Tag: Grange Activities

Words for Thirds by any other name

While the Grange calls it “Words for Thirds,” many organizations and businesses are involved in The Dictionary Project. Heather Rank of the Fargo-Moorhead Rotary Club provided a wonderful video demonstrating their efforts. We think it’s great that a kid does the interviews! It gets a little noisy in places, so you may want to turn on closed captioning.

If your Grange is not involved in Words for Thirds, you miss a huge opportunity! There are so many benefits, and it’s fun! Check out our pages of resources to help. Let us know if you’re interested or have any questions. The third-graders in your community are waiting!

Valley Grange Dictionary Days

Valley Grange is proud to have handed out close to 250 dictionaries to third-graders this year. That puts us well over 4,000 since starting the program several decades ago. Enjoy some photos of this year’s program.

Dictionary Days are fun because learning is fun!

If your Grange is interested in starting a Words for Thirds Dictionary Program, complete the form below. No obligation!

Name of person submitting
Email address of person submitting
What position, if any, you currently hold.

Brownville Students Gain Words!

Valley Grange is located in Guilford, Maine

BROWNVILLE — Grade 3 students at the Brownville Elementary School now have thousands of words and accompanying definitions at their fingertips, along with other assorted facts. The pupils do not need to worry about charged laptops or cellphones to access this information, as each of the nearly 50 youngsters now has their very own dictionary thanks to Valley Grange No. 144 of Guilford...

Check out this amazing article in the Piscataquis Observer about the words for Thirds Dictionary Day in Brownville Elementary School!

Last Call!

By Walter Boomsma

Well, at least for now! We still have some confirming to do, but it looks like at least ten Granges in Maine are participating in the Words for Thirds Program.

  • Chelsea Grange #215
  • East Madison Grange #228
  • Evening Star Grange #183
  • Farmington Grange #12
  • Hollis Grange #132
  • Maple Grave Grange #148
  • Mill Stream Grange #574
  • Old Town Riverside Grange #273 (unconfirmed)
  • Valley Grange #144
  • Waterford Grange #479

Thanks to the folks who have answered the call and provided information. If you still haven’t, just complete this simple form!

    Our resource page is shaping up nicely and should be ready to release in a week or so. It includes a customized logo for participating Granges, many sample documents such as a letter for parents, press releases, media advisories, and a sample presentation outline.

    We owe a special thanks to Mary French, Director of the Dictionary Project, for her enthusiasm and support of this effort!

    Valley Grange and Local Schools Celebrate Dictionary Day

    Guilford–A team of Valley Granger members led by Walter Boomsma is delivering nearly 250 dictionaries to local area schools during the next several weeks. “We have a lot to celebrate,” he noted, “third graders in the area are celebrating tools, words, and the importance of learning and getting their own dictionary to keep.”

    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 connections and cooperation within the community are exactly what the Grange hopes to facilitate. “We’re all about building strong kids and communities,” 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. These are usually given to the school nurse for kids needing little help staying warm.”

    “The kids get excited about the books, but I think for most, it’s about more than just getting a dictionary. It’s also about seeing that organizations and individuals in the community care for each of them and want them to succeed.”

    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.

    Coming Soon-Another Resource!

    By Walter Boomsma, MSG Communications Director

    For many Granges, the fall season includes a Words for Thirds Dictionary Program. (“Words for Thirds” is the phrase coined by the Grange to represent participation in The Dictionary Project.)

    Your Communications Department is working on some additional resources for Granges that are providing dictionaries to local schools. In anticipation of releasing these resources, it would be helpful to know which Granges in Maine plan on holding dictionary days during the Grange Year 2024-25.

    So far, we’ve created a list based mainly on what the folks at the Dictionary Project have listed, supplemented by previous website submissions. I think (hope!) it’s incomplete. Those Granges include:

    • Chelsea Grange #215
    • East Madison Grange #228
    • Maple Grove Grange #148
    • Mill Stream Grange #574
    • Old Town Riverside Grange #273
    • Valley Grange #144

    Words for Thirds was once a “signature” community service project for Granges. One of our resources is an article by The Dictionary Project’s Director, Mary French, explaining why it is still relevant today–perhaps even more than it was in the past.

    It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of this program. Valley Grange has reaped many benefits from providing dictionaries in our area for nearly two decades. This will be our twentieth year! We don’t do it as a fundraiser, but it sure helps us with it!

    Enthusiasm and communication are key elements. We’ll help with communication resources! You can help by letting me know about your participation. That includes what challenges you are facing, ideas you may have, etc. Right now, I’m especially interested in learning who is participating or considering it!

    Simple! Fill out the form below—don’t forget to press [submit] at the bottom! Thanks for your help and support!

    Name of person submitting
    Email address of person submitting
    What position, if any, you currently hold.

    Answer This Question!

    Line drawing with questions

    I have been thinking about ways to give back to my community, and I am curious about what the Grange Halls’ main functions are today. There is a great deal of information regarding the history of the Grange Hall but not much about what the purpose is today. I have talked with a Grange member and know that they provide educational scholarships and hold public suppers to raise money but beyond that I am not sure.

    Website Visitor Lisa

    (Answer provided by Walter Boomsma, Maine State Grange Communications Director. But local Granges should also be providing their own answers. Make your interests, events, and programs known.)

    Thank you for your question and desire to give back to your community. The answer to your question is an example of how sometimes an organization’s greatest strength is its greatest weakness.

    The Grange is a grassroots organization and, therefore, a very diverse organization. In a general and national sense, the Grange has a “Declaration of Purposes,” but within that framework, local Granges tend to have different focuses and interests. A correct but not very helpful answer to the question could be “It depends.”

    For example, I can think of Granges that are focused on being a community center and providing a home to community resources and hosting events. A number of Granges sponsor a “Words for Thirds” Program by providing personal dictionaries to third graders in local schools. Some Granges provide entertainment ranging from concerts to open mics and craft fairs. Given the Grange’s strong agricultural roots, some Granges focus on supporting farms and farmers in their area. Knitting and sewing activities and classes are not uncommon. It really does depend on the interests and commitments of the local members.

    That variety means a local Grange is open to new programs and ventures. I’ve occasionally said, “If you have a passion, we have the place.” Originally, the Grange was about supporting and strengthening the American Farmer. Our purpose has expanded to supporting and strengthening our communities and residents of all ages. Any member with an idea for doing that can expect an opportunity to use the hall and Grange resources to achieve a greater sense of community.

    An eye to the future would see additional possibilities that go beyond the physical Grange Hall as technology expands the definition of “community.” When the Grange first formed, farm families hooked up their horses and wagons to meet at Grange halls both for socializing and for learning together. The community was defined by how far one could comfortably travel in a horse and wagon. While the local and in-person aspects will always be a bedrock of the Grange, the impact of a local Grange program can readily and quickly reach much farther.

    We need to keep asking what we can do and what we want to do while honoring our motto: “In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things charity.”

    Your Grange’s Position

    by Walter Boomsma
    Occasional Talking Head and Cage Rattler

    The talking heads – and admittedly I am sometimes one of them – love buzzwords and catchphrases like “elevator speeches” and “value propositions.” Then we can ask “What’s your [fill in the blank]?”

    As a talking head, I’d suggest that elevator speeches and value propositions create an internal focus. As a cage rattler, I have a different question.

    Where does your community Grange fit into your community’s infrastructure?

    “Infrastructure” is the set of facilities and systems that serve an area. Without digging too deep, hard infrastructure tends to be seen as physical-buildings, roads, etc. Soft infrastructure is all the institutions that maintain the economic, health, social, environmental, and cultural standards of an area.

    Don’t get too overwhelmed.

    We often talk about how important it is for a Grange to be relevant to its community. Maybe it’s time to think of our Granges as part of our community’s infrastructure. The Grange Hall falls under the category of hard infrastructure. The Grange is an institution that maintains the economic, health, social, environmental, and cultural standards of an area.

    Or at least it used to.

    How easy it is to take the infrastructure for granted…

    What would happen if tomorrow you woke up and all the street signs in your area had disappeared? You lost some hard infrastructure. Or, suppose you decided to go to the library, and it was closed and boarded up? You lost some soft infrastructure–the building is still there, but the institution is gone. You might miss it for a while, particularly when you drive by the vacant building. Maybe your GPS will replace the need for street signs. The internet might substitute for the library.

    Or maybe not.

    Some years ago I talked with a school guidance counselor who expressed his frustration. His impression was that there were many resources available–the problem was finding them. He was happy to learn about what the Grange was doing and could do. But his question was “Why didn’t I know about this?!”

    We attempted to develop a directory of community resources. It became part of the infrastructure describing the infrastructure!

    If you’re a Granger (although that’s not a requirement) find a community leader and ask the question, “What’s missing in our community?”

    Then figure out how to fill the void.

    Voids create pain. You’ll get more members when you find people who share that pain and who feel the need to provide the missing infrastructure.

    Here’s a not-too-creative example. Those monthly potluck suppers might be about fundraising, but we’re also starting to see monthly community suppers, sometimes free, provided by volunteers and donations. They are offered in part to address food insecurity but also to provide an opportunity for people to come together simply to be together, enjoy, and know each other. That’s pain relief, and it’s also infrastructure.

    We have at least one Grange in Maine that has other organizations meeting in their hall nearly every night of the week. That’s infrastructure. That community has the hard and soft infrastructure that supports the efforts of non-profits like Alcoholics Anonymous, blood drives, birthday parties, and even celebrations of life.

    What’s missing in your community? If you don’t know, start asking the question of your friends and neighbors. What’s one thing our community really needs! I’ll bet you get a lot of interest and dialog. Try it!

    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!

    Important Stuff!

    Degree Days and Major Events
    • April 25, 2026, ODDs (Officers, Deputies, Directors) Workshop and Ice Cream Social, 2 PM – 4 PM at MSG Headquarters. FMI Contact Master Sherry.
    • April 26, 2026, Androscoggin Pomona Grange Degree Day at Manchester Grange. For more information.
    • April 29, 2026, Sagadahoc Pomona will be meeting, but Degree Work has been canceled.

    The Maine State Grange Office is located at 36 Anthony Avenue, Suite 102, Augusta, ME 04330. The email address is mainestategrange@gmail.com.