Patrons of Husbandry – a website dedicated to the Granges located in Maine
This is a photo of the items the Ocean View Grange members and others have collected for the Vets at Togus. After our December meeting on Dec 3rd, I will take them to Togus.
The gifts range from razors, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, some clothing, homemade lap quilts, combs, etc. We even got three buckets of soap, shampoos, and rinses from our friends at the East Wind Inn.
Thanks to all who stepped up to help those who served.
Don’t forget the critters at the Pope Humane Society.
Valley Grange uses “Grange Bees” in conjunction with our meetings… simply stated, Grange Bees are members who agree to be the official hosts for a meeting. While all members pitch in, we find it efficient to rotate the “official” responsibilities among members. Grange Bees are responsible for opening and closing the hall. (Our checklist is available on the Valley Grange website.) We try to set up a schedule for the entire year each fall. We also occasionally all “swarm” to the hall for major cleaning and projects. Everybody can be a bee!
Santa is coming to the Parkman Grange on Saturday, December 10, 2022 from 1-3:30. He and Mrs. Claus will be hearing kids’ wishes, getting their picture taken with your little ones, and handing out gifts. Tables will be set up to make simple crafts to give away or keep. Included will be Christmas cookie decorating, jingle bell necklaces, wooden ornaments to color, a Santa photo folder to decorate with stickers, and more. Hot cocoa and Christmas cookies will be served. This party is free and the Grange’s gift to the community. The Grange is located at the corner of State Hwy 150 and North Dexter Road.
If you receive an email similar to the above, ignore it. There are several clues to the fact it’s not legitimate. First, it doesn’t sound like Master/President Sherry… Second, the reply-to address is not her address.
I am usually nagging people who don’t reply to email but in this case. just delete it. This is not an issue created by the website, but we can use the site to warn others.
Just delete it.
AUGUSTA –Many Maine residents’ holiday celebrations are incomplete without decorating with Maine-grown wreaths, trees, and other decorative plant material. Sending wreaths and trees to our friends and families across the country can help us feel connected even if we can’t be together this holiday season. The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) reminds Mainers sending holiday greenery that they can save time and money and prevent product loss by shipping only healthy plant material.
“Shippers should be aware of the many state laws and regulations regarding the movement of plants and forest products,” warned Carole Neil, Assistant Horticulturist with DACF. “Many states closely monitor shipments to prevent the introduction of invasive insects and plant diseases. By planning, Maine shippers can speed up deliveries in this time-sensitive industry.”
DACF offers this advice for wreath and tree shippers:
“Import requirements for cut trees and holiday decorations including greenery, ornamental nuts, and fruit exist to protect regional agriculture and natural resources from the risk of plant pests,” explained Sarah Scally, Assistant Horticulturist. “An insect or plant disease in Maine could potentially be invasive in other states. Unfortunately, despite the quality of Maine products, some shippers have learned about these regulations the hard way and have had shipments delayed, impounded, or destroyed. We want to prevent any losses by getting the word out now.” Shippers with questions are invited to call: (207) 287-3891 or email horticulture@maine.gov. For more information about the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, visit www.maine.gov/dacf.
Highlights from our recent meeting…
RAFFLE: We sold $466 in tickets and collected $375 in donations for a total of $841. The first prize, $100, was awarded to Steven Lovely, the second prize, $100, was awarded to Colleen Levesque, the third prize, $50, was awarded to Herb Bitter. Herb donated his prize back to Valley Grange, making our net income from the raffle $641.
UDDERLY MOOVELOUS: Dinner was accompanied by Nightingale Farms Milk—straight from the farm! It’s rich and creamy… almost yellow, and pasteurized but not homogenized. If you’d like a quality experience and to support this young farmer, it’s available at the farm—take 150 south from Guilford, and keep an eye on the left side just as you enter Parkman. It’s also available at Whitney’s in Guilford. You can also visit their Facebook Page and meet “the girls.”
DICTIONARIES: Dictionaries have been distributed to PCES (they came to the hall) and Brownville Elementary. Both groups were excited and will enjoy their dictionaries. According to the teachers, the kids keep them at school for a while so they can learn how to find things and get in the habit of “looking things up.” Janice and Pat will be delivering to Ridgeview on Monday (11/21). Teachers will likely use Walter’s video explaining Valley Grange and the Dictionary Project. (It’s less than eight minutes; you can watch it here: https://youtu.be/00pSHDKiZjA .
SeDoMoCha is scheduled for Wednesday (11/30)—we’ll have an assembly at school starting at 9:30 am. Last but not least, we’ll visit Harmony Elementary on Friday (12/2) to work with four third graders. It’s always interesting to go from an assembly of 60+ kids at SeDoMoCha to 4 in Harmony!
I enjoyed a funny coincidence today. I was standing in line at Shaw’s, and the cashier started yelling, “Mr. Boomsma!” She yelled back to me that she’s almost 21 now but remembers me from school. We talked about dictionaries, and she said she remembers making butter with me a long time ago, maybe in second grade. LOL Whether it’s dictionaries, bookworming, or GrowME, it’s great to know we leave a lasting and positive impression on the kids that are our future.
Special thanks to Lynn Bosworth, Jim Annis, Janice Boomsma, and Pat Engstrom for helping out with the PCES kids. We are also grateful to “First Sergeant” Wayne Bennett for “dressing” one of the teachers in uniform. The kids definitely thought that was cool.
One of the Ed Techs in Brownville shared that she was concerned about her assigned student acting out during the presentation, but he remained engaged and excited. We created a slightly different problem. Now he didn’t want to transition to his next lesson—he wanted to continue to explore his new dictionary! I’ve had several adults question whether or not the kids are still interested, given the technology available. The short answer is an enthusiastic “YES!” One young scholar from PCES who has a lot of difficulty reading locked into the sign language at the back of the dictionary. By the time she lined up to leave, she’d already learned three letters. There’s lots to discover in these dictionaries.
BREAKFAST: We discussed breakfast briefly, mainly to make sure the “food groups” would be represented. We can promise Mary’s Bacon, Walter’s Apple French Toast, and Pat’s muffins. If you have a breakfast dish or treat you can bring, the assortment will increase! If you’d like to coordinate, call Mary (564-0820) or Janice (343-1496). Please join us for some good food and warm fellowship on Friday, December 2, 2022, at 6 pm. You can come in your jammies! Parents of kids receiving dictionaries have been invited…
BOOKWORMING: How do you round up and herd worms? Realistically, we’ll probably schedule some sessions starting in January and do them once or twice a week, depending on how many “worms” we end up with. Stay tuned. This will be a focus once we’ve completed Dictionary Days. If you, or someone you know, is interested, contact Walter!
BLISTERED FINGER KNITTER: Mary shared with us the obituary of Roberta Fitzgerald… it specifically mentioned that since becoming a Valley Grange BFK in 2012, Roberta knitted a total of 1,430 hats for infants and children. Her most recent delivery was 330 hats delivered in August. And, since she knitted “right up to the end,” we’ll receive one more delivery next summer. What an amazing woman with fast fingers and a big heart. We voted to donate to the Fred and Hattie Washburn Scholarship Fund, Foxcroft Academy, Attn: Cathy Hall, 975 West Main Street, Dover-Foxcroft, Maine 04426, in her memory and honor.
Jonesboro Grange Executive Committee member, LouAnn Cox, led a backpack drive for kids in foster care. LouAnn has had first-hand experience working with kids placed in the foster system, and she knew the difference a backpack can make to a child. Generous community members bought backpacks and other items to create a special backpack for foster kids who may otherwise have nothing or carry what they do have in a trash bag.
On October 21,2022 LouAnn and members of Jonesboro Grange delivered over 60 backpacks and other needed items to the Department of Health and Human Services in Machias.
Special thanks to Ellsworth Moose Lodge #2698 for their generous donation of backpacks!
The following article was originally part of a handout from Walter Boomsma’s presentation at the Northeast Leaders’ Conference in 2013.
If you don’t help with the milking, you’ll forget the cows’ names.
Amish Proverb
Your members are an untapped market! We tend to think of “markets” as customers. Those in business are aware of the tremendous strides made in understanding what motivates customers. Businesses spend a great time of time, energy, and money marketing products and services to their customers. But we tend to deal with people differently when we think of them as “members.”
We’d like to think that members should love and promote our organization. Well, customers should buy products and services, but companies still work hard to get them to want to! As Grange Leaders, we can be equally good at getting members excited about the Grange. After all, it doesn’t “cost” much to belong to and love the Grange.
Successful marketers know their customers’ values and get the business by offering obvious satisfaction (benefits, rewards, consequences). Successful Granges and Grange Leaders get motivated members by using exactly the same approach. Grangers, like customers, are motivated by outcomes and the amount of value placed on those outcomes.[1] This is a basic premise for all marketing: the price a customer will pay for a product is equal to the amount of expected benefit.
This simple formula (effort = outcome + value) is the basis for every choice we make. Usually, it takes place on an almost unconscious level. You choose a restaurant based on what kind of service and food (outcomes) you expect. The place just down the street may be cheaper, but the service is almost non-existent. You’ll drive the extra miles if you value the service more than the few extra dollars you’ll pay and the extra effort required. But notice this is about what YOU value.
There are hundreds – perhaps thousands – of tools available to excite and motivate. But we may need to change our thinking a bit. Member relations and member-centered publicity mean that we don’t preach. It means we don’t “sell” the Grange; we excite and influence people. For example,
These programs are not as important as the thought process. Consumer marketing works when the product has real value. Member-centered publicity works when you value your members and offer them intrinsic benefits.
Customers buy products because those products do something for them. People will join the Grange if the Grange does something for them. Your current members contribute energy because they get something in return. As a leader of your Grange what are you giving those members?
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 November 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.
It seems that lately, I’ve had an abundance of communication issues… incorrect contact information, unanswered phone calls, and emails… We can do better! Please check the online Grange Directory and ensure the contact person listed is correct. Email any changes!
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!
Winthrop Grange does close their hall each year from November through April and holds meetings at the local American Legion Post 40 on Bowdoin street in Winthrop on the first Wednesday of the month from 5-7 pm. Dorothy St Hilaire reports they are very much active and busy!
With this link, Maine residents can order free kits with five (5) at-home rapid tests per household through DHHS’ partnership with The Rockefeller Foundation’s Project Access COVID Tests (Project ACT) program.
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!
How about a “Freebies Night?” Participants may drop off items they want to donate on one day. They may return on another day to browse and shop for items for free. Suggested Items: knickknacks, household items (small kitchen items), books, board games, holiday decorations, and craft items.
“Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.”
Abraham Lincoln
“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.
by Walter Boomsma, Guest Columnist
If we are inclined to doubt that the Grange is about a way of life, we might simply pay close attention to the things we say and do somewhat automatically. In one of my teaching assignments, I am responsible for “locking up” the building when I finish. This includes “walking the building” to insure lights are off and no one remains inside. Once I’m outside I “report in” by texting the person in charge. I usually text “All is secure.” In my mind the words “Worthy Master” accompany my message of assurance.
I then call home to report my progress. I’ll admit that I am on occasion tempted to announce at the beginning of the call, “The labors of the day are complete.”
While the language of the Grange can readily become part of our lives, an occasional pause and reminder to make sure we are living the Grange way of life can be worthwhile. The language helps us. “Let us be quiet, peaceful citizens…” I often stop right there. I like the word “peaceful.” Merriam Webster defines it as “untroubled by conflict, agitation, or commotion” and offers as synonyms “quiet” and “tranquil.” Those are some tall orders in today’s society which seems filled with conflict, agitation, and commotion.
The way we end our meetings is mean to ensure “all is secure” but it goes beyond closing the Bible and implement case to include the assurances offered the Grange Way of Life. We are also reminded that we “place faith in God, nurture hope, dispense charity, and are noted for fidelity.” These are the qualities that drive us to “add dignity to labor, and in our dealings with our fellow men be honest, be just and fear not. We must avoid intemperance in eating, drinking, and language, also in work and recreation, and what ever we do strive to do well.”
I can imagine leaving a Grange meeting years ago, riding home and unhitching the horse, and achieving another “all is secure” at home and in the barn. The animals are settled in for the night. The labors of the day are complete. All is secure. The farm and home are quiet and tranquil. The world we are in is at peace.
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.