Sentimental Sunday: Grandma Ada Parker's Grange Mementos

On September 7, 1944, my great grandmother, Ada Steen Parker, received this certificate from the Erie County Pomona Grange No. 78, in honor of her thirty years of continuous membership. The certificate was signed by William H. Ortzel and Mrs. Mae Graves. Both my great grandparents, Roy and Ada Parker, were appeared in the group photo of members of the Perkins Grange in the fall of 1950 when the Perkins Grange dedicated their new building on South Campbell Street in Erie County, Ohio. (The picture was featured in the October 24, 1950 issue of the Sandusky Register Star News.) I am not sure if Grandma Ada or my mom, Joyce Parker Orshoski, added the x's to mark where Grandma and Grandpa Parker appeared in the Grange group.

The Perkins Grange was a big part of the lives of Grandma and Grandpa Parker.

They went to Grange meetings, banquets, and Farm Institutes for many years of their adult lives. The Grange members were their neighbors, relatives, and friends, and they were all tied together through the shared experience of agricultural pursuits in Perkins Township. Though I personally never lived on a farm, I treasure the rich heritage left to my generation through the many family stories that have been passed down. Thanks Grange members for all your years of hard work, family values, and the wonderful memories we still cherish today!