On Tuesday, February 28 at 7:30pm, the Whallonsburg Grange Hall will present “Women in the Early Grange Movement: Standing Together,” with Mary-Nell Bockman, Grange board member and longtime activist in the women’s rights movement. This is the second lecture in the winter Lyceum series entitled “Living and Farming on This Land,” co-sponsored by the Essex Farm Institute.
The National Grange, founded in 1867, was one of the only organizations in the US to encourage recruitment of women and to promote them as leaders. It advocated for women’s suffrage and temperance and in 1885, recognized as a founding principle, the equality of the sexes. Through its engagement with issues affecting farmers and rural residents — demanding lower railroad freight rates, supporting rural mail delivery, and organizing cooperatives — it also improved the lives of women on the farm. The history of women in the Grange and other agrarian movements from the 1860s through the mid-20th century will be discussed.
General admission is $5 per person, students and farmers are free.
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