Jonesboro Grange Offers Wreaths
Category: Communication
Recent Website Updates
We’ve recently added or revised the following Annual Reports following State Session. These reports can be found on the Program Books and Information Page.
- 2021-22 Treasurer’s Report updated with additional information
- 2021-22 Community Service Report updated with contest winners
- 2021-22 Secretary’s Report added.
Some may have noted a brief outage of the website last week. This was due to adding some security measures, and I do not believe it lasted more than a few hours. Apologies for any inconvenience.
Degree Days…
The following note was distributed during the 149th Annual MSG Convention.
I am Maynard Chapman and I am the Chief Deputy of the Maine State Grange. Also, I am the Deputy for Androscoggin County and as such have been getting volunteers to work the four degrees on candidates for the last ten or so years. We have done the degrees twice a year, in April and September, and have had candidates from all over the state.
I would really like to be able to start doing the degree work at the State headquarters in Augusta on a Sunday afternoon in April and September to start at 1:30 pm and finish at about 4:30 pm. In order to do this, I will need people to take the officer’s stations and either memorize or read the parts.
If you, or someone you know, can help us out by taking a part in one, or more, of the four degrees, please speak to me at the State Session or call me at home at 207-312-5591. We will plan to do the next one on April 23, 2023, at State headquarters in Augusta.
The Patrons Chain 10-21-2022
Articles in this edition include:
- Use your voice in the resolution process
- People are searching for a place to belong – make it the Grange
- Seeking nominations for Quilts of Valor
- Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF
- Register for 156th Annual Convention
- National Grange Convention Livestream Schedule
- National Grange Community Service Project
- Western Region Poker Chip Fundraiser
- 2023 National Grange Guide to Contests
- Rural Opportunity Zone and Recovery Playbook
- Grange Supply Store: October Good Day! magazine
- Grange Member Benefit: UPS Holiday Shipping
Click the button below to read and/or subscribe to the Patrons Chain!
Vote and Honor a Vet!
You may request free of charge a “button” in honor of a family member. The button “I’m voting in Honor of a Veteran” is personalized with the name of a veteran the voter wants to recognize for his or her sacrifices to ensure our important freedoms, including the right to vote. In 2000, over 10,000 citizens honored someone who had served, or is serving, in the military. Maine voters paid tribute to a grandfather or grandmother, father or mother, brother or sister, son or daughter, husband or wife, or a neighbor, friend, or fellow veteran. Limit 3 buttons per address
Maine’s Vote in Honor of a Veteran program was created as a “Promote the Vote” initiative for the 2000 General Election. Because of the program’s popularity, as well as the events of September 11, 2001 and their aftermath, the program continues.
Jonesboro Grange T-shirt Available
Jonesboro Grange #357 is having a t-shirt sale. Shirts are $22 each and are available in both adult and youth sizes. There are 6 colors to choose from. Proceeds from the shirts will be split between the Maine Lobstermen’s Association Legal Defense Fund to help the Maine lobstermen, and some funds will go to our building fund for Jonesboro Grange.
“Farmers of the Land and Sea”
Historical Resources Sought
By Walter Boomsma, MSG Communications Director
We get lots of questions about the history of the Grange–and specific Granges in Maine. (At one time, there were some 600!) So it seems like we have an opportunity to provide researchers and reporters with some historical resources. While searching for some myself, I was surprised and pleased at how often the Maine State Grange was listed as a source of information and resource for published articles. We’re putting the Grange back on the map in Maine!
You can help! I’ve created and posted a new page (Historical Resources) on the site listing sources of historical information about Granges in Maine. It’s fairly extensive but I’m sure there are more. If you know of any, please send the details!
Pages and posts like this help bring visitors to the site. More traffic means more interest, and sometimes that interest means more support for our local Granges. Everybody wins because that interest often turns into attendance at local Grange events and programs, as well as interest in membership. Help us open the door to the past and the door to the future.
Communications Column — October 2022
By Walter Boomsma
207 343-1842
Communications Director
If You Build It…
The opening of this month’s column is a reference to the quote, “If you build it, they will come. I planned to observe that it came from the movie, “Field of Dreams.” Something in my brain said, “You might want to check that.” Well, it turns out that it is from the book of Genesis in the Old Testament of the Bible. It stems from God’s conversation with Noah regarding building the ark. God said to Noah, “If you build it, they will come,” referring to the animals.
I’m using it in part because I just build a page on the website called “Historical Resources.” I also did some restructuring so we have a section regarding “Our History and Heritage.” There are at least two reasons for doing this.
First, I love efficiency. As Communications Director and Webmaster, I receive a number of questions and requests about Grange’s history and heritage. The questions come from the media, historical societies, genealogists, and other researchers. Now I can send a link of resources instead of including a list in my email replies.
The second is far more important. “If you build it, they will come.” Whether it’s an ark, baseball stadium, webpage or Grange Hall, it’s really about creating value. We might more accurately say, “If you build it and it has value, they will come.” God was telling Noah to focus on building the ark and not worry about chasing down animals. “If you build it, they will come.” God knew it would have value.
The fact included in this month’s column is worthy of note. “Your MSG website was viewed nearly 2200 times during September 2022–the highest number for a month so far this year.” We are building; they are coming.
Why are they coming–what do they value? We might draw some conclusions by looking at the most frequently visited pages and posts for the last 30 days. These are the top five.
- Our Directory of Granges–Think about it! People are looking for Granges! Can they find yours?
- Program Books and Information–Since we’ve been posting annual reports and next year’s program books, this is not a surprise.
- 2022 State Convention Information–Again, no surprise since the convention takes place this week.
- Conferences and Dates–Hmmm, people are looking for Granges. Since we list events taking place at local Granges, there just might be a correlation here.
- Our Site–Frankly, this one surprised me. It’s a page describing how the site is structured, some navigation tips, and policies.
These are the pages that website visitors found most valuable. Notice they are “information-rich,” and the most valued page or post is exclusively about local (Subordinate/Community) Granges. Our website visitors are telling us something, and we need to listen. That should be exciting and encouraging. But it also means we should keep building and providing value.
The Directory of Granges is at the top of the list for visitors, and it should be at the top of our list as well. The only way this stays accurate and has value means local Granges must participate in keeping it that way–especially the person to contact for more information. Too often, I receive emails from people who are trying to contact a specific Grange. “I’ve called and left several messages, and no one is returning my call…” or “The number listed doesn’t work.” Please make sure your listing is complete, and the contact person is someone who can be contacted and will respond!
The Conferences and Dates page is free statewide advertising for local Grange events! Please make sure you are submitting your Grange events to the website! The more that is happening around the state, the more value the Grange offers. You can submit your event from the website or by emailing the information to the webmaster. Don’t forget, once it’s posted on the website, it’s easy to share that post on social media!
Specifically
► FACT: Your MSG website was viewed nearly 2200 times during September 2022–the highest number for a month so far this year.
Valley Grange Gram Reviews Fall Plans
The dictionaries are here! Dictionary Days are coming! I’ll probably start working on the schedule later this week… but we have a job to do at our next meeting—sticking the labels in over 200 dictionaries! We’ll also be creating the bags of hats and mittens made by our Blistered Finger Knitters—we usually deliver those at the same time as the dictionaries. As usual, Piscataquis Community Elementary School, SeDoMoCha, Brownville Elementary, Ridgeview Elementary, and Harmony Elementary third graders will receive dictionaries. The hats and mittens will be placed in the care of school nurses for distribution as needed.
Sock it to us? This program was so successful last year we’re hearing that schools are still well-supplied. Janice will check on this and see what the needs look like.
Our next meeting is Friday, October 21, 2022. Did you notice that I left it out of the last Grange Gram? This will be a “working” meeting, so your hands will be helpful. Last year we discovered that a “Grange Angel” named Sandy had “snuck in” and done all the labeling before the meeting. Since she’s now in Pennsylvania, it’s doubtful that will happen again!
State Convention, October 20-21, 2022. As you may know, we are entitled to two voting delegates at State Session. At the September Meeting, we voted to appoint Walter and Janice as delegates, Pat Engstrom as an alternate. This becomes an interesting two days—I (Walter) can only attend Thursday due to teaching commitments in Bangor. The tentative plan is for Janice and I to attend on Thursday and Janice and Pat on Friday.
Raffle Ticket Sales… keep those cards and letters coming in! As of today, ticket sales have grossed $326 and we’ve received $250 in related donations from our fall letter.
Bookworming! I’ll be chatting with Mrs. Wright about this soon… and contacting previous bookworms. By the way, I just learned about the passing of Bob Kimball… a great guy and community supporter. His wife, Tyne is one of our most enthusiastic bookworms. Details regarding arrangements are not available yet, but please remember the family in your thoughts and prayers.
Our Schedule for 2022. We may host at least one Dictionary Day at the Grange Hall… if this happens, remember that it is not a public event, but Grange Members are encouraged to attend. Passing out dictionaries and helping the kids find words is fun! The actual date is “TBA,” but will be later this month or early November.
- Friday, October 21, potluck supper at 6 pm, meeting/program at 7 pm. Grange Bees are Jim and Mary. We’ll be getting dictionaries, hats, and mittens ready for distribution.
- Friday, November 18, potluck supper at 6 pm, meeting/program at 7 pm. Grange Bees are Walter and Janice. We’ll be drawing our raffle winners! Make sure you have all tickets and money turned in that night at the latest!
- Friday, December 2, potluck breakfast for supper at 6 pm, program at 7 pm. You can wear your jammies! Because of the nature of this particular program, we’re all Grange Bees*!
*Grange Bees are those who prepare the hall for that event or meeting. Responsibilities include ensuring we have staples such as milk, rolls, and butter, turning on the heat, lights, etc. Everyone chips in, so it’s not a hard job! It’s that time of year when adding antifreeze to the furnace is an essential part of closing up the hall after meetings and events. Instructions are on the side of the furnace… and there is a “Grange Bee Checklist” posted in several locations in the hall.
Stay warm and enjoy the foliage! See you in a couple of weeks!
Limited Time Offer! Get Your Four Degrees!
Well, at least the first four! If you’ve joined the Grange through the “Obligation Ceremony,” you’ve missed the best part! The Four Degrees will be offered at Mill Stream Grange on Saturday, October 15, 2020, starting at 9:00 a.m. Mill Stream Grange is located just about 20 miles northwest of Augusta–convenient for many Granges. Plus, you’ll likely experience some great leaf peeping during the drive! For planning purposes, please call Judy Dunn at 207 293-2330 and tell her you’re coming! This will be a great opportunity to experience the rich heritage of the “lessons of the Grange.”
And if you already are “degreed,” you can still attend! Mill Stream Grange has eight new members who are degree candidates. That’s exciting and worth being part of, even as an observer. But you can’t just observe. In addition to being reminded of your experience, you can be part of the altar circle, a wonderful representation of the fraternal nature of the Grange. Many would agree that “opportunities like this do not come very often.” Don’t miss this one!
But Wait, There’s More!
The folks at Mill Stream are showing their energy and enthusiasm by offering an Installation of Officers the same day at 1:00 p.m. Even re-elected officers are supposed to be installed but don’t do this because you are required. It’s a great reminder of the duties and opportunities officership offer.
So maybe charter or borrow a van and come as a group for one or both of these opportunities! A light lunch will be served for those staying for the day–one reason you need to call is to help establish a lunch count.
Years ago, there were times when Granges would come together for an entire weekend, “camping out” at the hall. A few hours on a Saturday may not be quite that intense, but it will be fun and beneficial. Mill Stream Grange is a very active Grange. (Eight new members is quite an achievement in itself!) Maybe you can learn their secrets.
“I would say my biggest and best benefit is the extended family I have found in the Grange. Where else can you go and have so many brothers and sisters? I have met so many people in my Grange travels, and they are all family.“
Vicki Huff, Hollis Grange #132