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Ongoing response to res
Healdsburg was mercifully spared from the October 2017 res that threatened on 3 sides but the community continues to generously respond in multiple ways to those who were less fortunate (100,000 were displaced), including o ering rooms, driveways and rentals for those in need. One of those spontaneous e orts to help re victims was the Healdsburg Free Store. Through donations, volunteers were able to stock a store with new goods, FREE to re victims. The store was underwritten by Corazón Healdsburg, a local nonpro t. Ellen DeGeneres invited the founders to her birthday show and honored their kindness with a cash gift which they have turned into a Kinder2College fund for local students. Read Healdsburg Tribune: “Healdsburg Free Store stars on ‘Ellen,’” 1/23/18 and “Healdsburg nonpro t gifts big birthday present from Ellen,” 2/7/18.
Though the ames didn’t touch Healdsburg the knowledge of the regional res did negatively impact the number of visitors to the city. For some locals, seeing the vulnerability of our visitor economy was a warning sign to diversity for a more sustainable economy.
Speaking of “sustainability.” Healdsburg is getting prepared for the The American Institute of Architects (AIA)’s “Sustainable Design Assessment Team” (SDAT) to visit for 1 and 1/2 days on March 17 and 18. Two AIA sta members and a team leader will tour the town and talk with groups representing important topics for study. The purpose of the preliminary visit is to identify who should be part of the team of experts who will come here in mid-June for three days of intensive community workshops and a town hall meeting. Over 30 community members have volunteered to work on Healdsburg’s SDAT Steering Committee to guide the process.
To learn more and participate in visioning and planning for Healdsburg’s future process, visit HealdsburgSDAT.org.
Healing Jazz connects diverse communities in positive ways
While recognizing the value of a diversi ed economy Healdsburg also enjoys the bene ts of a visitor destination. The Healdsburg Jazz Festival is one of those bene ts. The 20th anniversary of this well attended Festival is set for June 1-10, 2018. Jazz was making plans last Fall to produce the “biggest and best festival in its 20 year history” when those October res curtailed their event fundraising e orts. They switched gears and held a re relief fundraiser instead. The event included eight jazz bands, all of whom donated their
time and music. They raised over $15,000 which Jazz donated to Corazón Healdsburg and the Sonoma County Resilience Fund to address the mid to long-term needs of those impacted by these devastating res.
The producers of Jazz bring high quality music and education programming to locals and visitors alike. They recognize the many ways that music unites, heals and builds community, especially at this crucial time when the region rebounds from the res. “Healdsburg Jazz Festival gives the community the opportunity to hear outstanding musicians perform in the community, far removed from the urban centers that traditionally support jazz. The festival engages established audiences, children and adults and introduces new ones to jazz’s storied history, and community building values of respect civility and cooperation.”
“No Cover” Live Jazz, Saturday nights at Hotel Healdsburg
The Spring Music Series features some of the best players in the region performing an eclectic mix of jazz with diverse in uences—Cuban, Romani/ gypsy, blues, Brazilian, classic jazz standards and more. There is no cover charge; drinks from the Spirit Bar and small plates from Dry Creek Kitchen are available. Call (707) 431-2800 or visit Hotel Healdsburg online for the live music scheduled for these Saturdays: March 3, 10, 24 and 31.
*The Healdsburg Coalition is taking a break to devote their e orts to the SDAT.
Support your local Grange Hall
I recently joined the Windsor Grange and I am so glad I did. My parents
are farmers, my Mom grew up on a farm in Iowa, and I manage a farmers market, why hadn’t I learned more about my local grange before now? I knew it was an old organization and it involved agriculture, but I had no idea of the traditions and the wonderful people I would meet. I love history and the story of Grange Halls, officially called, National Grange of the Order of Patrons
of Husbandry is quite interesting. The Grange was founded after the Civil War when President Andrew Johnson hired a man named Oliver Kelley to inspect agricultural conditions in the defeated South. Kelley had a hard time getting along with southern farmers who didn’t trust Northerners until they learned he was a Mason. The Southern Masons took him through the South and he was shocked to see the outdated farming techniques. He felt farming could bring the North and South together, sharing ideas and practices and an organization was born. The first Grange was born in 1868 in Fredonia, NY #1. The word Grange is derived from the Latin word, grain or generically means farmer.
Based on Oliver Kelley’s experience with Freemasonry he and other founders formed it as a fraternal organization and adapted many of its rituals and symbols like secret meetings, oaths and passwords. The ceremony that inducted me into the Grange included the ceremonial farm tools – a Shepherds hook, another hook they said was for tree limb pruning and a tool shaped with a V on top that was for pulling weeds. We walked through the hall in a specific pattern around these farm implements. The Master (president) told us about the history of the Grange and then whispered the secret word into our ear and we were officially Grange members.
Being a woman, it was even cooler when I found out that the Grange was the first organization to recognize the importance of women. Oliver Kelley founded the first Grange with seven men and one woman, his daughter. The organization encouraged women and anyone old enough to draw a plow to participate. Eventually the importance of women grew and it was required that four of the elected officer positions could only be held by women. Oliver sent paid agents all over the country and the Grange grew to 850,000 members by 1875. As Granges grew rapidly so did their funding and they formed cooperatives. The first coops were supplied by wholesaler, Aaron Montgomery Ward, recognize that name?
In the beginning the Grange helped regulate rates charged by railroads
and grain warehouses. It started the Cooperative Extension Service, Rural
Free Delivery, the Farm Credit System and endorsed the beginning of direct election of Senators and votes for women, all things still in use today. Sad to report that Grange membership has fallen over the years because American farmers have gone from a third of the population in the early 1900’s to less than 2% today. The Grange today continues to lobby in Washington for farmers free trade and farm policy. They are a non-partisan organization and only support policies, never political parties.
The rst Grange Hall in Sonoma County was the one in Bennett Valley formed in 1873.
The Windsor Grange #410 was founded in 1932 and their goal is to bring about a strong, common sense of community, everyone is welcome. They meet the third Thursday of the month and after the meeting share a potluck meal,
a presentation and conversation. The Windsor Grange Hall is available for rentals and has a beautiful commercial kitchen, wood floors and tables and chairs included in rental price.
Visit their website at windsorgrange410.org for more information. The original Grange motto still rings true for me today,
“In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity”.
Thank you to the Windsor Grange for welcoming me.
The Grange is the oldest American agricultural support group.
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