WILTON – Franklin Grange No. 50 officially disbanded Saturday due to lack of participation. Four of the 30 members made the decision.

The group has not been able to raise a quorum of seven at recent meetings, Karen Flagg of Turner said. She, her husband, Michael, and in-laws Lincoln and Hazel Flagg of Wilton attended Saturday.

Letters from Franklin Grange and the state Grange were sent to members regarding Saturday’s meeting and the possible disbanding. Now, members will have six months to decide whether to join another Grange. Eleven of the 30 have been members for more than 50 years, Flagg said.

The younger Flaggs have already joined the Androscoggin Grange while Lincoln, a member for 53 years, said he hasn’t decided what he wants to do.

The building on Route 156 becomes the property of the State Grange, she said.

The former White Schoolhouse was purchased by the Grange in 1948, Lincoln Flagg said Tuesday. Atop its sits a bell the grange restored in the mid-1980s, he said. He provided a photo of the class of 1897 that purchased the bell for the school at a cost of $26.50. The grange walled the bell in, but then restored it as a community service project.

Karen Flagg said Franklin Grange made for some special memories. An aunt introduced her to the organization.

“I met my husband at a Grange function,” she said, “and we were married during a Franklin Grange No. 50 meeting. The wedding took place under the meeting’s new business.”

Grange for her offered an opportunity to meet different people and see old friends at state meetings, she said.

Flagg said she also enjoyed the craft contests and displays created by the granges at local fairs. While a display at Farmington Fair and Fryeburg Fair was stopped in the past few years, Franklin Grange has donated 45 baby quilts for hospitalized babies. She’s also been involved in a program, Stitches for the Heart, where 250 knit and crochet items have been given.

Franklin Grange has also done community service projects such as providing infant CPR equipment, teddy bear donations to local police and ambulance services, and helping get wood for local families, she said.

Like so many other organizations that face low attendance and closure, some members are not able to attend meetings and sometimes people don’t like change, she said.