Home Care In Granger, IN

Special to the Observer-Dispatch

A few years ago, a friend mentioned that he had been given a nice bamboo fly rod.

It had been sitting in someone’s house for many years, and then in the trunk of a car for half a dozen more. It obviously had seen little use over the last few decades.

We took a look at it, and it sure appeared to be well-made. It was a Granger, a well-known and highly regarded brand from Colorado. The finish was very fine, the wraps were well done, and the chromed reel seat was solid. The cork grip was just a little rough, but overall everything was tight and in excellent shape.

The finish was darker than what you would find on most cane rods today, what I could call dark honey, but was handsome. The weight seemed more than what you’d find in a modern rod. It was nine feet long, a three-piece with an extra tip. The one tip had a very slight right to left set.

It was a gem, made with great craftsmanship.

After looking it over, I did some research – not enough, as it turned out – and figured the rod might be worth a couple of hundred bucks. Most bamboo rods aren’t worth much of anything. Bamboo (or cane, as it is sometimes called) was the preferred rod material from the 1870s till about 1955. Iconic makers such as Leonard, Gillum, Phillipson, Uslan, Orvis, Garrison, and others produced rods that were expensive to begin with, and some became valuable collectors’ items. The highest price I’ve seen for a bamboo rod is $17,920 for one owned and presumably made in the 1860s by Thaddeus Norris, a member of America’s pioneering angling Pantheon. The price likely had as much to do with its association with Norris as it did with the rod’s workmanship.

However, millions of affordable and serviceable production rods were made by many companies, including Horrocks-Ibbotson and Divine of Utica and Pepper of Rome. It is a fact that 99% of bamboo fly rods are far more valuable as sentimental objects than as presumed antiques.

We took another look at the rod recently. It still doesn’t get much use. My friend likes to take it out once a year, catch a trout on it, and then put it away. I think that is a nice notion. We put a line on it, and found it threw a 6-weight line beautifully, even if the action seemed a bit soupy by today’s standards. It was a bit hefty, as well. Casting it all day might tire you out unless you have an arm like a blacksmith.

This is a Granger Registered rod. They sold for $75 in 1949, when this one was made. The average wage then was $3,100, so it was a high-end rod, for sure.

About Granger Registered rods

Goodwin Granger was born in Michigan and moved to Colorado, where he opened a mercantile. He eventually marketed fishing rods, the most notable of which was The Registered, designed and built by Bill Phillipson.

Phillipson immigrated from Sweden as a 19-year-old in 1923, and began making rods for Granger a couple of years later. He did so until 1951, when he established his own company, which was among the early makers of fiberglass fly rods.

Mike Clark, a bamboo rod maker for more than 40 years and owner of South Creek Ltd. In Lyons, Colorado, keeps a registry of this model of Granger rods. It is believed that fewer than 400 were made between 1939 and 1953, when they were discontinued.

According to Michael Sinclair and Dick Spurr’s book “Colorado Classic Cane” posted on Clark’s website, Phillipson made Registered rods for Goodwin Granger and then for Wright & McGill, which took over the company shortly after World War II. Special features included a serial number on each rod, white trim wraps at both ends of the black guide wraps, chrome plated internal uplocking reel seat, and a hook keeper. They were the only Granger rods fitted with keepers at the factory.

The serial numbers began with the year of construction followed by a chronological number, running consecutively from 1939 through 1953. This rod’s serial number is 1949144. The model number is RX9050, which I believe signifies a nine-foot length. I thought the “05” might mean it took a 5-weight line, but lines weren’t measured that way back then.

The rods, including this one, came in aluminum tubes with inscribed medallions, except for 1942 when plastic was used, with black satin bags.

Clark, a pal of angling author John Gierach, profiled in this space recently, has located 68 Granger Registered rods to date. Details on them, including photos, can be found on his website at southcreekltd.com/granger/. Most of them are located in western states, which was Granger’s primary market.

I sent Clark pictures of the rod, and asked if he could give us a value estimate. He couldn’t say for sure, not having it in hand, but figured it was worth between $1,700 and $1,800. That’s not a fortune, but it would buy a few guided floats on a trout stream out West or down on the Delaware.

Not that my friend is interested in selling. He’s happy Clark will add the rod to the registry, but he’ll never sell it. He’ll be happy to go on using it to catch a trout once a year, knowing he is doing it with a classic and beautiful piece of angling history.

Write to John Pitarresi at 60 Pearl St., New Hartford, N.Y. 13413 or [email protected] or call him at 315-724-5266.

… Granger signed approval eight days before leaving office

The incumbent People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) has been accused of extending the period of exploration granted to the ExxonMobil-led consortium producing oil in the prolific Stabroek Block offshore Guyana. In recent weeks, however, members of the APNU and AFC parties and several sustained articles in the Kaieteur News have sought to castigate the governing PPP about the extension. This, however, is not the case.

Documents signed by David Granger indicate that it was the former President who granted that extension while at the helm of the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) government.

Those documents were released on Tuesday by the Ministry of Natural Resources. And importantly, it was also revealed that the Former President also gave ExxonMobil’s local subsidiary similar extensions for its work in the Kaieteur and Canje oil blocks offshore.

Granger wrote three separate letters to Alistair Routledge, the President of Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), ExxonMobil’s local subsidiary, approving of the extension for the oil search in the Stabroek, Canje and Kaieteur blocks offshore Guyana.

EEPGL is the operator in the three blocks. In the Stabroek Block, it partnered with the Hess Corporation and CNOOC; in the Canje Block, JHI Associates and Mid-Atlantic Oil and Gas; and in the Kaieteur Block, it partnered with Westmount Energy and Hess.

The company’s license to explore would have been up in 2026. EEPGL, however, requested an extension due to disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic and this was granted by the then government.

It was on July 24, 2020, just eight days before he left office after a five-month campaign by the then government and elections officials to keep him in power, that Granger signed off on the one-year extension.

Granger’s letters stated that “the days beginning on 11 March 2020 and ending on 10 March 2021 are not counted in assessing elapsed time applicable” to the three prospecting licences.

Based on reports published in the Kaieteur Newspaper, those outspoken about the extension posit that the consortium was unaffected by the pandemic and should not have been granted the extension.

The Ministry of Natural Resources Tuesday released Granger’s letters approving the extension in response to statements critical of the extension from members of the APNU and AFC opposition.

“… when the APNU/AFC leadership issued such statements they not only highlighted their duplicitous nature but also exposed the depth to which they would go to misinform the public while at the same displaying their contempt for the development of the oil and gas sector,” the release said.

GRANGER — When Jeff and Jeanine Bilik built their home in the Terri Brooke North subdivision in 1994, they were surrounded by young families and often saw small children playing on their street.

Today they still hear a few young voices outside but the pace is much slower, more likely to include neighbors in their 40s, 50s and 60s doing yardwork or enjoying a walk.

The Biliks’ son, age 30, is a doctoral student in music in Texas and has said he has no plans to ever return to Granger, and their daughter, 25, lives in Indianapolis with her fiancé. Jeanine is a retired South Bend Community School Corp. teacher and Jeff retired in June as a mechanical engineer.

The house is bigger than they need now but they have no plans of moving anytime soon. Jeff just built an extra garage in the back yard.

“It’s paid for,” said Jeff, 63, originally from the Fort Wayne area. “All we have are property taxes and utilities. In this general area you’re not going to find a cheaper place to live. Property taxes are low. It’s a good neighborhood. I’m happy here. There are tons of lakes close by. If I want to fish I can go do that.”

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The Biliks aren’t alone. After growing from 20,241 to 28,284 from 1990 to 2000, a 40% increase, and rising another 8% to 30,465 in 2010, Granger’s population declined by 128 residents to 30,337 in 2020, according to figures the Census Bureau recently released. Thought it's only a drop of about half a percentage point, it was the unincorporated area’s first-ever population decline in a decennial head count.

Lori Johnston, a realtor with Cressy & Everett, said she was surprised to hear of the decline.

“I feel like there is still a good flow of young families moving to the area for jobs and it still feels like a lot of them do want the suburban area,” Johnston said. “I definitely see a lot of Notre Dame families moving into the area still who want Granger, for (Penn-Harris-Madison School Corp.) or specific schools within P-H-M.”

But Johnston acknowledged she does see a lot of older couples moving out, both among her clients and her neighbors in the Covington Shores subdivision, which was built in the early 2000s.

Johnston said some older Granger homeowners are selling now to capitalize on inflated prices in a seller’s market while others are staying put because they don’t want to also pay more for their next home. Still others are selling and renting until the market cools down.

The Census numbers also seemed “a bit surprising” to Ken Lindsay, trustee of Harris Township, which, along with part of Clay Township, encompasses most of Granger. Since he took office in 2015, Lindsay has spearheaded upgrades to the township’s park on Brummit Road and in late 2016 built a new park on township-owned land on Elm Road between the fire station and library. The park offers pickle ball, a form of tennis on a smaller court that often appeals to older adults, but also a basketball court, playground and baseball/softball diamond.

“Both of those parks are always busy,” Lindsay said. “There’s a lot of use of that. Lot of families, lot of young people taking advantage of that. Lot of people living in subdivisions, lot of people taking advantage of that Granger path.”

Lindsay noted there are new subdivisions under construction. Local developer Pat Matthews is building The Hills at St. Joe Farm, northwest of Bittersweet Road and the Toll Road, initially planning 230 homes with room for up to 500. Off Ash Road, south of Cleveland Road, Portage, Mich.-based Edwin Allen Homes is building Pleasant Valley North, an extension of the Pleasant Valley subdivision built in the 1990s.

“Every time you turn around somebody is taking any small piece of undeveloped land, or a large one if they can get it, although there aren’t too many large ones, and just putting houses in,” Lindsay said.

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Homes in both developments will cost $300,000 to $500,000, what Rock Hill, S.C.-based demographer Jerome McKibben called “move-up homes,” meaning they will likely attract “internal migration” from families already living in smaller or older Granger homes. The homes those buyers sell, probably priced at $180,000 to $200,000, will likely attract millennial parents from South Bend and Mishawaka, McKibben predicts.

That, combined with the more important trend of younger city couples buying from empty nesters after they downsize or die over the next decade, should result in a slight increase in Granger’s population in the 2030 Census, McKibben said. But he noted that because millennials are finishing college and having children later than previous generations, there might not be as many home buyers in the millennial generation, now roughly age 25 to 40, as older sellers.

“We’ve already seen some areas of the country over the last 20 years where the number of sellers has exceeded the number of buyers, and we’ve watched the home prices just plummet,” he said. That might sound like great news for millennials, especially in this market of inflated prices, but it’s not so great for Baby Boomers and older Generation Xers who were planning to retire on all the equity in their homes, he said.

McKibben, who has contracted with P-H-M and most other area school systems for 15 years to help them forecast enrollment trends, said Granger's decline lines up with what he’s seen in communities around the country. In 2015 he advised P-H-M to start admitting more out-of-district students, raising eligibility from second to third grade, if it wanted to avoid enrollment declines, and the corporation took his advice.

As a result, McKibben said, P-H-M has about 500 more out-of-district students than it had in 2015 but its enrollment has remained “basically flat.”

Another factor at play in Granger's decline has been redevelopment of the area south of the Notre Dame campus. As people move into the area from out of town to take jobs at the university, Johnston, the realtor, said more are drawn there in addition to Granger.

The Census tract immediately south of campus added 636 residents from 2010 to 2020.

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For at least the near future, the Biliks, who once were busy driving their kids to school activities and coaching their sports teams, think they’ll continue to enjoy their more leisurely life in Granger. Sometimes they think about downsizing to a villa or spending a few weeks a year in Tennessee, where friends have cabins.

“But he enjoys working on cutting the grass and stuff, it’s like a therapy,” Jeanine said.

“It just makes sense,” Jeff said. “I’ve got everything I need here. I can fit stuff. I just don’t have the energy to try to get rid of everything and move it right now.”

Their daughter has already asked them to move to Indianapolis once she’s married with children. They might consider that to be closer to their grandchildren.

“And when I need to be spoon-fed,” Jeff quipped.

See the full statement by the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) below:

Former President, former leader of the PNCR, former Chairman of the APNU, and the APNU+AFC Coalition, David Granger, emerged today (June 11, 2023), seemingly emboldened by the misguided notion that the Guyanese people suffer from short-memories, to pontificate, shamelessly, on the issue of trust.

At the eleventh hour, Mr. Granger’s last-ditch effort to ramp up support among Guyanese at Local Government Elections, scheduled for Monday, June 12, 2023, exposes the desperation of the PNCR led APNU, which failed even in its ability to field candidates in more than half of the 610 constituencies and in 25 of the 80 Local Authority Areas (LAAs) being contested.

To wax lyrical about trust, while uttering barefaced untruths, in his familiar ‘sanctimonious’ tone, is characteristic of Mr. Granger and his stewardship as a leader.

First, Mr. Granger’s attempt to credit the former APNU+AFC Coalition with the return of Local Government Elections as a signal of the APNU’ commitment to democracy falls flat in the face of the brazen efforts of his administration to block the holding of constitutionally due General and Regional Elections after the passage of a no-confidence motion, as well as the blatant attempts to steal the Election after Guyanese went to the polls on March 2020.

Secondly, his further efforts to claim that the PPP/C cannot be trusted because it “spurned the Constitution” is unbelievably barefaced. The biggest, most flagrant and persistent violations of our Constitution and laws since Guyana gained independence have marred Mr. Granger’s record and that of his administration. Between May 2015 and March 2020, Mr. Granger and/or his Ministers repeatedly broke the law, often with his knowledge, and violated our Constitution. There are more than 15 where, under Mr. Granger’s watch, the Constitution of Guyana was violated. Mr. Granger did not give the sense that he wanted to stop these intrusions on our country’s democratic structure with his detached and frequently aloof attitude in the face of these violations.

One of the most egregious and poignant memory of his constitutional violations is his unilateral appointment of a Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission. Following retired Justice Patterson’s appointment as Chairman, the matter was filed in the High Court, the Appeals Court and all the way to the Caribbean Court of Justice. On June 18, 2019, the CCJ ruled that “we have no choice but to conclude that the process that was followed in the appointment of Justice Patterson was flawed and in breach of Article 161(2)” Guyana’s Constitution. The Caribbean Court of Justice, on three significant occasions, had to intervene to reverse Mr. Granger’s unconstitutional actions.

Thirdly, Mr. Granger ought to be aware that naming a new town or proclaiming a National Day of Villages – the only two substantive ‘achievements’ he pointed to in his almost nine-minute spiel – does not evidence a commitment to local democracy or development. It does remind, however, that Mr. Granger presided over a period where ‘pomp and ceremony’ mattered more than the people of this country and their prosperity – the decision to spend billions on food and other forms of consumption at the expense of taxpayers.

Mr. Granger would have probably been better served if he, having finally emerged back into the public eye, could have defended or at least attempted a defense of his Administration’s imposition of hardships on our people; the institution of over 200 taxes and fees; the firing of almost 2,000 Amerindians – who were the first of our people to be targeted by his Administration; the firing of thousands in the sugar sector; the massive loss of jobs in the forestry, mining, construction and retail sectors; the removal of the “Because We Care” cash grant from our children; the removal of the one-month bonus for our Joint Services, and the list goes on.

Fourthly, Mr. Granger’s lecture to Guyanese on the issue of trust warrants underscoring that if anyone should trust the PPP/C it is Mr. Granger. Despite his vindictiveness in taking action to remove access to medical care for former presidents, he was fully supported by the PPP/C government during his difficulties and enjoyed the luxury of having his medical expenses fully covered by the State. To date, Mr. Granger maintains use of the most expensive vehicle purchased in Guyana’s history for a public official because of the PPP/C Administration, which refused to lower itself to the levels of his APNU+AFC Coalition administration and graciously allowed him to do so.

Finally, Mr. Granger is correct in one respect, and one respect only, that local representation is based on trust, and the PPP/C stands confident that all right-minded Guyanese trust that: the PPP/C is the only party they can trust to deliver on their promises; the PPP/C is the only party that has matched its words to its actions; the PPP/C is the only party that has worked and continues to work, assiduously to bring our people together, and further the advancement of our nation for our collective progress and prosperity.

The only thing Guyanese can “trust the APNU” to do is to: look out for their own elitist interests. After the December 2018 passage of the no-confidence motion, Guyanese were witness to a massive land grab that benefited the Ministers, their relatives, and their elite cronies.

This all took place in the face of a shameful lack of focus on meeting the housing needs of the average Guyanese.

The fact that Mr. Granger has no track record to stand on is clear, given his misrepresentation of what took place in Guyana before 2015 – a return to the old arsenal, which is nothing but a menu of lies, half-truths, and excuses. This is the only “Kool-Aid” that Guyanese should avoid.

Come Monday, Guyanese are urged to reject the APNU and support the PPP/C – the only party that has a proven track record to stand on; the only party that can be trusted.

June 11th, 2023

–ENDS–

Gary Ely has spent decades coaching the Granger High School football team. In that time, he’s gotten to see hundreds of students, including his own son, go through the program. He’s learned about the importance of community and, in his later years, come to understand that sometimes the experience and the work put in are more important than winning.

Ely is a Prosser native. After graduating from Eastern Oregon University, Ely returned to Yakima County, where he got a job as a history teacher at Granger High School. Three years in, he was offered the head coaching position for the football team. During his first few years as coach, Ely operated under the assumption that he would soon make his transition into coaching for larger schools or even colleges.

As it often does, life got in the way. In this case, Ely said he’s glad about how things worked out.

“When I got the job, I thought, ‘Wow, that’ll look good on my resume,’” Ely said. “About three years in I was thinking about leaving and I had a couple of kids who said, ‘Coach, you gotta stay one more year until we graduate.’ It went that way for a while and then I started having my kids and I said I didn’t want to be one of those coaches who doesn’t see their kids.”

Ely decided to stick around Granger and soon, three years turned into 30. Looking back, he said he has no complaints.

“As corny as it sounds, I laid my worries at the Lord’s feet and hoped for the right answer. I can’t complain. I’ve had a blast here. I’m hoping to get another 10 years in at least,” Ely said.

Earlier this year, Ely celebrated 30 years as head coach of the Granger football team. The Yakima Herald-Republic caught up with Ely after school and asked him a few questions about his experiences over the years and how coaching has impacted his life.

What draws you to coaching? What makes you certain it's what you were meant to do?

Well, I love the sport (football). I’ve been playing it and coaching it since the fifth grade and I was so fortunate to have been able to play the sport in college. I was really fortunate to have the high school and junior college coaches I had. It’s kind of like the classroom, too. So much of it is about trying to pass that knowledge and that love of something to the kids.

You get to know the kids in such a different way when you’re coaching. Some of these kids in the classroom (are hard to handle), but you get them on the football field and it's such a different story.

I just had my 40th class reunion and some friends were talking about retiring and they’re asking me what I’m going to do. I tell them I’ve been fishing, what else am I going to do? I want to keep doing this. People make fun of me all the time. My defensive coordinator always jokes with me and says, ‘You’re gonna retire before I do, coach,' and he was a student of mine. In fact, almost all my assistant coaches are former students of mine.

For a lot of children, especially in underserved or minority communities, school sports can be one of their only sources of constancy and support. Is that the case for some of your athletes?

It definitely keeps their grades up and it keeps them interested in school. We’ll see a dip in their grades after the season. They have to have a certain GPA for them to play. It’s also about the social aspect of it and it’s a release.

That’s one of the selling points I tell kids. You can get your anger out, you can hit somebody and you’re not gonna get in trouble. For our schools and it’s not just football, it is really crucial to some kids.

Some kids have told me the only reason they graduated was because of football. So yes, it’s hugely important.

Do you have any specific seasons or games that stand out in your memory?

One of the games that stands out in my mind is a 2012 game where (Ely’s son, Ryker) was my quarterback and in the last second we needed two points to win the game and we got it. That game will definitely always stick out in my memory.

Also, he and his buddy during that game at halftime, said, ‘Dad, that onside kick we’ve been working on, we’ve gotta do it.’ I wasn’t sure about it but they pushed me into it and said, ‘Alright, if you guys believe in it, then let’s go.’ That kick helped us score and it helped us win.

I think just being able to coach my son through that experience and getting to be a part of it, that’s a parent’s dream I think.

If you had to sum up what you’ve learned about coaching football in the last 30 years into one paragraph, what would you say?

As time has progressed, I’m more concerned about the relationships. When I first started, it was all about the win. It still is, but I treasure the relationships I get with these kids. That 30th (anniversary game) where all those guys showed up, you know. I don’t even know what to say to that one.

For kids looking to get into school sports, looking to get into football, what do you want them to know?

The first thing I ask assistant coaches when I interview them is, ‘How are you going to help me make these young men better fathers, better husbands and better citizens?’ That’s the key. Most of these guys aren’t going to go on to be pros. ... It’s all about how I’m going to help make them a better person. Hopefully, they’ve learned because I’ve stressed for 30 years: Work first, play second.

Santiago Ochoa's reporting for the Yakima Herald-Republic is possible with support from Report for America and community members through the Yakima Valley Community Fund. For information on republishing, email [email protected].