President’s Perspective – January 2025

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

Degrees in your Grange

There have been questions about the Degree Days and who can do them. Any Grange may confer all Four Degrees in one day, at any time during the year, but permission is required from the State Master beforehand. However, each Grange is entitled to confer the Degrees in their own Granges at their own convenience. To “confer degrees” means initiatory ceremonies giving instruction and information about the Grange. You may confer 1 or 2 degrees at one meeting, then confer 1 or 2 more at the next meeting, and so on until you complete all Four Degrees. (The word Degree refers to a level of the Grange and is based on the four seasons and agriculture. The first Four Degrees bring you into Subordinate or Community Grange membership.) The meeting must be open in full form for any balloting and conferral of any Degree. The candidates must be balloted on prior to the conferral of the degree. Following the Grange Manual. (2023 is the newest version but the Degrees in all the manuals are the same.) The Degrees are very impressive if done from memory, but this may not work for everyone. Have each officer read the part for the office where they are seated, marching candidates are encouraged but it can be done with everyone seated, follow the instructions as you go along. Everyone can participate in this manner and learn the lessons of the Degrees at the same time.

Have a safe winter. Check on your neighbors and give a hand wherever you can.

Membership Moments – January 2025

By Rick Grotton,
Membership Committee Director
207 582-5915

Have you made plans for the New Year for your Grange? Membership should be a top priority in achieving your goals for the year. Without members, we have no Grange. New ideas, new discussions, and new members are always needed. So, here is a list you and your Grange must consider:

BE ACTIVE. Plan events accordingly and remind members and nonmembers of your meeting times. Committees should be set up and working.
REACH OUT. Let the Community and town know what you are doing and request help from them to plan community events. Keep the community up-to-date with projects and offer assistance.
COMMUNICATION. Keep your members informed and practice your floorwork so that visitors will know that you are solid in tradition and rituals. Make a good impression. All members should know what is happening in your Grange. Maybe create a town newsletter or join a community newspaper.
LISTEN. Hear what your members and the Community have to say. Improvements are always needed from within or from outside of Grange. Write down their thoughts.
BE POSITIVE. Always make your meetings productive and inspirational to create enthusiasm. Talk highly of your Grange to nonmembers. Encourage them to join by being upbeat, positive, and enthusiastic.
NEW MEMBERSHIP. Create a membership committee or encourage all members to bring in new members. Make a contest to see who can bring in (and keep) the most new members during a period of time. Have fun in your quest for new members.

Make a plan to set goals for the upcoming year, incorporating the above references. Keep up the good work!

Please have a member read these columns at a regular or Pomona meeting so that ALL members will be informed. Reading these columns will spark some ideas to help with your membership drive.

Chaplain’s View – January 2025

Christine Hebert, MSG Chaplain
(207) 743-5277

Going forward in the new year, let us remember to be kind to one another, spreading love, joy, happiness, and faith. Let us have faith enough so we can hope for anything we want. Why not hope for kindness, joy, happiness, and love?

Being kind to one another is showing love.

“And now abideth faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love.”

I Corinthians 13:13

Happy New Year!

An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.

Bill Vaughan

Wishing you the magic and joys…

Happy Holidays Christmas Sign

Grange Heirloom — December 2024

Grange Heirlooms are snippets from the lessons of the Grange as taught in the Rituals and Declaration of Purposes.

Use the icons below to share this Grange Heirloom on social media and help others understand what the Grange stands for! If this heirloom has a particular meaning for you, click the “leave a comment” link at the left and share your comment with us!

For additional information and resources regarding the Heirloom Program, visit the Heirloom Resource Page on the Maine State Grange Website.

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!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We would worry less if we praised more. Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent and dissatisfaction.

Henry Allen Ironside

Best wishes for a happy and thankful Thanksgiving!

The Thanksgiving Reader is a fun activity about gratitude, family, and possibility. It was created several years ago by Seth Godin to”bring people together to not only celebrate the end of the harvest but to look one in another in the eye and share something magical.” It’s absolutely free, simple and easy! Check it out!

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.

Celebrate Veterans

elderly man hanging american flag by the window
Photo by Mike Jones on Pexels.com

Here are some ideas for celebrating our veterans on their special day that don’t require much planning.

  • Visit a Veterans Memorial or Cemetery. Contrary to some social media posts, Veterans Day honors both fallen and living Veterans. Memorial Day is meant to honor those who paid the ultimate price.
  • Serve the Veteran Community by volunteering or donating. You can combine this with your visit!
  • Go to a Veterans Day event. It may take some searching, or you could create your own. Put up a flag!
  • Create a moment of silence. A simple but powerful activity would involve concentrating on what our veterans make possible for us all.

These and some additional ideas are available at Veteran Life.