Tag: Grange Activities

Community Service Awards at Enterprise Grange

Sunday, April 26, 2026, at 3:00 pm.

Community Citizen Awards for the Richmond area, including Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, Dresden, as well as Richmond, Sunday, April 26, 2026, at 3:00 pm at Enterprise Grange Hall, 15 Alexander Reed Road, Richmond.

Citizens of these towns are invited to submit nominations to Enterprise, and we will make the final decision based on the applications and verify whether the candidates are willing to accept the awards. Except during the COVID years, we have presented the awards for over 20 years. We have tried different days and times and have found that Sunday afternoons work well for our area. Late enough for Sunday-morning church attendees and early enough for Sunday-evening service attendees. And usually, friends and families of the recipients are able to attend, and those attending are invited to share their stories of those receiving the award.

Light refreshments and fellowship follow. We usually end about 4:30.
Community Citizen Awards are a National Grange program, and Grangers are not eligible to receive the award unless it is for a group, such as the Food Pantry, and the members are part of that group.

Enterprise is undergoing electrical updates in the hall, and it should be completed to showcase the improvements and how much brighter our meeting hall is now. We still have work to do on scraping and painting, but taking it one step at a time is getting the work done.

Come join us!!

CWA Report – February 2026

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

Committee on Women’s Activities

What crazy, cold weather we are having.  I am sorry that I have not been able to get an article in the last couple of months. It has been a sad few months. I have lost 16 friends since November. I hope the rest of this year is better.

I hope that many of you are working on entries for the contests.

I always look forward to seeing all of the wonderful work that everyone does. I am going to start checking next week on the availability of different places to have the judging and the conference.

It will be different not to have it at Headquarters. We have many good memories in that building.

I hope that everyone is staying healthy and warm.

Membership Moments

Rick Grotton

By Rick Grotton,
Membership Committee Director
207 582-5915

Spring will be here soon, which means that Grange month in April is on our doorstep.  Does your Grange have anything planned? If so, please let us all know by advertising on the Maine State Grange website.  Over the years, our Granges have become more individualized and isolated from one another, even within their own Pomona. A Pomona meeting is where the Granges in your area meet once a month to keep contact between Granges strong. However, many of our Granges do not have their Fifth Degree and hardly ever see anyone from their area or a neighboring Grange. What has happened? Why are many not finishing their degrees? Are we encouraging them? What do our new members know about Grange other than what they see in their own Grange? 

We need to start bringing back programs that bring others to our different Granges to interact and to have fun. Some of the programs we used to be the following: 

Three-point meetings. This is where a Grange invites two other Granges for a night of fun. One Grange usually provides dinner, another, the program, and the third, the officers. 

Green Sash and Pink Sash nights. This is when a Grange invites the members of its Pomona or the State Officers to take their offices for the evening while the host Grange provides the program. 

Youth Nights. Sadly, with the lack of youth in our Granges today, these nights are almost non-existent. To the youth of different Granges, it was their night to shine and provide a program. 

Ritualistic Night. When I was lecturer at my Grange years ago, this was my favorite program to present, so all members could learn or refresh their knowledge of rituals and traditions.  

Agricultural Nights and Legislative Nights.  There were also fun nights in which the program was based on Ag or legislative issues. Resolutions were conceived, and we also learned about planting, harvesting, and filled with skits, or having a speaker as part of the program. 

Without the above programs, what do we have now? Do Granges still have programs that invite others? How are we to take in new members if we have nothing exciting or beneficial for them? We need to start interacting more with one another through our Grange meetings (Community, Pomona, and State) to grow and prosper. ALL OF US are responsible for keeping Grange alive, so ask this question at your next Grange meeting: What is our vision for the future? 

Changes at Enterprise Grange

Submitted by Marilyn Stinson

Enterprise Grange is located at 15 Alexander Reed Road in Richmond, Maine.

Enterprise Grange #48 has changed its meeting nights. It is now the third Tuesday of each month (except October, due to the State Session). Public Pot Luck Supper at 6:00, meeting at 7:00.

Our January meeting was close to February, and we held a candle-lighting ceremony to observe Four Chaplains Day with veterans reading the four paragraphs and Master CJ lighting the candles. As I researched the program and learned that the priest, two Protestant pastors, and a rabbi went down with the ship, praying and singing hymns, I wondered which hymns would be central to their different faiths. I settled on Faith of Our Fathers.

Enterprise Grange Public Super

Submitted by Marilyn Stinson

Enterprise Grange is located at 15 Alexander Reed Road in Richmond, Maine.

Public Corned Beef & Cabbage Dinner

Saturday, March 14, 2026, 5:OO PM – 7:00 PM

Corned beef OR ham, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, rolls, desserts, beverages, home made pickled beets. Served buffet style, but we will assist anyone; takeout available without the coffee.

Only $18.00 (cheaper than most restaurants and no tip), Seniors 65+ only $15.00, Family rates.
Reservations or FMI – Marilyn at 207-308-3901. Gluten-free dessert option.

Exploring Traditions – February, 2026

Meandering Around the Grange Way of Life

By Walter Boomsma, Guest Columnist

Dilemmas and Decisions

I confess to having recently watched several fictional movies about time travel. The science is interesting. The application is fascinating. When someone travels back in time, there’s usually a dilemma about whether to take an action that might alter the future. Seth Godin points out, “When you give people a choice, they make a choice.”

Traditions rarely happen deliberately. But the development of the Internet is one example of how traditions will change dramatically. For example, somewhere along the way, Grangers developed an interest in cooking and recipes. Consider how many Grange Cookbooks exist and notice that recipes continue to be a feature in the National Grange Magazine. It’s not just limited to Grangers. You can probably find a recipe box and several cookbooks in most homes today. That may not always be the case.

It may not matter how many cookbooks you have. If you can’t find (or don’t have) a recipe box, AI (artificial intelligence) can create a new recipe for you in just a few seconds. It may not be unique or have secret ingredients. Without getting too technical, it will create your recipe by analyzing and combining vast pools of information. Some will no doubt see this as good news. Others will see it as bad news. They’ll all be correct.

In a very real sense, this is one of the major challenges we face as an organization. No, not cookbooks and recipes, but balancing the old with the new.

 Old Hippie lyrics © Conexion Media Group, Inc.

We may not be time travelers to the past, but we have similar dilemmas and decisions. We are given choices and shouldn’t ignore them.

Time-travel movies often make the point that small changes can have big effects in the future. It’s true for both organizations and individuals.

An individual who decides to read for ten minutes every day is potentially altering his future, and if you appreciate the ripple effect, the future of others, and, literally, the world.

The Grange decided in 1867 to give women equal standing (at least in theory), full voting rights, and leadership positions. We can rightfully claim that those radical decisions contributed to women gaining the right to vote fifty years later.

While our crystal ball is often cloudy, it’s worth keeping an eye on it as we make decisions. It’s important for individuals and organizations to accept the idea that we can at least influence our future if not control it. As we travel through time, it might be fun to consider what the Grange Way of Life looks like in the future. The decisions we make and the actions we take will determine it.

“As we are again to separate, and mingle with the world, let us not forget the precepts of our Order. Let us 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 whatever we do, strive to do well. Let us be quiet, peaceful citizens, feeding the hungry, helping the fatherless and the widows, and keeping ourselves unspotted from the world.”

Any degree or ritual quotations are from the forty-seventh edition of the 2023 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.

Kennebec Valley Grange Flea Market and More!

Every Saturday, 10 AM-4 PM, Kennebec Valley Grange hosts a flea market on two floors. Seamstress in attendance 10 AM-2 PM. You’ll find baked goods such as whoopie pies, regular pies, and Needhams. (Pies by preorder. Doris 399-1191) There are also baked beans, Dynamites, and haddock chowder available to go, by the pint or quart. Fresh local eggs. We also offer a small lending library of books and magazines on homesteading, cooking, and farming. FMI Diane Pinkham, Master, 314-5135

Kennebeck Valley Grange is located at 560 Main Street in Madison, Maine.

Kennebeck Valley Grange Facebook Group

Charter Draping at Norway Grange

Submitted by Tina Thurston, 207 515-2361

Please forgive the last-minute notice and invitation, but we at Norway Grange 45 want to ensure we don’t exclude anyone from our draping of the Charter this coming Saturday, February 14, in honor of our long-standing, now-at-peace Grange sister, Ethel Lacourse. She led the good fight and lasted 95 years. We will honor her memory with a noon meal, with the ceremony commencing at 1 pm.

Please join us. Even if you’re unable to attend, please send us a written remembrance, and someone will read it in your proxy. Thank you, good brothers and sisters.

For more information, please contact Tina Thurston at 207 515 2361 or email us at norwaygrange45@gmail.com

Please let us know if you can come.

Norway Grange is located at 15 Whitman Street in Norway, Maine.

Some Program Ideas for Granges

Based on the California State Grange Newsletter

A recent issue of the California State Grange included flyers for several programs offered across the state. There were plenty of pancake breakfasts and suppers. A few of the different events are:

  • Class in pressure canning
  • Toddler story time
  • Food and Karaoke
  • Homestead series
  • Sweetheart Dance
  • Grange Community Market
  • Masterpieces and Munchies (a series of fun, painting, and snacking)
  • Square Dance
  • Almond Festival (Remember, it’s California)
  • Fruit Tree Sale
  • Cowboy Poetry and Music Show
  • Zucchini Grand Prix (growing contest) and Harvest Festival
  • Amateur Radio Club
  • Sobriety Support Group
  • Mana and Munchies (includes a number of activities)
  • Monthly Flea Market
  • Grange Game Night

Many of these are not one-time events. Consistency matters.

What have you got planned? Remember to submit your event!

President’s Perspective – February 2026

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

Annual Passwords: The annual password ciphers were sent to the Grange Secretaries with the December quarterly report forms. The keys to the password will only be mailed to the Masters/Presidents when all dues are paid up to date, including the December 2025 Quarter. If you have not received your key, check with your Secretary or our office to confirm your dues are paid in full. Sharon did tell me recently that not all dues are up to date.   As an individual, to receive the new password, your personal dues must be paid up to date, you should receive a receipt as proof of payment to show the Master/President.

Degree Day:  April 26, 2026, at 1:00 pm at Manchester Grange #172, located at  953 Western Ave, (Rt. 202) Manchester, ME.  All four degrees will be conferred.  Let Norma Meserve (207-583-7211) or email her at:  meserve1965@gmail.com  if you have candidates or if you would be willing to help out. The candidates should bring their application for membership with them.

Spring isn’t so far away as it may seem at this point, but it is eventually on its way. Winter has been treating us fairly well, except for the big storm of 19” and a few inches here and there, some wind, and several cold days. I guess we really can’t complain all that much about the weather – after all, it is Maine and February. We are still hunkering down in place with the weather & doing well.

With spring comes reopening. It’s almost time to get back in the swing of in-person meetings in our halls. Spring is also clean-up time outside and inside for our own yards, but this should also include our halls.  Get the lawn raked up, clip the grass and bushes around the steps and foundation, pick up the branches and trash lying around, get the tattered plastic off the windows and maybe even wash the reachable ones. Repaint your sign, the steps, railings and even the door.  We all need an occasional facelift.  Closer to summer, get some new plants in the window boxes and garden.

As we are all involved in promoting Grange membership and growth, we should be advertising ourselves.  The name and number of a Grange should be on the building or on the sign at the road, and should include the day and time of the meetings.  This way, someone passing by or visiting the area will know when you meet.

Grange Month: It doesn’t feel like it, but here we are a little over a month away from Grange Month, a time of year we honor our community members and promote our Grange. Congratulations to those who have made plans for something special at this time. Why not incorporate something to honor our Nation’s 250th Anniversary at the same time. This was a resolution we accepted at the State Grange Session in October. You can plan your event honoring your community later in the year. Nothing says it can only be done in April, honoring someone special or a special activity can happen anytime, it’s the result that really matters. You can buy or make up your own certificates, plaques, etc., for honoring an individual or group, or items may be purchased from National Grange.  Whether you order on your own or from National Grange, remember to allow lots of time to get the items back, especially if you are getting it by mail or shipped.   We have lots of informational brochures as handouts in your halls available on request at the office. 

State Office: I want to remind you that the State Grange office does have an answering machine to leave questions, requests, and information at 207-623-3421. Please leave a clear name, phone number, and brief message so we can return your calls.  We are in the office a couple of days a week.  We also have a new email address:  mainestategrange@gmail.com.

Our personal numbers, home and email addresses are in the 2026 Roster that each Grange Secretary will receive soon.  I must apologize for the error I made in the new Roster. I listed the wrong additional email under State Secretary’s name – it should be mainestategrange@gmail.com.  We had been given a preliminary email prior to the new Gmail one being issued. The State Grange web site is valuable and can provide information, the webmaster is very helpful, however, some of your questions should be directed to the State Grange Secretary or myself personally by email or phone.

Until we can be together again, take care of yourselves.