Patrons of Husbandry – a website dedicated to the Granges located in Maine
The Maine State Grange Office is located at
36 Anthony Avenue, Suite 102, Augusta, ME 04330
The office is open Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday from 9:30 am until 1:30 pm
The email address is mainestategrange@gmail.com.
For website matters, email webmaster@mainestategrange.org.
By Walter Boomsma
207 343-1842
Communications Director
A Few Reminders and Ideas
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!
The Manchester Grange 2026 Annual Craft Fair is next week on October 24th! With 24 magnificent vendors and 25 raffle prizes from local businesses, you’ll be hard-pressed to make it out with a treasure. Food will be provided by the Lion’s Club. The Grange is right next to the Castletown playground, so your kids can play while you shop. It’s going to be a wonderful event. Looking forward to seeing you there!
Medicare’s annual open enrollment period runs from October 15 through December 7.
As beneficiaries and new enrollees review their health and prescription drug coverage and options, criminals may pose as Medicare representatives or Medicare Advantage agents and try to steal Medicare numbers, financial or other personal information.
Know two things: unsolicited contact about Medicare is highly suspicious, and Medicare will never contact you out of the blue.
For helpful resources on enrollment and open season, check out medicare.gov, aarp.org/medicare or your State Health Insurance Assistance Program, a federally funded resource with trained counselors that can answer your questions in person, online or by phone. Search online for help at shiphelp.org/SHIPs or call 877-839-2675.
Report scams to local law enforcement. For help from AARP, call 1-877-908-3360 or visit the AARP Fraud Watch Network at aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork.
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.
Helping you prepare for the holiday season!
Granges, please verify your listings for accuracy and advise us of any changes! Submit your craft show listing here.
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.
This past week held notes of dissonance. Discordant, sad strains in the melody of fall’s alternating glory of rain and shine, a long-awaited harmony.
Benjamin headed off to Draft Animal Power Network field days in Vermont. This means we employ help at chore times.
Our cows know our boundaries. If anyone else tends to them, they need to find this new human’s boundaries, much like children in a classroom with substitute teachers. For example: we milk in a parlor with two stanchions. While one cow is milked, the next one is let in to be prepped. We milk in the same order day after day. The cows know when their turn is coming and busy themselves with hay until then.
Unless…they need to test someone new. Since last Wednesday when Ben left, the jumble has begun after the first cow, Polly. Astrid refused outright to come into the parlor just to see which tricks might be employed to persuade her otherwise. I stepped in with apples…the stomach wins the heart.
I made it my goal to just keep up with grazing rotations while Benjamin was away. The hens move every two or three days, the hogs as they use up a paddock, the cows twice daily. I was on top of everything until Eliza calved on Friday.
Everything went well. This is Eliza’s 7th calf.
We typically give a new mama a day or two in the barn to keep an eye on things postpartum. When I walked into the barn on Saturday morning, I immediately knew something was wrong. Eliza was unable to get up and bloated. I set to action with Fisher, who was milking cows that morning and our oldest son, Alexander. We propped her up with bales of hay. She started to belch and get rid of the bloat. I figured she would be up in no time.
After milking she was still unable to stand. We gave her some oral calcium and glucose, hoping her system would recover quickly. I called our vet. By 1:30 that afternoon, she had passed, most likely from internal bleeding postpartum.
This is a big loss, as sad as it was unpreventable. Eliza was our oldest cow and the herd matriarch. She left us a cunning, super-smart, little heifer. This wee slip of a calf has big shoes to fill.
Ben returns tonight (Sunday). The cows will have to behave again and… he’ll have a good-bye to say and a tree to plant over Eliza. The regular melody will return. As will those dissonant notes. Alternating necessities each in their turn, the flip side one of the other.
As our many summertime guests head home for the winter, I entreat all of you to please spread the good word. Our local farms are overflowing with bounty and quality unlike anything you can purchase at the grocery store. “The best dairy in Hancock County” (according to Google reviews) is in your neighborhood. Visit your farms and eat well.
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. Quill’s Endians are members of Halcyon Grange and publish a newsletter for their farm’s buying club of farmers in the area, and generously permit us to share some of their columns with Grangers. Visit the Quill’s End Farm Facebook Page for more information.
By Clay Collins, Guest Columnist
207 837-0564
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
Philippians 2:3-4
Halloween is rapidly upon us, the weather is quickly changing (right now it is like a roller coaster). If you are not already raking your leaves and getting your snow removal equipment ready, you had better get started! Don’t be like me. I have a ‘honey-do list of projects I have to do before snow flies!
While you are getting ready for winter, remember at least two things. The first take things easy. Don’t hurry so that you hurt yourself. Slow and easy wins the race (usually). The second is to remember your friends, neighbors, relatives, acquaintances, even strangers who might not be as fortunate as you.
They might not be as nimble as you or have the equipment or know how to do some things as you do. They might have other talents that you do not possess to do a task. Combine your talents, and you might be surprised at what you might be able to accomplish.
Until the next time, remember, “Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.”
Benediction: Gracious and patient Father of us all, bless those who need help and those of us who offer help to others. Teach us that e all have different talents that can be helpful to others. Amen.
Thought for the month:
“Love much, laugh often, live well.”
While Chaplain Christine is burdened with technology challenges, she has invited Past MSG Chaplain Clay to share some spiritual thoughts with our Grange Flock.
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.
With colder weather approaching, the Maine Department of Energy Resources’ 2026-2027 Winter Heating Guide can help residents save money, stay warm, and find assistance. The guide brings together practical tips, financial assistance programs, and contacts for help throughout the heating season.
Start by scheduling annual heating system maintenance and asking your fuel provider about automatic delivery to help avoid running out. You can also explore weatherization incentives through Efficiency Maine and MaineHousing. Maine’s heating fuel price reports can help you compare costs and make informed decisions.
Several programs offer support for eligible households:
If you are very low on heating fuel and cannot afford a refill, you may qualify for emergency assistance. Call 211 or contact your local Community Action Agency for information.
The webpage also includes heating safety resources, warming center information, a recorded winter heating webinar, and a new printable contact sheet to share with neighbors, family members, or community organizations.