On August 20th, members of Highland Lake Grange No. 87 presented the Grange’s 2024 Community Service Award to Jim Farrell, recognizing his outstanding contributions to the City of Westbrook over his lifetime, specifically his role in founding Westbrook Volunteer Rescue in 1969 (along with Frank Donahue). Grange member and former Westbrook police officer, firefighter, and mayor Mike Sanphy and Ronald Jones, former deputy chief of Westbrook EMS, spoke on Jim’s achievements. Many members of Jim’s family and friends attended the ceremony (including two of Frank’s children), which was held at Jim’s residence at Stroudwater Lodge Assisted Living Center. Refreshments and fellowship followed the ceremony. The Grange thanks the Westbrook Historical Society’s Bucket Brigade for creating an excellent slide show.
Category: Grange News
Grange Today! 8-23-2024
Articles in this edition include:
- Presidential Perspective
- Another Reason Membership Matters
- Communication Fellows Ready to Tell the #GrangeStory
- View from the Hill
- National Programs Await Youth Participation
- Granges Encouraged to Apply for Federal Grant
- Celebrating National Immunization Awareness Month
- Grange Store & Benefits
Upcoming Deadlines:
- September 1 – Applications/Entries due for most National Grange Contests
Click the button below to read and/or subscribe to Grange Today!
Note that all recent issues are available on the National Grange Website. To save space, we only post the table of contents on the MSG Website.
Ocean View Grange Serves
The Ocean View Grange No.463 in Martinsville, Maine, was formed in 1906 and completed building the Grange Hall in 1909. Since then, our Grange has been a major contributor to our community and serves as a venue for all types of family, community, and special occasions. We are working to restore the Grange structure and integrity so that we may continue to help and provide for our friends and neighbors. Some of the programs, services, and opportunities we provide are:
1. Road Clean-up—We adopt a road each year, and our members walk the route, picking up trash along the way, to keep St George beautiful. All residents of St George benefit from this task.
2. Flag Day—Each year, Grange members meet at a local cemetery to place new American flags on the graves of our fallen servicemen and women. This event benefits the families and participants as it instills honor and pride in those who served us.
3. Heat Fund—We raise funds throughout the year via suppers, donations, etc., to provide fuel for St George residents who are unable to pay for fuel oil or other fuels for the winter. A few winters ago, we provided over $8,000 to supply fuel for those who needed it. This helps not only those who get the fuel but enhances the neighborly feeling of all St George residents, knowing we care for our neighbors.
4. Annual Donations—We raise food, supplies, etc., for the local Humane Society at our Christmas meeting, or, in some years, we adopt a local family and provide them with Christmas presents. The families or critters all benefit. In addition, we purchase and deliver a large number of personal items for the veterans at the Togus Veterans Hospital.
5. Facilities Donation—We donate the use of the Grange Hall at no cost for various Community programs, such as the library’s authors’ speaking series, the annual free string quartet presentation, fund-raisers for ill or needy people, Georges River Land Trust…etc. The Town citizens all benefit.
6. Farmers Market – Four years ago, we started a weekly farmers’ market at our Grange. There is no charge, and anyone who wants to sell their produce can set up a table. It has been a huge success, and the folks in town love it.
7. The Grange Hall is one of the few venues used for birthdays, family gatherings, wedding receptions, memorial services, bean suppers, flea markets, art shows, etc.
Victor Grange Anniversary Celebration
Saco Grange 150th Anniversary Celebration
November 2, 2024
Saco Grange is located at 168 North Street in Saco, Maine.
Saco Grange Backpack Drive!
August 24, 2024
Communication Shorts 08-16-2024
By Walter Boomsma,
MSG Communications Director
207 343-1842
Communication Shorts are brief (short) but important items posted for your information and use. Send us your ideas and thoughts!
August Bulletin Available
The August Bulletin is available for download and distribution. Recent issues of the Bulletin can be found on the Program Books and Information Page.
Androscoggin Grange #8 Schedules Big Day!
Androscoggin Grange in Greene has a big day planned on September 14th! Check out the events calendar on the website for details, but activities include a pancake breakfast, pie contest, chili cook-off, and roaring twenties celebration with mocktails and dancing!
Information Available: Castle Hill Grange
The Castle Hill Grange Hall Preservation Society was formed in 1993 to save the Grange Hall in Castle Hill. We have now disbanded due to lack of funds and membership. We have some papers from Grange #260, which disbanded in 1976(?). If you would like any of these papers and certificates. you can contact me by email: Sheena McHatten
State Session Page Is Updated
A page dedicated to the 2024 State Session now has a “packet of information” that includes the forms necessary to reserve meals.
Many Contest Deadlines Are Coming Up
Get your entries in! Officers and directors note that annual reports and program books are coming due.
Consider this Idea!
Are there events in your community sponsored by others that you could piggyback on and be part of?
Think about this!
“Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is to work hard at work worth doing.”
Theodore Roosevelt
Submit News! Be “famous”
Submitting news can be as simple as a photo and “cutline.” A cutline is a brief description–longer than a caption–to accompany the photo. Let’s prove that the Grange is alive and well in Maine! (Photos should be submitted as an attachment to an email.) We get inquiries from people looking for active Granges!
Online Directories Available 24-7
- The ODD Directory features all state officers, directors, and deputies with contact information.
- The Directory of Granges features all Granges in the state with a contact person. Please make sure your listing is correct!
Parkman Grange Awards Scholarships
The Parkman Grange awarded six MSAD#4-area college students Minnie Welts Bridge Scholarships of $500 each for the 2024-25 school year. Winners this year include Anna Zimmerman, Guilford, a Psychology major at the University of Maine at Farmington; Cadence Clukey, Abbot, a Counseling major at Grand Canyon University; Emma Calnan, Parkman, a Nursing major at Husson University; Elizabeth Kendall, Guilford, an Education major at the University of Maine at Farmington; Kendall Kimball, Parkman, an Interdisciplinary Global Studies major at the University of South Florida; and, Hannah Dow, Guilford, an Education major at University of the University of Maine at Presque Isle.
Minnie Welts Bridge was a lifelong Parkman resident, a teacher, and a Grange member. She passed away in 2011 at the age of 102. Since then, the Parkman Grange has awarded a total of $18,000 in scholarships in her memory.
Minnie Welts Bridge Scholarships are funded entirely by donations. Donations may be made to Parkman Grange at PO Box 114, Guilford, ME 04443. Note Scholarship Fund on the memo line.
The six 2024 recipients will be celebrated at a Minnie Welts Bridge Scholarship Supper on Saturday, September 14, 2024, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m., at the Grange Hall on the corner of St Hwy 150 and North Dexter Rd. The Supper will include pork loin, potatoes, salads, and dessert, and it is by donation. All proceeds will go to the Scholarship Fund for future awards.
Note from National – August 2024
The National Grange is thrilled to announce our new partnership with Grouper, a social fitness movement that supports healthy living through social connections.
By joining Grouper, eligible members can earn a $50 payment for signing up and $20 every three months for staying active in Grange community projects and gatherings.
Join our Live Q&A Session to learn more and get your questions answered directly from Grouper and Grange representatives.
Date: August 12th | Time: 7:30 PM ET / 4:30 PM PT | Join via Zoom: grange.biz/grouperzoom.
To see if you qualify for these benefits, visit hellogrouper.com/grange. For any questions, contact the Grouper Member Engagement Team at 833-445-2400 or info@hellogrouper.com.
Notes from National are gleaned from an email provided by Phil Vonada, National Grange Communications Director.
Grange Today! 8-9-2024
Articles in this edition include:
- This issue contains one article about using the material from the Rural Mental Health Resilience Program at Fairs.
Upcoming Deadlines:
- September 1 – Applications/Entries due for most National Grange Contests
Click the button below to read and/or subscribe to Grange Today!
Note that all recent issues are available on the National Grange Website. To save space, we only post the table of contents on the MSG Website.