Community Service/FHH – January 2025

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

Happy 2025! Attending the 2025 Northeast Leaders Conference was very informative and educational. There are some changes being made to the Community Service Notebooks for this year.

  • Notebooks will be a maximum of ten pages. This means five sheets of paper double-sided.
  • Pages 1&2 Grange picture and Grange #, brief description of Community Service
  • Pages 3&4, 5&6 will include the top three projects
  • Pages 7&8, 9 are included if needed
  • Page 10 should be a summary page.

Remember, only five pages total. Use both sides. Less pages is fine. Use both sides. Judging is on content, not appearance.

The National Grange Community Service Project is Conservation. More information, including ideas for projects, will be coming soon!

Communications Column – January 2025

By Walter Boomsma
207 343-1842
Communications Director

New Developments

You’re probably aware of our new resource page(s) for the Words for Thirds Program. We’ll officially release on January 18, 2025, but it is a work in progress. Some resources, such as label templates and sample press releases, have already been accessed and used. There are still a few things “coming soon,” including an interview with Mary French, Director of the Dictionary Project. In addition to making life easier for Granges participating in Words for Thirds, we are determined to get more Granges in-terested in the program. As most know, I have been directing Valley Grange’s program for close to twenty years and I’m excited and happy to work with and assist Granges who are interested!

I’ve recently been working with the AARP Fraud Watch Network to add another resource to the MSG Website. We’ll post a weekly Fraud Watch Alert on specific types of fraud and scams. These will serve a dual purpose. First, Grangers will have access to concise information for their use. Second, the information can be used in lecturer’s programs and as FHH reports. As a bonus, these posts will have buttons at the bottom, making it easy to share them on social media or by email. Links are also provided, giving access to an AARP speakers’ bureau.

(Speaking of scams, stay suspicious! I’ve personally been getting hit with a lot of phony emails that look like they are from companies like United Health Care, Bitdefender Support, PayPal, Delta Airlines, FedEx, etc. They often are identified as “FW” (forwarded) in the subject line. Most have an attachment (which I do not open) and an offer of something free. When in doubt, don’t!)

The underlying development for the Words for Thirds Resources and AARP Fraud Watch Alerts is a more structured editorial plan for the website. We want the site to be resource-rich, engaging, and useful. As a reminder, every member is a reporter and potential contributor. Submit your news and events, but don’t hesitate to go beyond that. If you’re a lecturer, consider submitting your program ideas and tips. Tell us about your Community Service activities or how your Grange is improving Family Health and Hearing. Thanks to several “reporters,” we’re now working on some information regarding Grange Hall insurance that will be shared soon. I can’t do these things alone. That’s one reason I’ve adopted the slogan, “We’re Grangers. We help each other.”

► FACT: In the past week, the most visited posts and pages were the Grange Directory, Program Books and Information, Words for Thirds Resource Page, and Grange Scholarships.

Tell us why you love the Grange
Submit an Event or News
Find the button representing how and where you want to share a post.

View from the Farm – January 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.

Farm Kids

For Christmas, I was gifted a book of short stories about growing up on a farm in Maine. Short stories work well for me. My reading time is before bed. A conclusion every few pages is just right. The book was not outstanding, but relatable to life on a farm.

I was exposed to this type of living as a child, but only immersed in it for brief periods. I was a tourist to the real thing. There was no necessity to my being there, no responsibility to aid my growth or the farm and family.

With less than 2% of Americans involved in agriculture, this century will undoubtedly produce a lot fewer of these farm children. I hope that this changes. The stories in this book outline the constant work of a farm, and the necessity to be useful from an early age. Consequently, the children were needed, appreciated, and constantly learning as they worked alongside the adults. I’ve not met farm kids that are not capable trouble shooters, or fear new challenges or trades.

The book’s stories also touch on the times between the work. This particular farm boasted woods, fields, pond, creek, gravel pit, and junk piles of old equipment. Unstructured time, combined with these acres of assets, seems a pretty good recipe for childhood. The remnants of our children’s forts and kingdoms remain a great reminder of their imaginations. I’ve not yet met a bored farm kid.

So, make sure children are visiting farms: we need them to become enchanted, and to be the next generation of farmers. Farmers to feed us and to entertain us as they write about growing up on farms in Maine

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.

President’s Perspective – January 2025

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

Degrees in your Grange

There have been questions about the Degree Days and who can do them. Any Grange may confer all Four Degrees in one day, at any time during the year, but permission is required from the State Master beforehand. However, each Grange is entitled to confer the Degrees in their own Granges at their own convenience. To “confer degrees” means initiatory ceremonies giving instruction and information about the Grange. You may confer 1 or 2 degrees at one meeting, then confer 1 or 2 more at the next meeting, and so on until you complete all Four Degrees. (The word Degree refers to a level of the Grange and is based on the four seasons and agriculture. The first Four Degrees bring you into Subordinate or Community Grange membership.) The meeting must be open in full form for any balloting and conferral of any Degree. The candidates must be balloted on prior to the conferral of the degree. Following the Grange Manual. (2023 is the newest version but the Degrees in all the manuals are the same.) The Degrees are very impressive if done from memory, but this may not work for everyone. Have each officer read the part for the office where they are seated, marching candidates are encouraged but it can be done with everyone seated, follow the instructions as you go along. Everyone can participate in this manner and learn the lessons of the Degrees at the same time.

Have a safe winter. Check on your neighbors and give a hand wherever you can.

Membership Moments – January 2025

By Rick Grotton,
Membership Committee Director
207 582-5915

Have you made plans for the New Year for your Grange? Membership should be a top priority in achieving your goals for the year. Without members, we have no Grange. New ideas, new discussions, and new members are always needed. So, here is a list you and your Grange must consider:

BE ACTIVE. Plan events accordingly and remind members and nonmembers of your meeting times. Committees should be set up and working.
REACH OUT. Let the Community and town know what you are doing and request help from them to plan community events. Keep the community up-to-date with projects and offer assistance.
COMMUNICATION. Keep your members informed and practice your floorwork so that visitors will know that you are solid in tradition and rituals. Make a good impression. All members should know what is happening in your Grange. Maybe create a town newsletter or join a community newspaper.
LISTEN. Hear what your members and the Community have to say. Improvements are always needed from within or from outside of Grange. Write down their thoughts.
BE POSITIVE. Always make your meetings productive and inspirational to create enthusiasm. Talk highly of your Grange to nonmembers. Encourage them to join by being upbeat, positive, and enthusiastic.
NEW MEMBERSHIP. Create a membership committee or encourage all members to bring in new members. Make a contest to see who can bring in (and keep) the most new members during a period of time. Have fun in your quest for new members.

Make a plan to set goals for the upcoming year, incorporating the above references. Keep up the good work!

Please have a member read these columns at a regular or Pomona meeting so that ALL members will be informed. Reading these columns will spark some ideas to help with your membership drive.

Chaplain’s View – January 2025

Christine Hebert, MSG Chaplain
(207) 743-5277

Going forward in the new year, let us remember to be kind to one another, spreading love, joy, happiness, and faith. Let us have faith enough so we can hope for anything we want. Why not hope for kindness, joy, happiness, and love?

Being kind to one another is showing love.

“And now abideth faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love.”

I Corinthians 13:13

Happy New Year!

An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.

Bill Vaughan

Wishing you the magic and joys…

Happy Holidays Christmas Sign

Grange Heirloom — December 2024

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.

Words for Thirds by any other name

While the Grange calls it “Words for Thirds,” many organizations and businesses are involved in The Dictionary Project. Heather Rank of the Fargo-Moorhead Rotary Club provided a wonderful video demonstrating their efforts. We think it’s great that a kid does the interviews! It gets a little noisy in places, so you may want to turn on closed captioning.

If your Grange is not involved in Words for Thirds, you miss a huge opportunity! There are so many benefits, and it’s fun! Check out our pages of resources to help. Let us know if you’re interested or have any questions. The third-graders in your community are waiting!