Category: Community Service

Our February Meeting included a number of guests, some great food, good conversation and a good time! We were especially pleased to “obligate” our newest members, Sarah Mahan and Nick Jackson. Some of us got to try lamb for the first time, thanks to their potluck contribution and most of us went home with some eggs! For those of you who didn’t come and haven’t seen it, you must watch this video. Not only will you get to meet the family, but you’ll also find their regeneration techniques fascinating.

In other news, we approved the new Hall Use Agreement. A copy will be uploaded to the website soon. We also began discussing Grange Month (we celebrate in May) and Community Citizen of the Year. If you now someone in the area who deserves recognition for their service to our communities, contact Mary Annis or Walter Boomsma. We’re looking for an unsung hero.

We received socks and have more on the way. Thanks to Helping Hearts Ministry in West Virginia for their generous donation! We’ll likely be making our final delivery for this year next week… if you intend to “Sock it to us,” please do so soon!

Thanks also to Phyllis Lyford from the Dover Foxcroft Historical Society for her donation of two patriotic lap afghans for the Operation Gratitude Hospice Project for Veterans.

We started to get writer’s cramp signing thank-you cards and notes. We’ve been so fortunate this winter to members of our communities who have helped us keep our hall open. I’m afraid I’ll forget someone, but thanks to Brian and Cindy Woodworth, Jimmy French, John McKusick… the anonymous donor who left socks in the tote on the porch… with all this help, we were able to come to the February meeting, see the fruits of our labor and have a certain sense that we conquered winter.

Our new Busy Box was put to good use! As a reminder, we are still looking for puzzles, games, etc. suitable for kids. I recently was able to replenish our Book Bin after a visit to the Abbot Liberry. Now that we have kids attending, we welcome any contributions to both! If you can’t come to a meeting, you can leave them in the tote on the front porch.

I stopped at the hardware store on the way to the hall to start the furnace. One of the clerks asked if he could ask a question. “Are you the guy who does that bookworm club thing?” I was able to explain that COVID has our Bookworm Program on hold, but yes, Valley Grange has bookworms who listen to the kids read at school. He complimented the program and said how great it was. (Little does he know that he’s on my list of potential volunteers when we get started again!)

These questions and the support we receive help us remain committed “…to labor for the good of our Order, our country, and mankind.” Thank you!

And if you want to experience the warmth and welcome of the Grange, our next meeting is Friday, March 18, 2022. Potluck is at 6 pm–bring a dish to share if you can. Our meeting and program start at 7 pm and we are usually finished by 8:30 pm. Come as you are and bring a friend! Remember, we are kid-friendly!

Friday’s Meeting!

You haven’t forgotten we have a meeting Friday, right? Let me explain that I will always make every effort to have our meetings. If you are not comfortable traveling for some reason, just don’t feel obligated to come. When we cancel meetings, we deprive those who want to come of the opportunity and start down a path that suggests a foreboding future for our Grange. Janice and I are Grange Bees for the February Meeting. Unfortunately, I will be returning from teaching in Augusta that day. I may be late for dinner. I plan to visit the hall Thursday afternoon to make sure the furnace is running, etc. Thursday is actually supposed to be a warm day with rain… yay! Between starting the furnace and the forecast, the well should be thawed. Potluck Supper at 6 pm, Meeting at 7 pm will include voting to accept our new members and a review of the hall use policy. During the supper hour, we’ll be sorting socks! Don’t forget to bring your donations! Socks have been arriving from as far away as Pennsylvania and West Virginia!

We’re Needed!

I received an email over the weekend from Carol Smith, Principal of Brownville Elementary. It seems, unfortunately, one of the third-grade students, Garrett Ames, who received a dictionary from us has been diagnosed with leukemia. He won’t be able to attend school for a while and his teacher, Ms. Cail, and his classmates are making an effort to support him. We can too, right? You can watch the news story on WABI-TV 5’s website. It’s both heartbreaking and heartwarming. Garrett has a dream of becoming a firefighter and “rescuing people from the house.” Fire Departments around the country are responding with support. (If you are associated with a Fire Department or know a fire fighter, why not pass the word along. Our member Pat Engstrom has already found some cool material and is working on a blanket. I’ll be working on this during the week and hopefully have some additional information for our meeting, if not before.  I did share the WABI story on the Valley Grange Facebook page and Mr. Boomsma’s Facebook Page.

And as Further Proof

One town office called Mary Annis and requested our letter asking for financial support! As a reminder, as town meeting season approaches, please consider attending and speaking on behalf of Valley Grange. I can help you with talking points and give you a copy of the information sent to the towns in the area. You know you’re doing something right when people call and ask for an opportunity to donate!

Say “Thanks!”

We will be sending a note of thanks to John McKusick and McKusick Petroleum for “bailing us out” several times recently. Most recently we learned a powerful lesson. We’ve been using RV antifreeze in the furnace. The label says “rated to 50 below.” Well, I don’t think it got down to fifty below but I can tell you that the anti-freeze froze! John not only patiently helped me through the thawing process, he’s donated some special antifreeze to help us out. When I offered to pay he said, “We gotta keep you going.” If you see John, let him know you appreciate his support of Valley Grange! With the support we’re getting, “We gotta keep us going!”

We Now Have a Busy Bin

I picked up a tote and “seeded” it with a puzzle and a few games. We’re looking for activities especially for kids who attend meetings and events… coloring books, crayons, board games, and puzzles. (How cool would it be to have a puzzle going on one of the dining room tables?) Whatcha got to offer? The Busy Bin, the Book Crate, and the extra remaining dictionaries are probably going to end up under the dessert table. We’re running out of room under the Bulletin Board… our blistered finger knitters are refilling those bins!

You’re Needed!

If all goes as planned, we might be able to “Obligate” our new members at Friday’s meeting. It sure would be nice to meet upstairs again, fill most of the chairs, and “do it right!” I’m going to try to “draft” a few people from other Granges… this will be a “Cabin Fever Reliever” with lots of fun!

→FLASH UPDATE!

As I was finishing this up, I learned that Garrett is starting to lose his hair as a result of the chemo. The journey begins in earnest. I also now have an address for mailing cards and other items: Garret Ames, 5690 Bennoch Road, LaGrange ME 04453. If you do send a card, mention Valley Grange so he and his Mom know who you are and where you’re from!