WHEAT RIDGE GRANGE #155

ONE HUNDRED YEARS 1907-2007

Wheat Ridge Grange was organized on March 29, 1907 with 144 members. It was the largest grange organized in the state up to that date. It was not the first grange to be organized in Wheat Ridge however. Ceres Grange #1 was organized in Wheat Ridge Tin 1873 with 17 charter members before Colorado became a state.  Ceres Grange was very active for at least 20 years, however the year it ceased to be has not been determined.  There were those who remembered Ceres grange and wanted to renew grange activity in the Wheat Ridge area.  The Grange met in a class room of the Wheat Ridge High School. Until 1913 the class room didn’t even have electricity. 

A building fund was started but in 1919 the Grange decided to donate the entire amount of $239 to the school board so that chairs could be purchased for the auditorium.

In February 1936 the Grange moved to the Berkeley Annex School, later know as the Mountain View School. The rent was $2.50 a meeting.

World War Two took a heavy toll. Fourteen Members were called into the armed services.  Two, Cecil Augustine and John Kiplinger did not return.  During the war, the Grange kept in close contact with the boys in service and purchased and promoted War Bonds.  Many members donated blood.

In July 1947, the grange was finally able to purchase the building site north of W. 38^th Ave. and High Ct. across the street and east of the Wheat Ridge High School.  In September 1949 the work on the building was started with the foundation of the building.

During the summer of 1948, the major construction was started.  Some of the Grangers tried their hands at brick laying on weekends.  Their families brought potluck for Sunday dinner.  The cornerstone was laid in September 1950 , when the brickwork, except for the entry had reached the upper floor level.  A loan was procured and the balance of the brickwork was hired.  Members continued to work, doing electrical, carpentry and plumbing jobs.

The hall quickly became a real community center.  For three years the hall was even used for classroom space as the school district tried to catch up with growth in Wheat Ridge.  Several churches were in the process of organizing.  They congregated in the hall while they were recently celebrated their 50^th anniversary.

The local Lions, Kiwanis, the Wheat Ridge Service Club, Eastern Star and Masons used the hall for their meetings.  The Wheat Ridge Library was located in the hall for seven years.  A Junior Grange was organized n 1953 and many of these have graduated into Subordinate Grange work. A red letter day occurred in 1961 when the mortgage was burned, much earlier than anticipated.

The Grange contributed to the Lutheran Hospital when it was converted to a hospital.  They paid for the furnishing of one room and members spent weekends canvassing the community for donations to furnish other rooms.  The Grange also raffeled off a television set to earn money for the “Save the Soddy” campaign. This led to the preservation of an old sod house and museum.

In 1989 Wheat Ridge Mayor Dan Wilde heard that the Grange was looking for a new community service project.  He had been contacted by the Catholic Community Services looking for and organization to be a host site for a new organization to be know as SHARE Colorado.  It was to be similar to a cooperative that would be able to distribute food once a month at approximate cost distribution cost would be by volunteers.  April 1989 would be the first food distribution.  The Grange took on this project and participated in this first distribution.  That Christmas time Jeffco Action center announced that their organization would not be able to supply Christmas food packages this year.  Jefferson County social Services made arrangements to send to send a letter with the monthly food stamp distribution.  This letter invited the food stamp recipients to request a food package.  Social Services also made arrangement with SHARE Colorado to purchase a Christmas Food Basket from SHARE with these arrangements complete, solicitation of funds to pay for the food was begun county wide.  Wheat Ridge Grange as a nonprofit organization was asked to be the treasurer of the project.  Christmas Food Baskets were distributed through the Host Sites in Jefferson County.  A few years later, Social Services went to electronic debit cads rather than food stamps and Wheat Ridge grange was notified that Christmas Baskets could no longer be made available because they could no longer contact recipients by mail.

So many of those contributing money for Christmas baskets felt that it was such a good project and wondered if we could start a project in Wheat Ridge.  We started by contacting the social workers at elementary schools in Wheat Ridge.  The social workers agreed to send notes home to the parents who had children on free school lunch program inviting them to apply for a Christmas Food Basket.  The response was beyond our expectation.  The Grange has been contributing to the fund and soliciting from those outside of the Grange every year since.  We have cooperated with the Wheat Ridge Optimist Club for several years now.  The Opitimists have been buying clothes and Christmas presents for the students and have been delivering the food baskets at the same time for the Grange.  The Grange has also given food to others, including some of the residents of subsidized housing apartments.  The last two Christmas seasons we have been able to give 88 to 90 baskets as well as helping other organizations by getting the food through SARE Colorado and assembling the baskets.  Christmas of 2006 we purchased over $6,500 worth of food and was the 6^th largest order from SHARE Colorado in their territory of seven states.

Much of this History was  from the “History of Pioneer Wheat Ridge” Published in 1971 and from “Colorado State Grange History-1874-1975” Published by The Colorado State Grange, in 1975.

This brief history was prepared by Elwyn Kiplinger.  He was a member of the Historical Committee that published the “The History of Pioneer Wheat Ridge” and also a member of the History Committee that researched and assembled the “Colorado Grange History-1874-1975.