Come and enjoy lots of great food. Including fresh baked muffins, cinnamon rolls and FREE coffee! Stop by for lunch. We will be serving soups, biscuits, hot dogs and drinks. *CRAFTS*RAFFLES*
No Admission Fee for the Fair!
St. George Grange is located at 32 Wiley’s Corner Road in St. George, Maine
Live Nativity at 4:45 pm
Public Supper at 5:00 pm
Enjoy homemade food with family, friends, and neighbors (by donation).
For more information about these events, contact Tammy at 372-8904 or Patsy at 372-6424. Merry Christmas!
Seth Godin recently posted about how easy it is to win the race to the bottom. “We can justify most moves to the bottom while they’re happening, but the problem with this race is that you might win.” Even doing nothing contributes to winning the race to the bottom. The opposite is not necessarily a race to the top. As Seth points out, if we resolve not to continue the race to the bottom, we’re committing to a climb, not a race.
We have a few things to help you on your climb.
Your New Communications Handbook… Recently completely updated, it replaces the former annual additions and includes a lot of resources to help you improve your messages to members and your communities. It’s an easy download from the website and the pdf includes a number of clickable links to even more resources. The price is right. It’s free for the taking. If your Grange is still not comfortable with technology, you can request a printed copy from the Maine State Grange office.
Your Local Grange Library… A number of Granges have established Little Free Libraries or Box Exchange Boxes. (How are you maintaining them during the winter months?) Your Grange should also maintain a self-serving library of forms, program books, etc. that ideally is available to your members. Many of the suggested contents are available on the Maine State Grange Website, but having them readily available locally makes sense!
Your Annual Reports and Program Book… Don’t skip over this one! While we often apply these to state directors and officers, your local Grange can do both. Some Granges write a report and submit it to the town clerk for inclusion in the town’s annual report. We are, after all, community Granges! A program book might summarize your work and include a directory of officers and members.
Your Publication of Events… We’re still working to make this easier and more effective! Submitting events to and through the website is now easier than ever. The format will also help you ensure you are including complete details. We’ve also developing a new “breaking news” logo we can use to further your public awareness. Don’t forget my decades old truism. “It’s easier to make news than it is to write press releases.” (See the Communications Handbook!)
And speaking of climbing, consider this poem by Edgar Guest, published in the Detroit Free Press (March 4, 1921) and now in the public domain.
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, And the road you’re trudging seems all uphill, When the funds are low and the debts are high, And you want to smile, but you have to sigh, When care is pressing you down a bit, Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns, As every one of us sometimes learns. And many a failure turns about When he might have won had he stuck it out. Don’t give up though the pace seems slow, You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than it seems To a faint and faltering man. Often the struggler has given up when he Might have captured the victor’s cup, And he learned too late when the night slipped down, How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out, The silver tint of the clouds of doubt, And you never can tell how close you are. It may be near when it seems afar. So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit. It’s when things seem worst that You musn’t quit.
FACT: Nearly one-third of visits to the MSG website happen as the result of a Google Search!
Welcome to our first “Gathering of Dyers” Day! Not a class, really, but a gathering of people with stained hands, creative hearts, a passion for dye pots, curiosity about what other dyers are up to, and a desire to make new friends.
We meet at Evening Star Grange in Washington on Saturday, November 14, from 10 AM to 3 PM. There will be a dozen dye pots ready and lots of different fibers to sample.
Everyone can dye or tie-dye a silk scarf or cotton bandana to take home with their samples. New dyers are welcome, but this will not be a formal class. The fee, which includes supplies, is $75 for Maine Fibershed members and $85 for non-members.
Advance registration and payment are required so that we have enough material for everyone. Bring your lunch and curiosity! Contact Wendy Carr for more information or to register.
Evening Star Grange is located at 31 Old Union Road in Washington, Maine.
By Rick Grotton, Membership Committee Director 207 582-5915
I hope everyone had a great summer and a good beginning to our new Grange season. Harvest is wrapping up, as are the agricultural fairs in our grand State of Maine. There were many great fair booth exhibits displaying the hard work done by our Grange members in the previous year. Congratulations to all of you!
Membership growth is an ongoing project which we should all take very seriously. Hopefully, your labors in the preceding months have attracted new members! I do have the past year’s membership results and noted that 16 Granges had increases in membership totaling 65 new members. Very encouraging, HOWEVER; we need increases from more than just the 16 Granges. We need increases in ALL Granges. The overall losses have once again outnumbered the gains. I encourage every Grange; no, I challenge every Grange to take in more new members by promoting, advertising, word of mouth, or by other means. It is not just a request; it is a plea, as we are in great demand. Losing more Granges is not an option! Do you have a plan to attract new membership? Is your Grange ready? If our Granges stick to our traditions and rituals, educate our members (new and seasoned), keep a positive attitude, make yourselves visible to the public, support your communities, and keep your doors open, then we have a chance. Otherwise, Granges that are just social clubs with no respect for Grange rituals and traditions continue to hurt our image and do nothing but disillusion the public. These “social clubs” are Granges that are in name only and are self-serving. This is why we need to educate our members on the true meaning of a Grange member and how we serve our families and communities. Keep plugging away as members have done for 159 years.
Fall Craft Fair at the St. George Grange on Saturday. October 10, 2026, from 9 am until 2 pm includes fresh-baked goods, coffee, mulled cider, homemade jelly, jam, fudge, and canned goods. Lunch will be available: soup w/biscuit, hot dogs, and drinks. For more information, contact the St George Grange Secretary at 207-372-8904.
The St George Grange is located at 32 Wiley’s Corner Road.
The National Grange has identified Mill Stream Grange #574 as a 2026 Distinguished Grange.
The National Grange will recognize Mill Stream Grange along with 53 other Community, Pomona, and Junior Granges and four State Granges at the 160th Annual National Grange Convention in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, this November, as well as at a special National Grange Honors Night on November 20th.
“Earning the title of Distinguished Grange is a powerful reflection of what the Grange can accomplish at the local level,” said National Grange President Christine Hamp. “It recognizes a Grange that is engaged, growing, serving its neighbors, developing leaders, and creating meaningful opportunities for members to make a difference. These Granges are not simply gathering for meetings. They are building stronger communities, welcoming people into the Grange family, and turning ideas into action. Their work represents the very best of who we are and shows the lasting impact a strong Grange can have.”
To be named a Distinguished Grange, Mill Stream Grange submitted a recap of activities, events, and other qualifying data from July 2025 through June 2026, which the National Grange then reviewed. Some of the projects and programs included establishing a Little Free Library, decorating Veterans’ graves, providing area third-graders with dictionaries as part of their “Words for Thirds” program, and crafting “heart cards” for the residents of Woodlands Senior Living in Farmington.
Master/President Jill Sampson tells us that much of the credit goes to Lecturer/Program Director Kristen Heck, who “worked really hard on it, and adds, “The Grange has always been about community and family. Our members and our neighbors gather, bond, and build a stronger, healthier community for ourselves and our children. We are excited and enjoy finding new ways to meet the changing needs of our community.”
The Mill Stream Grange Hall is located at 128 Town House Road in Vienna. Regular meetings are held the first and third Friday of every month at 7:00 pm, following a supper at 6 pm. Mill Stream Grange maintains a Facebook Group, or you can contact Secretary Laurena Cunningham at (207) 246-8534 for more information about meetings and upcoming events.
I left the topic the same as last month because it seems appropriate to share a few things from my Annual Report of how the Communications Department is doing just that.
This is the fifteenth year the website has been in place. Site views have increased significantly. This Grange year, the site has been viewed at least 22,000 times—an average of 1800 times per month and a 25% increase over the previous year.
Several significant accomplishments this year include:
A significant purging of the site in conjunction with arranging the migration of the site to a new host provider. After fourteen years with our provider, we began suffering severe outages and increased costs. The preparation and execution took many hours, but the change has been beneficial.
Added a number of “Resources for Grangers,” including logos for the most common Grange events and programs, a special Communications Column on the subject of non-profits, and further development of “Rapid Resources” on a variety of topics.
Continued to streamline the site by purging dated material. This makes the site much more manageable, reduces confusion, and saves server space.
Completed interviews with media representatives and researchers.
As time permits, I continue to work with local Granges who want assistance with communication and “semi-technical” support.
Created a distinct form and method for submitting events and programs being sponsored or hosted by local community Granges. The resulting posts are easily accessible and can be shared on social media with little effort. These events are also added to the MSG Events Page which is among the most visited pages on the site.
Started work on a revised Communications Handbook for 2026-27 that will integrate the current website handbook. Technology is changing rapidly, and we cannot ignore many of those changes.
Continued to facilitate an outbound email service that allows information to be sent directly to officers, directors, and deputies on short notice. This service also enables website subscriptions. Website subscribers grow slowly, and I consistently send subscribers a weekly summary of posts.
Looking ahead to 2026-2027, some objectives include:
Continuing to keep communication positive, helpful, and engaging.
Add a simple privacy policy explaining how the site handles information.
Complete and expand the resource pages for Book Exchange Programs and Words for Thirds.
Promote the posting of Subordinate Grange events and news to the site.
Continue searching for resources, including additional guest columnists and regular topical information that can be reposted with attribution.
Update the online directories of Granges and Officers as the roster information becomes available.
On a personal level, I’ve become more focused on my writing efforts. I’m writing for a monthly local magazine, The Guilford Register. (One column was about the Granges in Maine!) I recently published “Memorials, Monuments, and Memories,” a book that takes readers from Flanders Fields to Main Street America. “Cows, Corn, and Calm” will document what happens when a Maine writer with a lifelong love of bovines loads up his pickup truck, points it toward Amish Country, and signs up to learn how to drive a team of oxen. Also on the list is a sequel to Exploring Traditions that includes Reflections on the Grange Way of Life. If “idle hands are the devil’s workshop,” I’m on good ground.
My complete report is available on the website and will be included in the delegate’s packet at State Session. Please let me know if I can do anything to help you and your Grange.
By Rick Grotton, Membership Committee Director 207 582-5915
September and October are my favorite months of the year. The warm days and cool nights are refreshing and the colors of the changing foliage (also football games) are my favorites. State Grange session is almost upon us. This is also a great time for Autumn events at your Grange. Also, many of us spend much of our time at various agricultural fairs displaying our crops and handiwork to compete for that elusive blue ribbon and cash to fund our projects. Publicity runs high in these two months and we should be proud of our products out there for public view. Be proud of displaying your wares and be grateful for the admiration of others who enjoy the result of your hard work throughout the year. I have seen some beautiful displays and it makes me proud to be a Granger. Also, harvest suppers and “trunk or treat” Halloween gatherings are fun for the community and for ourselves. Keep up the good work, Brothers and Sisters!
Remember, adding new members is a top priority and should be a constant venture. Without water, we and other living things wither up and die; without new members, our Grangers do the same. Membership is our lifeblood, and we should be constantly working to increase membership. Does your Grange have a membership committee? If not, you should. No matter how small or large your membership, adding new members is always needed, just as the blood pumps through our veins and the sunlight helps our plants to grow.
How did you come about becoming a member? If you joined other than by family, you were recruited as was I. My life changed immediately for the better as I had a whole new family to meet and to create lasting friendships. Growing and learning were constant, and I felt grateful for the changes that I endured (some beyond my control). Early on, I had not envisioned myself as a leader or a public speaker, and especially as a State Grange Master (President). Think of your own experiences. Wouldn’t you want others to feel the same way as you do about Grange? The passion when speaking to others will certainly be noticed and felt by them. Encourage them to visit and invite them to events. Even ask them for their ideas about how to run a particular project or their opinions about an event. Make them welcome and be open to their ideas. Positive energy yields positive results. So, get out there with a smile and a goal to bring in the new members! I hope to see you at the State Grange session in October.
