Cemetery markers honor contributions to Montgomery
Luke Eger and Francis “Frank” Porter, prominent residents of the Montgomery area in the latter half of the 19th century, were memorialized recently with the dedication of bronze markers on their respective gravesites, both of which are located in the Mount Zion Maple Hill Cemtery at 37 Ridge Road, Montgomery.
According to a news release, the markers were commissioned by the Pennsylvania State Grange and in conjunction with the local Eagle Grange #1 where both men were charter members in 1871, held a marker dedication ceremony to note their important roles in Grange history.
Eger was responsible for bringing the first Grange to Pennsylvania after reading in a national agricultural publication about the fledging Grange organization, growing by leaps and bound in the midwestern United States. He quickly came to believe the area where he lived and farmed could benefit from such an organization and reached out to the primary Grange founder Oliver Hudson Kelley in Washington, DC for information.
“The initial response of his family, friends and neighbors was lukewarm at best but he persisted and eventually organized Eagle Grange on March 4, 1871, becoming its first Master,” or president, the news release said.
Frank Porter, Eger’s brother-in-law, was one of those persons not particularly interested in the Grange idea, and only joined (in his own words) to “keep peace in the family.” However, the Grange soon became one of the great passions of Porter’s life, the news release said. Elected as the third Master of Eagle Grange in 1873 and its delegate to the organizational meeting of the Pennsylvania State Grange at Reading in September of that year, he was appointed a member of the committee to draft the constitution and bylaws of the new statewide group and was elected its first Overseer (vice president). Particularly noteworthy is the fact that Frank Porter was responsible for organizing 41 Granges throughout northcentral Pennsylvania in the years between 1873 and 1907. Porter served a term in the state legislature and was involved with several businesses in the Montgomery area.
According to the news release, participants in the dedication included national, state and local Grange leaders, as well as the local Montgomery Historical Society. After the ceremony, about 35 attendees returned to the nearby Eagle Grange Hall on East Blind Road for dinner and showing of the PA State Grange’s 150th anniversary documentary.