BATTLE BORN STOCKTON WELL LAUNCHES NEW GRANGE CHAPTER By Suzann Gilliland Peterson January 8, 2022 is a special day in the life of Silver Springs, Nevada. It is the birthday of Battle Born Stockton Well Grange. In tribute to the state of its inception and the history of the area, Battle Born Stockton Well (BBSW) became the 29th Nevada chapter of the National Grange of the Order of the Patrons of Husbandry (National Grange). Battle Born is the motto of Nevada and Stockton Well is one of the largest of the way stations of the five pioneer trails that converged at that well, including the old Carson Immigrant Trail. With its roots in agriculture, Grange is a national organization with a local focus. It is an organization of family values, grassroots activism, and community service whose members are provided opportunities to learn and grow as citizens and leaders. In the Public Television presentation “Spotlight on the Grange,” President Betsy Huber explains some of the reasons why the Grange was founded in 1865, including the fact that it was a way to bring people together after the devastating effects of the Civil War. She describes the Grange as a family organization that includes activities for people ages 5 to 105. In the same presentation, National Grange Executive Committee member Leroy Watson highlights the fact that another reason Grange was founded was to provide social, cultural and educational opportunities. Those opportunities remain an integral part of Grange life today, as does community service.
30 FEBRUARY 2022
Battle Born Stockton Well Grange began as a conversation in 2020 between Gloria Montero, Lecturer of High Desert Grange in nearby Fallon, and Carolynn Chamlee, a resident of Silver Springs. Carolynn was looking for an opportunity for her daughter to raise goats, a new endeavor for both of them. She met Gloria in 2019 at the High Desert Grange Old Timer’s Show, a popular annual event led by the chapter’s youth that features the goat-raising abilities of their parents. Unskilled though they were, Carolynn and her daughter found that High Desert Grangers were happy to show them the ropes. Carolynn remembers thinking, “A group of people so willing to help out others in a competition they, too, are also in, I felt
The Progressive Rancher
www.progressiverancher.com
