Tag: Grange News

Jonesboro Grange Easter Basket Festival

March 22- 24, 2024

Jonesboro Grange announces affordable family fun with a reasonably priced Easter Basket Festival!

Click to enlarge

Festival includes :

  • Free Easter Egg Hunt for ages 12 and under with 7,000+ Eggs on March 23rd1
  • Free Photos with the Easter Bunny
  • $50 Door Prize
  • 50/50 Raffle
  1. The rain date is March 24. Please bring your own collection basket, employ your eggs, and return them to our egg boxes for reuse! ↩︎

Come buy tickets to try and win fun and unique Easter Baskets! 

  • 25 (1 sheet of tickets/$0.40 per ticket) for $10 
  • 50 (2 sheets/$0.30 per ticket) for $15 
  • 75 (3 sheets/$0.26 per ticket) for $20 
  • 125 (5 sheets/$0.20 per ticket) for $25

The drawing of winning tickets will be live-streamed on Facebook at 2:30 pm.

Visit us on Facebook at Jonesboro Grange #357 or email Jonesborogrange357@gmail.com with questions! 

Jonesboro Grange Hall is located at 746 US Route 1 in Jonesboro, Maine.

Kennebec Valley Public Take-Out Dinner

April 13, 2024

Kennebec Valley Grange will offer a public take-out dinner on Saturday, April 13, 2024, from noon until the food is gone. The menu includes ham w/raisin sauce, mashed potatoes, green beans, biscuits, and carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Cost is $12.00.

For additional information, contact Diane Pinkham (207 314-5135).

Kennebec Valley Grange is located at 560 Main Street in Madison, Maine.

March Grange Events

  • March 1, 2024, Community Potluck Supper at Trenton Grange, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., 1134 Bar Harbor Road in Trenton. For more information, see this post or visit the Trenton Grange Website.
  • March 2-3, 2024, Community Bazaar (crafts, farmers’ market, yard sale…) at Trenton Grange from 9 am until 2 pm both days. For more information, see this post or visit the Trenton Grange Website.
  • March 5, 2024, Open Mic Night at Trenton Grange. Doors open at 5:30 pm, and the event is from 6:00 to 8:30 pm. $5 donation cover. Trenton Grange Website.
  • March 9, 2024 Benefit Dinner at Norway Grange at 5:00 pm. Door prizes, auction, 50/50 and more. See post for more information.
  • March 14, 2024, Deadline for the MSG Bulletin
  • March 16, 2024, Excelsior Grange Anniversary Celebration starts with lunch at 11 am. FMI see this post.
  • March 16, 2024, Junior Grange Meeting at Danville Grange. Contact Director Betty Young for more information.
  • March 18, 2024, National Grange Virtual Legislative Fly-In. Hear from Grange leaders, representatives from Congress, and issues partners about what the Grange is working on for all of rural America. Register at http://grange.biz/flyin2024.
  • March 18-22, 2024, Agricultural Literacy Week
  • March 19, 2024, Ag Day with the Maine Legislature. Donations of fudge are needed! Contact Roberta Meserve, Ag Director for more information.

Have you submitted yours?

Mill Stream Grange Gives Words

On February 1st, Mill Stream Grange members Lisa Goucher and Jill Sampson presented dictionaries to the two 3rd-grade classes at the Cape Cod Hill Elementary School. It was a lively group with much discussion about the different information included in the dictionaries. Sign language and the longest word were favorites with the students. 

Did you know the longest word in the dictionary has over 1900 letters in it!?

On January 31, Lisa Goucher (back row middle) and Jill Sampson (back on right) of Mill Stream Grange presented dictionaries to Mrs. Watkins’s third-grade class at the Mt. Vernon Elementary School. After discussing the page on sign language, the students stood to sign their own names to the class. All the students were very enthusiastic about the different information available in the dictionary. 

“Words for Thirds” is a signature program for the Grange. It provides third graders with their own student dictionary. To learn more, watch this short video!

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.

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.

Castine Granger Honored

Basil Clements receives his eighty-year certificate

“That’s a lot of years,” Basil said when he received his certificate from Maine State Grange Communications Director Walter Boomsma in a “sort of” Grange Meeting held at Emilio Estates in Corinth. While distance has prevented active involvement, Basil speaks of his Grange membership every day, and his room is decorated with certificates and Grange memorabilia.

Front Row: RN Breanna, Basil Clements
Back Row: Walter Boomsma, with Valley Grange Members Janice Boomsma, Mary Annis, and Jim Annis

The “sort of” meeting was attended by a support team from Valley Grange, several of Basil’s nurses and Emilio staff, a niece and her husband, and at least one resident of Emilio Estates. Boomsma explained that since circumstances have put some distance between Basil and his home Grange in Castine, Valley Grange has adopted him. “But we aren’t charging you dues.” Basil noted proudly that, as a Golden Sheaf (fifty-year) member, he hasn’t paid dues for some years but recalled when he did pay them, they charge was $1.25 per year. He also wasn’t sure when he last attended a meeting.

“So we brought a meeting to you,” Boomsma explained, conducting some of the opening and closing ritual, including the familiar Grange Salutation. During the meeting, Basil’s nurse, Breanna Bowman, was also presented with a special Certificate of Appreciation for her assistance with the meeting preparations and support. “You demonstrate Grange Values, and we are now considering you an ‘almost’ Granger.”

In good Grange fashion, the event included some socializing. When the event ended, Boomsma noted, “We’re Grangers. This is what we do. We take care of our communities, and we take care of each other.”

Those who would like to send Basil a card of congratulations may do so by addressing it to Basil Clements, Emilio Estates, 65 W Corinth Road,
Corinth, ME 04427. He first joined the Grange on March 20, 1943 and will begin his 81st year soon!

  • David and niece Linda
  • Walter and Basil enjoy a moment
  • The Valley Grange Team with Breanna and Basil
  • Walter, Nurses
  • Basil’s 80 Year Certificate

Grange Strong T-shirt Available

This National Grange’s #GrangeStrong shirt fundraiser will run online only through February 23. Orders will be delivered in mid-March in time for Grange Month. These items and colors were the top choices in our recent survey available on social media and the Patrons Chain.

Information and Order Form

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.

Junior Grange December Meeting Held

By Marilyn Stinson

Maine State Junior Grange #17 met at Danville Junction on December 16, 2023, for their monthly meeting and to work on a Community Service Project.

The Junior Salutation is: “Junior Grange Members will be true to each other and keep their pledge.”

Committee members helped fill the chairs as they opened the meeting the traditional way, then worked through the order of business, stopping now and then to explain or discuss a procedure for new people, and closed with the alternative way. The alternative is a shorter form.

After the Pledge of Allegiance, the kids learned that there is no punctuation between “one nation” and “under God.” It is all one phrase, and we shouldn’t pause at that point when we are saying it. Anyone having difficulty using God’s name can just omit it.

Many thanks to Kathy Gowen for helping us with our Junior Salutation. She remembers the hand clasp and crossing the arms and hands over our chests for it. Since we seldom say or do it, we have difficulty remembering it.

In 2023, we earned $547.00 in Fair Premiums (used for the trip to Niagara) and discussed possible themes for the coming year. The National Junior Grange theme for the coming year is ‘Corn,’ and we can do some crafts and print our learning experiences for displays. Maine State Lecturer’s Theme is ‘Hands,’ and we can easily follow that theme. We use the fair displays to explain and promote Juniors and our activities and give the kids an opportunity to show off their art and craft talents. Any poetry they’ve written goes to the State Lecturer by March 1st.

Director Betty brought material home from the National Session and, during the Lecturer’s Program, shared information with us. Also, for the Lecturer’s Program, Edith recited a poem she memorized called “Dragonette Prophesy” and sang a dragon song. The kids attending the meeting shared their “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” poster and song while Director Betty signed it. Ta Da!!! Good for them!

After closing, we went downstairs to make fleece scarves for the Lewiston Homeless. Other Juniors around the state can get together in their Granges and make similar scarves for the cold in their areas. Because we are so spread out, helping their local Community Granges with their services seems the easiest way to work out that problem. 

Our meetings are scheduled for the 3rd Saturday monthly, and our January meeting will be at MSG Headquarters in Augusta on January 20th.

Please let the Junior committee know about any +1 Juniors your subordinates have accepted. We need their contact information!