Manchester Grange will hold a Craft Fair on October 25, 2025, from 9:00am to 2:00 pm.The Manchester Grange Hall is located at 953 Western Avenue in Manchester, Maine. Contact Linda Cobb for more information.
Manchester Grange Craft Fair
Valley Grange Dictionary Day Schedule
Valley Grange #144 of Guilford recently announced the schedule for its 2025 Words for Thirds Dictionary Project. The local Grange’s program is in its 21st year and has provided over 4,000 dictionaries to third-grade students in four area school districts. The presentations include some Grange history and an introduction to some basic dictionary skills.
Valley Grange Program Director Walter Boomsma notes, “In this age of technology, it’s inspiring to see the kids’ enthusiasm when getting their very own paper dictionary.” He also noted that a recent newsletter from the Dictionary Project reported that Sweden has shifted its emphasis from electronics back to “real” books, after seeing its fourth-grade reading scores tank.
“We’ve always said that third grade marks a critical difference. In earlier grades, students are learning to read. In third grade, they start reading to learn.”
Grange teams will be visiting SeDoMoCha Elementary in Dover Foxcroft on November 3rd, Ridgeview Elementary on November 5th, Brownville Elementary on November 10th, Harmony Elementary on November 12th, and Piscataquis Community Elementary on November 13th.
Boomsma notes that he particularly enjoys introducing the students to the word “steward” because it emphasizes the importance of making good use of resources, as well as the title of an officer in every Grange. “We challenge them to make good use of their new dictionaries and love hearing their ideas for how they will do that.”
Valley Grange President Jim Annis says, “For many kids, getting their dictionary is a rite of passage.” He loves telling the story of meeting two third graders who explained to him that this is the year they get their dictionaries. Last year, a student at Ridgeview expressed surprise that he was receiving a gift, even though it wasn’t his birthday.
Happy Dictionary Day!
Veterans at State Session
submitted by Terry LaCombe Stevens
Winthrop Grange Hunters’ Breakfast
November 8, 2025 – 7 am until 10 am
The menu includes eggs, pancakes, sausage, bacon, homefries, and drinks, all for $12 a person. Come join us.
Winthrop Grange #209 is located at 598 Old Lewiston Road in Winthrop.
State Officer Elections
Delegates to the 151st Annual Maine State Grange Convention had a busy few days and a lot of work to do! We’ll be sharing a few highlights. For some, even more work starts now. We’ll be updating directories, but we can at least share this list of officers elected.
- Master/President, Sherry Harriman
- Overseer, Adrian Mike Griffin
- Lecturer, Melissa Baldwin
- Steward, Ben Edgerly
- Assistant Steward, Rick Grotton
- Last Assistant Steward, Roberta Meserve
- Chaplain, Christine Hebert
- Treasurer, Laurie McBurnie
- Secretary, Sharon Morton
- Gatekeeper, Peter Ivers
- Ceres, Judy Meserve
- Pomona, Tracey Small
- Flora, Debra Ivers
- Executive Committee, Dale Holst (3 year term)
Appointments will be updated and shared as they are made and confirmed.
151st State Convention Opens Today
This year’s convention opens at 11 am! Since most officers, directors, and deputies will be in attendance, communication may be challenging. In website terms, we’ll be checking email as time permits, and you can expect a reply within 24 hours. That’s always our goal, and we usually beat it!
Thanks for your patience and understanding! For information about the convention, check this page.
Fraud Watch- Aspenm Institute Fraud Task Force
Fraud today is largely run by sophisticated, large-scale operations led by transnational crime groups, stealing an estimated $158 billion from Americans in a single year. This is not just a consumer education issue — it’s a national security threat that demands urgent attention.
That’s why AARP has joined the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program’s National Task Force on Fraud and Scam Prevention. Alongside more than 80 organizations — including financial institutions, technology companies, law enforcement, federal agencies and consumer advocates — we helped launch a proposal for the first ever national fraud strategy that lays out a blueprint for stronger, coordinated action to combat fraud.
This strategy marks a shift from fragmented efforts to a coordinated defense and is a critical step forward with clear pathways for government and industry to work together to establish a whole-of-society response to the fraud threat.
AARP is proud to be part of this effort, and we look forward to working with partners and policymakers to improve collaboration, modernize information sharing and reporting, and enhance law enforcement capabilities in the fight against fraud that harm millions of Americans.
Report scams to local law enforcement. For help from AARP, call 1-877-908-3360 or visit the AARP Fraud Watch Network at aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork.
Ocean View Grange Updates
By Larry Bailey, Master
In addition to having a great “Art, Craft and Collectables sale a few days ago, we had a particularly enjoyable and productive Grange meeting last evening. We had 12 members present for discussions about the upcoming Bean Supper, the establishment of our new Grange officers, and the updating and installation of our Executive Committee members.
This Saturday, October 18th, we are having our famous Ocean View Grange Bean Supper. The Odd Fellows will join us, and we expect a good turnout.
Today was our Words for Thirds dictionary presentation to our local 3rd-grade class in Tenants Harbor. Leslie Korpinen (our wonderful Musician) joined me in what turned out to be truly fun and enjoyable meeting with this group of kids. We gave a presentation of what the Grange was, where it was located, what Grange people did, when our Grange was formed, and why Granges were needed. It was very well received.
It has always been a surprise to me that, in a world of electronic communication, the class was so pleased, happy, and energetic to receive the books. The class was actually proud to receive books and be told they could keep them for their very own. Many questions were asked by the class, and they were serious and intelligent questions. One of the lads in the group came up with, perhaps the best observation of the day. He said, “The dictionary is like the paper version of Google!” We all laughed and roundly applauded him for his observation and acumen. I was especially happy to hear that the class was curious about the Grange Hall, and we noted that if they want to take a field trip to our Grange Hall, we will gladly give them a tour. Let’s hope that happens.
See you all Saturday at the Bean Supper!
Grange Libraries Take Different Forms
By Walter Boomsma, MSG Communications Director
Did you know that for many years, Granges often maintained a library of books available to members? I suspect some still do! Well, here are some ideas that will drive traffic to your Grange Hall and, more importantly, make your Grange more relevant to your community.
Little Fee Libraries (LFL)
The first is inspired by Caroline Heck, Junior Granger from Mill Stream Grange #574. Caroline is working on her Girl Scout Silver Award to raise awareness of the importance of childhood literacy. Her project includes building and placing a Little Fee Library™ (LFL) at the Grange and informing the community of the importance of access to books in early childhood. Master Jill Sampson is her Project Advisor. She has already collected 203 books, a mix of board books, picture books, early chapter books, and middle-grade novels, all donated by the local community. She’s scouted a location at the hall for placement: out front at the edge of the flower bed where it meets the parking lot, so it will be safe from the plow but always accessible.
Book Exchange Boxes (BEB)
Ocean View Grange in Port Clyde went from an idea to completion quickly. The idea came from someone who has a bit of a hobby of filling area libraries, and she suggested the Grange would make a great location! The idea truly took on a life of its own. Interestingly, much of the work that went into the project was completed by folks who are not Grange members. Yet. The entire project was accomplished from start to finish in a matter of weeks!
(Just to clarify, an outside library cannot be considered an LFL until registered and assigned someone–a steward–to monitor and maintain the box.)
Granges in Maine Book Exchange Program
Several other Granges have different programs and approaches, and the MSG Communications Department wants to help! We’re pleased to announce that we’ve created a BEB Resource Section on the website for Granges who are interested in or operating a Book Exchange Program.
The section includes more information on creating a Little Fee Library™ or Book Exchange Box, a comprehensive list of potential sources of free books, document templates… it will always be under construction, so please share your ideas and experiences. And let us know how we can help!
President’s Perspective – October 2025
Sherry Harriman,
Maine State Grange President/Master
207 490-1029
Among many other things, Master Sherry is busy preparing her annual address for the 151st Annual State Convention. It will be posted after she gives it!
The October View from the Farm is “Moving a Bit Faster.” That might be an understatement as we begin another Grange Year!
Please also understand that while the October Bulletin will be available online just before State Session, mailing of the printed version will likely be delayed. Thanks for your patience and understanding.
See you in Orono!
Written by Walter Boomsma, Maine State Grange Communications Director