. Putnam, [4] have observed that over the past 40 years this level of involvement has diminished dramatically. As Hausknecht notes [1], "It is axiomatic that the preservation of a stable political democracy demands an 'informed citizenry,' and this means a citizenry which not only has the necessary factual knowledge for making rational decisions but also insight into and understanding of the social environment. The voluntary association is supposed to contribute to both ends; indeed, ...association membership presents the individual with the opportunity to become aware of 'how processes function... how things are done' in a democratic society." (Page 111)

It is painfully obvious that with the decline of involvement in community-based groups, such as fraternities, there will be a corresponding decrease in other forms of civic participation. Putnam observes that "voting is down by about a quarter, and interest in public affairs by about one-fifth, over the last two or three decades." [ 4 (Page 37)] This corresponds to the time frame that has seen the most marked drop in membership in and participation with non-profit organizations such as fraternities. [5]

CONTINUE TO PART 2 ...

References

1. The Joiners: A Sociological Description of Voluntary Association Membership in the U.S. by Murray Hausknecht (1962, Redminster)
2. For a more complete discussion of this family/tribal origin of fraternal groups, see The Idea of Fraternity in America by Wilson Carey McWilliams (1973, U. of California Press) and People, Pride and Progress: 125 Years of the Grange in America by David H. Howard, chapter 15 (1992, National Grange)
3. Origin and Progress of the Order of the Patrons of Husbandry in the United States: A History from 1866 to 1873 by O.H. Kelley (1875, J.A. Wagenseller, Publisher)
4. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community by Robert D. Putnam (2000, Simon & Schuster). This is an excellent book that provides many clues about decreased involvement by Americans in membership organizations as well as the general decline in all civic activities such as voting.
5. See also Membership and Morals: The Personal Uses of Pluralism in America by Nancy L. Rosenblum (1998, Princeton University Press).
6. Masonry's fascinating story is told in Born In Blood: The Lost Secrets of Freemasonry by John J. Robinson (1989, M. Evans & Co.).
7. One Nation Under Gods: A History of the Mormon Church by Richard Abanes (2002, Four Walls Eight Windows Publishers). Ferguson's letter containing this quote is reproduced on pages 79-80.

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