The Somerset reporter., 1898-11-24
Somerset Pomona.

|
extended to the Somerset Pomona upon
the recent meeting at Canaan by Mrs.
l.. f. Crowell Of Canaan Grange;
Worthy Master, brothers and Sisters
'of Somerset Pomona Grange
As you gather here for the first time
to hold your monthly meeting with ca
naan Grange, since its reorganization
seventeen months ago, we feel somewhat
incompetent to cope with those whose
heads have grown grey In the service,
nevertheless, we bid you most hearty
and cordial welcome TO our grange, our
hearts and our homes, and will endeavor
to do the best we can, trusting that you
will make due allowance for our infancy,
and so childhood, youth and middle age
pass In succession. We hope to gain
much in wisdom and experience. But
no words of mine can express so much
AS the cordial hand clasps and the smil-
ing countenances of all, which are
better assurance of love and good will
than any thing else May you who have
assembled with us this morning for the
first time, feel at home, for In the grange
there are no strangers.
We have been led to look forward and
anticipate this meeting as red letter
day 10 our experience, not only for the
good things that we expected to listen to
as the programme was carried out, but
for the cordial grip of the hand of old
! friends, the forming of new friendships.
and the streng thening Of the tie which
binds the hearts Of all true Patrons of
| Husbandry. Also for the new ideas
which we are sure to receive from this
| friendly intercourse and exchange of
thought. You who are older in grange
experience come with your hearts and
heads full of rich experiences you have
garnered in the harvest fields of the past,
and see by your kindly faces, beaming
with love and good will, you are anxious
to mpart some of the knowledge you
have thus gained.
We greet you with love and cheer this
November morning, hoping that the
prayer so often repeated throughout the
land that ''Your labors may be blest
with liberal harvest" has been fully
answered, and If our State reports are
correct, that you have an average crop
of almost every variety of product that
our soil and climate are expected TO
produce, then must your barns, granaries,
store houses and cellars be well filled.
And MS the time of our New England
Thanksgiving day draws near, your
hearts will feel truly grateful to the
Great Master of the universe who has
thus blessed your labors with such a
H. eral harvest. Through days of ankle
ty and discouragemeDt, when after his
most watchful care, the weeds and the
insects and the tempests, and the num-
berless perplexities from seed time to
harvest, is it any wonder that nightfall
often finds the farmer weary and dis
couragtd, and that he does often insist
that his business is more laboriOus and
least renumerative than that of almost
any other? Yer, the fact is, that his
effol is are more successful, and he attains
better results than those in most any
other branch of industry. There is
always the positive assurance that no
vocation is more honorable, no life more
independent, no home where abideth
more love, peace and comfort than that
of the faithful, industrious farmer. 1t
is our earnest wish that you may enjoy
socially, at least, your visit with US to-
day, and may we meet many times in
the future as workers In this great
cause.
Our order teaches US to promote the
welfare OF our country, and let it be the
earnest endeavor OF every true Patron Of
Husbandry TO extend the influence of
the grange, north, south, east and west,
until its teachings shall be understood In
every state and territory over which our
stars and stripes float. Once again Po-
mona, bid you welcome, and to the
sister oranges, hearty welcome to
you all.
Following is the reply to address Of
welcome, delivered by Mrs. j. A. Jones
of Fairfield Centre.
Brothers and sisters of Canaan Grange ::
| esteem it pleasant duty and at the
same time an honored privilege to stand
before you today and bring greetings
from Somerset Pomona Grange to you,
one of the youngest sisters of our great
grange family. We are, indeed, glad to
be among you, to see your faces, to lis
ten to your voices, and In turn for the
genial hospitality extended to US, bid
you welcome, one and all, to our ranks.
And as the days go on we trust you will
realize as you cannot do today, the bond
of friendship which unites US together,
not such as one man feels for his fellow,
| Out blht LHeTt is d siIouRei COiu VI ira
ternal feeling running from heart to
heart, ever growing stronger and
stronger, and uniting US into one great
family with the same hopes, the same
aspirations, and the same high and noble
aims.
Let me repeat the great pleasure it
gives us to meet here with you, and
feel sure that when the day shall have
ended we shall go to our homes the
better fitted to take up the duties Of life
aud to wrestle with those difficult prob
lens which are constantly coming into
your lite and mine. And life is a prob
lem " hich we are all striving to solve,
but for some of US there are still many
rough roads to travel, many steep preci-
pieces to ascend before the final result
can he reached, and what that result
shall be, depends upon ourselves ind-
viduallv. We each N us stand or fall
for ourselves. But it is largely through
such meetings as these that We get the
nee s7arv impetus to press US onward
and upward. Let w be thankful then
for an organization the influence of
which can lift US out of these every day
ruts of toll and hardship into the clearer