Hollis Grange Words for Thirds
Category: Exciting Granges
Valley Grange Words for Thirds Team visits local schools
Valley Grange Teams are currently celebrating Dictionary Days and Words for Thirds with area schools.WABI-TV5 caught up with the team at Ridgeview Elementary School in Dexter.
To learn more about the Guilford Grange’s Project, visit the Valley Grange Website or Facebook Page.
Excelsior Grange Craft Show
November 29, 2025
Excelsior Grange is looking for crafters and vendors for our annual Christmas Fair to be held on November 29, 2025, from 9 am to 2 pm. The Grange will serve lunch and will be selling wreaths. To reserve an eight-foot table ($20) or for more info about the fair, please contact Excelsior Grange #5 on Facebook or by calling 998-2301.
Excelsior Grange is located at 446 Harris Hill Road in Poland, Maine.
Celebrating Grange Membership
Information gleaned from the current issue of GoodDay!TM magazine.
75 Years of Continuous Membership
William Benner, Willow #366
50 Years of Continuous Membership
Linda Brooks-Nighman, Perry #324
Ashton C. Reardon, South Sangerville #335
Brian E. Reardon, South Sangerville #335
Douglas Drown, Bingham #237
Jams Owens, Bingham #237
Granges Gaining New Members
Mill Stream Grange Trunk or Treat
Friday, October 31, 2025, at 4:30 p.m. Mill Stream Grange is located at 128 Town House Road in Vienna. FMI visit their Facebook Group.
A Dynamic Duo
Mill Stream Grange in Vienna has a dynamic duo of Junior Grangers! If you’ve been following recent posts, you may have noticed them.
Natalie Heck recently received the Passion to Progress Award, bestowed through the Maine Academic Scholarship Pageant and presented by Rosie Haibon, USA Ambassador Miss. The award is based on her essay regarding volunteering at the Mount Vernon Food Bank this past year. Natalie also earned the Crossroads Leadership Volunteer Service Award for completing 50+ hours of community service during her reign as 2025 Miss Western Maine Pre-Teen.
We were pleased to recently feature her as a guest columnist with her award-winning Passion to Progress Essay.
Natalie’s sister Caroline is equally ambitious and community service-minded. Caroline is working on an outreach program to raise awareness of the importance of childhood literacy. The project includes building and placing a Little Free Library TM at the Mill Stream Grange Hall. Her outreach includes designing a bookmark with statistics and facts about the importance of reading to children. These will be printed and shared locally through her Girl Scout Troop and Service Unit, in the pre-K classrooms at Mount Vernon and Cape Cod Hill elementary schools, and in Mill Stream’s Words for Thirds.
She has already collected 203 books, a mix of board books, picture books, early chapter books, and middle-grade novels, all donated by the local community. If you’d like to support Caroline’s outreach program, contact her Mom, Kirstine Heck, or visit the Vienna, Maine, Mill Stream Grange Facebook Group.
Both girls demonstrate the value and power that come from collaborating with like-minded organizations. Energy creates energy. We are grateful and proud of their efforts and accomplishments.
A third Junior Granger, Sam Hanley, recently became an adult member and will surely continue to support his friends and the community. Earlier this summer, these Junior Grangers and another friend organized a Coastal Clean-Up that brought people together to clean the banks of the Mill Stream, which gives the Grange its name. They know how much fun Community Service can be! Maybe we should all find some kids to hang around with!
Valley Grange Dictionary Day Schedule
Valley Grange #144 of Guilford recently announced the schedule for its 2025 Words for Thirds Dictionary Project. The local Grange’s program is in its 21st year and has provided over 4,000 dictionaries to third-grade students in four area school districts. The presentations include some Grange history and an introduction to some basic dictionary skills.
Valley Grange Program Director Walter Boomsma notes, “In this age of technology, it’s inspiring to see the kids’ enthusiasm when getting their very own paper dictionary.” He also noted that a recent newsletter from the Dictionary Project reported that Sweden has shifted its emphasis from electronics back to “real” books, after seeing its fourth-grade reading scores tank.
“We’ve always said that third grade marks a critical difference. In earlier grades, students are learning to read. In third grade, they start reading to learn.”
Grange teams will be visiting SeDoMoCha Elementary in Dover Foxcroft on November 3rd, Ridgeview Elementary on November 5th, Brownville Elementary on November 10th, Harmony Elementary on November 12th, and Piscataquis Community Elementary on November 13th.
Boomsma notes that he particularly enjoys introducing the students to the word “steward” because it emphasizes the importance of making good use of resources, as well as the title of an officer in every Grange. “We challenge them to make good use of their new dictionaries and love hearing their ideas for how they will do that.”
Valley Grange President Jim Annis says, “For many kids, getting their dictionary is a rite of passage.” He loves telling the story of meeting two third graders who explained to him that this is the year they get their dictionaries. Last year, a student at Ridgeview expressed surprise that he was receiving a gift, even though it wasn’t his birthday.
Happy Dictionary Day!
Winthrop Grange Hunters’ Breakfast
November 8, 2025 – 7 am until 10 am
The menu includes eggs, pancakes, sausage, bacon, homefries, and drinks, all for $12 a person. Come join us.
Winthrop Grange #209 is located at 598 Old Lewiston Road in Winthrop.
Ocean View Grange Updates
By Larry Bailey, Master
In addition to having a great “Art, Craft and Collectables sale a few days ago, we had a particularly enjoyable and productive Grange meeting last evening. We had 12 members present for discussions about the upcoming Bean Supper, the establishment of our new Grange officers, and the updating and installation of our Executive Committee members. Â
This Saturday, October 18th, we are having our famous Ocean View Grange Bean Supper. The Odd Fellows will join us, and we expect a good turnout.
Today was our Words for Thirds dictionary presentation to our local 3rd-grade class in Tenants Harbor. Leslie Korpinen (our wonderful Musician) joined me in what turned out to be truly fun and enjoyable meeting with this group of kids. We gave a presentation of what the Grange was, where it was located, what Grange people did, when our Grange was formed, and why Granges were needed. It was very well received.
It has always been a surprise to me that, in a world of electronic communication, the class was so pleased, happy, and energetic to receive the books. The class was actually proud to receive books and be told they could keep them for their very own. Many questions were asked by the class, and they were serious and intelligent questions. One of the lads in the group came up with, perhaps the best observation of the day. He said, “The dictionary is like the paper version of Google!” We all laughed and roundly applauded him for his observation and acumen. I was especially happy to hear that the class was curious about the Grange Hall, and we noted that if they want to take a field trip to our Grange Hall, we will gladly give them a tour. Let’s hope that happens.
See you all Saturday at the Bean Supper!
Highland Lake Grange Turkey Supper
Drive through, Roasted Turkey Dinner
Saturday, November 8, 2025, from 4-6 pm
There will be roasted turkey, vegetables, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, bread, cranberry sauce, and cake. The cost is $10.00 per person. Please have the exact price for the meal(s) you want. No substitutions, no pre-orders, you drive up, pay, and receive your meal.
The Grange is located on the corner of Route 302 and Hardy Road in Westbrook.
FMI Joann 207 233 7119