Tag: Grange Activities

Lecturer’s Column – September 2023

By Margaret Morse, Maine State Grange Lecturer
207 439-0413

As the days rush towards October and the State Grange session, it may be time to look over the photos you have taken during the last year and decide which ones you are going to enter into the photo contest.  The categories for this year are water, animals, winter, and gardens. All photos must be turned in to the lecturer’s table no later than 2 p.m. on October 20, 2023. The photography contest is open to all Grangers and Junior Grangers as well as children and grandchildren of Subordinate members. The photographer must select the category for the entry and may enter as many photos in a single category as they wish. Entries, including matting or backing, must be no smaller than 4”x 6” and no larger than 11”x 14”. Frames and glass are NOT permitted.

Also, this year, the adult coloring contest is still open for all who find coloring challenging and/or relaxing. All entries must be from an adult coloring book and must be no smaller than 4”x 6” and no larger than 11”x 14”.

The Art contest for Junior Grangers will also be judged at this time. The mediums that will be judged include oils & acrylics, watercolors, charcoal or pencil, markers or crayons.

The photography,  coloring, and junior art contest entries will be judged against each other based on composition and arrangement,  presentation, and technique.  Junior Granger’s work will be judged in three age groups: 5 – 7, 8 – 10, and 11 – 14.

The photos will be judged during the afternoon of October 20, and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place will be awarded, as well as Best in Show. Also, again this year, a people’s choice will be awarded based on members’ voting.

President’s Perspective – September 2023

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

Wow, State Grange is a month and a half away, October 20 and 21. Our National Representatives will be Cindy Greer, Ceres of the National Grange, and Harry Greer, Overseer/VP of the Colorado State Grange, both long-time Grange members and are looking forward to being with us again.  Information about our guests can be found on our website under State Session, along with other session information such as schedule and meal registration form.

Meal tickets are to be purchased in advance; form and money are due by Oct. 5. Remember, if your Subordinate and/or Pomona Grange plans to or wants to have two voting delegates at State Session:

  1. Your Grange MUST vote by name on the people to be delegates and alternates at a regular meeting prior to the session. Two delegates and two alternates are to be selected.
  2. Delegates must be members or affiliate members of your Grange. You may only represent the Subordinate or Pomona Grange, where you are a member. 
  3. You may represent your Subordinate and Pomona Grange and have one vote for each.
  4. You may NOT represent 2 Subordinates or Pomonas.
  5. Register that person or persons using the Delegate form provided to your secretary.
  6. The form must be signed by the Master or Secretary of the Grange.
  7. Your Grange’s quarterly dues must be paid up to date or brought with you to registration to be eligible to vote.
  8. You can’t just show up expecting to vote on the resolutions, elections, or any other business without the proper paperwork being submitted. NO exceptions.
  9. Anyone may attend the session just are not allowed to vote but may participate in discussions. You may pick up your program books for your Grange if there is not a delegate.
  10. This is a full election year. Anyone may be elected to any State Grange office, you do not have to be a delegate to be elected.  However, only a delegate may present names for consideration. (You must become a Fifth and Sixth Degree member if not already a member in those levels.) 

Another reminder or nag: a few more than half of you have provided your 2024 Roster information.  Even if there were no changes, a report or email needs to be sent. During the order of business, the Master asks, “Have the reports to the Pomona and State Granges been duly and promptly made?” This includes this and any request for information. If you are changing the time or day you meet, this needs to be voted on in a regular Grange meeting and approved by the State Master before it can officially take effect! 

In addition to the Roster, State Session and budget and other items I work on, I am working on getting a new database completed. I am typing in all the information for our 82 Granges, 2,359  names, addresses and other information into a more user friendly format that can be accessed without internet. When I get the information compiled, I will be sending copies to the Grange Secretaries for corrections, additions and deletions. Yes, I can hear the grumbles already, but it needs to be done, if I am spending this much time putting it back together from older versions provided by the State Secretary, then your assistance is greatly appreciated. Each of you, as an individual member, can help by checking your information, is your name spelled correctly, is your address up to date then please correct whatever may be required. I am most interested in the date you joined the Grange, many of the dates are not listed. Some are listed as Golden Sheaf members (50 years of continuous membership) but do not list the date of joining only “Y” or “YN” in the GS (Golden Sheaf) column. “Y” indicates Golden Sheaf membership before Jan 1, 2001 and the Maine State Grange does not pay dues to National Grange on those members. “YN” indicates Golden Sheaf membership attained after Jan 1, 2001 and the Maine State Grange must pay dues to National Grange on those members.  Most Granges exempt all Golden Sheaf (50 year) members from paying dues to their respective Granges and the Maine State Grange  does not charge dues on any Golden Sheaf member but the Maine State Grange must still pay dues to National on them. 

I’m going to backtrack a little, September is the time of the new Grange year beginnings with installations, making plans for the coming year and setting goals. This is also the time for year-end wrap-ups such as your annual audit, reports to be submitted (to your Grange, Pomona and State), and a time to evaluate last year’s activities, events, and goals, what was successful and what was lacking. There are very few Installation Teams or Installing Officers traveling, so I encourage each Grange to do their own Installation. There is an Alternative Installation Ceremony  (half the words) in the new Manual which can be read with one or two people in charge and working with the members present. It is impressive to have it memorized however many people, like myself, cannot memorize charges any longer. By reading it with appropriate feeling and enunciation, it comes across very nicely. The original ceremony in also still in the manual if you are so inclined. We have manuals at the office for sale.

Congratulations and welcome to all the Officers & Members, new and seasoned, and I wish you all much success for the coming year. 

The National Grange annual session will be November in Niagara Falls, New York hosted by the Northeast Region of States. All are welcome to attend.

Communication Shorts 9-1-2023

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!

September Bulletin Reminder

Columns from ODDs (Officers, Directors, and Deputies) are due no later than September 14, 2023. Remember, you can always find recent issues of the Bulletin on the Program Books and Information Page.

Monroe Classic

As a reminder, the Grange Store by Monroe Classic, Inc. offers fundraising programs, custom printed apparel, promotional items, awards, signs, banners, and awards.

What Can You Say Other than “WOW!”

 Recently, one of the most visited posts was “High Season Market at Ocean View Grange! One thing that makes this especially interesting is that the post covers an event that already happened! Should Granges be doing more markets? Two others that stand out are Tunes at Tranquility and the post about Mill Stream Grange’s Tool Lending Library. Should Granges be sponsoring more concerts and creating more lending libraries?

Article About Grange and Other Halls in Maine

The Maine Monitor recently published an article entitled “Saving the Halls and Granges that House So Much of Our Heritage.” We’re particularly proud of the fact the author depended upon and quoted from the Maine State Grange Website!

Ideas for Granges

Why not publish an annual report of your Grange’s accomplishments? You could even offer them for inclusion in your town’s annual report! It could be based on either a calendar year, the Grange Year, or the school year.

2023-2024 Events Calendar

This is a great time to start planning your programs and events for the next Grange Year. Please submit the information for posting on the MSG Website Calendar.

Thought for You…

Let’s be honest; it’s rather easy to be busy. We all can think up a list of tasks that will overwhelm our schedules. Some might even think that their self-worth depends on the length of their to-do list. They flood the open spaces in their time with lists of meetings and minutia – even during times of stress and fatigue.

Dieter F. Uchdorf

Do You Love the Grange?

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!

Online Directories Available 24-7

  • The ODD Directory features all state officers, directors, and deputies with contact information.
  • The Directory of Granges features all Granges in the state with a contact person. Please make sure your listing is correct!

Do You Have FOMO?

“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!

Subscribe to the Maine State Grange Website

Maine at the National Convention

by Deb Ivers, Maine Host Coordinator

Maine will be co-hosting the Hospitality Room on Saturday, November 18, 2023, with Vermont. The hotel will allow us to bring in homemade goods such as cookies, bars, or snack food. All homemade items must be wrapped or packaged before being sent to NY. Pre-purchased individually packaged food or snack items would also be greatly appreciated. Please contact Rick Grotton if you or your Grange have items to donate.

We will need volunteers to work in shifts in the Hospitality Room that day, along with helping with Registration.

The Northeast states, including Maine, are collecting new, unused socks, hats, and mittens as this Year’s Community Service project at the National Grange Convention. The collected hats, socks, and mittens or monetary donations will be donated to the Community Missions of Niagara, which serves a vulnerable population of individuals in the Niagara Falls community that, through a variety of circumstances, have been underserved, marginalized, overlooked, and challenging in their presentations and behaviors. The hats, socks, and mittens can be handmade or purchased but must be new and unused. These items can be brought to the Maine State Grange Convention in October or arrangements can be made to collect them before the National Grange Convention.

If you are planning to go to this year’s National Grange Convention and would like to volunteer to help on Saturday, please call or text me at (207) 450-0646 or email me. (Click on my name at the top of this post.)

Communication Shorts 8-15-2023

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!

August Bulletin Reminder

The August Bulletin is now available for download and printing. Remember, you can always find recent issues of the Bulletin on the Program Books and Information Page.

National Grange Lecturers’ Newsletter

It’s not just for lecturers! Here’s a link to the third quarter issue of “A Quarter’s Worth.” Take a look! Thanks to MSG Lecturer Margaret Morse for sharing!

What Can You Say Other than “WOW!”

 For the second full week in August, the most visited post was “High Season Market at Ocean View Grange! One thing that makes this especially interesting is that the post covers an event that already happened! Should Granges be doing more markets?

Article About Grange and Other Halls in Maine

The Maine Monitor recently published an article entitled “Saving the Halls and Granges that House So Much of Our Heritage.” We’re particularly proud of the fact the author depended upon and quoted from the Maine State Grange Website!

Ideas for Granges

See this month’s Communications Column! Why not publish an annual report of your Grange’s accomplishments? You could even offer them for inclusion in your town’s annual report!

2023-2024 Events Calendar

This is a great time to start planning your programs and events for the next Grange Year. Please submit the information for posting on the MSG Website Calendar.

Thought for You…

Let’s be honest; it’s rather easy to be busy. We all can think up a list of tasks that will overwhelm our schedules. Some might even think that their self-worth depends on the length of their to-do list. They flood the open spaces in their time with lists of meetings and minutia – even during times of stress and fatigue.

Dieter F. Uchdorf

Do You Love the Grange?

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!

Online Directories Available 24-7

  • The ODD Directory features all state officers, directors, and deputies with contact information.
  • The Directory of Granges features all Granges in the state with a contact person. Please make sure your listing is correct!

Do You Have FOMO?

“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!

Subscribe to the Maine State Grange Website

Exploring Traditions – August 2023

Meandering Around the Grange Way of Life

Where do I find a Manual?

By Walter Boomsma, Guest Columnist

Recently, there have been some questions regarding sources of information for meetings and rituals. The fundamental source is the Subordinate Grange Manual (SGM). So where do we find one of those?

First, a few words about the SGM. Technically, “Grange Manuals are sold only to Grange units themselves and are never sold to individuals. They must remain the property of the Grange and, as such, should always be accounted for by the Worthy Steward of said Grange.” While that’s true in principle, it is not so much so in practice. If you don’t tell anyone, I’ll share that one of my treasured possessions is an SGM published in 1908 that belonged to a relative. His name is written in the front, and many handwritten notes throughout the book. I guess the rules haven’t been strictly enforced for some time. I occasionally see them offered for sale on eBay.

The SGM contains much of the “ritual” used throughout the Grange: procedures for opening and closing a Grange Meeting, conferring the First Four Degrees, and installing officers. There’s even a Grange Burial Service. I recently had the distinct honor of conducting one!

We can think of the SGM as a procedure manual—the “how to” book focused on the ritualistic aspect of Grange meetings and events. There were some significant changes and additions made to the paperback SGM published it 2013. A few language updates were made, and a number of  “alternate” procedures and ceremonies were added. For example, this edition includes the Welcoming and Obligation Ceremony—streamlined paths to membership approved by National Grange. (Conferral of the Four Degrees is still highly recommended but not required for a new member to become “official” with voting rights, etc.)

Another SGM reality is that copies (pre-2013)can often be found lying around Grange Halls. These older copies remain useful because procedures have not altered significantly. Sometimes, the older editions are useful for their additional detail. For example, when I conducted that burial service, I used an older manual for its rich language and some additional information.

A Grange seeking copies of these older editions can try contacting:

  • Neighboring Granges. Many will have more copies than they need, particularly if they’ve accumulated manuals from closed Granges.
  • The local Grange Deputy. The deputy has contact with those neighboring Granges and is charged with assisting.
  • A State Officer. The State Master/President would be a good place to start.

It might also be possible to find one on eBay or in a used bookstore, but looking “in-house” will likely be most efficient.

The most recent (2013) SGM will be a bit more challenging. Normally, it can be purchased from the National Grange Store, but as of this writing, it shows as “out of stock.” Hopefully, it’ll be available again soon!

Any degree or ritual quotations are from the forty-sixth edition of the 2013 Subordinate Grange Manual or the most recent edition of the Pomona Grange Manual. The views and opinions expressed in “Exploring Traditions” are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official doctrine and policy of the Grange. Information about the book “Exploring Traditions—Celebrating the Grange Way of Life” can be found at http://abbotvillagepress.com, on Mr. Boomsma’s Amazon Author Page, or by contacting the author.

Lecturer’s Column – August 2023

By Margaret Morse, Maine State Grange Lecturer
207 439-0413

As the days rush towards October and the State Grange session, it may be time to look over the photos you have taken during the last year and decide which ones you are going to enter into the photo contest. The categories for this year are water, animals, winter, and gardens. All photos must be turned in to the lecturer’s table no later than 2 pm on October 20, 2023. The photography contest is open to all Grangers and Junior Grangers as well as children and grandchildren of Subordinate members. The photographer must select the category for the entry and may enter as many photos in a single category as they wish. Entries, including matting or backing, must be no smaller than 4”x 6” and no larger than 11”x 14”. Frames and glass are NOT permitted.

Also, this year the adult coloring contest is still open for all who find coloring challenging and/or relaxing. All entries must be from an adult coloring book and no smaller than 4”x 6” and no larger than 11”x 14”.

The Art contest for Junior Grangers will also be judged at this time. The mediums that will be judged include oils & acrylics, watercolors, charcoal or pencil, markers or crayons.

The photography, coloring, and junior art contest entries will be judged against each other based on composition and arrangement, presentation, and technique. Junior Grangers’ work will be judged in three age groups: 5 – 7, 8 – 10, and 11 – 14.

CWA Report – August 2023

By Margaret Henderson, Director
Committee on Women’s Activities
207 948-2762

Committee on Women’s Activities

The tomato plants are giving us some nice tomatoes. It is wonderful to have fresh produce.

Everything is ready for the conference. A big thank you to Sister Sherry and Brother Richard for setting up the tables and chairs. It is greatly appreciated. I am so excited about seeing all the entries. It does my heart good to see how you are all blessed with these talents.

Next month I will post a list of all the winners.

Hope that everyone is healthy and safe.

Membership Moments – August 2023

By Rick Grotton,
Membership Committee Director
207 582-5915

Is everyone having a good summer? Rainy and warm. State Session is soon upon us. I am wishing that you send delegates to represent your Grange. I have received no responses for my requests for your thoughts on getting new members.

Everyone should be busy with their gardens and fair displays. My Grange is a small group, but we always try to go public at the local fairs with a fair booth. The public looks forward to seeing these displays, and the agricultural fairs are screaming for more Granges to participate. As an agricultural organization, it is our duty to showcase these fairs and to support farming in Maine. It is a great publicity offering and a chance to talk to people about Grange and its activities.

Again, I will highlight some ways to get new membership.

  • Be an active Grange by meeting regularly and participating in community events. Have active committees.
  • Be open and prepared to accept new members. We can’t meet with no quorum or members.
  • Be diverse. Allow all members to contribute. Do not be a one-person show. Elect good leaders.
  • Learn the floor work and your part as an officer. Reading is fine, but do it clearly without hesitations.
  • Publicize your events in local free papers, cable, social media, or the area newspaper.
  • Have an open house for the community with a free lunch or snacks. Honor citizens with an award for volunteerism, helping your Grange, or any other special honor they have done to help the community.
  • Wear your Grange apparel out in public.
  • Visit other Granges/Pomonas. Invite others to visit your Grange. The pandemic hurt this but start again.
  • Smile! Smile! Smile!

Communication Shorts 8-8-2023

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 2022 Journal of Proceedings is now available!

The Journal of Proceedings is, in short, the minutes of (in this case) the 2022 149th Maine State Grange Convention. It is of particular importance to those who will be delegates to this year’s convention, as you’ll likely want to compare what happened last year in anticipation of this year’s convention. You can download the 2022 Journal of Proceedings for viewing–it’s a lot of pages to print! The Journal will also be available from the Program Books and Information Page.

August Bulletin Reminder

The August Bulletin deadline is August 14, 2023. Remember, you can always find recent issues of the Bulletin on the Program Books and Information Page. The August Bulletin is in the works!

Very Important Roster Reminder!

 You saw it first in Master Sherry’s August Column, but please remember that your Grange’s current information is needed for the 2024 printed roster. A printed form requesting the information was sent to all secretaries, but you can also send it by email to MSG Secretary Sharon.* The information required includes:

  • Meeting day and time
  • The physical address of your hall
  • Names, addresses, and phone numbers of Master/President and Secretary. (Email addresses are great as well.

*Please copy the webmaster so we can keep the online directory as accurate as possible.

Resolutions Are Due!

If your Subordinate or Pomona Grange prepared a resolution this year, remember that it must be submitted to headquarters by August 15, 2023.

150th Maine State Grange Convention

This is the first part of a “coming soon” webpage we’re working on that will contain everything you wanted to know (and more!) about this year’s convention. Save the date!

Subscribe to the Maine State Grange Website