Five Mile Prairie Grange member Christine Hamp elected vice president of National Grange

The National Grange has been a part of local history for decades and now a member of the Five Mile Prairie Grange No. 905, Christine Hamp, has entered grange history by being elected vice president of the National Grange last month.

The National Grange, founded in 1867, is a fraternal, nonpartisan organization that was originally intended to advocate for the needs of farmers but soon expanded to advocate for all rural residents.

Hamp, who was raised on a dairy farm near Monroe, Washington, is a fourth-generation granger.

“My family was active in the Grange on the West Side of the state,” she said. “I have belonged my entire life. The Grange gave me these building blocks in what I call my formative years.”

Hamp is a division chief with Spokane County Fire District 9, as well as a volunteer firefighter/EMT and a certified fire investigator. She is the secretary of Five Mile Grange, and her husband, Duane Hamp, is a former president of the Washington State Grange.

She credits her time in the Grange with helping her earn a fellowship while she was working on her master’s degree in public policy and administration.

“It’s the experience and the opportunity from a young age to interact with people of different generations who aren’t grandma and grandpa,” she said.

Though the Grange is often involved in getting legislation passed, Hamp said the group doesn’t get involved in polarizing issues.

“The Grange advocates for you and me, it advocates for what’s best for our community members,” she said. “We’re fighting for rural broadband. We’re fighting for kids to be able to do their homework. That’s why I love Grange.”

Many people who are beneficiaries of Grange advocacy don’t realize it. As an example, the National Grange pushed for decades to establish free mail delivery in rural areas. Granges try to solve issues and bring the community together, Hamp said.

“This stuff is needed today, maybe more so than it ever has been,” Hamp said.

Bob Shea, a member of Tyler Grange near Cheney, has been a granger for 72 years. He points to his father as his inspiration to join.

“He got excited about the Grange in the 20s and 30s and organized 141 granges,” Shea said. “He devoted most of his life to organizing granges.”

Granges were once quite numerous, and there were 28 in Spokane County at the peak, Shea said. Now, there are only 13 left, some more active than others. It used to be the Grange appealed to older residents, but Shea said that in some areas the younger generation appears ready to take over and granges are beginning to grow again.

“Locally, we’ve seen a resurgence in the Tyler Grange,” he said. “We had over 100 at our Halloween party.”

The Grange promotes family values and leadership, Shea said. “They provide activities and events for the whole family,” he said. “When it’s working well, it does involve the whole family.”

Shea said he believes if people of his generation step aside from leadership positions, younger people will step up to lead the grange. In the past, the grange appealed to older people, but that’s not sustainable, he said. He was president of Tyler Grange when membership dwindled and became less active.

“There were some lean years,” he said.

Granges all over the state are growing again, Shea said.

“It’s community involvement,” he said. “You can see people getting involved in local issues and seeing some results. I really believe the pandemic has caused a resurgence. People want to be involved in the community. They’re sick and tired of being cooped up.”

Hamp said Five Mile Grange is among the granges that have kept active. The organization recently organized a Christmas event with Santa. She agrees getting younger members involved is the key.

“We’re turning that tide at Five Mile,” she said. “At 54, I’m one of the oldest. The Grange is still here, and we’re doing great things. In a lot of communities, it really is getting a fresh start and taking off again.”

She calls the National Grange the whipped cream on top of the hot cocoa, which is the local granges.

“National is only strong if the community granges are strong,” she said.

In addition to advocacy work, grangers are also involved in the community. A common Grange program is to purchase dictionaries for local third-graders. Most offer college scholarships, Junior Grange programs and host a variety of community events ranging from breakfasts to farmers markets.

“We don’t do a great job of tooting our own horn. It’s just: Get the job done,” Hamp said.

Hamp said she was interested in becoming vice president of the National Grange, a two-year term, because she wants to work to make things better, something that has been ingrained during her 30-year career in the fire service.

“I guess it’s the way that I’m built,” she said. “You’re wired to climb that next hill. The Grange can do things that it hasn’t done yet. For some reason, when I look in the mirror, I think I can get it there.”

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Correspondent Nina Culver can be reached at nculver47@gmail.com.