Category: Communication

Tick Talk

Reprinted from June 2023 Newsletter from the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands

Tick Bite Prevention

  • Wear protective clothing. This includes light-colored clothing so that ticks are easy to spot, long sleeves and pants, closed-toe shoes, and tucking pants into socks.
  • Treat clothes with permethrin. Do not use on skin.
  • Protect pets. Talk to your veterinarian about tick prevention products for your pets.
  • Wear EPA-approved repellent.
  • Stay on trails and be aware of tick habitat.
  • Check yourself for ticks. Check often during your outdoor activity and when you return to your campsite or home.

Learn about tick ecology, diseases, and prevention measures by watching the Forestry Friday Tick Talk presented by Chuck Lubelczyk, field scientist with Maine Health Institute for Research Vector-Borne Disease Laboratory.

Include this in your next Family Health and Hearing Report!

Memorial Day 2023

“To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.”

Thomas Campbell

Patriot’s Day

Only a handful of states recognize an upcoming state holiday that many others around the country know little about. Patriot’s Day is on Monday, April 17, and is celebrated officially only in Maine, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Connecticut, and North Dakota. The latter two recently adopted the holiday in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

With origins stemming from Fast Day, a holiday tied to a time when Maine was still a Massachusetts territory before achieving statehood in 1820, Patriot’s Day (spelled Patriots’ Day outside of Maine) was officially adopted long after statehood in 1907 and originally celebrated on April 19. It was moved to the third Monday of April in 1969.

The holiday commemorates the battles of colonists against British soldiers in Lexington, Concord and Menotomy in Massachusetts on April 19, 1775, which officially began hostilities in the American Revolutionary War. In fact, it was the day referenced in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Concord Hymn,” in which he describes the first shot fired at Concord’s North Bridge as the “shot heard round the world.” Today, the holiday is also marked by the Boston Marathon, which has been held on Patriot’s Day nearly every year since 1897. Click here for more historical information about what the day celebrates.

Reprinted with permission from an e-newsletter published by Senator Stacey Guerin, Maine District 4.

Let the New Year Begin!

“An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.”

Bill Vaughan

Happy Holidays!

Tips for Tackling the Holiday Blues

Provided by Rural Minds and National Grange

Happy Thanksgiving!

“Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.”

W.T. Purkiser

Happy Fourth of July!

The Fourth of July – also known as Independence Day or July 4th – has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1941, but the tradition of Independence Day celebrations goes back to the 18th century and the American Revolutionary War.

On July 2nd, 1776, the Second Continental Congress voted in favor of independence, and two days later delegates from the 13 colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence, a historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson.

The Declaration of Independence allowed Congress to seek alliances with foreign countries, and the fledgling U.S. formed its most important alliance early in 1778 with France. Without France’s support, America might well have lost the Revolutionary War. The war waged by the American colonies against Britain, which began more than a year earlier in April 1775 at Lexington and Concord near Boston and ended at Yorktown, Virginia in 1781 when British forces surrendered, had far-reaching effects around the globe as other nations saw a small novel nation win its freedom from the greatest military force of its time.

From 1776 to the present day, July 4th has been celebrated as the birth of American independence, with festivities ranging from fireworks, parades and concerts to more casual family gatherings and barbecues.

This article is reprinted with permission from an e-newsletter published by Paul Davis, State Senator for District 4.

Grange Heirloom Program Kicks Off

Resources for Granges

produced by the
Maine State Grange Communications Department

Warning! This is a long video! You may decide to watch it in stages or steps but you will definitely want to watch it. This is a truly amazing program that will end up spanning a five-year period and it’s been over 150 years in the making.

Important additional resources for you:

Check out:

  • More Resources for Granges — Program Information and Inspiration
  • Program Books and Information –Information arranged by committee and topic.

Happy New Year!