When Sheila Cooper opens a cupboard in the basement of the Worth Township building, she bares an odd assortment of relics.

Velvety sashes with gold fringe hang on a hook. A handful of ceremonial staffs, too tall to fit upright, shield a wooden sign containing a shock of wheat.

Owned by the now defunct Worth Township Grange, the relics were moved to the cupboard in 2002, when the township bought the grange building.

"We kept the membership together until this year," said Cooper, the grange treasurer. Low enrollment finally prompted the group to dissolve, she added.

"We had 65 charter members when we started in 1909," she said, noting membership exceeded 170 by the mid-1950s.

"Then (membership) kept dropping because people were doing other things - dying and so on. We took 16 members off (the books on) the first of April. That was our final farewell."

With wind and rain seeping in through the building's roof and windows, the dwindling group of grangers lacked the resources for repairs."They've done some improvements that needed done. So we're happy for that," Cooper said of the township, noting the grangers contributed toward the repairs using a community service fund allotted by the national office.Although its members are few, the Worth Township Grange is not alone: The county's other granges reflect a similar trend of decline.As grangers age, membership in clubs is waning, said Nettie Martsolf, Jefferson Township grange master and master of the Pamona Grange, the countywide network."At one time we had 24 granges in Butler County. We're down to five," she said."Just three granges have halls in Butler County," Martsolf added, explaining some groups have dissolved while others have sold their halls but continue to meet in members' homes.One such group, the Slippery Rock Grange, sold its building in 2003.Wedged snugly behind other buildings on Main Street, the building comprises a kitchen and open meeting area with a stage - but its small lot allows for minimal parking.That building sold for $20,000 to the Ginger Hill Unitarian Universalist Congregation, a new group seeking a place to call home."It was going to be a hard piece of property to sell," said Frank Davis, a member of the Slippery Rock Grange. "Membership is shrinking somewhat," he said, explaining societal conditions that led to granges had also changed.

GRANGES WERE ESTABLISHEDso farmers could buy supplies jointly at discount prices, Davis said, noting discount and warehouse stores have displaced the need for co-op buying."Unfortunately, BJ's, Wal-Mart and Sam's Clubs have kind of pushed us out of the economic part of it," agreed Carl Meiss, public relations and membership director for the Pennsylvania State Grange."When the grange was first formed on a national basis, it was formed as a result of the U.S. Department of Agriculture trying to assist Southern farmers during Reconstruction catch up to Northern farmers, because of the devastation that happened in the Civil War," he said.The national grange, or The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, began in 1867. The Pennsylvania State Grange was chartered in 1873.Oliver Kelley, one of the national grange's founding members, had been a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, Meiss explained of grange history. Kelley relied on his knowledge of the Masons to create a similar secret organization for farmers."You had to know a secret password to get into and attend meetings," he said, noting railroads were gouging farmers with shipping costs."Railroaders tried to infiltrate meetings at that time.""The passwords were passed down from the national grange master to local granges. It was a universal password. It is still passed down, but we have passed policy that does not require the use of password."When cooperative buying practices faded, Weiss said the grange continued to play a political role for farmers and other rural dwellers.Rural mail delivery and getting electricity out to rural areas, for instance, were both accomplished with the aid of grange lobbyists, Meiss said.With a full-time lobbyist at the state office in Harrisburg, Meiss said more recent causes include trying to protect farmers' rights under the Right to Farm Act."We fought very hard (in 2003-04) on land owned by the commonwealth that was in farmland preservation in Warren County," Weiss said."It was actually being leased to a farmer. Wal-Mart found it to be an ideal sight to build a new Wal-Mart. Legislation was enacted to take it out of farmland preservation and (they) sold it to Wal-Mart. So we don't win everything," he lamented.Meiss said lobbyists are also pushing to getbroadband DSL and high-speed Internet service to rural areas."Today we are not just an agricultural organization. We still support agriculture. We do a lot of lobbying for agriculture. But we have spread out more to become a rural advocacy group."

TO CHANGE WITH THE TIMES,most grange clubs have also evolved as community service and social organizations. Touted as one of the few clubs designed for all ages, granges typically schedule children's activities along with those for adults.Despite its roots in farming, typically viewed as a man's occupation, the grange has historically welcomed women.Since its inception, the grange stipulated that four of its groups' 13 required members be women, Meiss said."Those four women had to hold four different offices within the grange. In 1867 the grange gave women 100 percent equal voting rights - which was totally unheard of at that time."Regardless of the family friendly attitude of grange groups, grangers point out their groups often go unnoticed by the public.Reasons could include the growing number of activities now competing for children's time, Cooper speculated.As a result, groups shrink as their aging members become less active.Currently, membership in Pennsylvania's granges hovers at about 16,000. That membership peaked at more than 90,000, right after World War I. The membership also peaked after World War II with about 81,000 members, Meiss said."I'm hoping history will repeat itself and we will start to have a peak after the Iraq War.""Studies indicate the younger generation in college and in service are going to be a generation of joiners and doers. And they are the people the grange is really looking for today."Art King, master of the Royal Grange in Middlesex Township, said unlike some grangers, his group is made up largely of families."Our focus is on youth," he explained, noting $4,000 in scholarships is given each year to students at Mars High School.King said often the community service projects like litter pickup or retirement home visits will culminate with a reward like laser tag or skating.King said the 32-member group sometimes expands due to word of mouth or results from families that attend the group's scheduled events as guests.

Louis Holzwarth, master of the Donegal Grange in Chicora, describes a more typical grange demographic for his group: All of the 30 members are older than 60, but they continue to serve fund-raising pork chop and roast beef dinners - complete with homemade breads and desserts - to about 500 people each month.The dinners allow the Donegal grangers to raise enough money to maintain their hall.Instead of focusing on food, the Jefferson Grange has been hosting public card parties to raise funds for hall maintenance.The weekly events cost $4 to attend, and 10 to 12 card tables are filled each week, said Martsolf. For an extra dollar one day a month, the card game of 500 includes lunch instead of just a snack.Many of the attendees are senior citizens, Martsolf said.This month the Unionville Grange followed suit and hosted its first fund-raising card party."It went well," said Rodney Fleeger, Unionville Grange master, adding the event was scheduled so as not to conflict with Jefferson's weekly party. "We had 32 people."Unionville membership, which began dwindling in the 1990s, is down to about 55, he said."We have two spaghetti dinners every year, one in the spring and one in the fall. We have a craft show in the fall. We cater dinners at the hall," he added.With the fund-raising efforts and still-viable membership numbers, Union, Jefferson and Donegal masters say they have no plans to let go of their halls.If the state group has its way, the halls will remain well into the future."We're trying to get the word out to the people," Weiss said of the state's goal of promoting the granges."The grange is the only organization outside the church that involves the entire family. You will not go to a Kiwanis or Lions or VFW club and see all the family members at the meeting."Many years ago (grange) was a social event for people to come and make new friends and see old friends. That friendship and fellowship is still one of the main reasons people join organizations - and that's something the grange still offers its members."

<b>Unionville Grange</b>Master: Rodney FleegerMembers: About 55Meets: First and third Friday of every month at the Unionville Grange hall, Benbrook Road, Center TownshipInformation: 724-637-2106<b>Slippery Rock Grange</b>Master: Verna StewartMembers: 17Meets: Once monthly at members' homesInformation: 724-458-6354<b>Donegal Grange</b>Master: Louis HolzwarthMeets: First Sunday of every month at the Donegal Grange hall, ChicoraInformation: 724-445-3638<b>Royal Grange</b>Master: Art KingMembers: 32Meets: First Tuesday of every month at the Middlesex Township fire hallInformation: 724-443-5869<b>Jefferson Grange</b>Master: Nettie MartsolfMembers: 29Meets: First Tuesday of every month at the Jefferson Grange hall, Bull Creek Road, Jefferson TownshipInformation: 724-287-1132