Category: Grange Principle and Practice

Exploring Traditions – November 2024

Meandering Around the Grange Way of Life

by Walter Boomsma, Guest Columnist

All is secure and the labors of the day are complete…

If we are inclined to doubt that the Grange is about a way of life, we might simply pay close attention to the things we say and do somewhat automatically. In one of my teaching assignments, I am responsible for “locking up” the building when I finish. This includes “walking the building” to insure lights are off and no one remains inside. Once I’m outside I “report in” by texting the person in charge. I usually text “All is secure.” In my mind the words “Worthy Master” accompany my message of assurance.

I then call home to report my progress. I’ll admit that I am on occasion tempted to announce at the beginning of the call, “The labors of the day are complete.”

While the language of the Grange can readily become part of our lives, an occasional pause and reminder to make sure we are living the Grange way of life can be worthwhile. The language helps us. “Let us be quiet, peaceful citizens…” I often stop right there. I like the word “peaceful.” Merriam Webster defines it as “untroubled by conflict, agitation, or commotion” and offers as synonyms “quiet” and “tranquil.” Those are some tall orders in today’s society which seems filled with conflict, agitation, and commotion.

The way we end our meetings is mean to ensure “all is secure” but it goes beyond closing the Bible and implement case to include the assurances offered the Grange Way of Life. We are also reminded that we “place faith in God, nurture hope, dispense charity, and are noted for fidelity.” These are the qualities that drive us to “add dignity to labor, and in our dealings with our fellow men be honest, be just and fear not. We must avoid intemperance in eating, drinking, and language, also in work and recreation, and what ever we do strive to do well.”

I can imagine leaving a Grange meeting years ago, riding home and unhitching the horse, and achieving another “all is secure” at home and in the barn. The animals are settled in for the night. The labors of the day are complete. All is secure. The farm and home are quiet and tranquil. The world we are in is at peace.

Any degree or ritual quotations are from the forty-seventh edition of the 2023 Subordinate Grange Manual or the most recent edition of the Pomona Grange Manual. The views and opinions expressed in “Exploring Traditions” are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official doctrine and policy of the Grange. Information about the book “Exploring Traditions—Celebrating the Grange Way of Life” can be found at http://abbotvillagepress.com, on Mr. Boomsma’s Amazon Author Page, or by contacting the author.

National Grange Convention

Patron’s Chain Daily Issues

National Grange publishes a special daily issue of the Patrons Chain during the Annual Convention. Each issue contains a wide array of articles ranging from convention reports to entertainment. If you’ve been curious about what happens, here’s a way to find out! We won’t be adding a new post every day but will add to this list as the week progresses.

President’s Perspective – November 2022

By Sherry Harriman,
Maine State Grange President/Master
207 490-1029

Dec 3, 2022 — 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. we will have an Instruction meeting for Ritualistic Floor Work at State Grange HQ, 146 State St., Augusta. (weather permitting) 

Everyone is invited to attend. Those attending will be practicing the work, by volunteer, also switching around it will not just be State Officers and Deputies.  We will cover:

  • Opening & Closing  (Opening the Bible, Presenting the Flag, Introducing Honored Guests)
  • How to properly make the Salutation
  • Balloting procedure
  • Election procedure
  • How to handle Motions and following through
  • The State Secretary will cover reporting, records, funds, and ordering certificates
  • Other suggested Grange business and discussion  

I will also be holding this same workshop/meeting around the State starting in the spring, please invite me to your area or Grange, I would prefer a Saturday meeting during the day but could accommodate an evening if requested.  

Welcome to our 8 new State Grange members who received the 6th degree at our recent State Grange Session. Thank you to the Delegates and Members that attended. I thought the discussions were productive, and I appreciate your participation, input, and respect shown for each other during that part of the meeting. Thank you Bob for moderating. A lot of awards were presented, the Juniors participated, a heartfelt Memorial Service held, very interesting speakers Ann Bercher our National Grange Rep., and Nancy McBrady from the Dept of Agriculture, re-elected Nate Pennell to the Executive Committee and wonderful banquet and luncheon provided. I would like to hear from you what you thought of the schedule and the facilities (yes, I know everyone was cold). Personally, I like it there and plan returning there again next year. There is a lot less work to do to set up for the meeting, degree and sales room plus the price at the previous facility was seven times as much. 

A BIG thank-you to ALL who stepped up to fill in or help out in any way, it was once again a great show of teamwork and helped make a very successful session.  Officers, Deputies, Department Directors, and Committees, thank you for your continued work during the past years, and I am looking forward to working together once again. Thank you to the tellers for election and the Master’s Address committee. Marilyn Stinson and Terry LaCombe-Stevens have stepped down as Co-Junior Directors we sincerely appreciate your years of dedication and hard work to the Junior Grange program, Betty Young will be our new Junior Director. 

The new Department Program Books and Annual Reports were given to the Delegates for your Grange. If you did not have delegates at the session, you may download the programs and reports from the web under “Program Books” or if you want a printed copy, email the office or myself and we will send them to you.  You may request all or just select ones. Agriculture, Community Service, Communications/Web, CWA, Junior, and Lecturers.

Grange Heirloom — November 2022

Use the icons below to share this Grange Heirloom on social media and help others understand what the Grange stands for! If this heirloom has a particular meaning for you, click the responses link at the top right and share your comment with us!

Grange Heirlooms are snippets from the lessons of the Grange as taught in the Rituals and Declaration of Purposes.

For additional information and resources regarding the Heirloom Program, visit the Heirloom Resource Page on the Maine State Grange Website.

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.

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.

Email the MSG Webmaster
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Exploring Traditions — October 2022

Meandering Around the Grange Way of Life

by Walter Boomsma, Guest Columnist

Keep the eye of the mind open…

“Natural history is replete with both the wonderful and beautiful, and its study enables us the better to carry out the principles we inculcate of Faith, Hope, and Charity. Cultivate an observing mind. It is delightful to acquire knowledge and much more so to diffuse it. It is sad to think that any human soul should fail to perceive the beauty that every where abounds. Nature preaches to us forever in tones of love, and writes truth in all colors, on manuscripts illuminated with stars and flowers.”

From the Lecturer’s Lesson in the Third Degree

The Third Degree represents autumn and the harvest season. And we are fortunate here in Maine that nature literally “writes truth in all colors” each fall. The candidates are seen as harvesters and gleaners and the lecturer also reminds them that nature sings the song “Be faithful, be hopeful, be charitable.” Interestingly, the chaplain closes instruction with, “Be faithful in gathering, that you may be liberal in dispensing.”

Too often, we think of fall as the ending of summer. Of course, that’s accurate but the Chaplain is not going to let us forget that endings are also beginnings. The changes in agriculture and farming can make it easy to lose sight of that. At one time, harvesting and gleaning also meant selecting and saving the best seed to repeat the cycle by planting it in the spring. We were much more aware of the cyclical nature of life and nature. We didn’t gather and harvest solely to consume. We gathered being mindful of spring when the cultivation cycle would begin again.

“Harvesting” knowledge is meant to be no different. Gaining knowledge is not an end. We gain to dispense or diffuse—to share. The Chaplain also reminds us that “a man’s life consists not in the abundance of things he possesses, but in the right use of God’s blessings… that we may be the stewards of His bounty.” In practical terms, nature teaches us to harvest seeds responsibly, keep some to plant in the spring, and share some with our neighbors. The master reminds the candidates that “your faithful work will soon entitle you to still further advancement.”

One of the distinct advantages of celebrating the Four Degrees at one time is it becomes possible to catch the connectedness of the seasons and the lessons. The Steward describes the cycle. “The seasons of preparation, culture, and harvest have passed. It is in the home that we enjoy the fruits of our labors in the fields of the farm and fields of life. In winter, the season of rest from active toil, we sit down with our families, our friends and neighbors, and enjoy together the good things our labors have brought us…”

We have much to enjoy.

Any degree or ritual quotations are from the forty-sixth edition of the 2013 Subordinate Grange Manual or the most recent edition of the Pomona Grange Manual. The views and opinions expressed in “Exploring Traditions” are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official doctrine and policy of the Grange. Information about the book “Exploring Traditions—Celebrating the Grange Way of Life” can be found at http://abbotvillagepress.com, on Mr. Boomsma’s Amazon Author Page, or by contacting the author.