Category: Guest Articles

Why the Grange

by Walter Boomsma

The following article was written in the spring of 2009 as part of a National Grange Essay Contest… and it won second place! It seems even more true today than it did fifteen years ago.

One of my greater pleasures in life is attempting to explain the origins and purpose of this organization called “the Grange” to excited third graders as part of our “Words for Thirds” program. I start by attempting to determine what they already know and I’ll always remember the young girl who waved her hand enthusiastically and announced “I was born there.”

It took a little thinking to realize she’d heard me say “LaGrange” – one of the small, rural communities here in Maine. Her answer was certainly amusing, but it was also insightful and telling. Like the organization she was learning about she was proud of her roots and heritage.  She announced her connection and kinship to LaGrange just as enthusiastically as I announce my connection to the Grange.

That sense of connection attracts people to rural, small-town America. But even small towns are experiencing a “social disconnect” as things like regional school systems and “social networking” using the Internet change the traditional model of community. We now have cell phones, PDAs and computers to stay “connected” with people – in many cases people we only rarely see and certainly can’t touch.

But beneath all the communicating, we still want to see people – to touch and be touched – and to feel a part of something. People will claim their families are going “in a million different directions” but not really consider why. Some of it has to be the search for connections and belonging. One reason every community needs a Grange is that folks are searching hard for a sense community and geographic boundaries no longer provide it. Being from “LaGrange” is not enough. Being from “the Grange” offers more.

The Grange, with its fundamental principles and practices, is one place the entire family can not only be together but also feel a connection to other like-minded people and families. The rich heritage of the Grange as an organization with shared values and missions is relevant today. One hundred years ago it was about farmers coming together and overcoming rural isolation. Today, it is about a larger and redefined community, but it is still about coming together and overcoming isolation.

In a 1986 study, psychologists McMillan and Chavis identified the four elements required for a “sense of community”: 1) membership, 2) influence, 3) fulfillment of needs, and 4) shared emotional connection. An in-depth study isn’t required to see how an active Grange contributes to those elements and builds a sense of community. From potluck suppers to community service projects, Grange members and friends feel a sense of kinship and demonstrate a cooperative spirit.

There are several important factors that distinguish the Grange from other civic and community organizations. The family orientation is one notable exception. Grange families find occasions when they don’t go in a million directions. Another is the diversity of programming and interests. The Grange offers social, political, economic, and educational benefits to all. You can’t be born there, but you can belong.

Getting Grounded

Guest Article by Walter Boomsma

September is Suicide Prevention Prevention Month. As many know, I am a big promoter of preventing suicide.1 Our approach to preventing suicide seems to be one of waiting until a crisis develops. I have long suspected that suicidal tendencies develop pretty early on, and we would be better served to take preventative steps before we reach the crisis point.

Thanks to the media, we’re not only becoming more aware of the issue of suicide-we are also being confronted with examples of mental health issues. COVID certainly contributed. We are easily overwhelmed by the complexity and intensity. In February 2021, 37.5% of adults in Maine reported symptoms of anxiety and depression2.

Since I do not intend to add to the complexity and intensity, I’d like to propose a simple exercise in Emotional Hygiene. In 17 minutes, Guy Winch provides a good foundation in an entertaining and non-clinical way that will also have you laughing.

At one of the mental health workshops I attended some years ago, the instructor asked us to share how we “centered” or grounded ourselves. It was interesting that he gave us some time to think before answering, suggesting that we may not be immediately aware of it. Being grounded generally refers to achieving a state of being emotionally and mentally stable and having a sense of connection to reality. In non-clinical terms, some refer to it as “going to my happy place.”

Life can easily throw us off balance. If we catch our balance soon enough, we can avoid unintentionally going somewhere (mentally and emotionally) that isn’t helpful. That somewhere may involve depression or anxiety. In simple, non-clinical terms, mental hygiene prevents mental health issues that can lead to suicide. But it’s not just about preventing suicide. It’s about living fully and happily.

“Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside awakens.”

Carl Jung

  1. I am a Certified NAMI Mental Health First Aid Responder, a teacher of Suicide Prevention Workshops, and an instructor in Beal University’s Addiction Counseling Program. Additional mental health resources are available on my Brain Leaks and Musings website. ↩︎
  2. State of Maine Mental Health Factsheet. ↩︎

Happy Fourth!

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

On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress voted in favor of independence from Britain. 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, would eventually end when British forces surrendered in Yorktown, Virginia. Yet the Declaration and America’s victory 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 today, 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 year’s Independence Day celebrating the nation’s 248th birthday will be on Thursday, July 4, 2024.

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

Flowers in Your Garden?

Guest Ag Article by Nate Pennell
MSG Executive Committee Member

Some flowers in your vegetable garden will be very helpful to attract native pollinators and other beneficial insects.  Marigolds are one example. Try several of your favorites. Pansies are great for early gardens and will last all summer and into fall. Try a few glads. Some of the most productive gardens in Maine, include flowers. Always try to produce enough for your family and some to give or sell to others.

Community gardens are also very popular. They grow for many in their community and enjoy doing it.  It is very easy to enjoy what you do when you do for others!

Raised Beds for Farming

Warming the soil in raised beds before you plant in Maine, it needs to be done in March and April, or early May up north. Adding some compost and additional soil if needed, will insure a successful crop. Raised beds can be replanted with lettuce, greens, radish, and other quick growing items. If you do not have very successful crops at any time, be sure to take a soil test! The University of Maine Soil testing service can get you results in a couple of weeks. Soil and Water Districts across Maine as well as your local Cooperative Extension Office can assist and guide you. Other ideas that can work for you are window boxes, door step planters, and small gardens, especially for the elderly.

Happy gardening this year and next!

207 Plus!

by John Lowry, Master/President of Porter Grange

MEGO Alert! [My Eyes Glazed Over] Our recent post regarding Maine’s 207 area code inspired John to share some additional information. Sure, there’s some technology involved–but isn’t technology involved in just about everything these days?

Tin can communication

It seems to be a point of pride for many communities and locations.  I remember when, in Massachusetts, 617 was split to include 508, and all the businesses that objected to having a 508 number and be assumed to be “in the sticks.”

Addressing is a thorny and sometimes fun issue that exists everywhere there is modern telecommunications.  Location is sometimes assumed and often desired but is not achievable.  It used to be possible with the telephone companies and pretty much had to be in order to mechanically route between switching centers. You knew if it had a prefix of abc that it had to go down the wire toward abc or toward some device that knew where abc was.  That’s not possible today, and you might be surprised to know that number portability has made the phone system very much like the Internet. 

In general, there is a mapping function from the phone number to an IPv6 address, just as there is for a phone number and an E911 address, which is maintained by the user. You can usually find the IPv6 address in your phone if you poke around in settings.

For cell phones, once the phone is connected to a tower, its POTS number (truly called that by engineers for “Plain Old Telephone System” is recorded in a database, but the phone is assigned an IPv6 address.  So when you make a call, the system looks up the POTS number you are trying to reach and then finds the associated IPv6 address and establishes a route to the remote system.  Some of this complexity, especially with the international calling schema, is what allows scammers to appear to call from someplace or someone you know.  (BTW: the phone companies know how to fix this, but it will cost some money, so we consumers lose.   The solution is called ingress filtering.

In any event, with number portability, you can keep your 207 number no matter where in the US/Canada you move to.  And if enough people do it, then a new area code will have to be assigned for Maine just to handle all the people who move to… Florida?

In Internet terms, blocks of IPv4 addresses are assigned and even bought and sold. They have nothing to do with the location of whoever is visiting your website except statistically in the same way that 207 usually means Maine.

This is irritatingly pleasant to those of us who want to limit our information exposure and who use a VPN or … Starlink.  (VPNs do work but are expensive and require some technical know-how).  Starlink, in this part of the world, enters the big Internet in an “Internet hotel” in NYC.  (An Internet hotel is basically a large building full of routers and connections to all the other big ISPs).  So when I go shopping at a large online retailer like Lowes, Costco, etc., they always want me to choose my “home store,” which is invariably in Queens.

My 978 number is routinely used by the Mass state government and politicos who want me to know about COVID-19 vaccine availability or political candidates.

In any event, I’m guessing that you’re bored now. If not, you might look at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_address and  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_Name_System.

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