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 Clay Collins, Guest Columnist
207 837-0564
“Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, ‘Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay to Caesar, or not?’ But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.’ And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, ‘Whose likeness and inscription is this?’ They said, ‘Caesar’s.’ Then he said to them, ‘Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’’
Matthew 22:15-22
It is that time of year when most people turn to fall activities such as raking leaves, preparing your snow equipment upcoming storms. What to do first? Do what most people do: flip a coin.
Every time we face difficult decisions or tasks we don’t necessarily want to do, What to do? We flip a coin. Either literally or figuratively.
Hopefully, we do the right thing. The Pharisees tried tricking Jesus into saying they should worship Caesar instead of God. Jesus was aware of their malice. Instead, he took a coin and told them to give Caesar what is Caesar’s and God what is God’s. As you move toward the holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas), be careful and always remember your elderly friends and neighbors. Check on them regularly.
Until the next time, remember, “Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.”
Benediction: Gracious and patient Father of us all, help us to always make the correct decision, and forgive us for making the wrong decision. Amen.
Thought for the month:
“It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.” (Aristotle)
While Chaplain Christine is burdened with technology challenges, she has invited Past MSG Chaplain Clay to share some spiritual thoughts with our Grange Flock.
Guest Post by Sean McCart, Farm Country Hubs
When someone in Maine wants a pick-your-own orchard or a farm stand that is open today, they usually start with a search on their phone. If your farm shows up with hours, directions, and a few good photos, you’re in the running. If it doesn’t, they drive to the farm that does.
Farm Country Hubs is a free directory built for those searches. It lists farms, orchards, vineyards, and agritourism stops across the country- about 1,100 so far- each with a map pin and contact details, and most with photos and hours. Maine has 19 listed today, from u-pick berry fields in Mechanic Falls to barnyard visits in Westbrook. That is a short list for a state with as many farms as Maine has, which is the reason for this article.
Any farm business where customers come to you:
A farm that sells only wholesale or online isn’t a fit, because a listing needs a real place visitors can come to.
There is no card to enter and no fee. Paid tools such as online bookings and a farm website exist, but they are optional, and a free listing keeps working without them.
One tip: a photo of the actual field, stand or barn does more than a logo. Visitors want to see where they are going.
Listing a farm is easy to put off when there’s no spare afternoon in the busy season. A winter Grange meeting is a good time for it. Bring a laptop, help a few member farms add their listings, and trade photos. If your Grange has questions along the way, I’m glad to help by email.
You can see Maine’s current listings at farmcountryhubs.com/farms/maine.
About the author: Sean McCart runs Farm Country Hubs, part of Great Outdoor Hubs, a small company in Winter Springs, Florida, that builds free guides to farms and the outdoors. He can be reached at sean@greatoutdoorhubs.com.
“Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.”
Abraham Lincoln
by Walter Boomsma, MSG Communications Director
I’m pleased to offer some highlights from the 2026 MSG State Session. I’ll post additional reports and information over the next few days, or as it becomes available! There’s much information! This is not a record of the meeting, just some highlights of information presented that should be of interest.
The full text of the State Master’s Annual Address and Report is available here.
A Summary of The Conflict Resolution Workshop presented by Rick Grotton is available here.
Both Resolutions passed. Resolution #1 dealt with requesting an annual report from the MSG Executive Committee and was recommended by the Good of the Order Committee. (The 2025-26 report will be posted soon as an “Annual Report.”) Resolution #2 dealt with the Maine Secretary of State’s position when running for office and was recommended by the Legislative Committee.
A summary of the Memorial Service by Chaplain Christine Hebert will be posted soon.
Community Service Awards and honors are summarized and posted. For the Community Service Notebooks, Highland Lake Grange #87 received first place, Old Town Riverside #273 second, Mill Stream #574 third, and Saco #53 fourth. The contest is no longer held at the National Grange level.
CWA contest winners are listed in the 2025-26 CWA Annual Report–it’s a long list! CWA Director Margaret Henderson pointed out that Class A winner Laurie McBurney also received first-place honors at the Big E.
Sixteen Granges were recognized for a net gain in membership. Leaders included Farmington #12 with plus seven, Harraseeket #9 with plus seven, and Branch Mills #336 with plus five. The complete list is included in the Membership Director’s Annual Report.
Distinguished Grange Mill Stream #574 received a standing ovation for their achievement. The official presentation will be made at the National Conference on November 20th, and it will be livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube. We’ll post more information before then!
Have you subscribed to the site? You’ll receive a weekly email summarizing what’s been posted. You won’t miss a thing! It’s free, and you can “unsubscribe” at any time!
You’re all reporters! If you have photos or information from State Session, please submit them. You can email photos as attachments directly to webmaster@mainestategrange.org. Please include brief information such as what was going on and who is in the photo. You could also submit a Guest Article!
All former annual reports and program books are being removed, effective immediately. If you need any, please save them!
Articles in this edition include:
Click the button below to read and/or subscribe to Grange Today!
Note that all recent issues are available on the National Grange Website. To save server space, we only post the table of contents on the MSG Website.
Social media helps us stay connected, but criminals use the same platforms to find potential targets. A scam might arrive as a bargain-priced product, an investment opportunity, a new romantic interest, or a message that appears to come from someone you know.
Criminals create fake profiles, impersonate real people and businesses, or take over legitimate accounts. They can also use information people share publicly on social media to make their stories more convincing.
Use the platform privacy settings to limit who can see your posts and personal information. And use strong and unique passwords (strongly consider a password manager) and multifactor authentication where available.
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.
We had hats and mittens to bag and cases of dictionaries to label. It doesn’t look very organized, but we are getting ready! We contacted the schools with a calendar of available dates.
We’re steadily marching towards Dictionary Day 2026 for our kids and schools. In fact, we already have some dates. It will be Dictionary Day on
We’re ready to recruit our Valley Grange Teams to assist. You don’t have to be a member to help! Team members help unload, bring items inside, and carry things back out! During the presentation, you’ll be introduced and help when it’s time to hand out individual dictionaries. If you’re comfortable, it can be a lot of fun helping individual kids look up words. If you’re interested, email Walter or call him at (207) 343-1842.
There are many ways you can help Valley Grange and our communities. We can use your
In the October issue. two Maine members were recognized for 50 years of continuous membership:
The deadline for submitting lists of new members for the next issue is November 30, 2026. Send to Phil Vonada.
Mill Stream Grange “took the blue” twice for their crafts display at Farmington Fair. This was also their first year with an ag display, and they earned a red ribbon.
Mill Stream Grange and its members truly is a Distinguished Grange.
Congratulations!
The East Madison Grange is having a food project day on October 30 from 10 am to 12 pm. We will be handing out boxes of food to those who attend. In addition to food boxes, we also have some warm winter hats and gloves to give away. FMI