Mill Stream Grange in Vienna has a dynamic duo of Junior Grangers! If you’ve been following recent posts, you may have noticed them.
Natalie proudly displays her well-deserved awards.
Natalie Heck recently received the Passion to Progress Award, bestowed through the Maine Academic Scholarship Pageant and presented by Rosie Haibon, USA Ambassador Miss. The award is based on her essay regarding volunteering at the Mount Vernon Food Bank this past year. Natalie also earned the Crossroads Leadership Volunteer Service Award for completing 50+ hours of community service during her reign as 2025 Miss Western Maine Pre-Teen.
We were pleased to recently feature her as a guest columnist with her award-winning Passion to Progress Essay.
Caroline and Project Advisor Jill Sampson are collecting books.
Natalie’s sister Caroline is equally ambitious and community service-minded. Caroline is working on an outreach program to raise awareness of the importance of childhood literacy. The project includes building and placing a Little Free Library TM at the Mill Stream Grange Hall. Her outreach includes designing a bookmark with statistics and facts about the importance of reading to children. These will be printed and shared locally through her Girl Scout Troop and Service Unit, in the pre-K classrooms at Mount Vernon and Cape Cod Hill elementary schools, and in Mill Stream’s Words for Thirds.
She has already collected 203 books, a mix of board books, picture books, early chapter books, and middle-grade novels, all donated by the local community. If you’d like to support Caroline’s outreach program, contact her Mom, Kirstine Heck, or visit the Vienna, Maine, Mill Stream Grange Facebook Group.
Both girls demonstrate the value and power that come from collaborating with like-minded organizations. Energy creates energy. We are grateful and proud of their efforts and accomplishments.
A third Junior Granger, Sam Hanley, recently became an adult member and will surely continue to support his friends and the community. Earlier this summer, these Junior Grangers and another friend organized a Coastal Clean-Up that brought people together to clean the banks of the Mill Stream, which gives the Grange its name. They know how much fun Community Service can be! Maybe we should all find some kids to hang around with!
Manchester Grange will hold a Craft Fair on October 25, 2025, from 9:00am to 2:00 pm.The Manchester Grange Hall is located at 953 Western Avenue in Manchester, Maine. Contact Linda Cobb for more information.
Valley Grange #144 of Guilford recently announced the schedule for its 2025 Words for Thirds Dictionary Project. The local Grange’s program is in its 21st year and has provided over 4,000 dictionaries to third-grade students in four area school districts. The presentations include some Grange history and an introduction to some basic dictionary skills.
Valley Grange Program Director Walter Boomsma notes, “In this age of technology, it’s inspiring to see the kids’ enthusiasm when getting their very own paper dictionary.” He also noted that a recent newsletter from the Dictionary Project reported that Sweden has shifted its emphasis from electronics back to “real” books, after seeing its fourth-grade reading scores tank.
“We’ve always said that third grade marks a critical difference. In earlier grades, students are learning to read. In third grade, they start reading to learn.”
Grange teams will be visiting SeDoMoCha Elementary in Dover Foxcroft on November 3rd, Ridgeview Elementary on November 5th, Brownville Elementary on November 10th, Harmony Elementary on November 12th, and Piscataquis Community Elementary on November 13th.
Boomsma notes that he particularly enjoys introducing the students to the word “steward” because it emphasizes the importance of making good use of resources, as well as the title of an officer in every Grange. “We challenge them to make good use of their new dictionaries and love hearing their ideas for how they will do that.”
Valley Grange President Jim Annis says, “For many kids, getting their dictionary is a rite of passage.” He loves telling the story of meeting two third graders who explained to him that this is the year they get their dictionaries. Last year, a student at Ridgeview expressed surprise that he was receiving a gift, even though it wasn’t his birthday.
Delegates to the 151st Annual Maine State Grange Convention had a busy few days and a lot of work to do! We’ll be sharing a few highlights. For some, even more work starts now. We’ll be updating directories, but we can at least share this list of officers elected.
Master/President, Sherry Harriman
Overseer, Adrian Mike Griffin
Lecturer, Melissa Baldwin
Steward, Ben Edgerly
Assistant Steward, Rick Grotton
Last Assistant Steward, Roberta Meserve
Chaplain, Christine Hebert
Treasurer, Laurie McBurnie
Secretary, Sharon Morton
Gatekeeper, Peter Ivers
Ceres, Judy Meserve
Pomona, Tracey Small
Flora, Debra Ivers
Executive Committee, Dale Holst (3 year term)
Appointments will be updated and shared as they are made and confirmed.
This year’s convention opens at 11 am! Since most officers, directors, and deputies will be in attendance, communication may be challenging. In website terms, we’ll be checking email as time permits, and you can expect a reply within 24 hours. That’s always our goal, and we usually beat it!
Thanks for your patience and understanding! For information about the convention, check this page.
