CHILCOOT-VINTON, Calif. — At the center of California’s largest alpine valley where Highways 49 and 70 meet is an old tin-roofed building painted white with blue trim. It's in a gravel parking lot surrounded by hay fields and horses.
The architecture isn’t special by any means, but this building means a whole lot to the folks of Eastern Plumas County and especially Rich Moore.
“The grange was developed back in the old days to bring people together that were in the agricultural business. Church, family and grange is what the community revolves around,” said Moore.
The building Moore is so fond of is the Sierra Valley Grange Hall #466, home to the Vinton, California Cowboy Poetry Show.
“We are the oldest cowboy poetry show in California, second oldest in the U.S.," said Moore who's produced the Cowboy Poetry Show at the Grange for the past 14 years. "Elko, Nevada beat us by one year."
To put it simply, cowboy poetry is stories about rural living and the grange hall is where rural people gather. The two go together like a horse and saddle.
“I think it’s amazing that people still do this and gather here and want to see this sort of thing,” said Moore.
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Since 1932, farmers and ranchers like Moore have made a commitment to keeping the lights on in this dimly lit building any way they can. They do it not just because it’s a historic building, but because the grange is a nationwide institution dating back to the Civil War.
“There was lots of starvation; people don’t think about what it was like after the Civil War. Lots of empty farms and people needed to re-learn,” said grange historian Laural Colberg.
After the Civil War, many of America's farmers were killed, which is why Minnesota farmer Oliver Kelly started the grange. He wanted to unite the remaining farmers from the North and South to educate and empower new farmers.
“The beauty of Grange is that it is almost like a union. Famers can get together and say, 'No! We will not give you our cows until we get a good price for them,'” said Colberg.
Granges formed all over America and became a place where communities could form and stories could be told.
“Back in the old days after a hard day on the range, sitting around campfire stories were told,” said Moore.
Stories on the range were often turned into poems or songs so they could easily be retold. Some poems will make you laugh while other poems will make an old cowboy feel.
“When I am sitting behind the soundboard it gets me,” said a teary-eyed Moore.
For some, cowboy poetry can make you wrestle with your feelings and the grange is a safe place to reflect on them.
“My wife asked me, 'Why do you keep doing this?' I told her because I like it. I think it helps make a change,” said Moore.
MORE COWBOY LIFE ON THE BACKROADS: A city slicker's ride through Tuolumne County's cowboy country.
