President’s Perspective – March 2026

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

Reminder: Dues increase now in effect. As of January 1, 2026, the State quarterly dues have increased to $6.00 per quarter per member. Golden Sheaf members are exempt at the State level.

Insurance information request. We would like to hear from you. One of the resolutions that was passed by the delegates at the 2025 State Grange Session as a resource for Granges searching for insurance. We are asking Subordinate Granges to submit the names and contact information of their insurance agents and carriers, types of insurance the Granges have, such as fire, liability, and other (without disclosure of specific premium costs or coverage information, unless you choose to). We are looking strictly for the names of the companies that provide coverage. Please send your insurance provider’s information to the office.

Promote Your Grange. A display in a front window or a bulletin board on the Grange hall would help us promote ourselves more. We talk about a display in a public area only during Grange Month, but this display would be ongoing year-round. You could list program and other information in your display. Include activities or projects your Grange is involved with as part of your Grange work and include contest information for the different committees of the Grange. (Four 2” boards, an old aluminum storm window, a couple of hinges and a hasp makes a very nice outside bulletin board, using plywood or paneling for a backing if you wish.) It may just spark some interest in someone who wishes to help do something for the Grange or someone who may want to join.

You could also put a board in the hallway, entryway, or on the back of the entry door where the public comes in to wait for suppers, bingo, etc. Once seated, they don’t have the opportunity to look around or read something they see hanging on a wall, unless it is close or big, but while waiting in line, they might be nosy enough to check things out beside them on a wall close by. Use BIG print, keep it neat and attractive, give some details, add some color, and promote all the different activities, benefits, and programs we are involved with in the Grange. (See the various National and State program books for information.) If you don’t have these books handy contact someone who can get them for you and use them. Change things around every so often or add something new so it doesn’t get boring or outdated. The Grange has a lot of great things to offer, have brochures or sheets of information within easy reach, for someone who wishes, to pick one up and take along, (most people are more comfortable checking out information in private) or they can read it there while waiting.

Happy Spring! It will soon be spreading its wonderful colors all around us, and Happy Easter.

  

Communication Shorts 03-02-2026

By Walter Boomsma,
MSG Communications Director
207 343-1842

Communication Shorts are brief (short) but important items posted for your information and use. Please send us your ideas and thoughts!

The Maine State Grange Office is located at 36 Anthony Avenue, Suite 102, Augusta, ME 04330.
 mainestategrange@gmail.com.

March Bulletin

The deadline for the March Printed Bulletin is March 14. Recent issues of the Bulletin are available on the Program Books and Information Page in the communications section.

Seeking Someone

Do you, your child, or your grandchild have some knowledge of WordPress? (For those unfamiliar, WordPress is an open-source content management system (CMS) that allows users to create, manage, and customize websites without needing advanced coding knowledge. The Maine State Grange Website uses it.) If so, let’s connect and explore some opportunities. I could use a few hours of volunteer help occasionally.

Journals of Proceedings

The 2024 Journal of Proceedings has been received and posted, a summary of State Session held in 2024. Note these are large files with many pages and photos.

Rapid Resource

We’re always seeking resources of potential interest to Grangers and Friends that are not necessarily specific to the Grange. These will be short and easy to digest. As an example, the first concerns finding and tracking scholarships. You can help! Let me know what you think and, by all means, submit ideas and suggestions.

What’s Going On?

Don’t forget to submit your special events and programs for our event calendar! We want people to know the Grange is thriving! Surely, there are lots of Grange things happening in Maine.

To Ponder…

“No idea is so antiquated that it was not once modern. No idea is so modern that it will not someday be antiquated.” 

attributed to Ellen Glasgow

An Idea for Your Grange

It’s a marriage made in heaven! There’s a consensus that food is an important component of events. How do you make that work for you?

Subscribe!

Remember, we don’t share your email address with anyone, and you get a weekly summary of what’s been posted. Subscribe here! Share that link with your members and Grange friends!

Online Directories Available 24-7

Thanks to those who help us keep these directories current by letting us know of changes!

  • The Directory of Granges features all Granges in the state with a contact person. Please make sure your listing is correct! Visitors to the site frequently consult these directories.
  • The ODD Directory features all state officers, directors, and deputies, along with their contact information. Updated January 16, 2026.

Flying the Flag!

This section currently exists on the Program Books and Information Page:

How we display the flag communicates! You can check whether or not the U.S. Flag should be at half-mast and sign up for email alerts.

This is a guide to the Federal Law regarding displaying the American Flag: US Flag Code.

Learn more from the Department of Veterans Affairs about the rules and traditions for flying the flag at half-staff

As technology advances, here are a few more resources we’ll be adding soon:

  • The American Legion: Text “FLAG” to 35893 (or 534466) to receive text alerts on your mobile phone.
  • Flag Day – US Flag Alerts App (iOS): Sends alerts for federal, but not state, half-staff days to your mobile phone.
  • Service First: Flag Alerts (iOS/Android): Covers federal, state, and weather-related alerts to your mobile phone.

“I believe our flag is more than just cloth and ink. It is a universally recognized symbol that stands for liberty, and freedom. It is the history of our nation, and it’s marked by the blood of those who died defending it.”

John Thune

Thanks to Larry Bailey, Master of Ocean View Grange, for an “unintentional” reminder to update this resource!

Mill Stream Grange Makes Hearts

Our February 6th program was a Valentine card making party! Junior Granger and 2026 Miss Western Maine Jr. Teen Natalie shared some facts with us about the holiday before crafting cards as a group for the residents of Woodlands Senior Living in Farmington.

Big thanks to Girl Scout Troop #2096 for loaning their scissors, glue sticks, and markers!


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Mill Stream Juniors Recognized

National Award Received for Community Service Project

With great delight, Master Jill Sampson presented our Junior Grangers with a FIRST PLACE medal for their National Junior Grange Community Service Project entry, a “Coastal Cleanup” of Vienna’s own Mill Stream. The prize was announced at the Awards Night during the National Grange in November. Congratulations Juniors! We’re very proud of you!


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Communication Shorts 02-15-2026

By Walter Boomsma,
MSG Communications Director
207 343-1842

Communication Shorts are brief (short) but important items posted for your information and use. Please send us your ideas and thoughts!

The Maine State Grange Office is located at 36 Anthony Avenue, Suite 102, Augusta, ME 04330.
 mainestategrange@gmail.com.

February Bulletin

The February Bulletin is now available for download. Recent issues of the Bulletin are available on the Program Books and Information Page in the communications section.

Seeking Someone

Do you, your child, or your grandchild have some knowledge of WordPress? (For those unfamiliar, WordPress is an open-source content management system (CMS) that allows users to create, manage, and customize websites without needing advanced coding knowledge. The Maine State Grange Website uses it.) If so, let’s connect and explore some opportunities. I could use a few hours of volunteer help occasionally.

Rapid Resource

We’re always seeking resources of potential interest to Grangers and Friends that are not necessarily specific to the Grange. These will be short and easy to digest. As an example, the first concerns finding and tracking scholarships. You can help! Let me know what you think and, by all means, submit ideas and suggestions.

National Grange Notes

Remember, applications for National Grange Rural Life Initiative Grants are due by February 28, 2026. (You must submit through the online portal.)

Your Grange Presence

If your Grange has an active website or social media presence, please make sure to let us know! We maintain a list on the site and publicize them as a source of more information.

To ponder…

“I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.”

attributed to Abraham LIncoln

An Idea for Your Grange

I recently stumbled upon an organization offering a free “How to Write an Obituary” workshop. It might sound unusual at first, but offering some legacy-planning information could be a valuable service. Hospice workers, funeral directors, financial planners, etc., could be included.

What’s Going On?

St Patrick’s Day and Grange Month programs and events needed now!

Don’t forget to submit your special events and programs for our event calendar! We want people to know the Grange is thriving! Surely, there are lots of Grange things happening in Maine.

Subscribe!

Remember, we don’t share your email address with anyone, and you get a weekly summary of what’s been posted. Subscribe here! Share that link with your members and Grange friends!

Online Directories Available 24-7

Thanks to those who help us keep these directories current by letting us know of changes!

  • The Directory of Granges features all Granges in the state with a contact person. Please make sure your listing is correct! Visitors to the site frequently consult these directories.
  • The ODD Directory features all state officers, directors, and deputies, along with their contact information. Updated January 16, 2026.

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.