Fredonia Grange Locked Out Of Calhoun County Fair Booth Mid-lease

The Fredonia Grange says that tens of thousands of dollars of equipment is being held hostage by the Calhoun County Fairgrounds in Marshall, Michigan.

While constructing a new building on the fairgrounds, a gas line was shut off, which halted operations in a building occupied by the Fredonia Grange, which has been serving food at the Calhoun County fair for decades.

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They set a date that they needed the gas line to be fixed by in order to serve food this year, and after that deadline was not met by the fairgrounds, they had to pull out of the fair this year. That’s when things went sideways, according to the Grange's President's son, Nathan Hazen from Fredonia, who made a follow-up post regarding the drama surrounding the situation, now claiming all their new equipment is being held hostage:

This morning, Grange members tried to access the booth and found the locks had been changed. We now have no access to OUR supplies and OUR equipment. Even with a signed lease agreement for all of 2026, they have locked us out of our belongings, with no notice. Every piece of equipment in that facility was purchased by the Fredonia Grange. This goes to show the extreme power trip the fair board and management is on.

The member of the Grange feels like this is what they wanted all along:

They wanted the Grange gone so they could lease that space and make more money. They do not care about the fair goers or what the community wants. They do not care about all the negative publicity they have gotten, because this was the ultimate goal.

Online Commentary Making Things Worse Than They Are?

The reason for changing the locks most likely stems from the online drama stirred up by publicly airing it on Facebook, which very few supporters are blaming on members of the Grange. However, the Grange President even stated some proper communication could have helped avoid unnecessary drama online.

There's no word yet as to whether the Grange will be participating in future county fairs in Marshall.

While some are angry with the Fairgrounds Board, their manager says they never asked the Grange to not be a part of the fair, and feel their treatment has been unfair.

Fairgrounds manager Cathy Combs says the outrage and doxxing of her information are unwarranted and that she never asked the Grange not to participate this year:

Posting my personal phone number on Facebook calling me names messaging me with hurtful information, it’s sad and It’s really going to hurt in the long run