The Elmira Grange held its annual Earth Day celebration Saturday afternoon. Though it was small in size, it was large in friendliness and pleasant exchanges by those in attendance who happened to see an acquaintance could be heard throughout.
Begun several years ago, the Earth Day celebration was originally a celebration of the grange itself as it, along with other granges in the state including the state grange in Salem, were founded in April over a century ago. For the last two years, however, the celebration has been tied in with Earth Day as uniting the two together just seemed to make sense to those in charge, such as Heather Blake. While past celebrations have included live music and food, this year’s attendees were treated to a display by several children from the local 4-H club who proudly exhibited some of the animals they have raised. Benjamin Saucedo, 14, sat at a long table with his fawn and white mini-rex rabbit Charlie Mojo in front of him so those who wished to do so could pet the animal’s velvety fur. At the other end of the 4-H display Rupert, a 12 lb. dark Brahma rooster laid complacently in front of owner Lee Gustafson. Three infant Nigerian Dwarf buckling’s snuggled in a plastic storage bin while periodically emitting tiny bleats and a miniature Silver Appleyard drake put in an appearance at another nearby set of tables after being liberated from his bin turned pet carrier. There were also animals outside compliments of Nancy Willard and Way of the Donkey. Just to the side of the door Willard sat with a Nigerian Dwarf and a small donkey so anyone who wanted to do so could pet them before going in to see what else was there. A sign posted reminded those that did so to please sanitize their hands afterwards. In the room adjacent to the room with the 4-H kids were displays by the Cub Scouts where one could spin a wheel and win a prize, Orchid Health, which was giving out free spinners and pens, among other things, and an emergency preparedness table manned by Daniel Wirtala, who happily explained what the items on his table were such as a wind-up radio and flashlight combo, a pump that filters bacteria, protozoa and cryptosporidium out of water, a tiny woodstove that pumps air for greater efficiency, fist aid kits and freeze dried meals, and several books. Blake had a display of her own to tout the upcoming Fern Ridge Farmers Market along with applications for those who would like to participate and information about the programs the market provides. Blake says it can be difficult to get the community to attend the Earth Day celebrations and she lamented not having more available for those who did come to see but explained that with the Farmers Market so close to opening she has been having to work to prepare for the new season and this cut into her time, though invitations were issued to a number of organizations. All in all, those who came seemed to enjoy themselves and those who represented the organizations that did participate seemed to also enjoy interacting with those who stopped to ask questions and chat. What the celebration lacked in magnitude, it more than made up for in being a welcoming, friendly place where there were no strangers, just those who wished to share with others paying simultaneous kudos to the grange and to our earth.
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