Patrons of Husbandry – a website dedicated to the Granges located in Maine
Grange Craft Fairs— a list of Holiday Shopping Opportunities at Granges
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
An Introduction and the Value of Anger
One of the often unstated benefits of Grange membership is the opportunity to network and collaborate, and I have an excellent example. Our Bulletin and website will benefit from Sean McCart and me “meeting” each other. Sean runs Farm Country Hubs, part of Great Outdoor Hubs, a small company in Winter Springs, Florida. It doesn’t take long to discover that Sean’s a knowledgeable guy. When we agreed to an article about the Hub here in Maine, He immediately found and read the Guest Author’s Guidelines. And then he followed them!
Since I’m always seeking resources for our members, we’re exploring some additional articles. Sean’s working on a post about operating a farm stand or store. Granges that operate farmers’ markets will be interested! We’ve hooked in Mark, who operates an unmanned, community-focused neighborhood store designed to support local Maine makers, bakers, farmers, and artisans right here in Abbot, Maine! How does he do it?
While our focus will be farmers and farm markets, you won’t have to think too far outside the box to benefit. We may be “At the Farm Gate,” but some of the thinking can easily transfer to the Grange Hall Door. If you have ideas and questions, you can certainly reach out to Sean or me!
On another note, the conflict resolution workshop at State Session triggered some thoughts. (A friend says she can tell when my brain is having fun. This may qualify as one of those times.) The word “anger” often comes up when we talk about conflict. Anger is an emotion. So is passion. They are both raw psychological “fuel.” The anger tends to be explosive, while passion burns like a steady fire. Both have value and can serve a purpose.
Imagine, for a moment, a group of Grangers who become truly angry because attendance at meetings is dismal. They care! That’s good news. They still care. Their anger is telling us (and them, if they’ll listen) something, but we have to listen carefully. That’s hard to do when we’re angry. We can work through the anger and move towards passion. A cooler head might ask “What should our meetings be like?”
When we outlaw and suppress anger, the result is likely going to be either more anger or, at the other end of the spectrum, apathy. The founders of the Grange were really angry about some of the things that were happening to farmers. After all, that was a driving force in the very creation of the Grange. To their credit, they welcomed healthy, honest debate. And they saw that it was possible to transform anger into motivation and proactivity.
Many years ago I worked an “inside” job as a director of training and organizational development. My secretary and I were quite a team. We would occasionally “stage” encounters for the benefit of the entire department! One of us might proclaim angrily, “We can’t let that happen!” The other might counter, “You’re right! Let’s get to work on a plan…” We wanted people to know we cared deeply.
Anger is often evidence of buried passion. We manage the anger to release the passion.
I occasionally joke,”There’s a lot of apathy these days, but who cares.” I’d rather attend that meeting where there’s frustration and anger than one where folks are half-asleep and looking forward to going home. How about you?
FACT: In the past thirty days, 24 visitors to the site clicked on links to Grange Facebook Pages. Is yours listed and current?
By Brenda Dyer, MSG Community Service/FHH Director
(207) 608-9193
Hello Everyone. Thank you to those Granges who submitted books and reports. The complete details are in my report that is posted on the website. Community Service: 1st Highland Lake, 2nd Old Town Riverside, 3rd Mill Stream, and 4th Saco. Family, Health & Hearing winner: Danville Junction.
A Community Service and Family, Health & Hearing Questionnaire was passed out and collected at State Session; thank you, everyone, for participating. The same questionnaire is being mailed to every Grange; please fill it out and return it to me at my home address.
I would like to thank Terry & Cassie for filling in for me at State Session. Thank you to all those who donated raffle items and bought tickets for the raffle – we earned $260 toward next year’s prize awards.
Thank you for the nice get-well card Joe received, signed by so many Grange friends. Happy Thanksgiving.
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.
Since early September, we have had the cows in our neighbor’s field just north of Quill’s End Farm. The field goes all the way to Back Ridge Rd. Every time we have animals near that (less-travelled) road, cars stop and watch. I get it. I like hanging out with cows. I wonder though, if anyone would stop and watch 100 years ago.
It has become such an anomaly to see animals out in a field. Even in farming communities, the cows, hogs, and chickens live indoors for their entire lives. It gladdens my heart to see that people are still attracted enough to livestock to stop and stare for a second.
I spent my early years in Medellin, Colombia. It was a city of millions in the 70s and 80s of last century, but many of its residents were fresh from the countryside. Some kept chickens or quail in cages in their homes. Some kept rabbits on little dirt courtyards. Wherever there was a little space, it was filled with a vestige of a time that was fleeting, when more than not, people were involved with raising and growing their food.
Some men made money with a horse and cart. Lacking fields and barns, they would work a horse until thin, let it loose, and catch a fat one. Horses roamed the city in little herds, snacking in city parks and dooryards, biding their time until they gained enough condition to warrant being caught and worked.
For thousands of years, humans have had a working relationship with animals that the Industrial Revolution is erasing. It is a shame. Machines cannot replace the relationships built by good work, of shared sweat and experience, and the many benefits of keeping livestock.
You all get to share some of the benefits while making it possible for us to continue this millennia-old relationship in the products we make, but maybe at some time, you’ll need to jump a fence, touch a cow, and remember the shared past, perhaps the future.
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.
“Honor to the soldier and sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country’s cause. Honor, also, to the citizen who cares for his brother in the field and serves, as he best can, the same cause.”
Abraham Lincoln
November 21, 2026, 9 am-2 pm
White Rock Grange #380 hosts dozens of crafters and artisans for your Christmas shopping pleasure. Handmade home decor, crochet & knitted items, hand towels, sewn items, soy candles, and much more!
Please consider bringing a donation for the local food pantry.
Whhite Rock Grange is located at 33 Wilson Road in Gorham, Maine 04038.
Farmington Grange has begun its WWW (Wednesday Work/Welcome and Warm Up for the winter. Every 1st and 3rd Wednesday, our Grange is open from 12 to 2 pm. Coffee, tea, soup, and sweets provided. Anyone can come in for social time, lunch, or to work on projects. Grange members are currently working on a crazy quilt.
Farmington Grange is located at 124 Bridge Street in West Farmington. FMI contact Bonnie Clark.
By Margaret Henderson, Director
Committee on Women’s Activities
207 948-2762
What a beautiful fall we have had. The colors were spectacular!
We had a good conference back in August. There was a total of 54 entries and there were 3 categories with
no entries. The winners from Classes A-K were sent to “Big E”. We had 5 winners from Maine. In Class A Afghans: Laurie McBurnie won 3rd place; Class B Doilies Roseanna Starks won 2nd place; Class
C Embroidery: Gail Butterfield won 3rd place; Class G Adult Garment: Mary Jane McLoon won 2nd place and Class I Quilted Wall Hanging: Kathy Gowen won 1st place.
I had the pleasure of presenting these awards at State Grange. Congratulations ladies. I look forward to seeing your entries next year.
I also presented a check to Richard Harriman for House in the Woods. I also have a check to present to Home for Little Wanderers this week. Thank you to
everyone for the donations to help these organizations. They really appreciate it.
I thought that State Grange session went very well. It was great to see everyone.
I hope that everyone will have a Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy your day with family and friends.
Robocalls can be more than just annoying. While some automated calls are legitimate, others are used by criminals to steal money or personal information. These calls may promise prizes, demand payment for debts you don’t owe or claim to come from a trusted organization.
Scammers can manipulate caller ID to make a call appear to come from a local number or a legitimate business. They may also use stolen personal information and artificial intelligence to make their calls more convincing. Even if a number looks familiar, that doesn’t mean the caller can be trusted.
To protect yourself, avoid answering calls from unknown numbers. If you answer a suspicious robocall, hang up without pressing any buttons. Check with your phone provider about call-blocking options and consider adding your number to DoNotCall.gov. While this can reduce unwanted telemarketing calls, it won’t stop scammers who ignore the rules.
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.
Sherry Harriman,
Maine State Grange Master/President
207 490-1029
We had a busy Maine State Grange Session held October 30 & 31 in Orono which went very well. I would say thank-you a thousand times to everyone who participated and/or helped in any way to make it a wonderful event.
We had 44 Delegates representing 27 Subordinate Granges and 22 Delegates representing 11 Pomona Granges a total of 66 Delegates with another dozen or so non-delegates participating, also. Our National Rep, Barbara Foster, Pomona of the National Grange and President of the West Virginia State Grange was unable to be with us and a letter was read from her expressing her regrets. I presented my Annual Master’s Address. A beautiful Memorial Service was held. A conflict resolution workshop was directed by Rick Grotton. We recognized 14 former Officers of the Maine State Grange. Awards were presented by Community Service, Family, Health & Hearing, Membership, Lecturer, and CWA.
To celebrate our 250th Anniversary of America we recognized 8 Veterans — Dale Holst, Nancy Farrington, Carl Moon, Paul Woodman, Charles McGillicuddy, Pete Ivers, Jim Meserve and Richard Harriman, presenting each with a handmade quilted lap robe in appreciation of their military service. We enjoyed a marvelous banquet, and were entertained by “Up Tempo” a wonderful local quartet. We passed the 2026 – 2027 budget, accepted officer and department reports, and elected Steven Haycock as the newest member of the Executive Committee. Congratulations. I gave the participants a couple of “quizzes” or classroom assignments – filling out paperwork and turning it in right then, even had some fun drawing pictures. I loved all the ones I was given. We conferred the 6th Degree on 2 candidates. It was a great session, CONGRATULATIONS on a job well done. Again, thank you everyone.
If you would like any of the Session paperwork it can be standard mailed or emailed to you. Contact me or the office at the above address. Most of it, is also posted on the website.
Items available:
2026 -2027 Program Books
Additional information we filled out and returned during the meeting
I am working on filling my Deputy and Committee positions for the coming year. I need Deputies in Androscoggin, Cumberland, Excelsior, and Hancock Pomonas. Some counties have a State Officer assigned, but I would like to get more people involved. I could use extra Deputies in some areas that have a lot of Granges. Duties of Pomona Deputies include visiting each of the Subordinate or Community Granges in your area, give instructions and information, then make an overall report of each Grange to me, and to come to State Session, helping set up & tear down and filling in where needed during those 3 days in October. If you are interested in being a Deputy, please contact me.
The Community Service, Membership, Fundraising, Lecturer, Good of the Order, Agriculture, Women’s Activities and Legislative Committees are all looking for more people to be part of their Committees, to help promote their programs, be involved with discussions and decision making as part of the committees. I would like to have more people involved. If you are interested contact me asap.
The Roster goes to print this month, as soon as I complete my Deputies and Committees.
I am still missing 28 Subordinate Roster Forms.
Happy Thanksgiving! Share something with others less fortunate, especially your time.
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.