Category: Community Service

Community Service Committee and information

Parkman Grange News!

By Susan Manchester, Master/President

Parkman Grange is located in Parkman!

The Parkman Grange would like to thank you all for your continuing support. Since reorganizing in 2010, we have made some changes while maintaining popular events, including the town meeting luncheon, the Mother’s Day Tea, and the Hunter’s Supper. We have added the Minnie Bridge Scholarship fund, giving away over $12,000 in scholarships to local students. The Daddy Daughter Dance, which will be on Saturday, April 13th this year, is a fun time for all, with DJ Steve Boddy getting the crowd up, dancing, and playing party games. We also started the Pre-K book program, giving away books to encourage young readers. Our Christmas party is always well attended; Santa and Mrs Claus come and give out presents and take pictures with the kids. Eight tables are set up with crafts to make for gifts to give to family and friends. Our biggest program is the SAD 4 Santa Project, which provides winter coats, boots, and toys to local kids. In addition, each month, we give a $100-$200 donation to locals who are facing a difficult time or could use a little help.

We meet at the Grange Hall on the first Tuesday of each month at 5 PM, starting in April. Meetings are casual and usually last about an hour. If you are new to the area or would like to make a difference in our town, we invite you to attend a meeting.

Maine on tap for a cosmic display

Reprinted with permission from an enewsletter published by Maine Senator Stacey Guerin.

On April 8, millions will have a front row seat when the Moon’s shadow will sweep across the nation in a total solar eclipse. The last time the U.S. saw a total solar eclipse was on Aug. 21, 2017. However, this time the path of the eclipse will travel right through the heart of Maine.

The path in 2017 began in Oregon in the Pacific Northwest and traveled across the country in a southeasterly course until it ended in Charleston, S.C. For this year’s eclipse, the shadow or “path of totality” will begin its North American journey in Mazatlan, Mexico, at 9:51 a.m. MST.

The first Maine town to see the partial eclipse will be Jackman beginning at 2:18 p.m. EDT; and it will leave the U.S. through Houlton at 4:41 p.m. EDT. The total eclipse begins roughly 70 minutes after the partial eclipse begins.

Ultimately, the solar eclipse will leave land at 6:47 p.m. ADT in St. Pierre and Miquelon near Newfoundland. Both the official beginning and end of the eclipse takes place in the waters of the South Pacific and North Atlantic oceans respectively.

Aside from its path, the major difference this year is the size of the path of totality and the duration of the eclipse itself. According to NASA, the path in 2017 ranged from 62 to 71 miles wide and lasted about 2.5 minutes since the Moon was farther away from Earth. This year’s path will be much larger, ranging 108 to 122 miles wide.

That means the duration will be longer at about 4.5 minutes at its peak. When the total eclipse rolls through Houlton, it should last 3 minutes, 21 seconds.

For more information about this year’s total solar eclipse, visit NASA’s website.

Communications Note: Please be sure to visit the safety section of the Nasa Website! Also, will your Grange sponsor some type of event in conjunction with the event? This could range from offering safety information (FHH) to hosting an Eclipse Event, particularly if your Grange is located along the path. If you have an astronomer in your area, a pre-eclipse information program might draw a crowd! Put your thinking caps on!

Community Service/FHH – February 2024

By Brenda Dyer, MSG Community Service/FHH Director
(207) 608-9193

Happy February! The daylight is increasing. Seedlings should be planted soon to be ready for community plant sales. Members have been making items for craft fairs, fair displays, and the Big E. Thank you for all your contributions and hard work for the community and Grange.

March is National Reading Month. Please contact Willie Grenier, Ag in the Classroom, to volunteer to Read to the classroom on March 2. Make sure to take pictures of volunteers reading. Before taking pictures of students, make sure it is permissible.

Please make sure you are keeping track of volunteer hours. Please use groups as stated in last month’s column. This is very important!

Family Health and Hearing

February is Black History Month and Heart Healthy Month

  • 20th is Love Your Pet Day
  • 23rd is Banana Bread Day
  • 29th is Leap Year-enjoy the extra day.

March is Women’s History Month, Brain Injury Awareness Month, and Nutrition Month.

  • 2nd is Read Across America Day
  • 6th is National Day of Unplugging
  • 13th is Earmuff Day – Chester Greenwood
  • 21st is National Agriculture Day
  • 30th is National Doctor’s Day

Reminder: Every Grange should be submitting a Community Service Report. This is separate from the notebook.

April is Grange month. Many opportunities for Community Service and celebrating the 150-year anniversary of the Maine State Grange.

Community Matters More

Bangor Savings Bank has announced its annual Community Matters More voting. It’s that time of year when folks get to help decide how to distribute over $140,000 to nonprofit organizations in Maine and New Hampshire. Grants are awarded through the Bangor Savings Bank Foundation.

You can choose up to five nonprofits that positively impact your community or write in eligible nonprofits of your choice.

It’s also the time of year when some Granges will organize a campaign to be written in as a potential recipient. There are some important criteria you should recognize. First, in order to vote, you must be a resident of Maine or New Hampshire.

Second, the organization you vote for must be an eligible non-profit- a 501(c)3. As a reminder, local Granges (and the Grange in general) do not usually meet this criteria. For a brief explanation, read this article.

If you write in an organization that isn’t eligible, you are just wasting a vote. However, you certainly are encouraged to vote! Help a deserving organization! Voting takes place until February 29, 2024!

Click here to vote

Mill Stream Grange Gives!

Mill Stream Grange Master Judy Dunn (r) presents the annual Christmas donation to the Food Bank. Accepting, on the left, is member Rosie Baker, who is a volunteer at the Mt. Vernon Area Food Bank.

Community Service/FHH – January 2024

By Brenda Dyer, MSG Community Service/FHH Director
(207) 608-9193

Happy New Year! As we start the 2024 year, brainstorm all the community service projects that are possible. There is not a project that is too small. Think about all the ways your community is supported by you and your Grange.

Please keep track of hours per project. The hours should be broken down by Grange members and non-Grange members in the following categories: Juniors, Youth, and Adult. These are reported to the National Grange. 

Also include any organizations and their involvement (hours, support, etc.)

Start thinking about nominating Granger, Firefighter, EMT, Police, Educator of the year.

Family Health and Hearing

  • January 9,  National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day
  • January 28,  National Lego Day
  • February  3,  Feed the Birds Day
  • February  4,  Thank you, Mail Person Day
  • February  20, Love Your Pet Day

This is the celebration of MSG’s 150th anniversary. Start planning now to celebrate Grange during April, which is Grange Month. Open meetings, Grange history, Degree Day, Variety Show, and Remember When programs are a few suggestions but the opportunities are endless—also a great time to present membership certificates. 

Enjoy the season and remember Spring is coming.

Clyde Russell Scholarship Fund Deadline Approaches

Reprinted with permission from a newsletter from Stacy Guerin, Maine State Senator, District 4.

The Clyde Russell Scholarship Fund (CRSF) offers financial awards to Maine graduating high school seniors to attend higher education institutions. The CRSF was created by the Maine Education Association through a trust established by the late Audrey Lewis, who served as president in 1958. The Fund was named after Clyde Russell, who served as Executive Director for over two decades.

There are two categories of awards as follows:

  • Awards of up to $2,000 for graduating high school seniors who will attend a Maine Community College;
  • Awards of up to $10,000 for graduating high school seniors who will attend a four-year college.

The applications will be available on CRSF’s website until Jan. 31, 2024; and the deadline to apply is Feb. 1, 2024. The entire application must be received by CRSF via their P.O. Box no later than Feb. 1, 2024. Please allow 5-7 days for mail delivery to meet the Feb. 1 deadline.

2024 Maine County Teachers of the Year

Call for Nominations

Do you know an exceptional teacher? A teacher who inspires students? A teacher who is a leader in the profession and deserves recognition for their great work with students? Here is your chance to nominate them for County Teacher of the Year!

teacher asking a question to the class
Photo by Max Fischer on Pexels.com

Teachers may be nominated by students, parents, teaching colleagues, principals, superintendents or anyone from the community who wants to honor an outstanding educator. (Self-nominations and nominations by family members are not accepted) Granges who recognized (or plan to recognize) an “Educator of the Year” may want to nominate him or her for this recognition! The deadline for nominations is 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 31, 2024.

To be considered, the teacher must: 

  • have a minimum of five years of teaching – three of which are in Maine.
  • hold the appropriate professional certification for their teaching position.
  • be a certified, in good standing, PK-12 teacher in a state-accredited public school, including a career and technical and adult education center, a public charter school, or a publicly supported secondary school (a private school that enrolls 60 percent or more publicly funded students, sometimes referred to as “town academies”).
  • be actively teaching students at least fifty percent of the workday at the time of nomination and during their year of recognition.
  • maintain their teaching position and remain in the County for which they are selected throughout the year of recognition.

The Maine Teacher of the Year program is administered by Educate Maine in partnership with the Maine Department of Education. 

The Maine State Teacher of the Year represents Maine at the national level and becomes eligible to become the National Teacher of the Year.

Please contact Kaitlin Young at Educate Maine if you have questions or want more information on the process. 

Please don’t miss this opportunity to honor and recognize a great Maine Teacher!  Meet the 2023 County Teachers of the Year here and learn more about the Maine Teacher of the Year program.

Click Here to Nominate a Teacher

Some information for this post was provided by Bangor Savings Bank, a strong supporter of the program through their partnership with Educate Maine.

A Special Report – Pie and Coffee

By Walter Boomsma, Communications Director

close up shot of a cup of coffee beside a pie on a plate
Photo by Feyza Daştan on Pexels.com

We have an amazing family in our community not too well known for their generosity and compassion. They tried something this Christmas that not only was selfless; it didn’t sound like it would work.

They booked their church dining hall for Christmas Day and invited folks to stop by between 1 and 5 pm for free pie and coffee or cocoa- a sort of break from the holiday festivities and a chance to see friends and neighbors.

I was a doubter based on the assumption that many people would be traveling or busy with their own celebrations on Christmas Day. Our decision to go was based somewhat on wanting to show support and somewhat on curiosity. Would anybody show up on this most wonderful day of the year?

Not only were there a number of people there, but there was a consistent flow of people coming and going. There was plenty of hugging and handshaking. I got to see a relatively new friend–she’s only three years old and quite the conversationalist. While she was helping me pick my second piece of pie, a tap on my shoulder came from some people I hadn’t seen for a couple of years. Of course, one of the benefits of rural living is that we know more people than we think.

Even though no contributions were expected by the hosts, many people arrived carrying a pie, so there was plenty to sample. My second piece was a blueberry cheesecake pie. My new friend warned me that I shouldn’t try too many because I might get a bellyache.

There’s a lot to consider and learn here. As we were driving to the church, I realized that it was the first time in some years we had left the house on Christmas Day–a day that is traditionally quite quiet at our house. But it wasn’t just us old folks who went. Kids came. Some made ornaments. My friend did bring several of her presents with her to play with, but she spent just as much time talking with others.

The pie was great, but being together was better.

We need each other, and finding simple ways to facilitate being together should be high on our priority lists. Remembering that the fraternal and social aspects of the Grange are foundational, maybe it’s time to find more ways to be together. People who won’t come to a Grange meeting might just stop by for pie and coffee. Keep it super simple. Make it easy. Consider calling it a Potluck Pie Party. Give us an excuse to get together because, despite those busy schedules and multiple priorities, we really want to do just that.