Community Service/FHH – April 2025

By Brenda Dyer, MSG Community Service/FHH Director
(207) 608-9193

There is a revised Community Service Report Form for 2025. Changes were made at the National level, so we have revised our information, requirements, and form. The new information and forms will be mailed to each Grange this month.

We are asking each Grange to fill out the Maine Community Service Summary Report and return it to us by August 31, 2025. This can be part of a detailed report or just the form. We need to receive 25% participation of our Subordinate Granges returning the form to receive some additional funding from National Grange to help with our awards at State Session in October.

Even if you are doing a few small projects, a large project, or not doing Community Service in your area, please return the form anyway. Please note the 3/19/25 revised Community Service Summary form and instruction information about the detailed report is enclosed and can be found on the Maine State Grange website under Program Books and Information Page for Community Service: 2024-25 Community Service Revised Pages. You may request the revised form & information or the completely revised book from State Grange. (The form, instruction information page, and judges sheet are the only changes to the book.)

We must hit that 25% to receive the funding necessary to move forward.
Just a friendly reminder the Community Service Reports or folders are due to the director no later than August 31, 2025! Be sure to include the revised Community Service Summary Report and mail to:

Brenda Dyer
9 Marial Ave
Biddeford, ME 04005

Remember your Nomination for Police – Firefighter/EMT – Educator Of The Year 2024-25. You may nominate one individual for each of these three categories using a separate form for each.

We can’t wait to see what new and exciting things you have been working on this year! Congratulations on your CS work, and thank you so much for your support!

Janice loves the Grange!

A fellow Granger is never a stranger. There is an immediate bond between Grangers. We are part of a long and honorable tradition. Through Grange Programs, I can serve my community in ways I cannot do alone.

Janice, Valley Grange #144

Community Service/FHH – March 2025

By Brenda Dyer, MSG Community Service/FHH Director
(207) 608-9193

Just to update you on the State Community Service Contest. Changes are being made on the State level and will be posted and sent to Granges soon. 

One major change will be no notebooks and the report will be limited to 10 (ten) double sided sheets. This is to be a report of your projects answering specific questions about your project(s) – I will get that off to you by next month and mailed  to the Granges.

I have included a message from the National Community Service co-directors. 

Message from National

The 2025 National Grange Community Service Program is now posted on the National Grange website (nationalgrange.org).

We have found that not all PCs/Laptops/smartphones show the same format but under Community Service, you will find a page with the CS logo describing the 2025 National Grange Community Service Program. 

Also included are the National Grange Community Service Report Form and a “Share Your Project’s Story” Form and Program Ideas. 

In 2025, the focus of Community Service will not be a contest, but a celebration of good works. As such, there will be no judging on the National level. No notebooks are to be taken to National Convention or sent electronically prior to Convention to the community service email address.  

Likewise, “Of the Year” Nominations for Fireman, Teacher and Policeman will not be judged on the National level but can be recognized on the local and State levels.  

We encourage each State to receive the Subordinate Grange reports/notebooks and “Of the Year” nominations in the format that best serves your State.  The option to judge or don’t judge is yours.    As State Director, you have the responsibility to work with your State President and others as necessary to determine what is best for your State and get it communicated to your Subordinate Granges.  

The 2025 National Grange Community Service Report Form must be completed by the State Community Service Director or State President and emailed to communityservice@grange.org 

In order to receive the monetary $250 award from National, States must meet the required 25% of their total Subordinate Granges submitting reports to the State level.

The Report form must be sent to us in the current calendar year.

Please note that the hours expended for Project Sustenance, the newly launched National Grange Program, is to be included on the CS Report Form.  Details for this program can be found on the Project Sustenance page on the National Grange 

Any Subordinate Grange can submit a “Share Your Project’s Story” Form.  

We know there are changes announced here from what some of you had been told previously and we apologize for any inconvenience.  We do trust, however, that you have been making a difference in your communities and now we can finally all move forward together with the 2025 National Grange Community Service Program.

As National Co-Directors, we are committed to helping you be successful.  Please contact us at communityservice@grange.org and we will try our best to assist.  Best wishes.

Bonnie Mitson & Randee Farmer
NG Community Service Co-Directors

View from the Farm – March 2025

Webmaster’s note: The format of this column includes all of the Quill’s Endians participating at various times and in various ways! Phil writes this month’s column.

The Floodgates Are Open

Last winter, I was fighting chronic Lyme disease. Chronic Lyme disease presents differently for each individual affected by it. I thought that the symptom of brain fog had mostly skipped me, but early this morning, there was some evidence to the contrary.

Bonnie Three birthed a beautiful healthy heifer calf. Bonnie has a Three in her name because this farm always has a Bonnie. It is a tribute to our very first cow whose name was Bonnie. So…that out of the way, Bonnie Three calved this morning. She was not, according to my notes and memory, supposed to do that until the middle of May. Because her calving date was marked as May, she has only had a very abbreviated “vacation” from milking.

The cows usually are “dried off” for two months. This allows them a rest period and to put on some weight and grow a healthy calf. While Bonnie’s calving went well and she has a healthy heifer calf, she has only had a couple of weeks off. Apparently the herd is still having symptoms of my time with Lyme disease.

Case in point? We have ten milking cows. Given a two month vacation for each cow before calving, in order to keep a steady supply of milk, we should be milking 8-ish at any given time and have a calf every month-plus. Since February third, when Pippin freshened, we have had five calves. Five cows freshening in the span of a little more than one month is not an ideal dispersal of milk flow over time for a steady supply. A correction of this glut-scarcity cycle problem will require milking some of the cows longer and keeping them open (unbred) for a longer period. The repercussions of my Lyme brain fog will stretch out in the barn for another couple of years to get this all straightened out again.

As we are now milking all ten cows at once, the floodgates are open. Milk, cream, yogurt, and cheese are all available in abundance. Our pigs won’t consider a dry meal and even the hens are partaking in skim milk to wash down theirs.

Thankfully, the symptoms of Lyme have vacated my body. Hopefully, with time and proper bull control, they will leave my farm.

Heather and Phil Retberg and their three children run Quill’s End Farm, a 105-acre property in Penobscot that they bought in 2004. They use rotational grazing on their fifteen open acres and are renovating thirty more acres from woods to pasture to increase grazing for their pigs, grass-fed cattle, lambs, laying hens, and goats. Heather is Vice President of Halcyon Grange #345 and writes a newsletter for their farm’s buying club of farmers in her area and has generously permitted us to share some of their columns with Grangers. Visit the Quill’s End Farm Facebook Page for more information.

Membership Moments – March 2025

By Rick Grotton,
Membership Committee Director
207 582-5915

Grange month is here again which is a perfect time to boost your membership drives. Many events are happening all over the state; don’t be left behind!!! What are your plans to boost membership? Is everyone on board in your Grange on how to increase membership? Make it a contest. Challenge each member of your Grange to bring in one new member! Last year, there were a number of Granges who ended the membership year with a net gain (meaning the new members less death and demits). Let’s strive to beat the record of last year. It isn’t hard to do. Use your Grange projects to attract new members. Ask your community and various other organizations to help with the projects you have planned. For example, we advertised on social media to have the community children help make May baskets in the past, and some did show up and had a great time. We even got a few new members from our projects.

Community, cooperation and communication are the three C’s we should follow. Community is important for us to carry out our duties as Grangers. If there is no community, who will attend our suppers, craft fairs, farmers markets, etc. Then what would be our purpose? Cooperation makes the projects go smoothly and makes our Grange meetings run smoothly. We need cooperation to carry on the projects, to fill our Grange offices, to spawn ideas for future projects. Every member is unique and has their own ideas and thoughts. Every member is important, regardless of title or office. Let us all help one another and be there when needed. Not only your own Grange, but others, which is the purpose of the idea of a “sister” Grange. We would open up a new world of cooperation and learn from others as they will learn from us. Fresh ideas and new faces will give us a new perspective on how we view things on the outside and a new routine. Communication is a big deal. Everyone should be on the same page and all members be notified of events, projects, and meetings. Granges are not “social clubs” and must follow the rules of being a Grange. The social clubs are only interested in using a hall for their events and ruin the reputation of the Grange. They are subject to be shut down. Advertising is big because who will attend our events if no one knows about them. Miscommunication or no communication brings confusion, misunderstandings and bad blood. It has destroyed many Granges over the years and still does today. No one person “owns ” their Grange or is entitled to “own” a specific project. So many times we have heard or seen this happen. No good comes from it. Selfishness has no place in our Granges. We are there for a purpose. What is yours?

On April 27 at the State Grange Headquarters, a Degree Day will be held beginning at 1 pm. The first four degrees will be performed so anyone who has new members who have not seen the degrees are encouraged to attend.

Chaplain’s View – March 2025

Christine Hebert, MSG Chaplain
(207) 743-5277

We hope every day in some way, shape or form. Why not turn to the Lord for it? Here is a great example, The Lord gave us Saint Anthony. When I have lost or misplaced something, I say, “Saint Anthony, please come around, there’s something lost that must be found. Thank you.” I find it 99% of the time and rather quickly. Try it, you might be surprised.

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and in his grace gave us unfailing courage and a firm hope, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.”

Thessalonians 2:16-17

We put our hope in the Lord, he is our protector and our help.

Psalms 33:20

President’s Perspective – March 2025

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

Non-members at Meetings

A question has been asked about non-members visiting or sitting in a meeting of the Grange. There are a couple of sections in The National Grange Digest of Laws 2025 edition that deal with this question.  

Chapter IV  BY-LAWS OF THE NATIONAL GRANGE OF THE ORDER OF PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY

4.10.4 Authority of Masters 

The Masters of Subordinate and Pomona Granges are answerable to the Master of the State Grange having jurisdiction over said Subordinate or Pomona Granges. 

The right to make Rulings, as to Grange Laws and Usage, is vested solely in the Masters of the various Granges of the divisions of the Order.

Chapter XI  CODE OF RITUAL, DEGREES, AND REGALIA

Grange Meetings

11.8.11 Non-members may be allowed to observe the opening and closing ceremonies of the fourth degree and all aspects of a business meeting conducted in the fourth degree. Any member may object to the presence of non-members during balloting on candidates or balloting on accepting reinstatement or demits into Grange membership. 

State Master/President’s Comments: As a visitor, they would not be allowed to participate in discussions on motions or vote on any issues to come before the Grange. If they are there for a presentation or as a speaker, then that is a different situation.  An additional question along the same line is how many times may they visit without becoming a member? There is no specific timeframe outlined in the by-laws, however, as Master/President of the Maine State Grange, my opinion or ruling would be — not more than three (3) visits to check things out. They should not be allowed to visit indefinitely without membership.

Membership numbers. Each Grange is required by the By-Laws of the National Grange to maintain a minimum of 13 members to retain your Grange Charter. It is up to each Grange to keep that minimum, and it is up to you as members to ask others to join your Grange. The Maine State Grange cannot get you Grange members. 

A Degree Day with the first Four Degree Ceremonies being fully conferred, will be held on April 27, starting at 1:00 pm at the State Grange building at 146 State Street, Augusta.  You must have submitted an application to the local Grange you wish to join or you must have already been given the Official Obligation Ceremony or Official Welcome Ceremony to view the Degrees. The word Degree refers to the level of the Grange, the first Four Degrees are for the Subodinate/Community level with lessons based on Agriculture and the seasons of the year. If you are already a member, you are welcome to attend the degree. We hope to see a good group of candidates again this year and many members too. 

Grange Heirloom — March 2025

Grange Heirlooms are snippets from the lessons of the Grange as taught in the Rituals and Declaration of Purposes.

Use the icons below to share this Grange Heirloom on social media and help others understand what the Grange stands for! If this heirloom has a particular meaning for you, click the “leave a comment” link at the left and share your comment with us!

For additional information and resources regarding the Heirloom Program, visit the Heirloom Resource Page on the Maine State Grange Website.

Jessica loves the Grange!

I love all of the activities and events that the Grange does throughout the year.

Jessic Thurston-Creations Custom and Homemade, LLC, Hollis Grange #132

What about you?

Do you love the Grange? Can you explain what’s great about being a member? It only takes a minute to click the button and tell the world!

I love the Grange!

View from the Farm – February 2025

Webmaster’s note: The format of this column includes all of the Quill’s Endians participating at various times and in various ways! Phil writes this month’s column.

A Sweet Valentine

From the depths of winter, it may seem like the quiet time on the farm right now, because it mostly is, relatively. However, this little farm is never truly quiet. We have our minds on the upcoming growing season that still offers perfection…in February. And, we hope, more opportunity.

Amidst the daily tending chores: hauling water, hay, grain, firewood, and moving snow around, we are bouncing ideas and numbers off each other at every turn, troubleshooting and gaming scenarios. We’re discussing how best to add new markets to reach more of you with the limited labor we’ve got. We’re taking the beginning steps–looking at you, Blue Hill (!)– of resuming a delivery day in your neighborhood to increase ease of accessibility to Quill’s End food and help us feed more milk to people rather than pigs in 2025.

Presently at Quill’s End, we have been milking the fewest number of cows as winter sees reduced foot traffic at the farm store and less food ordered for delivery. Four of our cows have been “on vacation” and will freshen (calve) this month. The first calf of this group was born last Monday on the 3rd to Pippin. Our last bull was a Guernsey/Jersey cross, and this new little valentine of a heifer got white splashes and long legs from her sire. Her dam gave her smarts and she is already zooming her way into our hearts. We hope that she will also get some mellowness from Edmund the Bull. Mellow took years to come to mama Pippin. The other three cows, Ariel, Andy, and Penelope, all look to be on track to calve soon. We’ve got some busy weeks ahead.

This is all to say that we will soon have more milk than you know what to do with! We’d appreciate if you could work your Quill’s End love magic and spread the word far and wide so that there are more yous for the upcoming milk flow.

Getting ready for the summer also means restocking our freezers. Our offerings have been slim as we try to open up space for the next round of pork and beef which will be available in late February–just a few more weeks until we have treasure caches of bacon and sausage and all manner of steaks and beef cuts once again! We will also have veal cuts of all kinds in March to enliven our dinner menus as we head into mud season.

The frequent snow storms are brightening the landscape and storing much-needed moisture for the spring to come. The cold has made thick ice on all the ponds and lakes. It is nice to see the ice-fishing shacks back on the water en masse after years of inadequate ice. Heather and I even saw pick-up trucks plowing the snow off a lake this week. It is refreshing to see people out enjoying winter’s offerings. Frequent plowing here is helping us familiarize ourselves with the new Ford 545d tractor. A cab with intact windows and doors that keep out the weather is downright luxurious–on par with the Popemobile to this farmer.

Heather and Phil Retberg and their three children run Quill’s End Farm, a 105-acre property in Penobscot that they bought in 2004. They use rotational grazing on their fifteen open acres and are renovating thirty more acres from woods to pasture to increase grazing for their pigs, grass-fed cattle, lambs, laying hens, and goats. Heather is Vice President of Halcyon Grange #345 and writes a newsletter for their farm’s buying club of farmers in her area and has generously permitted us to share some of their columns with Grangers. Visit the Quill’s End Farm Facebook Page for more information.