Grange Month News!

Visit www.nationalgrange.org/grange-month-2023 to access and download graphics, headers, calendars, press release templates, and more for your Granges to use. Note Grange Spirit Week is scheduled from April 16-22–Each day is designated to a specific theme or topic and National Grange has scheduled evening Zoom Events.

Communication Shorts 2-17-2023

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!

February Bulletin

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

Didja Notice?

We’ve added a “subscribe” menu item–if you aren’t receiving email from us, check it out!

Grange Month Materials

Grange Month Materials are starting to become available on the National Grange Website.

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!

Ideas for Granges

How about a Puzzle Palooza in which teams will race against each other to finish a 750-piece jigsaw puzzle? The first team to complete the puzzle wins a prize.

Thought for You…

“You will never plough a field if you only turn it over in your mind.””

Irish Proverb

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!

Communication Shorts 2-5-2023

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!

February Bulletin

The deadline for the February Bulletin is February 14, 2023–that’s only nine days away! Remember, you can always find recent issues of the Bulletin on the Program Books and Information Page.

Didja Notice?

We’ve added a “subscribe” menu item–if you aren’t receiving email from us, check it out!

Congratulations!

Congratulations, Mr. Walter Boomsma, on receiving the Cultivator Award. Happy to read about it in the Jan 2023 issue of the Good Day. Well deserved.
Ed and Jane McCall
Bingham Grange #237

Grange Month Is Coming!

What’s the plan? How will your Grange celebrate? Don’t forget to submit your plans and events to the website!

Pine Grove Grange #233, Brewer

We’ve had an inquiry regarding this Grange… from a woman in Oregon who has some information (dues receipts, diaries, etc.) that might be of interest to a historical society or museum. We’re suggesting the Brewer Historical Society. If you have any information that might help, email Mary Gobet or let me know!

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!

Ideas for Granges

Is it too early to start planning spring cleaning at the Grange?

Thought for You…

“What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life’s pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.”

Joseph Addison

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!

Communication Shorts 1-16-2023

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!

January Bulletin

The January Bulletin is now available! Remember, you can always find recent issues of the Bulletin on the Program Books and Information Page.

Didja Notice?

We’ve added a “subscribe” menu item–if you aren’t receiving email from us, check it out!

Got a Minute? Got a Pie? Got a Meal?

It seems ironic that after encouraging you to enjoy a minute listening to the podcast “Dropping by the with a Pie” posted by Plain Values Magazine, MSG CWA Directory Margaret Henderson reported dropping by a neighbor’s with a meal.

Grange Month Is Coming!

Even without counting on your fingers, you know Grange Month starts in just over two months! What’s the plan? How will your Grange celebrate? Don’t forget to submit your plans and events to the website!

Website Report

In case you missed it in my Communications Column, your MSG website was viewed over 1500 times during December 2022–and over 20,000 times during the entire calendar year 2022.

A Few Thank You’s

Special thanks this month to Marilyn Stinson for sharing some of our posts on her Facebook Feed! To Michelene Decrow, Barry Tracy, and Dave Gowen for their recent support and feedback on the website. Golly, this could get long… to all of you who support and contribute to the site!

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!

Ideas for Granges

Maybe it’s time to shift some of our thinking from what our community needs to what it wants. They might be the same, but thinking about wants creates a different slant. How about every Granger asking at least one person, “What would make our community a happier place?” and reporting the answers at the next Grange Meeting?

Thought for You…

“While we are living in the present, we must celebrate life every day, knowing that we are becoming history with every work, every action, every deed.”

Mattie Stepanek

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!

Communication Shorts 1-8-2023

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!

January Bulletin

The January Bulletin is in the works! Officers and Directors, remember that columns and reports are due January 14th. Remember, you can always find recent issues of the Bulletin on the Program Books and Information Page.

National Grange Zoom Membership Meeting Canceled

The Zoom Membership Matters Meeting scheduled for January 10th has been canceled.

Got a Minute? Got a Pie?

You’ll enjoy spending a minute listening to this podcast “Dropping by the with a Pie” posted by Plain Values Magazine.

Grange Month Is Coming!

Even without counting on your fingers, you know Grange Month starts in just over two months! What’s the plan? How will your Grange celebrate?

Website Progress

We continue to work on the site… while current postings and columns are a priority, we’re also bringing the Program Books and Information Page up to date and in compliance. The Secretary’s section of that page is now complete!

Pomona People!

We do list Pomona Meetings on the website calendar–please send the dates and times of your Pomona Meetings!

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!

Ideas for Granges

Could you adopt a theme or slogan for the new year? Did you see the recent “Quick Tip” regarding starting a life skills series?

Thought for You…

“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.”

Edith Sitwell

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!

Note that when you subscribe to the Maine State Grange Website, we do not share your email address with others and only use it to send you–at the most–one email per day when new information is posted.

Communication Shorts 12-16-2022

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!

December Bulletin

The December Bulletin is finished and ready for downloading and printing! Remember, you can always find recent issues of the Bulletin on the Program Books and Information Page.

Contacting Your Grange

In an ongoing effort to make our online directory of Granges accurate, a printed copy of the current directory is being mailed with the December Bulletin. Please check it or the online Grange Directory and ensure the contact person and information listed is correct. Email any changes!

Website Progress

We continue to work on the site… while current postings and columns are a priority, we’re also bringing the Program Books and Information Page up to date and in compliance. If you need something and can’t find it, let us know! This has truly been a huge project, but, as the saying goes, “We’re gaining!”

Pomona People!

We do list Pomona Meetings on the website calendar–please send the dates and times of your Pomona Meetings!

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!

Ideas for Granges

Could you adopt a theme or slogan for the new year?

Thought for You…

What the new year brings to you will depend a great deal on what you bring to the new year.

Vern McClellan

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!

Note that when you subscribe to the Maine State Grange Website, we do not share your email address with others and only use it to send you–at the most–one email per day when new information is posted.

Communications Column – December 2022

A Nudge and a Nag

By Walter Boomsma
207 343-1842
Communications Director

When teaching adult students, I remind them they are taking THEIR course, not MY course. Of course, that doesn’t prevent me from offering an occasional nudge or nag (they get to decide which it is) when they aren’t doing their part.

There’s a parallel with the MSG website. It’s YOUR site, not MINE. That means we have a shared responsibility for it. And it also means I get to offer an occasional nudge or nag. (You can decide which it is.) There might be two this month.

First, an ongoing challenge continues to exist with the online directory of Granges. I continue to receive far too many emails and phone calls from people who have tried using it, and it hasn’t worked–disconnected phone numbers, no replies from the email address listed, etc. For those unfamiliar with it, this directory lists active Granges, the address of the Grange Hall, and a contact person with a name, phone number, and–ideally–email address. This contact person does not need to be the master or secretary. It does need to be someone who is dependable and responsible.

The online directory is consistently the most visited page on the website. (The second most visited is the Program Books and Information Page.) For various reasons, people want to contact local Granges. We need to work together to make sure that can happen. Keeping the online directory accurate should be a priority for all of us. Please make sure the information listed is accurate. Send any corrections to the webmaster!

There are too many sad (and sometimes funny) stories I could share. I was recently contacted by someone who desperately wanted to participate in a Grange event in their area but couldn’t figure out who to contact for more information. Another example was from a group that had used the Grange Hall. They found a note requesting the group supply their contact information to the local Grange, but it didn’t say who to send it to!

We can do better.

This same nudge or nag applies to almost ALL information about your Grange! Please send information and news about your Grange and your events! I’ve tried to make it as easy as possible. You can use the “submitting information” tab on the site or send the information in an email. If you are sending information to your local newspapers, add webmaster@mainestategrange.org to the distribution list.

By the way, once your information is posted to the website, it’s easy-peasy to share it on Facebook. It doesn’t work the other way around!

We can do better.

Lastly, I’ve been nudging and nagging myself to continue the effort to repair and reconstruct the site. One problem with providing so much information is that it becomes a real challenge when much of it disappears! If you visit the Program Books and Information Page, any link with a smiley ☺ face after it should work. If you need something specific and can’t find it on the page, let me know, and I’ll try to find it for you.

Your patience and participation are appreciated!

FACT: Your MSG website was viewed nearly 1900 times during November 2022–and 10% of those visits were to the online directory of Granges.

President’s Perspective – December 2022

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

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 

National Grange Session was a big success held in Sparks Nevada in November. Jim Owens and I were the delegates for a very busy schedule of Grange business and Activities. There were eight Maine folks there for the week. Maine Grangers and Granges received a good number of awards.

Highland Lake #87 and Jonesboro #357 received Granges in Action certificates. 

Twenty-four Maine Granges were recognized for a net gain in membership. The National Grange had a net gain in Membership overall, the first time in years and years.  

Rebekah Hodgson of Jonesboro won 1st and 3rd places in the photo contest and Laurie McBurnie of Willow also received 3rd place for one of her entries. Each received ribbons and a pack of note cards made from the winning entries. Our Junior members also received a couple of winning awards in photo and art contests. Mrs. Swan, Maine’s nominee for Teacher of the Year from Jonesboro Grange received The National Teacher of the Year Award. Walter Boomsma was awarded National Grange Cultivator of the Year for cultivating communications. CONGRATULATIONS to all the recipients. Great job everyone, it was fantastic to see those ribbons and hear Maine called to receive the plaques and certificates. Items will be mailed to the recipients as I won’t be traveling much this winter. 

We had about twenty Grangers come for the instruction meeting on Saturday the 3rd. I was hoping for more but was happy with those who did come out in the rain. We covered some of the floor work for opening and closing, provided and reviewed an assortment of “how to” paperwork on a whole variety of subjects, and answered questions. Sharon Morton, State Secretary explained about Secretaries duties by providing written information also. Thank you to everyone who attended, Richard for setting up, Sharon for the workshop, and Henry for making the coffee & and picking up the doughnuts. 

I am planning to do the same instruction meeting at several places around the state. The State Secretary has agreed to come also, but probably in the spring when the weather isn’t so iffy. Please invite us to your area and get a date set up. I have a couple already. The secretaries will receive a list of available materials I provided on Saturday that can be requested anytime. 

President’s Perspective – November 2022

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

Dec 3, 2022 — 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. we will have an Instruction meeting for Ritualistic Floor Work at State Grange HQ, 146 State St., Augusta. (weather permitting) 

Everyone is invited to attend. Those attending will be practicing the work, by volunteer, also switching around it will not just be State Officers and Deputies.  We will cover:

  • Opening & Closing  (Opening the Bible, Presenting the Flag, Introducing Honored Guests)
  • How to properly make the Salutation
  • Balloting procedure
  • Election procedure
  • How to handle Motions and following through
  • The State Secretary will cover reporting, records, funds, and ordering certificates
  • Other suggested Grange business and discussion  

I will also be holding this same workshop/meeting around the State starting in the spring, please invite me to your area or Grange, I would prefer a Saturday meeting during the day but could accommodate an evening if requested.  

Welcome to our 8 new State Grange members who received the 6th degree at our recent State Grange Session. Thank you to the Delegates and Members that attended. I thought the discussions were productive, and I appreciate your participation, input, and respect shown for each other during that part of the meeting. Thank you Bob for moderating. A lot of awards were presented, the Juniors participated, a heartfelt Memorial Service held, very interesting speakers Ann Bercher our National Grange Rep., and Nancy McBrady from the Dept of Agriculture, re-elected Nate Pennell to the Executive Committee and wonderful banquet and luncheon provided. I would like to hear from you what you thought of the schedule and the facilities (yes, I know everyone was cold). Personally, I like it there and plan returning there again next year. There is a lot less work to do to set up for the meeting, degree and sales room plus the price at the previous facility was seven times as much. 

A BIG thank-you to ALL who stepped up to fill in or help out in any way, it was once again a great show of teamwork and helped make a very successful session.  Officers, Deputies, Department Directors, and Committees, thank you for your continued work during the past years, and I am looking forward to working together once again. Thank you to the tellers for election and the Master’s Address committee. Marilyn Stinson and Terry LaCombe-Stevens have stepped down as Co-Junior Directors we sincerely appreciate your years of dedication and hard work to the Junior Grange program, Betty Young will be our new Junior Director. 

The new Department Program Books and Annual Reports were given to the Delegates for your Grange. If you did not have delegates at the session, you may download the programs and reports from the web under “Program Books” or if you want a printed copy, email the office or myself and we will send them to you.  You may request all or just select ones. Agriculture, Community Service, Communications/Web, CWA, Junior, and Lecturers.

Communications Column – November 2022

By Walter Boomsma
207 343-1842
Communications Director

Where did everything go?

It seems ironic that I wrote last month on the topic of building the website, and this month I am reporting the disappearance of some parts! Technology has not been kind recently.

At the risk of causing some MEGO (my eyes are glazing over), I’ll share some background. The site has had some issues since it was hacked this summer. While the site structure is not too complex, we are burdened a bit by the sheer size. We’ve had posts on the site all the way back to 2010, when it was first created. And many of those posts included images (pictures).

For those technically inclined, we had a recent “conflict” between the site theme and the site itself. In short, nearly every image disappeared from the site as a result. By the way, images include documents such as program books.

The good news is that I have maintained a file of those images separate from the site. The bad news is the only way to solve the problem is to replace the images one at a time. With over 3,000 posts and pages, you can well imagine this is not an easy task.

I’ve made the Program Books and Information Page a priority and have focused on the most recent posts.

The more good news is that the mess has created an opportunity to prioritize and “clean up” things. It’s going to take some time, but eventually, we’ll have a streamlined site. I could bore you with how much smoother things become–for example, backups will take less time. In practical terms, we’ll lose posts and images from the distant past. (The site is over a decade old!)

This means some of the older posts will disappear. And those that remain will show broken links where images are involved. Your patience and understanding are appreciated. If you have any questions or concerns, do let me know.

The top priority will be posting new information: your events and news. Please submit!

FACT: Your MSG website was viewed nearly 2700 times during October 2022–and over 40 posts were placed on the site.