For 64 years, the Fredonia Grange food booth has been a beloved cornerstone of the Calhoun County Fair in Marshall, Michigan.
What began as a small operation naturally evolved into a $100,000 commercial kitchen, built through community donations and powered by over 100 dedicated volunteers.
Sadly, this cherished local tradition has come to an abrupt and heartbreaking end.
The downfall began this spring when a vital gas line feeding the Grange kitchen was severed during the demolition of the fairground's Belcher building.
Volunteers only discovered the issue when they arrived to cook for a local charity event and found dead stoves.
Fair management offered to provide propane tanks instead, but the Grange’s older natural gas stoves cannot be safely converted, and the non-profit cannot afford the $10,000 required for immediate replacements.
Furthermore, fair management has increasingly required all Grange volunteers to pay full fair entry prices just to donate their time, placing an unsustainable financial burden on the organization.
The ultimate casualty of this ongoing dispute is the local community itself.
As the Grange’s largest annual fundraiser, the fair booth directly financed vital local programs.
Without these funds, the Grange will be forced to end its community services, which include providing scholarships for graduating seniors, dictionaries for third-grade classrooms, quilts for nursing homes, and emergency gas cards for families needing medical treatments.
Unless a new agreement is reached, this historic tradition, and the extensive charitable programs it supports, will be lost forever.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why is the Fredonia Grange not serving food at the Calhoun County Fair in Marshall, MI? A: The Fredonia Grange is unable to operate because their kitchen's natural gas line was removed during spring demolition projects and was never reconnected by fair management. Additionally, the non-profit's older stoves cannot be converted to the fair's proposed propane alternatives.
Q: How does the loss of the Grange booth impact the Calhoun County community? A: The fair booth serves as the Fredonia Grange's biggest annual fundraiser. Losing it directly jeopardizes their community service initiatives, halting funding for local high school scholarships, third-grade dictionaries, nursing home supplies, and emergency financial assistance for families in crisis.
Q: What needs to happen for the Fredonia Grange to return to the fairgrounds? A: For the 64-year tradition to resume, fair management must repair the gas line infrastructure and negotiate a long-term, mutually beneficial agreement that ceases to penalize the Grange's 100+ volunteers with mandatory entry fees.
Source: Nathan Hazen
10 Comments
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As a fair Grange volunteer yes I have had to pay many times to go work. People can argue all they want, it came out of my pocket. I loved what doing what I did so I dealt with it.
I can not respond to your comment directly but I do not work for the fair, but as a vendor, I can assure you we all get passes. What I would have done if I were you is call the fair office and inquire about becoming a vendor next year and asking about the benefits they receive. But you did not do that did you? You got your facts from Facebook comments and pile ons and ran with it. The fair is a non profit just like the grange but for some reason because the fair is almost treated like it's a corporation, its easier to attack them and put out false claims simply because you know they won't publicly defend themselves because when they tried, every person who enjoyed their food lost their minds.
So you got some things wrong in this article and it would be helpful if people, especially those who are journalists, actually asked both sides. This is disappointing to see. The part that says the fair required them to pay full price is wrong. They got vendor passes like every other vendor at that fair. I expected more from you guys but hopping on a Facebook dog pile is what is trendy now a days.
Sal WheatIf you would like to send me a statement from the Fair I will be happy to run a follow up article.
Wow, the prices volunteers have to pay just to get in now? That would break any non-profit. I hope they can work something out—those quilt donations mean a lot at the nursing home where I work.
I don’t get why the fair can’t just reconnect the gas line? For all the years of community support, you’d think they’d want to help. Disappointing.
Emily PorterSeriously! Fixing the gas line seems like the least they could do, especially since the Grange has done so much for everyone. Just doesn’t feel right.
We agree—after so many years of partnership, it's disappointing that fair management has not reconnected the gas line or worked out a solution, especially with the Grange's deep community roots.
Just not gonna be the same without the Grange breakfast. My grandparents were volunteers when I was in 4H. Feels like a piece of the fair is gone.
Thank you for sharing your memories; the Grange breakfast has truly been a beloved tradition for generations, and its absence will be deeply felt by many families.