Beaver Valley Grange Records (Boone County), 1916-2003 | Northern Illinois University

Beaver Valley Grange organized on December 4, 1916 with 19 members.  William Sullivan, Frank Salley, Emma Johnson, Robert Emanuel, William Emanuel, and Helen Johannsen served as the first officers.  Cognizant of the national organization’s goals, to stimulate rural people, both farm and non-farm, and to dignify and lighten their labor by diffusing knowledge and expanding the human mind, the Beaver Valley Grange presented programs, discussed current events topics, and sponsored numerous social events.  The group also had a booth at the County Fair each year and helped raise money for charity organizations.  In 1919 Beaver Valley Grange began planning a meeting hall and on June 30, 1950 the group finally incorporated.

Over the years the Beaver Valley Grange passed many resolutions favoring or opposing legislation and on activities exclusively designed for the members.  On January 18, 1918 the group approved a resolution asking farmers to increase the production of beef and hogs instead of keeping only to extensive dairying.  Another resolution in 1920 stated “that if the businessmen of Belvidere are going to be unfair to the Grange, we (the Grange members) exercise unusual care to see to it that we avoid patronizing them.”  A copy of this proposal went to the Belvidere newspaper.  Resolutions concerning political legislation or the government ranged from approving government control of the telephone and telegraph systems (1918), petitioning the repeal of the Day Light Savings Law (1919), deciding women should have the right to vote (1920), supporting a bill authorizing the Department of Justice to investigate the revolutionary and propaganda activities of the Communists (1932), protesting the drafting of 18 and 19 year olds (1942), setting up entirely new school legislation in the state (1950), founding a National Swine Health Research Foundation (1952), to a resolution concerning the poor condition of roads (1969).  Other topics of concern include the League of Nations (1919), should farmers retire to the city? (1919), should the dairy farmer use butter substitutes? (1921), the oleomargarine industry (1931), marijuana (1938), labeling bags of feed with the amount of digestive proteins and nutrients (1947), fertilizing corn with nitrogen (1951), and soil conservation (1956).

The Grange sponsored social activities as well.  These included card parties, ice cream socials, dances, picnics, and lecturers.  The raised money for infantile paralysis and sent care packages to servicemen overseas during World I and II.  Today, Beaver Valley Grange continues to act as a social, educational, and political organization for its members.