Olympia, April 25 -- Increasing accessibility to the second floor of their three-story Grange hall has landed a first place award for Woodland Grange in this year’s Grange Hall Improvement Contest.

Members of the Cowlitz County Grange also replaced a deteriorating foundation on the hall’s east side.

Other Granges selected for awards are Meridian Grange, King County, second place; Prosperity Grange, Thurston County, third place; and Waller Road Grange, Pierce County, fourth place.

The historic downtown Woodland building owned by the Grange since 1954 originally served as a hotel. It has required a great deal of renovation over the years to make it suitable as a meeting place for the 96-year-old Grange chapter. In 2000 the members replaced windows and earned a rare honorable mention in the improvement contest for their efforts.

This past year the Grangers focused on improving accessibility to their second floor meeting hall. The interior stairway needed to be brought up to code as it was quite steep and dangerous. Changing the pitch of the stairs required extensive renovation of a downstairs bathroom, including moving of a toilet.

Replacing an exterior stairway that had been removed several years ago provided a safety escape.

The decaying supports for the building’s east side needed repair and this massive undertaking required removal and replacement of damaged support beams and pouring of footings and foundation. Proper air vents were installed at the same time.

While all this was going on, other members replaced kitchen counter surfaces and curtains.

Members of King County’s Meridian Grange put in many hours as they accomplished major improvements of the hall’s electrical and heating systems. The first job was replacement of old open fluorescent fixtures with newer units with reflective covers. Persistent furnace problems resulted in a new, larger motor and construction of a permanent fence around the exterior unit to keep children from climbing on it. Duct work repair completed that job.

Outside the hall members cleared vegetation and debris and planted flowers. A new award case was installed inside the building.

Meridian, King County’s oldest Grange, is located in Kent.

Prosperity Grange members spruced up the outside of their 72-year-old hall by installing new siding and windows. Moving inside, new curtains, paint and general cleaning made a huge difference. A new coat rack was installed and rest rooms received replacement fixtures and handicap rails. Their projects landed them a third place award.

Prosperity’s hall is located in the Steamboat Island area of Thurston County. The Grange was organized in 1909.

Waller Road Grange in Tacoma now has a new storage area built by members last year. Their fourth-place winning project required pouring foundations and construction of an extension to the hall to house the store room. Included in the job were siding for the addition, gutters and interior shelving. Waller Road Grange was organized in 1945.

"Members of the Grange Cooperative Group are pleased to see that so many Grangers are involved in substantial upgrades of their halls," said Dave Howard, president of the Grange Cooperative Group, sponsor of the annual contest. "Members of other Granges are encouraged to be working on their halls right now, documenting their efforts with photographs, so they can enter the contest in 2003."

Woodland Grange will receive a plaque and a check for $500 for their first place award. Second place receives $300; third place is given $200; and a $100 award goes to the fourth place entrant. Each Grange that enters the contest receives a large metal Grange logo sign suitable for use on the outside of the hall or at the entrance to town along with other club and lodge signs.

Awards will be officially presented on the first afternoon of the 113th annual convention of the Washington State Grange, June 24, in Everett.

There were seven Granges seeking the prizes in this year’s contest. In addition to the winners, others submitting entries were Molson and Mount Olive Granges, Okanogan County; and North Creek Valley Grange in Snohomish County. Molson Grange won first place in the contest in 1997.

The contest rewards winning Granges for work done on their building during the previous year. Complete contest rules are published in the annual Program Handbook.

The Grange Hall Improvement Contest is sponsored by the Grange Cooperative Group consisting of the Washington State Grange, the Washington State Grange News, CHS Cooperatives, the Grange Insurance Group and Western General Marketing.

All contest entry scrapbooks will be on display during the June convention of the Washington State Grange in Everett. Last year’s first place winner was Black Lake Grange in Thurston County.

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CONTACTS:

Woodland Grange: Al Mosby, Master (President) -- (360) 225-7510

Meridian Grange: Kelly McNutt, Master – (206) 433-8531

Prosperity Grange: Ed Makoviney, Master – (360) 866-9454

Waller Road Grange: Mike Simms, Master – (253) 840-1561