Tag: Grange Activities

President’s Perspective – August 2025

By Sherry Harriman,
Maine State Grange President/Master
207 490-1029

Roster Information is now due.

Resolutions – The August 15 deadline has arrived for resolutions to be at the office. After the 15th, delegate registration forms, meal forms, and resolutions will be mailed to each Grange.  The delegate registration form will not be posted on the website. Other State Session items have been posted. By vote of each Subordinate and Pomona Grange, you are entitled to name two Delegates and two Alternates to represent your Grange at State Session.  You must be a member of that Grange to be a delegate for them. The Grange dues must be paid up to date, through the Sept 2025 quarter, to be qualified to have delegates. An individual may only represent ONE Subordinate Grange, and may also be a delegate for their Pomona, but again, they must be voted on by the Grange.

Installation of Officers – The Installation Ceremony may be handled by each Grange on their own. Granges are required to install their officers annually, usually in September.

Annual Audit

“It shall be the duty of the Executive Committee of each Subordinate Grange to see that the books of the Secretary and Treasurer and any other funds of the Grange are audited at the end of the fiscal year.“

Maine State Grange By-Laws:  Article XXI – Subordinate Officers and Their Duties   Section 8.1

You will need the  Secretary’s Records and Secretary’s Order Book, the Treasurer’s books, checkbook, bank statements, savings book, etc., and receipt book (for funds received from the Secretary).  You compare the Secretary’s minutes and Order Book with the Treasurer’s checkbook and statements for receipts and expenditures.  All items should match between the Secretary and the Treasurer.  All Committees of the Grange, that handle funds, should also keep written records to be audited at the end of the Grange year.

Grange Behavior – There is no place in the Grange for the use of foul language, no matter what you feel the circumstances are; it is not acceptable behavior. I must stress again your Obligation you took when you joined the Grange. It states in part…  “ I will not knowingly wrong or defraud a Brother or Sister of the Order or allow it to be done by another if within my power to prevent it…”  I have had more calls from members in different areas to complain about the use of profanity during meetings and public events. Whether in a meeting, around the kitchen, or at an event, you may feel it is just words, but it is offensive to others.  Maybe you normally talk that way, or you don’t think about the words you are using.  If you feel the need to talk like that, I would suggest you go to the bar or sporting event where you will fit right in. But even those places have rules and limits, and even those places, where that talk is common, you would be asked to leave! I am sorry if you are offended by this message but it needed to said. Sadly, those who do the cursing, won’t be the ones to heed the comment.  The Master/President of the Grange has the right to ask you to leave if you are being disruptive and offensive. They also can ask you not to return.    

Communication Shorts 8-3-2025

By Walter Boomsma,
MSG Communications Director
207 343-1842

Communication Shorts are brief (short) but important items posted for your information and use. Please send us your ideas and thoughts!

August Bulletin

Information for the August Bulletin must be submitted by Thursday, August 14, 2025. Recent issues of the Bulletin can be found on the Program Books and Information Page in the communications section.

2026 = 250

In 2026, the United States celebrates the 250th anniversary of our founding– also known as the Sesquicentennial. Will your Grange participate in some way? The Grange has certainly contributed to the growth and development of our country!

Dates and Deadlines

Fall is coming. Some might say it’s already here. With the start of another Grange Fiscal Year, essential dates and deadlines abound! Just one example is that roster information is now due!

Think About This!

“Adopt the pace of nature: Her secret is patience.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

An Idea for Your Grange

At one time, Granges often scheduled a “Booster Night” program in the fall with an emphasis on membership growth. While the term may be passe, the idea certainly isn’t. An “open house” program might be just the ticket. It could include tours of the hall and presentations about its history. Time it for October and call it “Ghosts of the Grange.”

Subscribe!

Remember, we don’t share your email address with anyone, and you get a weekly summary of what’s been posted. Subscribe here! Share that link with your members!

Online Directories Available 24-7

Thanks to those who help us keep these directories current by letting us know of changes! With the election of officers coming up, don’t forget!

  • The Directory of Granges features all Granges in the state with a contact person. Please make sure your listing is correct! Visitors to the site consult these directories often.
  • The ODD Directory features all state officers, directors, and deputies with contact information.

Words for Thirds-Screen or Paper?

Are you anticipating a Words for Thirds Dictionary Project this fall? If not, it’s a great community service project–or perhaps more accurately, a great kid service project.

According to a recent Dictionary Project Newsletter, “A study published in 2023 found that only about 67% of 3rd grade students in the US are reading at grade level. Children who don’t read proficiently by the end of third grade are four times more likely not to graduate high school on time. One contributing factor to the fall in children’s literacy is the rise in screen time, which often replaces quiet reading or meaningful conversation. Limiting screen time can help children develop stronger attention spans and focus on building their reading skills.”

The same newsletter (July 20, 2025) “Sweden went all-in on tablets in the classroom, then saw 4th grade reading scores tank. Now they’re spending 60M Euros to bring back real books, because screens weren’t helping. And here in the U.S., only 30% of 8th graders read at grade level, with writing scores just as bleak. If one of the most tech-savvy nations is pulling the plug, maybe America should start asking if screen time is quietly dumbing down a whole generation.“

MSG Words for Thirds Resource Page

We have lots of resources… let us know how the Communications Department can help you help our kids and communities! We’re Grangers. We help each other!

Lecturer’s Column – July 2025

By Melissa Baldwin, Maine State Grange Lecturer
207 324-4661

Just a reminder to get all contest entries submitted by the September 1 deadline. Pictures are due Friday morning, before the start of state session, which starts at 11:00. Be sure to get them labeled and no frames, any arriving with frames, the frames will be asked to be removed from the frame or will NOT be allowed due to limited space and are too heavy to hang.

Hope to see everyone at the session. State Lecturers Conference with next year’s programs to be announced soon.

Communication Shorts 7-15-2025

By Walter Boomsma,
MSG Communications Director
207 343-1842

Communication Shorts are brief (short) but important items posted for your information and use. Please send us your ideas and thoughts!

July Bulletin

July Bulletin is available for download and will be mailed soon. Recent issues of the Bulletin can be found on the Program Books and Information Page in the communications section.

Ocean View Grange Featured

For those who haven’t noticed, Ocean View Grange was featured in the Summer 2025 Dictionary Project Newsletter! Congratulations!

Think About This!

“I have never been hurt by what I haven’t said.”

Calvin Cooledge

An Idea for Your Grange

Find someone who knows nothing about your Grange and ask them to research as much as they can about it using local and Online resources. Then have them informally report back.

Subscribe!

Remember, we don’t share your email address with anyone, and you get a weekly summary of what’s been posted. Subscribe here! Share that link with your members!

Online Directories Available 24-7

Thanks to those who help us keep these directories current by letting us know of changes! With the election of officers coming up, don’t forget!

  • The Directory of Granges features all Granges in the state with a contact person. Please make sure your listing is correct! Visitors to the site consult these directories often.
  • The ODD Directory features all state officers, directors, and deputies with contact information.

Membership Moments – July 2025

By Rick Grotton,
Membership Committee Director
207 582-5915

Most of us have heard of a subliminal message and its purpose.  For a refresher, a subliminal message is one that is intended to be embedded in our subconscious mind without our conscious knowledge of what is happening. These messages are commonly used by television commercials and ads, which contain “trigger” words and continuous use of phrases undetectable to the conscious mind in order to influence us to buy their products. In this column, I will use the phrase “increase membership” at various times and embed the phrase in the topic we are discussing. Although it isn’t really the same as I described, it gives the reader a sense of what I am talking about.

We all know that our member numbers have decreased and at times (increase membership) many Granges do not have enough members present to hold a meeting. It disrupts the flow when a meeting is canceled (increase membership) and people begin to lose interest when this happens on a regular basis.  Even to the most dedicated Granger, this is quite annoying and sometimes makes us question why do we bother. Our love and dedication to the (increase membership) order keep us chugging along. We don’t give up easily and our high energies motivate all our members. However, how long (increase membership) can this last? Even the Sun will run out of energy at some time. To avoid burnout, we need to make membership a top priority at every meeting. All members of our Granges are responsible (increase membership) to bring in new members; not a select few or only the State Membership Committee. It is up to YOU (increase membership) to be a part of the membership drive!

Read this message over a few times and let me know how effective this subliminal message has been or even better, read this message often and let the hidden message do its work.

Exploring Traditions – July, 2025

Meandering Around the Grange Way of Life

A Little Mind Boggling

By Walter Boomsma, Guest Columnist

In his June column, Phil Retberg offered, “The number of dairy farms in Maine has dropped from 5,100 in 1945 to 145 in 2023,” with the recommendation, “Ponder that.”

That is good advice.

Coincidentally, I’ve been exploring “The Grange: Friend of the Farmer, 1867 -1947” by Charles M. Gardner. It’s a difficult book to describe in a few sentences. I wouldn’t call it a “page turner,” because nearly every page offers something to ponder. Gardner offers insights not only into the organization but also encourages us to get inside the heads of early leaders. It truly qualifies as a “first-hand report” and includes information not often known by present-day members and leaders. Did you know, for example, that the order suffered a “near collapse in the late seventies?” (By the way, that refers to the 1870s. One of the errors of the founders was an over-estimation of the support the organization would receive.) An interesting theme develops around surviving and recovering from the near collapse. In a word, the Grange became about “usefulness.”

In that discussion, it is worth noting that the Grange “…proposed a way of life for the rural population (my bold), of unexplored but tremendous possibilities.”* (So now you know where the title of my book came from.)

One could conclude that the Grange achieved an apex in the mid-1940s, when this book was written. Since then, the number of dairy farms in Maine has “collapsed” substantially. In pondering that, it’s important to consider cause versus correlation. The tempting conclusion that the Grange’s decline is caused by the changes in agriculture and farming might be set aside to ponder “a way of life for the rural population.” How has rural life changed? And, perhaps more importantly, how has the Grange changed?

These are not easy questions to answer, but they are important. As an organization, we might do well to develop a better understanding of “the way of life” that the Grange has and continues to propose.

Another bit of trivia is found in “Friend of the Farmer” when you catch the fact that the Degrees are often referred to as “classes.” I have proposed membership with some orientation or catechism more than once. We have become too obsessed with the ritual, to the extent that we even claim it is a deterrent to membership. Creating an alternative “obligation ceremony” has made it easier and more convenient to join, but in so doing, we may have tossed out the baby with the bath water. We may be neglecting the proposed way of life and the tremendous opportunities it offers.

“Wise indeed were the Grange Founders who designed their new fraternity to meet this extreme need; with other objectives added in rapid succession, in response to the fast-changing demands of the times: some objectives no doubt undreamed of by that early band of wholehearted pioneers.

“Grange leaders may have partially missed this point, which appears to need firm implanting in the minds of all truly anxious to see the Order in its many-sided possibilities; certainly among those charged with present-day guidance of its affairs. The purposes of the Grange have not always been well expressed by its spokesmen; even at times maliciously misinterpreted by its enemies”*

We have plenty to ponder.

*Gardner, Charles M. Friend of the Farmer 1867-1947. National Grange. Kindle Edition.

The Kindle Edition of  “Friend of the Farmer” is available from Amazon, currently priced at $2.99.

Any degree or ritual quotations are from the forty-seventh edition of the 2023 Subordinate Grange Manual or the most recent edition of the Pomona Grange Manual. The views and opinions expressed in “Exploring Traditions” are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official doctrine and policy of the Grange. Information about the book “Exploring Traditions—Celebrating the Grange Way of Life” can be found at http://abbotvillagepress.com, on Mr. Boomsma’s Amazon Author Page, or by contacting the author.

CWA Report – July 2025

By Margaret Henderson, Director
Committee on Women’s Activities
207 948-2762

Committee on Women’s Activities

I am sure many of you are planning lots of activities for the summer. My Grange had our annual Strawberry Shortcake Sale. We did very well.

Just a reminder that the entries for the contests must be at headquarters by Tuesday, August 19, 2025. I will be there from 9:00 to 2:00 that day to log in all the entries. If you can not bring them on that day please let me know so that we can set up a time for you to bring them so that they will be there for judging. The conference will be on Saturday, August 23, 2025, at 10:00 am.

 I am looking forward to seeing all of the wonderful things that get entered in these contests. I hope to see many of you at the conference.

President’s Perspective – July 2025

By Sherry Harriman,
Maine State Grange President/Master
207 490-1029

STATE GRANGE SESSION

Here it is July already, that means three months away from the 2025 State Grange Session, Friday, Oct 17, and Saturday, Oct 18, at the Black Bear Inn, 4 Godfrey Dr., Orono. This year will also be a full State Grange election. The schedule and information have been mailed and posted on the website and will be remailed after August 15.

The Conferral of the 6th Degree will be on Saturday, October 18, at 1:45 p.m. You must have had your Pomona 5th Degree to move up to the State or 6th Degree level. There is a $10.00 one-time per candidate fee.

Due to circumstances beyond MSG’s control, one major change that occurred this week: There will be NO lunches provided by the hotel on Friday at noon or Saturday at noon either; lunches will be on your own. There are plenty of restaurants, fast food, delivery, convenience, and grocery stores close by, or bring your own. 

We will still have the Buffet Banquet on Friday night at 6:00 pm. Tickets are $40 each, reserved and paid in advance. The deadline is October 1, 2025, and must be received by the office; no exceptions will be made. New forms will be mailed in August, or you may use the one we have already mailed, but please note that no lunches are included.

I am very pleased to announce our National Representative at State Session will be Kathy Gibson, Lady Assistant Steward of the National Grange and her husband Glenn Gibson, Past Master/President of the Massachusetts State Grange and past voting delegate of the National Grange, I know you will give them both a very warm welcome.

As we are already in the middle of July, I would like to issue one final reminder: there is less than one month to submit your resolutions to the office by August 15, via standard mail and/or email. Each Resolution is required to have a Title when it is submitted to the office. I cannot give them a title; your Grange must come up with one.  The Title explains what the resolution is about or trying to accomplish.  The Whereas section or sections of the resolution give the WHY reason(s) and give facts about the resolution. The Resolution is the final paragraph that states what you want to happen.  Every Resolution must be read and voted on in your Subordinate or Pomona Grange before submitting it by August 15 to the State for consideration.

National Grange Launches Rural Life Initiative Grants

The National Grange is doubling down on its commitment to revitalizing rural communities with the launch of two new competitive grant opportunities through the Rural Life Initiative.

On June 24, during the “GPS to Success” webinar, National Grange President Christine Hamp announced the launch of two new grant opportunities as part of the expansion of the Rural Life Initiative (RLI), a program designed in partnership with Grange Advocacy to strengthen rural communities through health, wellness, agriculture, and community projects and events.

If you missed the webinar, it is available to watch on the National Grange YouTube channel.

Following the 2024 successes of programs in seven pilot states and nearly 25 Granges that received mini-grants for holiday events, the National Grange is expanding the RLI program and eligibility for all Granges.

Successful examples of past projects include senior fitness classes, building Grange awareness at a community zucchini race event, vaccination and wellness clinics, a cancer research fundraising 5K, and more.

The grant opportunities are as follows:

$1,000 Summer Grants (30 available)

  • Projects must be completed and report submitted by September 30, 2025
  • Applications reviewed as received. Must apply by July 31, 2025.

$5,000 Long-Term Grants (2 available)

  • Projects must be completed and report submitted by December 31, 2025
  • Applications are due by July 31, 2025, with notification of grant winners on August 8, 2025.

Both grant opportunities are open to either local or State Granges.

While the main grant amounts are fixed, there are additional incentives available for completing projects and submitting reports on time, and for each new member gained through your project.

What are the grant requirements?

Because RLI aims to build stronger communities across the country, there are three main components to the grants:

  • You must include at least one partner organization beyond your Grange.
  • You must submit a current membership list with the application proposal.
  • You have the flexibility to choose topics based on local needs, but:
    • Projects cannot involve building improvements or equipment purchases. Projects must focus on recruiting and engaging new members.

“We are excited to see what Granges will create for their communities,” said Hamp. “The flexibility of this grant cycle encourages Granges to truly think outside of the box and the Grange ‘norms.’ I look forward to seeing the dynamic events and powerful programs that this grant helps make possible.”

During the June 24 webinar, presenters Beth Westbrook and Nona Bear offered guidance on how local Granges can apply for these grants, develop project ideas that align with the program’s mission, and measure community impact. Participants were encouraged to think creatively and collaboratively in identifying rural needs and proposing solutions.

The tips and tricks presented also encouraged Granges to go after other community-based grants, always aiming for success.

“These grants are about investing in the people, traditions, and future of rural America,” said webinar leader Beth Westbrook, a member of the Grange Advocacy Board of Directors. “By empowering Granges to take action on local priorities—from health to heritage—we’re building stronger, more connected communities.”

To watch the full announcement, visit the National Grange YouTube channel and view the full grant requirements and submit your applications at the Rural Life Initiative page on the National Grange website.