Grange to hold annual Harvest Dinner Nov. 4

Rainbow Valley Grange members will be serving turkey with all the trimmings on Saturday, November 4, from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m. The Harvest Dinner includes a salad bar, rolls, drinks and pie for dessert. The cost is $8 for adults and $5 for children 10 and under. Members will also be having a craft sale for early Christmas shopping. The Grange Hall is located at 2160 Rainbow Valley Boulevard in Rainbow.

The Grange, the Order of the Patrons of Husbandry, was founded in 1867 in Washington, DC. It is a fraternal organization dedicated to family and community service. Unlike other fraternal organizations, the Grange has admitted women as full voting members since it was founded. Juvenile Granges, later Junior Granges, have kept children 5 to 13 busy since the 1880s. (Grange members were also responsible for starting the 4-H and FFA clubs.)

The California State Grange was founded in 1873 and recently held its 134th annual convention in Bakersfield. Rainbow Valley Grange #689 (chartered in 1940), had seven members at the session: Master/President Ed Komski and wife Cynthia attended as delegates for Rainbow Valley; Kirby and Vicki Hitt represented San Marcos Grange as affiliate members; Nancy, Suzy and (non-member) Mario Moramarco ran the Junior Grange Department’s Silent Auction; and Lucette Moramarco served as a newly appointed Deputy State Master besides writing the Resolution of Appreciation. One of the convention highlights was the keynote speaker, California’s Secretary of Agriculture A.G. Kawamura, who was invited to speak by Ed Komski and gave an informative talk on the issues facing agriculture today, including E. coli in spinach.

Grange membership is open to anyone 14 and older (5 to 13 for Junior Grange). Rainbow Valley Grange has a very active Youth Fair program that offers leadership in raising and showing the following animals: market, dairy and pygmy goats, steer, poultry, swine and dogs. The next meeting is on Saturday, November 11. To be eligible to compete at the San Diego County Fair, new members need to join no later than the December 9 meeting. For more information call Ed at (760) 310-6500.