Master's Message

As I write this, the snow continues to fall. But spring must be just around the corner as I am receiving calls from Granges who are planning events for Grange Month and for other times. If you haven’t made plans for some activity in April, Grange Month, now is the time to do it. Some Granges are presenting Community Citizen Awards, others are honoring some of their own members for their accomplishments and inviting in the public. Some are holding an open house to acquaint themselves with their neighbors. Whatever you do, plan it in advance and publicize your activity.

The State Grange has a new e mail address. It is mainestategrange@verizon.net. It should be easy to remember as it is almost the same as our web site – www.mainestategrange.org.

The Maine State Grange lost another member of its former pink sash family with the death of Roland Marriner. Roland will be remembered for his wit and his unmistakable laugh. He served the Grange in many capacities from State Youth Director to Overseer. It was sad that Roland was not able to serve as our State Master when his turn finally arrived due to poor health. He had labored faithfully in the Grange for decades and would have made a great Master.
Ed Luttrell, National Membership/Leadership Director was in Maine for four days in May and we had good attendance at three presentations. I was particularly pleased with the Washington County attendance. Ed’s message was that if we strive to meet the needs of our members and our communities, people will join the Grange. I hope that he was able to inspire some folks. I am convinced that all Grange’s can be successful if they think positively and have a true desire to make a difference in their communities.
The Maine Granger will be coming to all Maine Grange households starting in August; there will be no July issue. With that thought in mind I would like to mention some activities going on that Grangers might be interested in attending. Maine Farm Days will be August 17-18 at Misty Meadow Farm on the Hill Road in Clinton. It has been moved to the weekend with the intent of gaining a larger non-farmer attendance.
Going on at the same time will be the Outstanding Tree Farmer of the Year Field Day at the Joe Pierce Tree Farm in West Baldwin. See the article in this paper about this event. Joe is a Grange member at West Baldwin Grange. The State Grange will have a booth there.
The State Grange will again sponsor a Yankee Candle fundraiser this fall. Last year 31 Granges participated and had gross sales of $6200. If we could double the number of Granges participating, which should be easily attainable, we could double our sales. Subordinate Granges earn 25% of gross sales.
Grange Day is September 23 at the Big E in Springfield, MA. Grange members will be leading the parade that day around the fairgrounds which is about a mile. Each state is asked to have as many Grange members as possible march in the 5 PM parade and carry their states flag. We want to make a good showing for Maine, as the parade will be seen by thousands of fair goers. You will get free gate and parking passes that are good for the entire day. I am also looking into the possibility of a bus. If this is of interest to you please call State Headquarters at 1-800-464-3421 soon to reserve your tickets.
The Grange roofing project at the Maine Conservation School in Bryant’s Pond has been completed. Money is still needed to pay the cost, which is around $2000. I would like to thank Richard Harriman for overseeing the project and making sure that everything was ready to go when the workers arrived. We gratefully had a good crew, Gary Nickerson from Porter Grange, Phil and Emily Parsons from Bangor Grange and Dan who volunteered from the school staff. I attended one day to help strip the old shingles off the roof. It was a lot of work and I am glad that I don’t have to shingle roofs everyday!
The Maine Grange Foundation is working on a new brochure to suggest ways for people to help their Grange financially after they pass on. Trusts can be set up that provide an individual a good income while they are living and provide income for their Grange after they pass. In the event that a Grange closes the funds could revert back to heirs. The brochure will be sent to Granges when completed. Estate planning seminars will be conducted by Central Maine Finacial Services at state session in Skowhegan.
Speaking of state session, just a reminder that resolutions are due at State Headquarters by September 15. It is closer than it seems!
Hope to see you at the Grange Family Campout July 27-28 at the KOA in Canaan.

We are pleased this month to bring to all our members the special edition of the Maine Granger, which is to promote our youth leadership camp and to acknowledge the Plum Creek Foundation for the grant received for last year’s camp. We have also included information about Grange activities and programs for members who are not able to attend many meetings in hopes that we can increase participation in these activities and programs. Pull out the page on programs and save it for future reference.
Members will also be receiving a State Grange newsletter periodically in an effort to keep members informed of Grange activities. Let us know whether you would prefer to receive the Maine Granger or the newsletter at no cost to you as part of your membership. We could provide either to our members with funds from our dormant reserve accounts. We need to improve communications in the Grange and this would be a good use of the reserve funds that have come to us from the assets of closed Granges. We would be improving the Grange.
Radio ads ran statewide for the last two weeks of March educating the public about Grange and informing them to look for Grange month activities locally. The publicity committee worked hard to encourage Granges to take advantage of this Grange month promotion. If your Grange hasn’t planned an activity yet there is still time. Send your info to the website for posting.
We had a very successful Legislative Luncheon on Ag Day, March 20. Thank you to all who made fudge for our booth at the Hall of Flags and Phil and Charlotte Young and Dolores Moore who manned the booth. Thank you to the State Officers, Legislative and Ag committee members who made pies and helped serve food. We fed about 250 people, which may be a record. Legislators look forward to this event every year.
A special thank you to Phil and Yvette Herbert who have come the day before this event to help prepare food for the past 6 years. Also a big thank you to Rhonda Cook from Maine Aquaculture for donating salmon, Ken Greenleaf from Borealis Breads for donating the Maine made bread, the Maine Dairy Promotion Board for dairy products and the Maine Wild Blueberry Commission for the blueberry juice and placemats.
We have had a busy month at the Legislature. The Grange sponsored, eminent domain bill limiting the taking of business property went nowhere despite a great effort by Rep. Jim Annis. The bill was similar to one last session that also was defeated. There were too many vague terms such as “no more than necessary” that would tie the courts up for years defining the intent of the law.
The Transportation Committee gave their enthusiastic blessings to a bill to create the Agricultural License Plate and the Maine Agriculture in the Classroom Council. They also designated it as an emergency bill so that the first plates would be out by the end of this summer. An amendment allows the plates to be used on farm and commercial vehicles.
The Grange presented testimony on the bond package before the Appropriations Committee. We stated that Roads and Bridges should receive the highest priority. We also supported a bond proposal by Rep. James Schatz from Blue Hill for a $2.5 million bond for Traditional Meeting Houses. This bond would make money available to Granges for hall renovations. It is expected that the total bond package will be around $395 million spread over a 3-4 year period.
We also presented testimony on tax reform. There are literally dozens of bills attempting to change all forms of taxes. We suggested that the taxing system we now have is not as unfair, except for the property tax, as some would have you believe. The problem is that we are spending too much money and any proposal that isn’t revenue neutral and in fact raises more money is just smoke and mirrors. Some are designed to confuse people to get more money out of them without them knowing it and is an injustice to taxpayers. The bottom line is that if you spend more money you have to tax for more and somebody must pay.
Ag Scholarships are due at State Headquarters by April 30. We should be able to give out three $500. scholarships again this year.
Ed Luttrell National Grange Membership/Leadership Director will be in Maine May 3-6. I hope every Grange will make an effort to send people. The cost is free including the meal. It is time to get serious about Grange membership, so please attend. Preregistration is required for meal planning purposes. Please read the details about the meetings in this issue of the Granger.
On the horizon we are looking to set up training sessions on the use of our website and grant writing, possibly in June.
Until next month.

Mother Nature finally came thru for the snow lovers and delivered the first major snow of the season on Valentines Day. It was just in time for the Master’s Conference in Reno, NV. Needless to say our flight was canceled and we were not able to attend. But all wasn’t lost, we were able to get the snowmobiles out for the first time in two years and enjoy some good trail riding.
Androscoggin Pomona lost one of it’s staunchest supporters last month with the passing of Charlie Clifford. Charlie was always there supporting the Pomona and Minot Center Grange. The Fifth Degree stage setup was Charlie’s invention. When things needed adapting we always asked Charlie, “What are we going to do about this?”and Charlie would always have tools or supplies on hand to deal with almost any situation. Much of what I and many other younger Grangers in our Pomona know about Grange ritual we learned from Charlie as he directed many youth procedure teams. Over his many years in the Grange he declined many positions at the State Grange level, preferring to work behind the scenes at the Subordinate and Pomona level. He and Helen did serve on the State Grange 6th Degree Stage Committee until his health wouldn’t permit it. They also directed many Rose Drill Teams. Charlie and Helen revived Minot Center Grange by involving the local snowmobile club. Charlie started the snowmobile club which meets at the Grange Hall and he convinced many of them to join Grange. At Charlie’s funeral, just before the Valentine’s Day snow storm, the minister said that as an avid snowmobiler Charlie was going to talk to the man upstairs to get us some snow and we now know he was successful. Thank you Charlie.
The annual Grange tour will be to the Finger Lakes in New York State June 11-15, 2007. I hope many Grangers will attend. Some of the highlights will be a cruise down the St. Lawrence, a live performance of “Miss Saigon”, and a visit to the Baseball Hall of Fame to name just a few. Signup information can be found in this issue of the Granger and from Grange Secretaries.
April is Grange month and the State Grange will be doing some statewide promotion of the Grange on radio stations across the state. Please use the information sent to each Grange from the National Grange in conjunction with this promotion. Please invite your State Officer’s, Deputies and committee people to speak at your public Grange month events. I will again be looking for volunteers to help man phones for public radio and TV during April. If you would like to help please call the state office.
We have a new State Director of Family Health and Hearing, Florence Libby, from Cape Elizabeth Grange. She has many ideas and I believe that she will do an excellent job for us. Our former Director, Lois Hamel, found it necessary to give up the position because of time commitments to her work at USM. She has done a great job for us and we wish her the best.
Our Monosodium Glutamate bill at the Legislature didn’t make it out of committee. There is already a law concerning the labeling of MSG if added to food directly in the crystalline form. It was heard by the Ag committee in the Legislature and they felt that banning the use of it in the state was too drastic and that the present law was sufficient. Unfortunately the labeling requirement has a huge loophole in it that you could drive a bus through. So don’t expect to find many menus listing MSG as an ingredient in prepared food products. A great effort was made by Jim Annis and Ed Finch to support the bill. They are both Legislators and Grangers. Also David and Priscilla Hartford were vigilant supporters at the hearing and at the work session. There is a huge lobby to support MSG use. They have lots of money and ruled the day.
Ed Luttrell, National Membership/Leadership Director will be in Maine the week of May 5th. He will be at Passadumkeag Grange May 5 10 am – 3pm lunch at noon and Jacksonville Grange May 6 starting at 1pm supper at 5pm. All Grangers are invited, especially Granges with fewer than 20 members. The focus of his presentation will be on building membership in smaller Granges. There will be two evening sessions in southern Maine. Those sessions will be scheduled as soon as we learn of Ed’s travel plans. Info will be mailed to all Granges soon.

What a dull winter! My snowmobile hasn’t left the barn for the second year in a row. It has been good though for traveling to Grange functions. Roads have been great all winter.
I would like to thank all who manned the Grange booth at the 66th Annual Trades Show. The show was well attended and we had several referrals of folks who were interested in Grange.
I would like to thank Sharon Manley for offering her talents to redo the display board for the show and also for editing the new newsletter called the Gleaner. The first copy went out January 26th. The next issue will be in April.
Donations for the Roseberry Farm have come in nicely. We have been able to purchase 3 loads of hay so far and can purchase at least one more. Thank you to all who have contributed.
Sue and I will be at the State Master conference from Feb. 15-21. One of the topics of discussion will be the development of guidelines for abuse prevention in our Jr. and Youth programs. National Grange wants each state to adopt guidelines to protect our youth members and our adult leaders.
We should have information on this year’s Grange Tour very soon. According to surveys returned to the tour director by last year’s tour participants they indicated that they would like to travel to the Finger Lakes in New York State. The trip will take place in early June. Stay tuned!
We are working on a pilot project with some MOFGA members to promote school garden projects. How it works is, Granges will sponsor potluck meals at the Grange and invite farmers, school staff, students and parents to discuss how to get garden projects and local foods into the schools. There is a great deal of interest in locally grown food and agriculture in schools. This is one way the Grange help guide this new interest and develop it into a reality.
Brother and House Rep. James Schatz from Halcyon Grange has introduced a bill to raise funds for the restoration of Grange Halls and other old meeting places. According to the bill (LD 426) there will be a bond issue in the amount of $2.5 million going to the voters. Let’s get behind this bill by contacting our own Legislators to support this bill. As soon as we learn of the hearing date we will try to get the word out so that we can have a good attendance at the hearing.
There are many other bills of interest to Grangers that can be found elsewhere in the Maine Granger. LD 185 concerning Mono Sodium Glutamate and LD 254 concerning Eminent Domain are two bills submitted by Jim Annis from Valley Grange on behalf of the Grange. We will be following them closely. If you have any questions or concerns about bills please contact the Maine State Grange office or one of our Legislative Committee members.
We will be conducting another area meeting on March 31 at Ammadamast Grange in Enfield. It will begin with a noon lunch to be followed by discussion of Grange departmental activities and Grange ritual. Contact Deputy Rolf Staples for more details.
Spring is getting closer!

As I write this article on a rainy and icy New Year’s Day I look forward to a busy and productive Grange year. We should all be making plans to move or Grange’s forward and build our membership in 2007. We must compete with other activities for people’s time by making our Granges a place worthy of that precious time. Some Granges have realized this and are taking in members.
All Granges have the potential for growth. Take a good honest look at your Grange. What is your Grange doing in the community? Is your Grange leading the way in your town or does it let other groups lead? The Grange is still the only organization that men and women, children and seniors can come together for the common good. We are well poised for great things. People still have a desire for a sense of community. If the Grange tries to fill this need, by providing activities and opportunities for service, people will choose the Grange because of the fact that the whole family can participate. If we say let some other group meet this need, and do nothing, we will wither and die. So look with optimism to the future and make plans to compete.
Look to the National and State Grange for the tools needed to compete. April is again Grange month. Plan some public activity to celebrate it. The National Grange will provide the materials needed to plan a successful event. The State Grange will be doing statewide promotion of Grange month. The State Officers and Membership Committee are available to speak at public functions.
We have some great Grange posters that we purchased from a company in Oregon. These 18”x 24” professionally made posters are available for $1. each plus postage. They make great promotional tools.
The State Membership Committee is making plans to bring National Membership/Leadership Director Ed Luttrell back to Maine this spring, after the weather improves, to work with small Granges with 20 or fewer members. Watch for these workshops which will probably occur in early May.
There will be an area meeting February 10 at Chesterville Grange for all Grange members interested in learning about Grange programs, activities and ritual. It will start at 10 am with a paid lunch at noon. Other area meetings will be held other areas upon request.
New this month will be a trial newsletter that will be sent to all Grange households from the State Grange in an attempt to keep all members up to date on Grange activities.
We have received a new supply of Maine State Grange Cookbooks. If you would like some call State Headquarters.
At the request of the Maine State Grange Ag Committee we will again have the State Grange Raffle. This year the 1st prize will be a big screen television. Tickets will be mailed with the Community Service Grant applications later this winter.
Ag Day at the Legislature will be March 20th. We will again host the Legislative Luncheon and will need fudge to feed the Legislators at the State House that day. I hope everyone will support this effort as you have done in the past.
David Young from Danville Junction Grange is our new Webmaster. Anyone with information for the State Grange website can send info to Dave at DavidColbyYoung@aol.com
Or call Dave at 786-2129.
The Grange Roster is at the printers and should be out to everyone on time.
That’s all for this month.

Master’s Message 12-06
The Grangers in Illinois did an excellent job hosting the National Grange Convention in Springfield. Sue and I were very proud of Cindy Marceau and her performance in the Evening of Excellence talent show. Some of the other developments at the convention were not so positive.
A National dues increase received first year approval in a 50-12 vote. Another vote in 2007 must be taken before it goes into effect. If approved dues to National will go up $2/member in 2008 and $2/member more in 2010. National Grange certainly doesn’t have the luxury of large cash reserves that the states have, but I feel National must be more responsive to the wishes of the grassroots Grangers and get its fiscal house in order before asking for a dues increase.
Two of the five resolutions sent to National were approved in some form. There were 6 resolutions on the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) including Maine’s. All resolutions were combined into one. The National Grange policy will support NAIS with the following elements: 48 hour trace-back capabilities, confidentiality, one integrated system incorporating breed organization systems, and be federally funded.
Our resolution concerning dues notices was adopted as amended. The new code requires two dues notices be sent to members before suspension. One in writing and the second in any form written or oral.
Our resolution on moving the food stamp program from the Dept of Agriculture to the Dept of Human services had an interesting outcome. The National Grange delegates on the Ag Committee see the food stamp program as not just a welfare program for the poor, but as a program to increase food consumption that helps farmers and they feel that it should remain under the control of the Dept of Agriculture.
Our resolution requiring the publishing of National Grange employee salaries failed to get any support as it is illegal to publish employee salaries in Washington, DC and that problems could arise from employees knowing what each other are being paid.
Lastly our resolution on reducing the quorum at Subordinate Grange meetings from 7 to 5 failed in committee primarily because it was seen as a band aid approach to a much more serious problem of no membership recruitment and in the long run would not save any Granges from closing.
Two new people were elected to the National Grange Executive Committee, which was quite unusual as the two incumbents sought reelection. The two new members are Betsy Huber from PA and Marty Bilquist from MT.
Back here in Maine, Dirigo Grange #98,working with the Farmlink program, hosted a meeting of retiring farmers and people looking to get into farming. There were about 50 in attendance and from all accounts the project was a great success.
A great example of how our connections through Grange membership can be so important and can be witnessed through our support for the Roseberry Farm. They lost 60% of their organic hay crop at the hands of vandals at an estimated cost of $18,000. To date Grangers have contributed $1200. to help replace their tremendous loss. This response makes one proud to be a Granger.
A scholarship fund has been started by the family of Ron Bagley. Anyone wishing to donate to this fund can send contributions to the Maine Grange Foundation, Inc. at 146 State St., Augusta, Me 04330.
The new Grange Cookbook has sold out of the original 540 copies. 300 more are on order. We hope that they will arrive in time for Christmas. Please be patient. All orders will be filled.
Steven Haycock from Sabbathday Lake Grange has been appointed to the position of Maine State Grange Publicity Director, replacing Walter Boomsma who resigned last month. Steve’s computer skills and interest in promoting the Grange should be an asset in our efforts to get our message to the outside world. A publicity committee is also being formed to work with Steve. We would like representatives from all of the nine districts in Maine. If you have an interest in promoting the Grange please call the State Grange office.
We are again this year making the offer to conduct area meetings for any Grange wanting to host an area meeting to discuss Grange activities and ritual. Please contact your Deputy.
The State Secretary informs me that there are a few Granges who have not paid their quarterly dues. The password will not be sent to these Granges until the dues are paid. Late dues make it difficult for the State Secretary to complete her work and prepare reports to National.
As we make our New Year resolutions I would hope that we could each have one that says “I will get one new member for my Grange”. If we could all do that what a difference we could make in our Granges. Just one each! Think about it!
Sue and I wish all a prosperous and happy New Year!

The 2006 State Convention is now history. I am very pleased with the outcome of the convention and all the people who made it successful. Steve Call as Chief Deputy did an outstanding job as did all the Deputies working with him. Thanks to them everything went smoothly as planned. It was good to have National Membership/Leadership Director Ed Luttrell at the convention to meet and talk with Maine Grange members. Ed is enthusiastic about Grange membership and I hope that he inspired many of the delegates to go back to their Granges with a positive attitude about building up the Grange. We saw many examples of it happening in Maine at the convention and it can be duplicated in any Grange if we really want to make it happen.
We still have some convention souvenir pins left if you forgot to get one. They are $5. each or two for $8. I would like to thank Lu Lamoreau for the design of the pin, which was a replica of the Skowhegan Indian.
The new Grange Cookbook and 2007 Grange Calendars are selling well. Get yours soon as supplies are running low.
I did forget to tell delegates to turn in their convention surveys located in the back of the resolution pads. We really want to know what attendees thought of the convention so that we can make improvements. Please fill them out and send them to State Headquarters if you still have them.
Sue and I are looking forward to representing Maine at the National Grange Convention November 12-19 in Springfield, Illinois.
Amid the excitement of State Convention we had a saddening event occur, the passing of former State Master Ronald Bagley on Friday the 20th. I was pleased to be able to present him with his 65 year certificate the Sunday before his death. So often we are unable to visit with people to say goodbye before they pass. Brother Bagley stated that he was ready to go and we were able to thank him for his contributions to the Grange and reminisce about memorable happenings in his life. Ron Dolloff gave a great tribute at the funeral that made us all proud to be Grangers.
The signup period for the special BJ’s membership for Grangers is happening now through December 29. The offer is 2 cards for 15 months at the price of $30. Applications are available only through the State Grange office (1-800-464-3421).
We also have a new discount program with Best Western Hotels. Look for the article in this edition of the Maine Granger and also there will be a mailing coming to Granges.
We are in the process of appointing state committees for the coming year. If you really want to make a difference in the Grange please offer to serve on a state committee. Please give me a call and we can talk about available positions.
All Deputies and State Officers should mark their calendars for Deputies School December 9th. Details will be coming in the mail soon. Also, the New England Leaders Conference will be held in Middletown, RI January 12-14. Info will be sent to Deputies, Committee Heads, and State Officers.
As we near the holiday season, Sue and I hope that all Grangers have a happy holiday season spent with family, Grangers and friends. Let us all be thankful for the blessings of the past year and look forward to a great 2007 in the Grange and in our lives.
We are planning a holiday party at Headquarters for all Grange members in December. The date has not been determined as of this writing so check with your Secretary, as Granges will be sent an invitation. There will be door prizes, a great DJ with music from the 40’s to the present with karaoke, and a talent show with a $25. prize. Bring your talent, your family and something for the snack table.