Patrons of Husbandry – a website dedicated to the Granges located in Maine
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.
This one-hour, moderated webinar will present one woman’s lived experience with managing her adult son’s mental illness and overcoming barriers to mental healthcare in rural Wisconsin and a community psychiatrist sharing her expertise in treating patients in rural America.
Gleaned from the Annual Report
Community Service Notebook Contest Winners
First Place: Highland Lake Grange #87
Second Place: Maple Grove #148
Third Place: Jonesboro Grange #357
Tied for Fourth Place: Valley Grange #144 and Saco Grange #53
Of 84 Subordinate Granges, ten reports were submitted. We are required to have a 25% participation rate to receive monetary support from the National Grange. We did not make it this year.
There were no entries for EMT/Firefighter/Educator of the Year and no entries for Granger of the Year. Previous Grangers of the Year included:
2017 – 2018 Victoria Huff
2018 – 2019 Ann Burns
2019 – 2020 Walter Boomsma
2020 – 2021 Rebekah Hodgson
2021 – 2022 John Cox Jr.
Family Health and Hearing Contest Winner
Highland Lake Grange #87
The delegate body elected the following officers during the 150th Maine State Grange Convention.
Master, Sherry Harriman
Overseer, Mike Griffin
Lecturer, Missy Baldwin
Steward, Ben Edgerly
Assistant Steward, Rick Grotton
Lady Assistant Steward, Roberta Meserve
Chaplain, Christine Hebert
Treasurer, Laurie McBurnie
Secretary, Sharon Morton
Gatekeeper, Peter Ivers
Ceres, Betty Huff
Pomona, Kathy Gowen
Flora, Deborah Ivers
Executive Committee, James Meserve – 4-year term
Directors and Committee Chairs will be announced upon receipt of information. If you have been elected or appointed, please be certain that we have your contact information by checking the online officer directory.
A complete summary of the State Session will come in several forms over some period of time. Of course, the official is the Journal of Proceedings, which will be posted when received.
A first priority is the Master’s Address, in part because it’s easy to do! In fact, it’s done! Click this link to download and print a copy of the Master’s Address!
Second are the results of the election. It may, however, be a while before directories are updated with complete contact information. Gathering that information tends to be the biggest challenge. If you were elected or appointed to an office, it will speed things up if you send me your email address and phone number!
Third are the “missing” annual reports. (Some are not available until the state session. You can check the program books and information page. I should have all reports that I’ve received uploaded within a day or two of this post.)
Fourth are the results of the three resolutions considered by the delegates.
Fifth will be some things I’ve requested from people. One example is the MSG history facts prepared by Margaret Morse as “filler” during the elections while counts were being done. Some were very interesting!
Things may not appear in exactly the order given, but my goal is to have at least one through four completed before the end of this week (October 28, 2023).
If you subscribe to the site, you’ll get an email when new posts are made! Thanks to the delegate who told me he loves how easy it is to get information from the site, especially the emails!
Lastly, please continue to submit your events! When I have multiple submissions, I prioritize local Grange events and news first. You matter! Use the submit tab, or send an email!
The most recent Grange Membership Year runs from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023.
According to the Membership Annual Report, 19 Granges in Maine had net gains that year, taking in some 75 members.
The top three membership gains were:
Congratulations and well done! Wow!
Are you aware of any “Wows” (new members, funds raised, successful events, other accomplishments) we should announce? Send a few details!
By Walter Boomsma,
MSG Communications Director
207 343-1842
Communication Shorts are brief (short) but important items posted for your information and use. Send us your ideas and thoughts!
The October Bulletin is complete and available for downloading and printing. However, with the State Convention happening this week, there may be some delay with the actual mailing. Remember, you can always find recent issues of the Bulletin on the Program Books and Information Page.
Are you planning a holiday event such as a Craft Fair or Party? Don’t forget to submit the details for a website post and event calendar listing!
You can request a Maine Absentee Ballot online. Election Day is November 7, 2023.
Rory Feek of Plain Values Magazine recently wrote an article on gardening and included a photo of his daughter’s “rolling garden.” It’s a child-sized “box” on wheels with child-sized “tools” kept on a port or deck. What a great idea! A Grange could make some as a fundraiser… provide a version for senior citizens… put your thinking caps on!
Between what I think, what I want to say, what I believe I say, what I say, what you want to hear, what you believe to hear, what you hear, what you want to understand, what you think you understand, what you understand…They are ten possibilities that we might have some problem communicating. But let’s try anyway…
Bernard Werber
The world wants to hear about it! Fill out the simple I Love the Grange Form… it only takes a couple of minutes! Thanks to all who have shared so far!
“FOMO” is, of course, a Fear Of Missing Out. One strongly recommended treatment is to subscribe to the Maine State Grange Website. We’ll send you a daily summary whenever news and columns are posted, and we won’t share your email address with anyone!
By Betty Young
MSG Junior Director
Some of the Junior Grangers will be attending the State Session and will be presenting a short program on reducing, reusing, and recycling, concluding with a song. We are slowly adding new members. Remember, the State Junior Grange is open to any child or grandchild of a subordinate member. Currently, we only have one Junior Grange for the state, so I try to plan meetings in central locations with a few farther North and some farther South. Wouldn’t it be great to have enough to have a northern and a southern Junior Grange?
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By Rick Grotton,
Membership Committee Director
207 582-5915
Brothers and Sisters, for many months now, this column has been giving to you ways to approach gaining new members. Hopefully, this advice has worked well with your Grange. Just remember the following:
There is no “I” in Grange or in team. No one should be a dictator or make rules based on their own ideas. This causes animosity and disrespect. Everyone has a duty, and all members are important no matter the office held. WE are the Grange, and our ideas need to be heard and discussed. Otherwise, we will be losing more Granges.
Be active. Plan events and help your community. Let people know you are alive and well.
Let the committees do their work. If you are the Master/President of your Grange, please do not give committees an agenda. Let them come up with ideas to present at meetings. The Master/President is a facilitator, not the ruler. This applies to all levels of the Grange. Do not overstep your authority. “My way or the highway” is absolutely unacceptable and should be avoided. Anyone who rules this way does not have the interest of the Grange in mind. Let all members become involved. Not all of us are leaders and those who do lead need to do it for the Good of the Order (GOTO), not because they say so.
We need to develop new leaders and inform them of the rituals and traditions of the Grange.
Stay positive. Keep doing your good works.
Help one another. Teach your new members and welcome them. Answer their questions.
Visit other Granges and work with them. The days of visitation and mentoring have faded and need to be revived. Share with other members your successes, and if a Grange is struggling, it is the duty of the Pomona to help them. It seems like Granges are “doing their own thing” and do not visit or attend State Grange. We need every one of you to keep us alive.
Resolutions are an important part of the Grange procedure. Instruct members on how important it is to come up with resolutions and how to write them. Confer with your Deputy on instructions for floor work and other procedures. It is their duty to help you.
Major changes are happening to us, and we need to keep up and change too. We are severely lacking youth and younger members. Focus on bringing them in as members.
Remember, each and every member is vital to our Grange growth, and membership should be your major priority. Bring ’em in, feed ’em, teach ’em, and enjoy your meetings. It is what a good Grange member is expected to do.