Patrons of Husbandry – a website dedicated to the Granges located in Maine
The Maine State Grange Office is located at 36 Anthony Avenue, Suite 102, Augusta, ME 04330. The email address is mainestategrange@gmail.com.
Webmaster’s note: The format of this column includes all of the Quill’s Endians participating at various times and in various ways! Phil writes this month’s column.
March is like the third question posed at The Bridge of Death in Monty Python’s Search for the Holy Grail. To cross the bridge to spring, you must get it right or stump the questioner.
We know January. We come into it girded and resolved. We can because we know both the question and the answer. Like the first question posed at the bridge, “What is your name?”, we do not need to hesitate. We can tick off 31 days in January because we have realistic expectations and nights that last forever.
February can very much be like the second question, “What is your quest?” It can trip you up. An answer doesn’t come immediately because it takes a little priority and work to settle on such an answer in adult life, but it is still an answerable question. Just like question #1, you’ve answered this before.
We don’t expect much from February. Still girded and not quite out of resolve, we can take 28 or 29 days of it. Heads down and headed in the right direction, we expect nothing and are pleased when, toward the end of the month, we get a little reprieve.
Not that we need it.
But March, we might not be able to answer for March. March can be a sucker punch or a love tap. In order to pass to April, March asks, “What is the capitol of Assyria or the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?” or rather more simply asks, “What is your favorite color?” March can bury you. In mud, in rain, in snow, in ice. The grip of winter weakens slowly. Our resolve gets tossed aside by the lies of a beautiful day leaving us prone for the next. It is a 31-day labor for spring.
All will be forgotten come April.
Heather and Phil Retberg and their three children run Quill’s End Farm, a 105-acre property in Penobscot that they bought in 2004. They use rotational grazing on their fifteen open acres and are renovating thirty more acres from woods to pasture to increase grazing for their pigs, grass-fed cattle, lambs, laying hens, and goats. Quill’s Endians are members of Halcyon Grange and publish a newsletter for their farm’s buying club of farmers in the area, and generously permit us to share some of their columns with Grangers. Visit the Quill’s End Farm Facebook Page for more information.
By Rick Grotton,
Membership Committee Director
207 582-5915
Sunday, April 26, at 1 pm at Manchester Grange should be on your calendar if you have new members who have not taken or have not seen the first four degrees. There are members who have been obligated for over a year now who have not seen the degrees. The obligation ceremony does not give the details of the lessons of the Grange, so it would be beneficial (and necessary) to observe the degrees. Last year was successful, and I am looking forward to meeting and greeting our new members.
Grange Month is in April and always gives us opportunities to increase our membership. Most Granges will be busy with events going on throughout the month. Chelsea Grange will again fill May baskets made by the elementary school on April 25 and given to the occupants of the Veterans’ Home. This is a very fun event for both the children and the members who fill the baskets. If your Grange does not have an event scheduled, feel free to contact a Grange that will be active and offer your services. Remember, we are all one big family and are there to help one another.
Ideas for Grange month (and for all year) include having an open house, giving membership awards, public suppers, visiting nursing homes, yard sales, bake sales, and the list goes on. Please advertise on the website so other Granges are aware of these events.
Keep attracting new members and send me more topics of interest to discuss in this column. Maybe we will call this Ask Rick. Send me a question, and I will answer it. Or send me suggestions, and I will include them in my column and reference the Grange that sent it (unless you want to be anonymous).
Submitted by Marilyn Stinson
Enterprise #48 in Richmond will observe Grange Month as usual… Community Citizen Awards will be on Sunday, April 26, at 3:00 pm for Richmond and the surrounding towns.
Then, on Wednesday, the 29th, they will host Fifth Degree for Sagadahoc Pomona. Candidates from other Granges are welcome. Sagadahoc Pomona may be looking for help with the Degree work. We’ll start with a potluck supper at 6:00 pm, followed by the meeting and the degree at 7:00 pm.
For more information, contact Marilyn Stinson by email or at 737-380-3901.
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Note that all recent issues are available on the National Grange Website. To save server space, we only post the table of contents on the MSG Website.
IRS impostor scams tend to spike during tax season, and a new change in how refunds are issued could create added confusion and opportunities for scammers.
Starting this year, the IRS will only issue tax refunds electronically as the federal government moves away from paper checks. Changes like this are often used by scammers to make their messages sound more believable.
Scammers impersonating the IRS may contact you claiming they need your banking information to “update your refund details” because of the new rule. Know that the IRS generally will not call, text, or email you. Rather, the agency will send a letter to the taxpayer’s last known address explaining next steps or requesting additional information.
If you’re unsure whether a message is legitimate, don’t engage. Instead, confirm your tax refund or payment status by contacting the IRS directly using a trusted phone number from an official IRS letter, or by logging in to your IRS Online Account if you have one.
Report scams to local law enforcement. For help from AARP, call 1-877-908-3360 or visit the AARP Fraud Watch Network at aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork.
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By Clay Collins, Guest Columnist
207 837-0564
“A woman from Samaria came to the well to draw water. Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink,’ (For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to Him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria? Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is saying to you, Give me a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.’ The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?”
John 4:7-11
I apologize for such a long scripture this month, but it said volumes to me. This was the scripture we heard in church this week (third Sunday in Lent). I took the middle part of it. The full scripture lesson is John 4:5–42.
Naturally, we, as good grangers and Christians, would think nothing of giving the stranger a drink of water, but in those days, the Jews and Samaritans were total opposites from one another. It would be very strange for the two of them to even be sitting in the same area, much less talking to each other, especially a man and a single woman.
The woman was correct in saying that Jesus had nothing to draw water, and that the well was very deep. Jesus was not talking about water from the well that we drink. He was talking about the living water that only God Himself provides us. That is what God feeds our soul with to help us understand the teachings of Jesus and God.
The ”Living Water” that comes from God is what sustains us so that we may do good here on earth. We need to drink it in so that we can continue to do God’s work.
Until the next time, remember, “Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.”
Benediction: “Gracious Father, continue to give us the living water. Amen.”
Thought for the month:
“May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow and may trouble avoid you wherever you go.” [Irish Blessing]
While Chaplain Christine is burdened with technology challenges, she has invited Past MSG Chaplain Clay to share some spiritual thoughts with our Grange Flock.
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March 21-22, 2026
The Maine Maple Producers Association has announced the 43rd annual Maine Maple Sunday weekend. Set for March 21-22, sugar houses across the state will offer events, games, activities, sugarbush tours, music and much more.
Over 100 sugar houses, farms and orchards are participating in this year’s Maple Sunday weekend at locations across the state. This is a great way to celebrate our Maine maple producers while enjoying a sweet treat!
Some locations will be open for activities on both Saturday and Sunday while others will only be open one day so be sure to double check with each sugarhouse before heading out! For a list of participating locations, visit the Maine Maple Producers Association website.
By Walter Boomsma, MSG Communications Director
How do you view fundraising on behalf of your Grange?
In a recent post, Seth Godin challenges us to wonder why we often use the word “donation” and how that might affect the value of what’s “given.”
That’s worthy of thought. Too often, fundraisers approach with an almost apologetic tone. But the best fundraising provides an opportunity. We can readily see this with public suppers. We’re offering our supporters an opportunity to have a great meal at an affordable price. Supporting the Grange is at least secondary, if it’s even a factor.
The approach focuses on what the donor gets, not what the fundraiser receives. It might be a subtle shift. If you’ve ever sold a raffle ticket to someone who wasn’t interested in winning, you’ve seen it in action.
By the way, the same thinking applies to recruiting members.
by Larry Bailey, Master/President
Spring is near (I think) and the Ocean View Grange is coming alive. I would love to see our Farmers Market program reopen. People who have veggies, fruits, bread, meat, pies, cookies, flowers, and any kind of farm/home/garden products to sell should join the Farmers Market at the Grange. This is how it works…There is no cost to you. You come to the Grange parking area, set up your table and/or tent, and display your products. You decide the days(s) and the opening and closing times for yourself. The only thing the Grange provides is the space for you to set up.
If you are interested, please contact me via the Facebook message area or email larrybailey@roadrunner.com -207-372-8075
Vassalboro Grange not only recently added fifteen new members, but those members are also working hard to “get our Grange back on track.” They recently received a National Grange Rural Life Initiative Grant to help. Master/President Holly Weidner notes that a current challenge is “to keep up with all the reporting of our work.”
That work includes updating their bylaws and electing a full slate of officers. We can definitely add Vassalboro Grange #322 to the list of exciting Granges! Stay tuned. There’s more to come!