Patrons of Husbandry – a website dedicated to the Granges located in Maine
Trenton Grange will host free Community Pot Luck Suppers on the first Friday of the month as follows
The Trenton Grange Hall is located at 1134 Bar Harbor Rd, Trenton, Maine. All are welcome! Contact Emily Muise for more details.
Tuesday, December 5, 2023 – 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Open Mic Event (acoustic) at the Trenton Grange Hall, 1134 Bar Harbor Road, Trenton featuring music, comedy, stories/poetry. Admission is $5 per person. Contact Emily Muise for more details.
Bake Bean Supper Friday, December 8, 2023, from 5:00-6:30. Community Grange in East Wilton will be having a Bake Bean Supper with molasses cake for dessert. $10 per adult, $5 for children under 12. Hope to see you there!
November 25, 2023, 9 am-1 pm.
Vendors, White Elephant Table, wreaths, raffles, and lunch eat-in or take-out (beef stew, corn chowder, chili, or baked beans plus dessert and a drink $5). For more information, call 207-998-2301.
Excelsior Grange is located at 446 Harris Hill Road in Poland, Maine.
We recently received thank-you notes from our third-graders in Brownville. Most include hand-drawn pictures–unfortunately, with the colored construction paper, they don’t scan well, but here are a few summarized.
“Thank you for everything. I had a lot of fun. You make me laf!”
“Thank you for the Dictionary. My favorite part was the word game.”
“Thank you for everything. You are so nuns. We love you!” [I think “nuns” was supposed to be “fun.”]
“Mr. Boomsma Thank you. I love love when we try to find the word even though I didn’t win I still tried.”
“My favorite part was the sticks.” [We talk about the staves or staffs–farmers’ tools.]
“Thank you for everything you [?] for keeping our cugrey [community?] safe.“
“Thank you for the dictionary. Now I know lots about the periodic table of the elements. You are the best.” [No, I did not make this one up. It’s in the dictionary!]
“Dear Mr. Boomsma, You are a kind man. Thank you for letting us play the dictionary game of finding the words in the dictionary. Good job. You’re working hard.”
“Thank you for the dictionary and showing us the farmers’ tools.”
“Ok the longest word is hard. I can’t read the word.” [According to the dictionary, the longest word has 1909 letters in it!]
“Thank you for showing us the dictionary and farmer tools. The dictionary was amazing! The tools were great! I hope you come back to our school!”
I think one class had a little help with this one:
If you come to our Musical Celebration of Rural Life on Friday, November 17, 2023, you’ll get a chance to read some of these for yourself!
By Rick Grotton,
Membership Committee Director
207 582-5915
It was great seeing many of my Grange family at the State Session. I always look to meet new delegates at the State Session. If you have never been to the State Grange Session, then you have missed a wonderful opportunity to mingle with others across this great State of Maine. You do not have to be a Sixth Degree member to attend. Hopefully, we will see you there next year.
The State Membership Committee wishes to expand, so we will need your help. If anyone is interested, please contact me. Or, if you just want to be an informer, that would be fine. Don’t run away until I explain. Membership needs more attention everywhere. I am looking for people who will spread information to others at their Community and Pomona Grange meetings. The rules are simple.
First, the primary duty would be to read my columns at your meetings. Each month, a different topic will be mentioned for you to share. That way, everyone will pick up some ideas and hopefully offer their own suggestions. Educating and communicating is the key. The columns can be found on the Maine State Grange website or with your secretary, who will have a copy of the bulletin.
Second, encourage membership in your Grange.
Third, you are not required to attend meetings, conferences, or events. No travel other than attending your meetings is required. No reports need to be written. All that will be asked of you will be to share the methods of gaining and maintaining membership as provided by the columns.
Easy, yes! Do it for the Good of the Order. Do it for your Grange. Make a game out of the request. Challenge your members to see who can bring in the most members during a time period. Everyone has a competitive streak, so keep score and award the winner at the end of the period. Encourage your Lecturer to have a Membership program. If you really want to get involved more, then form a Membership committee at your Grange and compete with other Granges in your Pomona.
So please join me in bringing new membership to life. Remember, it only takes a spark. My contact information is included when the column is put on the website. I am hoping you hear for you to help bring our Grange membership swinging in an upward direction. I cannot do it myself; we need each and every one of us to work together. After all, we are family!!!
Off to National Grange in Niagara Falls next week. Any membership info I can find from the National Director will be passed on in future columns. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
The artwork is by Larry Bailey, Master of the St George Grange. The Grange invites all to celebrate our Veterans by joining the St George Odd Fellows on Saturday, November 11, 2023, from 5 pm until sold out. This will be a sit-down Bean Supper at the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Saint George Lodge #132, 7 Elementary School Road, Tenants Harbor, Maine 04860. Takeout will be available. Veterans eat free! Others by donation.
Guilford–A team of Valley Granger members led by Walter Boomsma is delivering over 200 dictionaries to local area schools during the next several weeks. “We have a lot to celebrate,” he noted, “despite some of the troubling news, third graders in the area will have a Dictionary Day that focuses on tools, words, and the importance of learning.”
The Grange began its “Words for Thirds” Program in 2004 by giving a dictionary to every third-grader at the then Guilford Primary School. Over the years, the program has expanded to include Piscataquis Community, SeDoMoCha, Brownville, Harmony, and Ridgeview Elementary Schools. Boomsma estimates the Grange has distributed nearly 4,000 dictionaries since. “But it’s really not about the numbers. One kid, one dictionary. The stories are many, but each one is personal. A dictionary can make a big difference in a child’s life.”
Grangers visit schools to make the gift personal and emphasize the importance of people helping each other. Jim Annis, president of the local Grange, rarely misses a presentation. “I love how excited the kids get. These dictionaries are truly empowering and the program has become a rite of passage. We’re glad we can continue the tradition.”
Boomsma noted that these sorts of links and cooperation within the community are exactly what the Grange hopes to facilitate. “We’re all about Community Service,” he said. “We’re also looking for people who share that passion, whether it’s working with the schools and children or seniors or other community organizations.” He cites the Grange’s Blistered Finger Knitters as an example. “As a result of their efforts, we distribute some knitted hats and mittens along with the dictionaries. Last year, we also did a “sock it me” drive so we could include socks. These are usually given to the school nurse for kids who need a little help staying warm.”
An added feature this year is a “Musical Celebration of Rural Living” in the form of a concert on November 17, 2023, featuring Katherine Rhoda. Program Director Boomsma notes, “Katherine will be playing some unique instruments and featuring Grange Music from over the years. It’s truly a celebration but also a fundraiser to support our programs.” Admission is $15, kids under 12 are free. Additional information is available on the Valley Grange Website (http:valleygrange.com) and Facebook Page.
The Dictionary Project is based in North Carolina, making low-cost dictionaries available to organizations like the Grange to aid third-grade teachers in their goal to see all their students leave at the end of the year as good writers, active readers, and creative thinkers. Extra dictionaries are always available for new or home-schooled students or students transferring in during the school year. Parents of home-schooled third-graders are urged to call their local school for additional information. For information about the Grange and its many opportunities, call Walter Boomsma at 343-1842 or Mary Annis at 564-0820 or visit the Valley Grange Website (http://valleygrange.com) or Facebook Page.
Webmaster’s Note: Granges that sponsor a Words for Thirds Project are encouraged to use this press release as a model or template. Additional information including a sample letter to parents is available on the Valley Grange Website. Learn more about promoting your program in the MSG Communications Handbook.
Saturday, November 18, 2023,
9 am – 2 pm
White Rock Grange and Friendship Club
33&34 Wilson Road
Gorham Maine
Join dozens of crafters this holiday season. All items are handcrafted: candles, ornaments, home decor, wreaths, jewelry, handbags, crochet animals & knitted items, and much more! Raffle for themed gift baskets. Check the event out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/events/2027697437587563
Third graders at Brownville Elementary School received lots of words recently in the form of brand-new dictionaries from Valley Grange. The students learned a little bit about Valley Grange, farming, and agriculture, not to mention how to use a dictionary. Since there is a lot more than words in their books, we even said “Hello” to each other using sign language.
Valley Grange #144 is located in Guilford, Maine.
The Dictionary Project is designed to aid third-grade teachers with their goal of seeing all their students leave at the end of the year as good writers, active readers, and creative thinkers. The dictionary is for the student to keep, take it into the fourth grade, and use it throughout his or her entire school career. “The kids become really engaged,” Valley Grange Program Director “Mr. Boomsma” notes. “I think they like the idea that people in the community care about them and, as we explain, they own the dictionary and all the words in it.”
“We also get to talk about the staves as farmer’s tools and how the Grange uses them as reminders of the qualities we should strive for in our classrooms and communities.”
The Valley Grange Program extends across four districts and five schools. This is our 24th year and we’ve given out close to 4,000 dictionaries since starting the program. Additional Dictionary Days are being scheduled at SeDoMoCha Elementary in Dover Foxcroft, PCES in Guilford, Harmony Elementary, and Ridgeview Elementary in Dexter.