Maine State Grange

Webmaster Walter Writes… WWW!

You’d probably prefer that I don’t remind you that today is tax day, so instead we’ll get right to the business of talking about your Maine State Grange website! Before I start nagging, let me share some numbers with you.

If we consider this site something of a virtual Grange Hall, we can note that so far this year we’ve been averaging 60 visits per day! Imagine leaving your Grange Hall unlocked and seeing 60 people drop in during the course of a day. How cool would that be!? Yes, some are members–but not all. There’s really no way of knowing how that breaks down, but based on some of the submitted questions I get (and the search terms that bring people to the site) I can assure you there are a number of people visiting the site for information about the Grange that ranges from historical questions to how to rent (and in one case buy) a Grange Hall to what scholarships are available…

One of the exciting things happening recently is that several Granges have claimed their free website from National… and I congratulate those Granges and the folks in them who’ve “taken the plunge” and are willing to learn a little bit about how to maintain a site. The sites offered by National are very user-friendly–most of the work has already been done, so the challenge is reasonable and the benefits are many. Websites are about communication and anything you can do to improve communication among your members and communities is a big step forward. If you’re interested in getting started, you can contact National Grange or shoot me an email   (webmastermainestategrangeorg)  and I’ll help you get started.

Of course I’m being a little selfish, because once you have a site, you’ll understand some of the frustrations I face. One is that it’s hard to communicate without information! But you’ll also understand the rewards and I can assure you it’s rewarding when people use the site to learn things and share good news.

If you’ve been following this site, you know we recently underwent a major change in the way events are handled. The “bad” news is event postings are no longer automatically emailed to subscribers. The good news is events are much easier to find and can include a lot more detail… in fact, that visitor who wants to come to the public supper you are having can now have a map to your Grange. Oh, wait–that only works if you’ve submitted the address of your Grange with your event information. And if you have, that only works if you’ve used the 911 address. For example, Valley Grange is located at the corner of Butter Street and Guilford Center Road. But if you are using a GPS or the mapping program on the site to find it, you really want to know that Valley Grange is at 172 Guilford Center Road in Guilford Maine 04443.  So if I were submitting an event I’d include that address in every submission, because I know the webmaster can’t possibly remember the address of every Grange in Maine.

The devil is in the details. I’m working on a new submission page that will encourage you to remember to include them. It should be ready in a week or two, but many of you prefer just sending an email and that’s fine. Just make an effort to include all the information. Rudyard Kipling will help you:

I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.

If your Grange has it’s own website, include that address (URL) in the details you submit so those who are interested can find additional information. One other request: if you are emailing information or an article, please turn on your spell-check. Even that doesn’t guarantee everything will be write right. But it will help.

Think spring! It’s a time for growing… let’s not limit that growth to plants! We can grow communication, websites, and our Granges!