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.
The AARP Fraud Watch Network™ Helpline (877-908-3360) is hearing from more people about bank impersonation scams. Consumers are targeted, usually through a call or text, by a criminal pretending to be from your bank.
They claim there’s suspicious activity on your account, and you need to act immediately to protect your money. The warning can sound convincing because they are impersonating your actual bank and may have specific information about you and your account.
A major red flag is being told to transfer or withdraw money to keep it “safe.” The bank impersonator may instruct you to wire funds, use a payment app, or withdraw cash and feed it into a designated cryptocurrency kiosk for “safekeeping.”
The playbooks for this and other financial crimes are focused on a form of manipulation that serves to get past the logic center in our brains and go right to action through emotion. Any unexpected or unsolicited contact these days is a fraud risk. If you receive a concerning message from your bank, contact them using a phone number you know belongs to your bank, or check your account online or in the app if you have that access.
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.
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
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!
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. For website matters, email webmaster@mainestategrange.org.
Yes, we have produced an October Bulletin — it is a reduced edition and will be snail-mailed late due to the State Session, but it’s important to maintain the practice, especially for those who do not attend the State Session. Recent issues of the Bulletin are available on the Program Books and Information Page in the communications section.
Remember to keep your radar on! Here’s an example of a different type of bogus email you might receive claiming some of your email wasn’t delivered. Just delete it!
Congratulations to Manchester Grange for being the first to be assigned our new “Breaking News” Icon! When a Grange submits news about their programs or events, we’ll be using it to identify the post as a “developing story.” Is that too subtle a hint that you should be sharing your news for posting?
Remember, we now have a specific form for submitting events on the site, and we’re using it! Keep submitting! Ideally, submit event announcements at least thirty days in advance. Then send us a “breaking news” update two weeks before the event. Remember, people are visiting the site from all over Maine and beyond!
Sendus your plans! We’ve created a special page on the site listing the ones we know about! Make sure we know about yours!
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”
John Quincy Adams
Check out this month’s Communications Column for several ideas, including the idea of sending an annual report of your activities and accomplishments to your Town Office for inclusion in your Town’s Annual Report.
Visit the 152nd State Convention Webpage!
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!
Thanks to those who help us keep these directories current by letting us know of changes!
From the Second Degree
During our Degree Day, someone commented that they wished more people could hear the words from the Degree Work. We continue to share them.
Above all, God is a Shepherd, and His people are the sheep of His pasture. You have, therefore, an adorable Pattern in your high and holy duties. To keep in safety those within the fold, and to reclaim the wandering—be your sacred charge. Be patient with the wayward, carefully instruct the erring, diligently seek and bring back the straying and those that are cast out. [Chaplain to the candidates]
I hesitate to use the word “trivial” in conjunction with the Ritual, but I have an interesting note about the Chaplain’s instruction. It is one of the rare exceptions where reference is made to Christ and the New Testament. In the previous paragraph, the Chaplain references Abel who “offered the first acceptable sacrifice,” as well as the “Shepherds at Bethlehem.” The position of shepherd is, then, “ancient and honorable.”
This is another place where I wish we could pause the ritual to explore in depth why the Chaplain compares God to a Shepherd and His people to sheep. The suggestion that the shepherd is an “adorable” pattern deserves thought. “Adorable” in this context doesn’t mean “cute.” The word comes from the Latin word adorare (to worship or ask in prayer). It therefore also sets a high standard that isn’t limited to animals.
It’s also tempting to think the pattern applies to other members, particularly if we think the flock is limited to Grangers. But it doesn’t take too much divergent thinking to see how following the shepherd pattern could be the basis of our contribution to our communities. Remember, the master/president’s challenge when closing the Grange meeting. “Let us be quiet, peaceful citizens, feeding the hungry…”
The most admirable quality of a shepherd is a profound commitment to protecting, guiding, and caring for the flock. While I will not claim to know what the original degree writers were thinking, the Ritual as a whole is not limited to fraternalistic instruction. The Ritual more accurately describes a way of life that embraces much, much more.
The role of a patron (one who provides support) might well resemble the role of a shepherd. When I demonstrate the shepherd’s hook during our dictionary presentations, I introduce third graders to the idea that leadership isn’t a title or position; it’s a way of thinking and living. “When you help a classmate with their work, you’re being a shepherd and a leader…”
When I think of what a shepherd does, a familiar verse comes to mind.
The Lord is my Shepherd: I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
Can we do that at least to some degree for each other?
Any degree or ritual quotations are from the forty-seventh edition of the 2023 Subordinate Grange Manual or the most recent edition of the Pomona Grange Manual. The views and opinions expressed in “Exploring Traditions” are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official doctrine and policy of the Grange. Information about the book “Exploring Traditions—Celebrating the Grange Way of Life” can be found at http://wboomsma.com, on Mr. Boomsma’s Amazon Author Page, or by contacting the author.
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.
