I was honored to be invited to speak at the 150th Anniversary of the Grange in Pennsylvania. If you don’t know about the Grange it is rural oriented organization started soon after the Civil War in an attempt to improve the plights of farmers and reunify the country after the war. Washington State and Pennsylvania have the largest number of Granges. I made two presentations. I was the keynoter at the banquet and assumed the role of the Wizard of Oz. My main points were:
- We are not in Kansas anymore – the world has changed, has the Grange changed?
- The Scarecrow wanted a brain, if the Grange had a brain what would we be doing?
- The Cowardly Lion needed courage, what does the Grange need the courage to do?
- The Tinman wanted a heart, how does the Grange show it has a heart?
- There is no magical Wizard of Oz, so each member of the Grange will need to assume that role!
The next morning I assumed the role of Oliver Hudson Kelley, the founder of the Grange and described whey the Grange was needed then, and why it is needed now.
