Grange Appeal Peter Lamborn Wilson 2006 Contents I. 4 II. 5 III. 7 IV. 14 V. 18 VI. 20 VII. 23 2 Theworkwearegoingaboutisthis,todigupGeorgesHillandthewastegrounds thereabouts, and to sow corn, and to eat our bread together by the sweat of our brows. Andthe First Reason is this, thatwemay workin righteousness,and lay the Foun- dationofmakingtheEarthaCommonTreasuryforAll,bothrichandpoor.Thatev- eryonethatisbornofthelandmaybefedbytheEarthandhisMotherthatbrought himforth,accordingtotheReasonthatRulesintheCreation. —GerrardWinstanley,theDigger “TheTrueLevellersStandardAdvanced,”April26,1649 Brothersoftheplow,Thepoweriswithyou; TheworldinexpectationwaitsForactionpromptandtrue, Oppressionstalksabroad,Monopoliesabound; TheirgianthandsalreadyclutchThetillersoftheground. (Chorus) Awake,then,awake!thegreatworldmustbefed, Andheavengivesthepowertothehandthatholdsthebread. —Geo.F.Root, “TheHandThatHoldsTheBread” GrangeMelodies(Philadelphia,1905) 3 I. OnesummerdayinColoradosomeyearsago,thepoetReedByedrovemearoundtolookata fewofthestill-standingGrangeHallsofBoulderCounty.Plainwood-framestructures,simplein analmostAmishorShakermanner(AmericanZen)andalmostbarn-like,theseruraloutpostsof farmculturehavebeenovertakenbythecounty’sinsanerateof“development.”Thefarmsthat oncesurroundedtheGrangeHallshavebeensoldandsubdivided—theDenvergentryhavebuilt huge “trophy homes,” strip malls, defense and biomutagenic labs, New Age supermarkets, etc., etc. The few horses and bewildered cows that still stand around in the shrinking “open spaces” appear to be waiting for the End. A thick but slightly luminous atmosphere of nostalgia hangs overthelonelyhallsbakinginthesunlight. Ever since childhood Sunday afternoon excursions in the fifties, I’ve been noticing Grange HallsinlittleAmericantownsandadmiringthem.Thebiggerhallssometimesresemblecharming Victorian churches — “carpenter gothic” — or firehouses. Not many of them appear to be still activeorownedbytheGrange.InRosendale,atownnearwhereIliveinUpstateNewYork,the slightlyornatebutdecayingGrangeHallwassavedbyartistsbuttragicallyburneddownseveral yearsago. SofarI’vebeenunabletodiscoveranynicecoffeetablebooksdevotedtothisrichcross-section of American working-class vernacular public architecture. Not even the Grange itself seems to have published a study of its own disappearing heritage. At first I wasn’t even certain that the Grange still existed. But eight years ago when I moved to the Hudson Valley, I began to see signs that the organization was not entirely moribund. At the Ulster County Fair, I met some exceedinglypleasantoldladiessellingspiral-boundcookerybookscompiledbylocalGrangers. AtonepointIthoughtaboutdoingabookonGrangeHallarchitecture,butsoonrealizedhow hugeajobitwouldbe.Between1868and1933,NewYorkStatealonespawned1,531Granges.1 I’mnophotographer,andIdon’tevenowna car.I’dneedagrantjustto recordtheGrangesin myownimmediatearea,letalonethestateorthewholecountry. Old photo archives do exist, as I learned when I tracked down some Grange historians and corresponded with them. But in the meantime I’d discovered other and even more fascinating aspects of Grange history. In its heyday, the Grange was one of the most progressive forces in thePopulistmovement,notjustaclubforlonelyfarmersinthoselong-deaddaysbeforecarsand TVsatomizedAmericansociallife.Onceuponatime,theGrangerswerefirebreathingagrarian radicals.Moreover,itturnedoutthattheGrangewasasecretsocietywithsecretrituals. Whyhadn’tIeverheardaboutthisbefore? 1SeeLeonardL.Allen,HistoryofNewYorkStateGrange(Watertown,NY:Hungerford-HolbrookCo.,1934). 4 II. Ofcourse,theGrangewasn’tthefirstmanifestationofAmericanagrarianradicalism.Incolo- nial times, for example, rural NewYorkexperienced a number of “Anti-Rent” uprisings against thefeudal-manorial“PatroonSystem”introducedbytheDutchbutpreservedandevenextended under the British. Even after the Revolution, farmers were still subjected to feudal leases and rentsandtreatedasaruralproletariatbymanor-lordsliketheRensselaersandtheLivingstons. In1845,thelong-simmeringsituationexplodedinanAnti-RentWar.Farmersdisguisedas“Calico Indians”tarredandfeatheredsomesheriffs.1 Afewpeoplegotshot.EnglishandIrishChartists, German Communists, and Manhattan radicals supported the rebels. But the movement was co- optedbytheusualcleverpoliticianswhorodetopoweronradicalslogans,thendeliveredonly tepidreform.Privatepropertywassavedfromtheextremistswhohadreallydreamedofabolish- ingrent.LikePunksquattersinAmsterdamorManhattanwhowinlegalcontroloftheirsquats, theAnti-Rentfarmersweretransformedsuddenlyintolandlords. Lookedatfroma“Jeffersonian”pointofview,Americaseemsfoundedonagrarianprinciples as a revolutionary democratic nation of free yeoman-farmers. However, the 1789 Constitution acted as a counter-revolution and put an end to any immediate hope of extending the Jefferso- nianfranchisetoslaves,Indiansorwomen.(TheBillofRightsrepresentsthelast-minute“tepid reforms” of Jefferson himself, who — like many of the Founding Fathers — was a slave owner andlandspeculator.) Back-countryfarmeruprisingslikeShay’sRebellionandtheWhiskeyRebellionwerecrushed by Washington, the new “King George.” The American ruling class would consist of slave own- ers, merchants, financiers, lawyers, manufacturers and politicians — all male, all white. When freedom is defined in terms of property, those with more property have more freedom. Most Americans were still small farmers, and this remained the case throughout the 19th and even into the 20th century. But already by the end of the 18th century, the Jeffersonian yeoman had lostcontroloftheAmericanfuture. Thisloss,however,wentlargelyunnoticed.Becauseoftheexistenceofthefrontier,(itselfacre- ationoflandspeculatorsandIndiankillers),thefarmercouldalwaysleaverentsandoppression behindandfind40acresandamulesomewhereoverthehorizon.BythetimeoftheCivilWar, however,thefrontierwasalreadybeginningtovanish.Slaverywasabolishedlargelybecauseit no longer suited an emergent capitalist economy based on money rather than land as the true measureofwealth.Laborhadtobe“free”—thatis,regulatedbywagesandrents.IntheGilded AgeoftheRobberBaronsfollowingtheCivilWar,twoclassesemergedastheprimevictimsof thissupposedfreedom:theurbanproletariatandthesmallfarmers. Railroads“openedup”America’sruralhinterlands,true,butrailroadsalsoactedasthetenta- clesofpredatorycapitalism.Financiersandmonopolistscontrolledthefarmeconomyatnearly every point of supply, demand and transportation. Farmers didn’t work for wages, and they 1SeeHenryChristman,TinHornsandCalico(NewYork:HenryHolt,1945);seealsoDorothyKubik,AFreeSoil —AFreePeople:TheAnti-RentWarinDelawareCounty,NewYork(Fleischmanns,NY:PurpleMountainPress,1997). 5 mightevenownproperty;nevertheless,theywereexploitedjustlikefactoryworkersinthecity. “Moneyinterests”ruledrealityitself,orsoitseemed. TheCivilWarhadputanendtomanyoftheoldantebellumreformmovements,butthepost- War era created a whole spectrum of new ones. “Populism” was in the air — a hard-to-define radicalism,bothurbanandrural,thatbegantogivebirthtoneworganizationsandtakeupnew causes.In1866,aBureauofAgricultureclerk(andFreemason)inWashington,D.C.,namedOliver HudsonKelley,touredthedevastatedSouthandreportedbacknotonlytohisofficebutalsoto asmallcircleoffriends,allminorgovernmentclerkswithfarmingbackgrounds.Theyagonized overtheplightoftheAmericanfarmeranddecidedtotakeaction.Theyfoundedafraternalorder, thePatronsofHusbandry(i.e.,agriculture),thatbecameknownastheGrange(anarchaicword forbarn). The“SevenFounders”oftheGrangewereallwhitemen,butKelley’sniece,MissCarrieHall, convinced him to include women in the new organization, even as officers. For this she is rec- ognized as “equal to the Founders” of the order. Aside from “Father” Kelley himself, a tireless, idealistic and charismatic figure, two founders exercised great influence on the order’s forms andfunctions:WilliamSaunders,aprominentlandscapegardeneroriginallyfromScotland,and Francis Morton McDowell, the only non-bureaucrat, a fruit farmer from Steuben County, New York. Three Celts and their inspiring ideas for the order breathe a glorious and eccentric air of imaginationandpoetry.TheyproposednothinglessthanaMasonic-stylemysticandsecretso- ciety, complete with ritual, regalia, and seven degrees of initiation, all based on the symbolism offarming. In1868,thefirstGrangeoftheinfantorder,NumberOneofFredonia,NewYork,wasfounded inChautauquaCounty,whereanothergreatPopulistorganization,theeducationalChautauqua movement, also originated. (I wonder if the Marx Brothers knew of this when they or George S. Kaufman chose the name “Fredonia” for the fictional setting of their great anti-war comedy “DuckSoup.”) After a slow start, the new organization began to experience almost unbelievable success. Withineightyears,some24,000chartershadbeengranted,andmembershipwaspushingamil- lion. The Grange had hit on a magical formula: economic self-organization, cooperation, and mutualaid;noinvolvementinlegislativeelectoralpoliticsbutmilitancyonsocialandeconomic issues;plentyofpicnics,outings,celebrations,socializingandsharedfun;andareallyimpressive butsimpleritualbasedontheEleusinianMysteries. 6 III. Patrons,onyourwearyway, Istheredarknessanddelay? Haveyoutrouble,constantstrife Toattainthehigherlife? SeekPomona’ssignetring, Talismanicwords‘twillbring, Wordsthatconquerfarandnear; Alwayshopeandperservere. —Jas.L.Orr,“HopeandPerservere” (initiationhymnfor5th Degree) GrangeMelodies Between, say, 1840 and 1914, at a rough but reasonable guess, one out of every three Ameri- cansbelongedtoafraternalorganization—Masons,Oddfellows,Elks,Woodsmen,Rosicrucians, GoodTemplars,Druids,DaughtersofIsis,etc.—oratleasttosomeculturalsocietysuchasthe AthenaeumorChautauqua.Withhindsightwecanspeakofasocietyfallingawayfromorganized religionsbutneedingasecularsubstituteforthesocialityorconvivialityofthechurches.After all,wereason,withouttelephones,TVsandautomobiles,humansneededtocometogetherphys- icallytoreproducesociallife.(Wemodernsappeartohaveevolvedbeyondthiscrudephysicality andrequireonlytheimageofthesocial.)Astechnologycametomediateandevendetermineall aspectsofthesocial,thosefraternalandculturalorganizationscollapsedordisappeared. This abstract view sees only a negativity (social isolation) and its negation in association. It tells us very little about the consciousness and motivation of the fraters and sorors of these organizations,norofthepositiveandcreativeaspectsoftheirthoughtandactivity.Nineteenth centuryAmericapossessedagreatseriousnessaboutraisingitsconsciousnessandreformingits institutions. It still dreamed of itself as a new world wherein the poisoned human relations of thepastcouldbecuredandtransformed.Themoreradicalofthefraternalorganizationsshould reallybeconsideredaselementsofthehistoricalmovementofthesocial. TheGrangecannotbeseenmerelyasarefugefromisolation;norcanitbeunderstoodsolelyin economicterms,assomehistoriansseemtoimply.Certainlythesemotivesexisted,buttheywere enrichedandinformedbyphilosophicalidealswhichthemselveswereenactedor“performed”as social act in festivals and rituals. The masonic-inspired rituals of organizations like the Grange ortheKnightsofLaborcan’tbedismissedasepiphenomenalfripperyormerefraternalicingon thecakeofideology.Theseriteswereexperiencedasanintegralaspectofpracticethatincluded convivialityandcooperation—indeed,astheessenceorverymeaningofsuchpractice. 7 Historians writing from a perspective outside the Grange, such as the excellent Solon Justus Buck,1 have little to say about its ritual. Insider Grange historians, such as Father Kelley2 have littletosayabouttheritual’smeaning,whichforthemisagiven—andmoreovertosomeextenta secret,andthusnotdiscussable.So,inordertoliftevenatinycorneroftheveil,I’vetrackeddown a very rare and obscure privately published (but not secret) book by C. Jerome Davis.3 Davis’s sources seem to imply that the real meaning and purpose of Grange ritual was the creation for modern agriculture of a craft Mystery in the classical sense of that term: an “open cult,” so to speak,orsymbolicdiscourseorchestratedtowardtransformationoflifethroughtransformation ofconsciousness. It’snotmyintentiontoattemptafulldescriptionandhistoryoftheGrangedegreesandtheir symbolism.Inanycase,muchofthismaterialremainssecret,andIhavenoaccesstoit.Inorderto setthescenefortheEleusinianconnection,however,I’llbeginwithSolonBuck’sbriefsummation ofthe“mystic”aspectsoftheGrange—inwhich,bytheway,hetakesverylittleinterest.4 When the Grange was founded on December 4, 1867, Bro. McDowell was not present. He arrivedinWashingtonontheeighthofJanuary,1868,andimmediatelysuggestedchangesthat resultedinacompletereorganizationoftheupperframeworkoftheorder. Thearrangementthenadopted,whichhasremainedsubstantiallyinforceeversince, embracedsevendegrees,fourtobeconferredbythesubordinategrange,onebythe stategrange,andthetwohighestbytheNationalGrange.Thefoursubordinatede- grees for men were entitled Laborer, Cultivator, Harvester, and Husbandman; and thecorrespondingdegreesforwomenwereMaid,Shepherdess,Gleaner,andMatron. Thestategrangewastoconferthefifthdegree,Pomona(Hope),onmastersandpast- masters of subordinate granges, and their wives if Matrons. The National Grange wouldconferthesixthdegree,Flora(Charity),onmastersandpast-mastersofstate grangesandtheirwiveswhohadtakenthefifthdegree.Membersofthesixthdegree wouldconstitutetheNationalCouncilandafterservingoneyearthereinmighttake the seventh degree and become members of the Senate, which body had control of thesecretworkoftheorder.Thisdegree,DemeterorCeres(Faith),embracedanum- berofnewfeaturesintroducedbyMcDowellandwasputforwardas“acontinuation ofanancientAssociationoncesoflourishingintheEast.”McDowellacceptedthepo- sition of supreme head of this degree with the title of High Priest. Although there was considerable agitation for the abolition of the higher degrees among the rank and file of the Grangers when the organization was at the height of its prosperity intheseventies,allthatwasaccomplishedwasaseriesofchangeswhichrendered 1SolonJustusBuck,TheGrangeMovement:AStudyofAgriculturalOrganizationanditsPolitical,Economicand SocialManifestations,1870–1880(Lincoln,Nebraska:UniversityofNebraskaPress,reprint1963,c.1913). 2OliverH.Kelley,OriginandProgressofTheOrderofthePatronsofHusbandryintheUnitedStates:AHistory from1866to1873(Philadelphia:J.A.Wagenseller,1875). 3C.JeromeDavis,HighPriestofDemeter:Notes&QuotesontheOriginoftheRitualandEarlyYearsoftheOrder ofthePatronsofHusbandry(Noplaceofpublication,1974).ManythankstoNewYorkStateGrangeHistorianStephen C.Coyeforaphotocopyofthisgem. 4Mosthistoriansseemratherembarrassedby“secretsocieties”andunwillingtodiscussthemseriouslylestthey themselvesbeseenasconspiracy-cranksratherthanrealscholars.I’vescannedmanyhistoriesof,say,theintellectual originsoftheAmericanRevolutionorConstitutionthatmadenomentionofFreemasonry!Oneneedn’tbeamystic todiscussthehistoryofmysteries,butthissubtlepointseemstoeludeacademics. 8 thesedegreesaccessibletoallPatronsinregularorder;whilethecontroloftheorder waskeptinthehandsofrepresentativedelegatebodies.5 The “ancient Eastern flourishing Association” was, of course, the Eleusinian Mysteries. Mc- Dowell electrified the D.C. conclave with the revelation that he himself had been initiated in Parisin 1861into theMysteries bythe lastHigh Priest ofDemeter,theDuc D’Ascoliof Naples. Contrarytoreceivedopinion,theMysterieshadnotbeenstampedoutbytheChurchinthe4th centuryA.D.buthadsurvivedsecretlyinMagnaGraecia(southernItaly,originallycolonizedby Greeks)throughoutthecenturies.McDowellwastobethenextHighPriestofDemeter. It’s impossible to sort out a precise chronology from Notes & Quotes, but it’s clear that Mc- Dowell had first visited Europe in 1858 looking for esoteric experiences relevant to his passion andprofessionofpomology.AtsomepointhemeetsthemysteriousDuke(andDuchess)andis persuadedtoundergoinitiation.Hereceivescertainsymbolicregalia,describedinthefollowing letter:6 TotheOfficersofNationalGrange DearBrothers: Ireachedhereyesterdaynoon&becametheguestofBrotherMcDowellourWorthy PriestofDemeter.IneednotassureyouIfoundacordialwelcome—thatyoualready anticipated.AsinstructedbyyouImadehimfamiliarwiththeentireworkwehave accomplishedsinceheconfereduponustheseventhdegree—andourlaborshave met his most hearty approbation while he expresses himself even more sanguine than ourselves of the success of the order. It is his intention, now that the work is completed, to take immediate steps to organize Subordinate Granges in several townsinthisvicinity,havingthepropermaterialalreadyselectedforthatpurpose. I have already had the pleasure and satisfaction of examining the papers and para- phanilia which he received from the Duke of Ascoli at the time he had the Degree ofDemeterconfereduponhim&amperfectlysatisfiedwiththeauthenticityofthe same. The portraits of the Duke & Duchess are both before me also the Priests cap withwhichtheDukedecoratedBrotherMcDowellatthetimehewasmadeaPriest. Thiscapiswellworthyadescription&istheworkofaNun.Itiscomposedofvar- ious colored silk & pure gold thread, the later, predominating. The designs upon it are leaves of various hireogliphics & to every design even the minutest there is an appropriateexplanation.Itislinedinsidewithapeagreensilkveryfinelyquilted& itsweightisabouttwopounds.Youcanformsomeideaoftheworkmanshipwhen Iassureyouitrequiredtwoyearssteadylaborofanuntomakeit.Thereisnotinsel or bead work about it — it is all genuine needlework. While the purity of the gold showsforitselfbeingnowoverthreehundredyearsold&asbrightandbrilliantas whenmade. I have had this cap on my head & while describing it have it on the table before me. Could it but speak & tell of the honored heads that it has decorated & which 5Davis,op.cit. 6Thisletter,datedApril8,1868,fromWayne,NY,McDowell’shometown,waswrittenbyFatherKelley.The lastpageorpagesandsignaturearemissing.Spellingerrorsandpunctuationinoriginal. 9 nowhavecrumbledtodust,coulditexemplifytousthemysterieswhereithasbeen presentwhatinterestingmementosweshouldpossess. KelleythendescribesMcDowell’s“Surplice”(blacksilkwithgoldtrim)andhierophanticvest ofwhitesatinembroidered“withdesignsappropriatetoagriculture”(dove,pruninghook,sickle). When we were first told about the Duke’s regalia I must confess that I had some misgivings,butseeingisbelievinginthiscase.BesidestheDukehashisbiography in print, & on page 195 New American Encyclopedia you will find a notice of the town of Ascoli an ancient city in Italy, from whence the Duke was made Grand ChamberlaintotheKingofNaples.Howevercredulousothersmaybeinregarding thisdegreeofDemeter,justresteasyanddonottroubleyourselvesaboutshowing proof—thewholehistoryisathand&itisours&wehavethebonafidething.Your Scottish&Memphisrites&Solomon’sTemplearecompletelyeclipsed.Wecanjust bust the wind out of anything in the way of antiquity. It will be the height of my ambitiontoreceiveatsomefuturedaytheposition&theregalia&occupythechair ofthePriestofDemeter,theveryhighestpositioninourorderbutasitisalifeoffice &mustdescendinregularrotationIshallprobablybebindinggrainintheharvest fieldabovelongbeforeitwillcomemyturn. However it is in good hands as it now is and there is no one connected with the Ordertowhomwecanalllookwithgreaterpride&respectthantoBro.McDowell. It was our salvation that he came to Washington at the time he did & he is worthy ofallhonorfortheinteresthehastakenintheOrder.Whenheshallappearinthe seventhdegreeduringthesessionwhenitwillbeconfered—wecanallbowtohim indeepreverence&dosowithheartfeltpleasure. Allmasonic-styleorganizationsrequirealegend orfoundingmyth,suchastheMasons’myth of the Temple of Jerusalem, the Rosicrucian story of Christian Rosenkreutz’s tomb, and the Shriners’ links to the Bektashi Sufi Order of Turkey. Ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt, India (and the American “Indians”), Chaldea, Islamdom, the Druids and many other exotic sources were invoked. Scholars always assume these myths are bogus, but they may sometimes judge toohastily.Forexample,IbelievetheBektashi-Shrinerconnectionmaybereal(forreasonstoo twistedtogetintohere).AsfortheGrangelegend,Ireservejudgmentbutalsoseenoreasonto debunk it. However, even without a genuine “apostolic succession” from remote Antiquity, the legend remains very suggestive. Naples since the Renaissance seethed with alchemy, hermeti- cism, and secret societies; pagan and obsessed with magic, Evil Eyes, phallic cults (think of the murals at Pompei), ancient Naples never died. Eighteenth century Egyptian Freemasonry had origins in southern Italy (Cagliostro), once a hotbed of Isis worship. The Eleusinian Mysteries hadalreadybeenintroducedintoMasonryinthe18th centurywhenAntoineCourtdeGeacute- belin,FrenchoccultistandauthorofLeMondprimitif,performedhisownversionoftheritesat Voltaire’sinitiationasaMason.7 InanotherunsignedpaperprobablybyFatherKelley,wefindfurtherclues: 7SeeJamesStevensCurl,TheArt&ArchitectureofFreemasonry(Woodstock,NY:OverlookPress,2002). 10