By Marcie Miller
Herald Writer
MONROE — Anyone who ate curly fries at the Evergreen State Fair this year should thank a farmer.
One food vendor alone expected to turn 800 pounds of potatoes into sizzling, coiled cubes of french fries.
Chances are the farmer who grew those spuds was a Grange member.
Saturday was Grange Day at the fair, a day to recognize the role farming plays in our lives.
For Shirley Johnson, Grange hall supervisor at the fair, every day is Grange Day.
"I don’t know what I would do without Grange in my life," she said. "There would be a big hole."
The National Grange, or just Grange, was formed in 1897 as a fraternal organization for farmers. Today there are still 17 active Granges in the county.
In a time when few people know where their food comes from, Johnson said the Grange "bounty of the county" displays are an important educational tool for the people who attend the fair.
"People marvel at what can be done," Johnson said.
Gleaming jars of canned beets, beans and carrots crowd next to perfectly shaped ears of corn and baskets of plump blackberries in a display of talent that puts Martha Stewart to shame.
Cliff and Bonnie Hutton of Everett toured the Grange Hall displays with their children, Conrad and Ashley, and nephew Frank Allen.
"It’s good (for the kids) to see people really grow these things, that they don’t just come from the grocery store," Cliff Hutton said, gesturing to the farm fresh displays of everything from eggs and milk to fruits and vegetables.
"We won’t let the kids go on the rides until we do the Grange displays," Bonnie Hutton added.
Conrad liked the large, enclosed working honeybee hive, while Ashley favored the photography entries. Frank spent quite a bit of time playing with the Legos.
Johnson said the fair that grew to become the present day Evergreen State Fair began in the Garden City Grange hall in Snohomish sometime before 1916. But with the declining number of farmers in Snohomish County and nationwide, and the declining number of people who have time for the home arts of baking, quilting and canning, Grange membership has declined steadily.
Johnson said several years ago there was talk of doing away with the Grange presence at the fair altogether. That didn’t happen, but "a lot of this is a lost art anymore," Johnson said.
The Grange is trying to move with the times. Many of its activities are no longer farm-oriented. Johnson said most Granges have service programs that are important parts of the community.
Junior Grange teaches young people leadership skills, and Johnson said Grange is the repository of many traditional American family values.
"The Grange is truly a family organization."
The first Grange in Snohomish County was formed in 1903. For fairgoers willing to take time out from the carnival, food booths, car races and merchant booths, the Grange displays offer a look at both the roots and the fruits of the Grange in the county. The fair’s last day is Monday.
Oh, and thank you, Mister Farmer.
You can call Herald Writer Marcie Miller at 425-339-3292
or send e-mail to mmiller@heraldnet.com.
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