The 100th annual agricultural fair of Rochester Grange will be held on Saturday, August 21 at the Rochester Grange Hall, 200 Hartley Road in Rochester (about 50 minutes south of Boston – see map below). Exhibits will be open to the public beginning at 1:30 pm.  The Grange will conduct various raffles, and there are baked goods, handiwork, and cold beverages for sale.  Special musical entertainment will feature Celtic fiddler Tiffany Rozenas.  The traditional ham and bean supper will be served at 6 pm, and will include ham, kidney beans, baked beans, rolls and butter, coffee, punch, potato salad, corn on the cob, and dessert.  The super cost is $7 for adults and $3 for children under 10.  Following the supper, the fair auction will begin at 7:15, and you will have the opportunity to bid on and purchase the prize winning fruits, vegetables, flowers, and baked goods from the fair.

In the fall of 1905 Mr. Allen made rounds of the homes in Rochester with the hope of interesting people in founding a local Grange. He was successful. On February 12th, 1906, the first meeting of Rochester Grange was held in the North Rochester Social Union Hall on Snipatuit Road in North Rochester. The hall was small, lit by oil lamps, with a kitchen and dining hall on the second floor and no running water. Subsequently the Grange Hall on Hartley Road was built. The Grange Fair and the auction are free and open to the public – if you haven’t experienced a Grange Fair, you should try to get to this one, since the Grange members will be pulling out all the stops for the 100th!