Tag: Grange Activities

Merriconeag Grange Seeks Members

Merriconeag Grange is located in Harpswell, Maine

Check out this article written by freelancer Sam Lemonick for the Harpswell Anchor. The article not only explores some of the factors creating declining membership in fraternal and community organizations, it explores ideas and adaptations that can impact local Granges’ relevance and growth.

The Merriconeag Grange isn’t in immediate danger. Despite struggles to convene formal meetings, Sam Alexander says it is doing better than most Maine Granges, both financially and in terms of membership.

Check out the article to find out how they are doing it!

President’s Perspective — July 2022

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

STATE GRANGE SESSION Here it is July already, which means three months away from State Grange, October 20 & 21, 2022 at the Auburn Masonic Hall, 1021 Turner Rd, Auburn. See this for a basic schedule and information. I am very pleased to announce our National Representative at State Session will be Ann Bercher, Lecturer of the National Grange and Master/President of the Minnesota State Grange, I know you will give her a warm welcome.

We are looking for someone to do the Rose Drill for us. Contact Sherry if you are interested.

MASTERS and SECRETARIES – A strong reminder – correct information for Master, Lecturer, Secretary and CWA Chairman listing the address, phone, cell phone, and email address for each, are due to the State Grange Secretary as soon as possible after the election has been held. Please type or print clearly. The Master or Master elect of each Grange selects the Committee
Chairmen for the Grange and informs the Secretary who those people are. The Secretary gets and/or checks the name, address, phone, email, etc. for each of the people involved, please fill in the entire form provided, or email your list to the state office.

RESOLUTIONS are due in the office on August 15, 2022, either email
mainestategrange@myfairpoint.net or standard mail to 146 State St., Augusta 04330. Submit both ways to ensure we receive them. Each resolution is required to have a title when it is submitted to the office, I cannot give them a title–your Grange must come up with one. The resolution must be voted on by the Grange submitting the resolution. After the 15th, we then have to print everything and mail all resolutions back to each Grange. This all takes time.

OFFICER and DEPARTMENT REPORTS are due in the office no later than September 15, 2022 (written or emailed to the office and to my email SHarriman@twc.com). I prefer emailed reports. These dates may seem early but getting everything put together for the session takes time, especially when we have to keep adding on the procrastinators.

The Delegate Registration, Banquet and Luncheon forms, etc., will be sent later in August.

“Look for the Stars” Banquet will be roast pork, meatloaf, potatoes, salad, green beans, applesauce, rolls, brownies & ice cream, coffee, tea, lemonade and water for $14 per person.

The Ag Luncheon will be assorted sandwiches, chop suey, chips, cookies, coffee, tea, lemonade, and water for $8 per person. The deadline for the meal registration and prepaid is October 5, 2022.

Once again, I will remind you, anyone may attend the State Grange Session, as long as you are a Fourth Degree (Subordinate/Community level) Grange member and have the passwords for the gate. (To receive the passwords from your Grange, your dues must be paid.) After the opening on the first day of State Session is completed, we lower to the Fourth Degree and all work is conducted in the Fourth Degree, like your regular Grange meeting you are welcome to sit in at the meeting and listen. Only registered delegate(s), may vote on the issues and elections, but this does not exclude you from attending.

 

Membership Moments — July 2022

By Rick Grotton,
Membership Committee Director
207 582-5915

I hope all are having a great summer. The weather has been good and people are getting out and enjoying the fresh air. Stores seem to be busy and traffic seems to be heavier than normal. After two years of COVID and people being afraid to go out of their homes, it seems great to see people milling about. Lawn sales (or whatever you call them) are everywhere, outdoor fundraising activities are abundant and Granges are joining in as well with their own fundraising activities. It is great to look on the Maine State Grange website and to see what is happening at various Granges. Their advertising is enthusiastic, their stories are refreshing and their events are successful due to hard work and teamwork. One of the most fulfilling things about Grange (for me) is to see organized and hard-working members happily serving the needs of the community. The Grange Hall provides a fun place to have a meal, socialize, smile, help others, and feel good about yourself and others.  It is also a place where legislative resolutions are presented, business is conducted and event planning is done. When explaining to others about Grange and what it does, enthusiastically tell them about all of the above. Many persons would love to be a Grange member; all you have to do is ask. Speak often, advertise often, keep busy and continue to be fulfilled. Others can sometimes “read” our facial expressions and feel our likes and dislikes about any topic. So when you want to attract new members speak with passion, be enthusiastic, be positive, and provide proficient information to the inquirers. Keep your doors open for new membership.

2022 Parkman Grange Scholarship Awardees Announced

The Parkman Grange is pleased to announce its 2022 Minnie Welts Bridge Scholarship winners. They are Mercy Harper, Sangerville, a Criminal Justice major at Husson University, and Eben Cooley, Parkman, a Marine Engineering Technology major at Maine Maritime Academy. Both will receive awards of $500. Although the Grange normally announces and awards winners at the Annual Scholarship Supper, this year the awards will be presented at the Parkman Grange Bean Supper on Saturday, July 23, 2022, in conjunction with the Parkman Bicentennial Celebration. The Supper runs from 4:00 to 5:30 or when the food runs out. The meal is by donation. Please come and enjoy the good food and good fun.

Minnie Bridge (1909-2011) was a lifelong resident of Parkman, a retired schoolteacher, and a life member of the Parkman Grange. In her memory, the Grange established the Minnie Welts Bridge Memorial Scholarship Fund to benefit deserving Parkman students continuing their education beyond high school.  The Grange annually awards one or more scholarships funded through donations and the proceeds from an annual Supper in Minnie’s name. Last year, at the height of the Pandemic, there were no applicants and no awards made. This year applications were opened to all residents of MSAD#4. With these new awards, the Grange has awarded $13,000 since 2012.

Note that the next big Parkman Grange event will be the annual Daddy-Daughter Dance at the Grange Hall on Friday, August 12, 2022, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. All Daddies, with their young ladies, age 13 and under, are invited. DJ Steve Boddy will be spinning the tunes. There will be dance contests, door prizes, light refreshments, and a keepsake photo. Young ladies whose dads are unable to come are encouraged to come with an important adult in their life.  The cost is $5 per person, at the door. Plans are being discussed for a mother-son and/or family dance in the future.

Both the Supper and the Dance are at the Grange Hall located at the corner of State Hwy 150 and North Dexter Rd. For more information about these or any other Parkman Grange events, please contact Sue Manchester at 277-3942.

News from Ocean View Grange

Ocean View Grange is located in Martinsville, Maine

by Larry Bailey, Master/President

Grange member Ryan’s idea about serving a Strawberry Palooza of Strawberries and Cream was a success. We ran out of strawberries and whipped cream at 2 pm…, two hours before the advertised closing time. 

We served 92 cups of strawberries and cream and grossed $610. The net after expenses of $146 was $464.  Many of the folks who stopped in had never been in a Grange before and I gave tours of our meeting room. That went over well and, we may get a new member or two out of it.

We need to thank the following who worked to make the event both a financial and, just as important, a public relations success:

  • Ryan Aponte
  • Nancy Fagley
  • Joss Coggeshall
  • Dan Anderson (Ryan’s stepfather)
  • Pat Deussing (Ryan’s mother)
  • Bill Swittlinger 
  • Diane Bailey

Thanks to all of our members who helped and those members who came in to have a taste.

Webmaster’s Note: I highlighted the part about tours of the meeting room… what a great idea when having events!

News from Victor Grange

Victor Grange Is Located In Fairfield Center Maine

Check out the latest Victor Grange Newsletter! Lots of accomplishments and activities… note they need some help moving furniture on Sunday, July 24, 2022, so all the first floor floors can be refinished! Hot dogs and burgers will be included for helpers!

Thanks to donations from the Mosher & Pellerin Celebration of
Life we have secured enough money to have the first floor refinished. We have also had a donation of a trailer to store Grange
belongings by Timmy’s Trailers and Pro movers will come to pick
up and store the two pianos & return them in a couple of weeks.
That’s what we call Community!

Additional articles mention the twentieth anniversary of Fairfield’s Senior Circle… a floral design class… and an opportunity to purchase chairs for $10 each! Don’t miss the July Issue!

Coming up in July…

  • July 9, 2022, Seaside Grange Rummage and Bake Sale, 9 am-noon. Email Seasidegrange@gmail.com for more information.
  • July 9, 2022, St George Grange Public Supper, 5 pm at St George Grange Wiley’s Corner. Call 372-8904 or 372-6768 for more information.
  • July 11, 2022, Piscataquis Pomona Fun and Fundraiser at 5 pm. Contact Pomona Overseer Walter Boomsma for further information.
  • July 14, 2022, MSG Bulletin Deadline — columns and posts are due.

This information is from the Conferences and Dates Page. We do our best to list conferences, regional events, state meetings, Pomona meetings, and local Grange events with dates and links to information! Please remember, we can’t post what we don’t know. 

Ocean View Grange Looks Great!

Submitted by Larry Bailey, Master/President

The front of the Grange has been power washed, sanded, primed, and painted and the newly refurbished signs have been installed.  Words are simply insufficient to express my thanks to the crew of Grangers who worked very hard to get this done in three days. Our Grange looks wonderful and we and our community should be proud of it. This renewal of the Grange look symbolizes the renewed energy and enthusiasm our members are bringing to Ocean View Grange’s programs and community contributions.

The attached photo of yesterday’s crew shows our team, but several others have been on-the-job at different times.  You can thank the following Grangers and FOGs – (Friends of the Grange).

Jim (Spinner) Lee – (Jim started, managed, and did most of the work on this project)
Ben Norton
Joss Coggeshall,
Nat Lyon
Dick Bomba (FOG)
Bill Swittlinger (re-painted the blue Grange arch)
Al Moncovich (painted new wheat and white signs)
Larry Bailey (I got more paint on me than the building)

See you soon at the Grange.

We’re back!

Did you miss us? The site has been “restored” to its status on June 16, before a phishing attack from Turkey. I’ve not checked every function–if you find something not working, please send an email.

There was an issue with the “submit” tab–the submit form disappeared. I have some ideas for improvements to the form and process and will be working on them soon. For now, the easiest way to submit events and information is to send an email.

One priority at the moment is catching up on posts that have been submitted. Do keep those coming!

Also, I’ve purchased a service called “Prevention” that should go a long way towards keeping hackers at bay. We actually made it through nearly twelve years without a major problem–let’s hope we can at least match that record.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please let me know. Thanks for your patience and support.

Exploring Traditions — June 2022

Meandering Around the Grange Way of Life

by Walter Boomsma

Report of Grange Services

Have you ever been to a Grange meeting where the Master/President didn’t skip the agenda item “Grange Services?” I can’t recall one. Once in a great while, someone gets curious as to what it’s supposed to include. So, after a little research, I have an answer!

As you might well expect, there’s a little history involved. A comparison of old manuals suggests it was at one time a “Report of Insurance or Business Agent.” A 1908 manual that was assigned to my great uncle list it as such. Since over the years, the Grange did provide services to farmers, one might rightfully conclude this is the place where the status of the services would be reported. By the way, my uncle often shared his displeasure with the Grange Insurance Program when one of his cows was killed by lightning. They didn’t pay the claim because it was an act of God. His argument that “God isn’t in the business of killing cows” did not prevail.

In my research, I’m told that there are still a few states that offer a form of Grange Insurance. (State insurance regulations often have created issues for these, but some remain out west. Here in Maine, Halcyon Grange has a silo and, I believe, participates in cooperative grain buying, Those Granges have something to report on.

But what about the rest of us? Are our community Granges not providing services?

Perhaps not in the historical sense but when we truly think about it, the Grange is all about service. Now it probably happens that many of those services are reported elsewhere during the meeting.

But before we drop this agenda item or tap the gavel and skip over it, let’s think about some of the services the Grange offers its members. Just change the word “services” to “benefits.” Perhaps during the Grange Services portion of the meeting, there could be a review of one member benefit offered at the national level. There is an entire section on the National Grange Website devoted to member benefits ranging from health-related to travel-related to shopping. Your membership chairperson could select one or two and review them briefly as a “report of Grange services.”

The Heirloom Program also qualifies as a Grange service. Every month we have the opportunity to be reminded of an important practice or principle of our Order.

Yet another opportunity exists in what might be called the “soft” benefits of being a member. I remember some years ago conducting a survey that asked people what they enjoyed most about the Grange. The answers were certainly rewarding. Some spoke of meeting new friends. Others enjoyed the opportunity to learn new skills such as leadership and public speaking. One person wrote that her parents met at the Grange and married as a result. She was thankful for the Grange because, without it, she wouldn’t be here!

Maybe it’s time to do that again—if not officially, at least locally. We could report how our Granges have served us. Who will step up and accept responsibility for a “Report of Grange Services?” I’m not sure it matters who it is, but this seems to fall naturally to a membership chair. It wouldn’t hurt us to devote some time thinking about the services/benefits we receive from being a member. And it definitely wouldn’t hurt for other people to start hearing about those services and benefits.

Once again, we prove the value of tradition and ritual. Let’s make this one work for us! When the master calls “Reports of Grange Services” and raises the gavel, who’ll jump up and respond, “I have something to report, Worthy Master!

(Special thanks to Phil Vonada, Amanda Brozana Rio, Steve Verrill, and Vicki Huff for their thoughts and contributions that will help us refocus on Grange Services.)

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.