Category: Grange News

Communication Shorts 02-2-2026

By Walter Boomsma,
MSG Communications Director
207 343-1842

Communication Shorts are brief (short) but important items posted for your information and use. Please send us your ideas and thoughts!

The Maine State Grange Office is located at 36 Anthony Avenue, Suite 102, Augusta, ME 04330.
 mainestategrange@gmail.com.

February Bulletin

The deadline for the February Bulletin is Valentine’s Day (February 14)! Recent issues of the Bulletin are available on the Program Books and Information Page in the communications section.

Rapid Resource

We’re introducing this on a trial basis. We’re always seeking resources of potential interest to Grangers and Friends that are not necessarily specific to the Grange. This will be short and easily digestible. As an example, the first concerns finding and tracking scholarships. You can help! Let me know what you think and, by all means, submit ideas and suggestions.

National Grange Rural Life Initiative Grants

Remember, applications are due by February 28, 2026. (You must submit through the online portal.

Your Grange Presence

If your Grange has an active website or social media presence, please make sure to let us know! We maintain a list on the site and publicize them as a source of more information.

To ponder…

“To lead people, walk beside them. As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence. The next best, the people honor and praise. The next, the people fear; and the next, the people hate. When the best leader’s work is done the people say, ‘We did it ourselves!“

Lao-Tsu

An Idea for Your Grange

What are you planning for Grange Month (April)?

What’s Going On?

Don’t forget to submit your special events and programs for our event calendar! We want people to know the Grange is thriving! Surely, there are lots of Grange things happening in Maine.

Subscribe!

Remember, we don’t share your email address with anyone, and you get a weekly summary of what’s been posted. Subscribe here! Share that link with your members and Grange friends!

Online Directories Available 24-7

Thanks to those who help us keep these directories current by letting us know of changes!

  • The Directory of Granges features all Granges in the state with a contact person. Please make sure your listing is correct! Visitors to the site frequently consult these directories.
  • The ODD Directory features all state officers, directors, and deputies, along with their contact information. Updated January 16, 2026.

Fairview Grange Makes Plans!

By Rick Watson, Master of Fairview Grange #342

Fairview Grange is located at 826 Village Road in Smithfield.

Fairview Grange members got together recently for the monthly meeting. We had 15 members present, which was a great turnout for below-zero temps and freshly cleared driveways of 12” or more a day prior. Hot coffee and fresh brownies on the counter. Our first meeting since the holidays, and it was nice to get together again.

We quickly took care of our Grange business, and we remain well-financed and full of optimism for our Grange and our Community. Thankfully, we have a steady income stream from our Grange rentals, allowing us to keep moving forward.

The bulk of time spent was on 2026 activities, which include the Skowhegan State Fair display, Hunter Safety Class on August 12 and 22, Hunter’s Breakfast on November 7th, April 11th Vintage Snowmobile Show, and a plan to celebrate our Nation’s 250th birthday with events held at our Grange and on our Lakes in Town.

None of this happens without the enthusiasm and commitment of our members. I thank the long-time members who have seen the highs and lows and have hung in there, as well as our new members who bring fresh perspectives and ideas, all in support of our Grange and Community. Thank you!

Fairview Grange Facebook Page

Communication Shorts 01-27-2026

By Walter Boomsma,
MSG Communications Director
207 343-1842

Communication Shorts are brief (short) but important items posted for your information and use. Please send us your ideas and thoughts!

The Maine State Grange Office is located at 36 Anthony Avenue, Suite 102, Augusta, ME 04330.
 mainestategrange@gmail.com.

February Bulletin

The deadline for the February Bulletin is Valentine’s Day (February 14)! Recent issues of the Bulletin can be found on the Program Books and Information Page in the communications section.

To ponder…

“Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.”

Anthony J. D’Angelo

An Idea for Your Grange

Create a Greeters Committee to welcome new residents. If you work with the town office, you could inform them of resources and encourage their engagement in local activities, including your Grange events.

Waz up?

Don’t forget to submit your special events and programs for our event calendar! We want people to know the Grange is thriving! Surely, there are lots of Grange things happening in Maine.

Subscribe!

Remember, we don’t share your email address with anyone, and you get a weekly summary of what’s been posted. Subscribe here! Share that link with your members and Grange friends!

Online Directories Available 24-7

Thanks to those who help us keep these directories current by letting us know of changes!

  • The Directory of Granges features all Granges in the state with a contact person. Please make sure your listing is correct! Visitors to the site frequently consult these directories.
  • The ODD Directory features all state officers, directors, and deputies, along with their contact information. Updated January 16, 2026.

Grange Today! 1-23-2026

The Newsletter of the National Grange

Articles in this edition include:

  • National Grange Announces Rural Life Initiative: “Bridging the Gaps” Grants
  • Tune in for the Strategies to Strengthen Our Communities webinar series
  • Help shape the future of the Grange
  • New National Junior Grange Director appointed
  • View from the Hill: National Grange Policy & Issues Updates
  • Celebrate the Semiquin with America250: A Guidebook for Granges
  • Join the Grange Foundation’s Common Routes Challenge
  • Apply for the Ernestine Keiser Memorial Scholarship
  • Recipes from the Heartland
  • How to Live to be 100 Years Old
  • Grange Store: Guidelines for Grange Leaders
  • Grange Store: People, Pride and Progress
  • Member Benefit: StartHearing
  • Grange Store: Grange Jewelry

Click the button below to read and/or subscribe to Grange Today!

Read the Current Issue

Note that all recent issues are available on the National Grange Website. To save server space, we only post the table of contents on the MSG Website.

National Grange Announces Rural Life Initiative: “Bridging the Gaps” Grants

By Philip J Vonada, National Grange Communications Director

The National Grange continues its commitment to revitalizing rural communities with the launch of a new competitive grant cycle through the Rural Life Initiative.

On January 13, during a webinar entitled “From Ideas to Impact,” National Grange President Christine Hamp announced the start of the “Bridging the Gaps” grant cycle through the Rural Life Initiative (RLI), a program designed in partnership with Grange Advocacy to strengthen rural communities through health, wellness, agriculture, and community projects and events.

Bridging the Gaps allows Community and Pomona Granges to identify unmet, underserved, or under-attended needs in their areas, and to create projects, programs, or events to assist in meeting those needs.

“We want to help give Granges the results to show that they can be a change agent in their communities through partnerships that haven’t been possible before,” said Hamp. “This is about building capacity and resiliency in local communities.”

To date, more than $175,000 has been distributed to State and Community Granges through previous Rural Life Initiative grants and programs.

The grant is as follows:

$1,000 Bridging the Gap Grants (40 available)

  • Applications reviewed as received. Must apply by February 28, 2026
  • Projects must be completed by August 31, 2026, with final reports submitted by September 30, 2026.

While the grant amount is fixed, additional incentives are available for each verifiable new member Granges gain through their projects.

Because RLI aims to build stronger communities across the country, there are a few main components to the grants:

  • Events must address a disparity seen within your community.
    • The goal of the Rural Life Initiative: Bridging the Gaps grant cycle is to get Granges active, encourage flexibility, and help place Granges at the forefront of educating the community and addressing and mitigating a local disparity within your community.
  • You must include at least one partner organization beyond your Grange.
  • You must submit a current membership list with the application proposal.
  • You have the flexibility to choose topics based on local needs, but:
    • Projects cannot involve building improvements or equipment purchases unless they’re essential to carrying out the project.
    • Projects must include a plan for recruiting and engaging new members.

“We have seen Granges come alive through the previous grant cycles,” said Hamp. “Granges are thinking bigger and getting engaged in their communities again at a time when this kind of connection and involvement is crucial. They are connecting with each other and building bridges to future success and lasting impact. The Rural Life Initiative is an essential lifeline for community resiliency in towns of all sizes nationwide.”

During the January 13 webinar, presenters Beth Westbrook and Nona Bear outlined several ways the Bridging the Gaps grant could be used by Granges, walking participants through every step. They encouraged attendees to “dream big” and think outside of the box.

The tips and tricks presented also encouraged Granges to pursue other community-based grants, always aiming for success.

“By giving Granges—and Grangers—the tools to succeed, the permission to think big, and some grant funding to get started, we are sure to see meaningful, engaging, life-changing programs and events,” said Nona Bear, one of the webinar presenters and a longtime advocate for rural communities.

Two additional webinars in the Strategies to Strengthen Our Communities series will be held on February 10 – “Lessons Learned: Success Stories from 2025” and March 10 – “Engaging New Energy.”

“We encourage you to stay engaged – you never know what’s coming next,” teased Hamp.

To watch the full announcement, visit the National Grange YouTube channel, view the full grant requirements, and submit your applications at the Rural Life Initiative page on the National Grange website.

Bridging the Gaps Information Page

Communication Shorts 01-17-2026

By Walter Boomsma,
MSG Communications Director
207 343-1842

Communication Shorts are brief (short) but important items posted for your information and use. Please send us your ideas and thoughts!

January Bulletin

The January Bulletin is now complete and available for download. Recent issues of the Bulletin can be found on the Program Books and Information Page in the communications section.

Have You Changed This?

The Maine State Grange Office is located at 36 Anthony Avenue, Suite 102, Augusta, ME 04330. The email address is mainestategrange@gmail.com.

To ponder…

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

Winston Churchill

An Idea for Your Grange

Have you started planning for Grange Month in April? It’s a great opportunity to do something special, and it will be here soon! Don’t forget to submit your events and news!

ODD Directory Change

The online ODD Directory and Print Directory are being changed. Please note that the correct email for Nate Pennell is Pennella@yahoo.com.

Waz up?

Don’t forget to submit your special events and programs for our event calendar! We want people to know the Grange is thriving!

Subscribe!

Remember, we don’t share your email address with anyone, and you get a weekly summary of what’s been posted. Subscribe here! Share that link with your members and Grange friends!

Online Directories Available 24-7

Thanks to those who help us keep these directories current by letting us know of changes!

  • The Directory of Granges features all Granges in the state with a contact person. Please make sure your listing is correct! Visitors to the site frequently consult these directories.
  • The ODD Directory features all state officers, directors, and deputies, along with their contact information. Updated January 16, 2026.

Fraternal Concern – Edith Cunningham

Submitted by Sherry Harriman, MSG Master/President

Our Grange family has once again lost a lifelong member.

Sister Edith Cunningham of Oakland passed away December 31, 2025. She is a former Musician of the Maine State Grange.

Services will be held January 17, 2026, at the United Baptist Church in Oakland at 2:00 with a time of visiting after the service. Edith’s family would like to invite all to join them. If you can’t attend the service, please share a memory at edoakland@myfairpoint.net.

Obituary submitted by Mary Colson, Benton Grange #458

OAKLAND – On Dec. 31, 2025, Edith Sturtevant Kerr Cunningham, passed on from this life to meet and spend eternity with her Lord and Savior.

A forever resident of Oakland, she graduated from M.L.Williams High School, Coburn Classical Institute, was an alumnus of Colby College and graduated from Bliss College. She was a Grange Member for 87 years and a former Maine State Grange Musician.

Predeceased by both parents; and husband, Ted Kerr and husband, Alfred Cunningham; brother, Eugene Sturtevant.

Funeral service to be held Jan. 17 at 2 p.m., at the United Baptist Church, Oakland, followed by a gathering with everyone in the vestry for a time to share remembrances, old and new memories, and celebrate her 103 years of living

Grange Today! 1-9-2026

The Newsletter of the National Grange

Articles in this edition include:

  • A New Year’s Resolution for your Grange
  • Growing Skills, Growing Futures
  • Grange Heirloom for January
  • National Grange welcomes back Youth Director
  • Pet Food Drive: A Share Your Project’s Story Submission
  • Have You Been Affected by Affordable Care Act Changes? We Want to Hear From You
  • Make Project Sustenance part of your Grange’s 2026 Resolutions
  • Support the Grange Foundation through the Common Routes Challenge
  • Granwest: Modernizing for Western Communities
  • Recipes from the Heartland
  • Advocacy Alert: Pass the Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection screening Coverage Act
  • Digital Therapeutics Offer Hope to Rural Residents
  • Member Benefit: MemberDeals
  • Grange Store: Grange Jewelry

Click the button below to read and/or subscribe to Grange Today!

Read the Current Issue

Note that all recent issues are available on the National Grange Website. To save server space, we only post the table of contents on the MSG Website.

Communication Shorts 01-04-2026

By Walter Boomsma,
MSG Communications Director
207 343-1842

Communication Shorts are brief (short) but important items posted for your information and use. Please send us your ideas and thoughts!

January Bulletin

Deadline for the next Bulletin is January 14, 2026. Recent issues of the Bulletin can be found on the Program Books and Information Page in the communications section.

To ponder…

Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every year find you a better person.

Benjamin Franklin 

An Idea for Your Grange

Write an annual report of your Grange’s activities and accomplishments. Submit it for consideration in your town’s annual report. And submit it for publication on the Maine State Grange Website.

January Tasks

It’s actually a bit late, but is your roster information current? Once the new roster is out, we’ll be updating the online directory. Let’s keep it current!

Waz up?

Don’t forget to submit your special events and programs for our event calendar! We want people to know the Grange is thriving!

Don’t Shoot the Piano Player!

He’s playing as fast as he can. With the move and the end of the year, there’s a lot to be done on the site. Recent illnesses in the Boomsma household have been taking a toll! The docs keep reminding us that we’re not as young as we used to be and that it will take time. We’re gainin’! (If you see something that needs fixing, let us know!)

Subscribe!

Remember, we don’t share your email address with anyone, and you get a weekly summary of what’s been posted. Subscribe here! Share that link with your members and Grange friends!

Online Directories Available 24-7

Thanks to those who help us keep these directories current by letting us know of changes!

  • The Directory of Granges features all Granges in the state with a contact person. Please make sure your listing is correct! Visitors to the site frequently consult these directories.
  • The ODD Directory features all state officers, directors, and deputies, along with their contact information. Updated November 15, 2025.

Waldoboro Teacher Honored

by Maia Zewert, Editor Lincoln County News
Submitted by Laurie McBurnie

It’s not often a teacher walks out of a student of the month assembly with an award, but such was the case at Medomak Valley High School in Waldoboro on Monday, Dec. 22.

Kali Martin (right), a special education resource room teacher at Medomak Valley High School, accepts the Maine State Grange Educator of the Year Award from Maine State Grange Secretary and Willow Grange Master Sharon Morton on Monday, Dec. 22. Members of Willow Grange 366 in Jefferson nominated Martin for the award, which she was presented during the student of the month assembly. (Paula Roberts photo)

In front of a gymnasium full of MVHS students, faculty, and staff, members of Willow Grange 366 in Jefferson surprised special education resource room teacher Kali Martin with the Maine State Grange Educator of the Year Award.

“I’m just completely blown away,” Martin said after the presentation. “I had no idea this was coming.”

Willow Grange member Paula Roberts introduced the award during the assembly, describing the recipient without initially naming them.

“This teacher saw a need in the Medomak community and acted on it to make a difference here at Medomak and beyond,” Roberts said. “And she has involved her students and the student body to show them, although community service can be hard work, it is extremely rewarding.”

Roberts also quoted MVHS Principal Linda Dolloff Pease, who said Martin “is appreciated and well-loved and plays a big role in the positive culture of the school.”

Members of Willow Grange No. 366 in Jefferson flank Maine State Grange Educator of the Year Kali Martin after a presentation at Medomak Valley High School in Waldoboro on Monday, Dec. 22. The Willow Grange members nominated Martin for the award, which they surprised her with during a student of the month assembly. From left: Mary Jane McLoon, Deborah Willette, Sharon Morton, Kali Martin, Henry Morton, Knox Zaccadelli, Laurie McBurnie, and Paula Roberts. (Maia Zewert photo)

When she was revealed as the recipient of the Maine State Grange Educator of the Year Award, Martin immediately received a standing ovation from all in attendance. As Martin joined the presenters, Roberts listed Martin’s many accomplishments during her time working at the high school, including initiating a weekend backpack program to provide students in need with food, preparing food for the annual Empty Bowl Supper, and helping to start a free clothing program for students in need.

Martin also started the Medomak Valley Soul Food Pantry, which serves over 300 families, Roberts said. She applied for and received a grant to purchase an industrial-sized freezer for the pantry and also collects food from Hannaford and arranges deliveries from Good Shepherd Food Pantry to keep it stocked.

“She has gone above and beyond her teaching duties,” Roberts said. “Kali has given unselfishly of her time and resources to support Medomak students and the community.”

In addition, Martin is involved with the school’s student council, participates in Treat Tuesdays, and “is known for her root beer floats for the entire staff,” Roberts said.

“Kali Martin has the biggest heart ever and it shows here in the many ways that Paula Roberts outlined in her presentation,” Pease said.   “She is an advocate for young people in addition to being aware of staff needs and having a little fun!”

Maine State Grange Secretary and Willow Grange President Sharon Morton presented Martin with the award. In addition, Martin was presented a $100 donation from Maine State Grange Treasurer and Willow Grange Secretary Laurie McBurnie to support the food pantry.

“Having such a supportive administration and having the support of the community to keep the pantry going has just been such a huge blessing,” Martin said. “It’s just grown … and it helps our families get what they need.”

For more information or to make a donation to the Medomak Valley Soul Food Pantry, email Martin at kali_martin@rsu40.org.