Quick Tip – Stop Summer Slide!

Cool Idea
Share your ideas with other Granges!

submitted by Walter Boomsma

As most know, Valley Grange is very much involved with our schools in regard to literacy and reading. Studies have validated what is called the “summer slide.” Children who don’t read or who read rarely over the summer encounter stagnation or decline in their reading skills. At least one estimate suggests this can be overcome by children reading just five grade-level appropriate books over summer vacation.

Can your Grange encourage this? Absolutely! You might consider partnering with your local library–many have summer reading programs and events. Or how about a community potluck supper with a side order of reading? This could have all sorts of variations: kids who bring a book they are reading eat free… or maybe there’s a “book exchange” where you invite kids to bring books they’ve read to exchange with others. At Valley Grange, we keep a milk crate of children’s books in the dining hall… whenever a child visits us for a supper or a program they are invited to take a book home as long as they promise to read it.

Don’t just think about reading to children–a key component of Valley Grange’s bookworm program is that we have the kids reading to us! Several months ago a second grader started a book with me that we didn’t have time to finish. When her turn came up again recently, she brought the same book and remembered exactly where we’d left off. This is a kid for whom reading is important. It’s nice to feel our program is contributing.

Just get something started–it doesn’t have to be massive and complicated.

“You’re never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read with a child.”
―     Dr. Seuss

Quick tips from Granges and Grangers are always welcome… on any topic that might improve or make things easier for other Granges. Use the submission form or email yours to the webmaster for consideration!

Fraternal Concern — Robert Smith

Submitted by MSG Master/President Sherry Harriman

Once again, our Grange family has had a loss of our Brother Robert Smith, Deputy of the Maine State Grange. He entered into that great Grange above on May 11th and received his welcome plaudit “Well done, good and faithful servant.”  He will be missed by all.  

Funeral Services will be held at Harland Harnden Masonic Hall 70 Bryant Road, Wilton, Maine June 3, 2023, at 1 p.m. Arrangements are under the care and direction of Dan & Scott’s Cremation and Funeral Services, 488 Farmington Falls Road, Farmington, ME 04938

View the complete obituary here.

2023 Northeast Youth Conference

The Northeast Regional Youth Conference will be held July 15-16, 2023, at the Vermont Grange Center in Brookfield, VT. The conference is designed for Youth Members aged 14-35, but all are welcome to attend. The cost to attend is $35 and the registration deadline is July 1, 2023.

Additional information and registration form is available here.

President’s Perspective – May 2023

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

I hope to see many of you at one of the Information/Instruction meetings I have scheduled. Or invite me to your Grange or Pomona area if you are interested.

  • May 15, Evening Star in Washington, 6:00 pm refreshments; 7:00pm meeting
  • May 17, Winthrop, 5:30 pm
  • May 21, Harraseeket in Freeport 1:00 pm 
  • June 17, Arbutus in Surry 1:00 pm
  • June 22, Paugus in Fryeburg 6:30 pm
  • June 27, Granite in Searsport 1:00 pm, Also Conferring the Fifth Degree Obligation Ceremony
  • Victor in Fairfield has invited me, we are working on a date.

RESOLUTIONS are due to the State Grange office by August 15 — email or standard mail. 

PROCEDURE FOR ELECTION OF OFFICERS

Yes, Maine still uses paper ballots for each officer, and should be held in June. The committees are named by the elected Master.

  The Master will appoint tellers to count the ballots, and a table or place to count the ballots is set up for them. Paper ballots are passed out to all members of that Grange. Count the members that are eligible to vote.  Yes, the tellers may ballot, if they are from that Grange.

 Then the Master will say:  “The Chair awaits presentations of names for the office of….”  Any member of that Grange may present or suggest a name, the proper words are…“I present or suggest the name of… ”  (nominate is not the proper term).  The Master will repeat the name presented and ask, “Are there any others?”, asking a total of three times, repeating the list of names for that office each time they ask, “Are there any others?”.  Anyone’s name may be presented for any office by any member. 

 A person may decline or withdraw their name for the office, if they wish to, at the time their name is presented. The person declining does not have to give a reason for declining.   (Something to remember, if you are not willing to accept the office that your name has been presented for, it is best to decline at this time rather than after the election.) 

 The Master will repeat the names and say, “You will prepare your ballots for the office of….” After a brief pause, the Master will instruct the Assistants to collect the ballots and may excuse the Assistants from carrying their staves.  Paper ballots are cast by the members, writing the name of the person you wish to elect to that office. You may write anyone’s name even if their name was not presented. 

You do not have to ballot if you do not wish to. You must write the word “Blank” on the ballot if you want to cast your ballot but do not want to vote for one of those names presented or any other name,  but want your ballot to count in the “total ballots cast”. (A plain ballot may have been stuck to another and not intended to be put in the ballot count, plain ballots will not be counted in the total of ballots cast.) 

Once the Assistants have collected the ballots, the Master asks, “Have all balloted who desire to do so?” Hearing no one speak up, the Master will say, “I declare the ballot closed.” The ballot is then given to the tellers, and the Assistants return to their seats.

The tellers will count the ballots and make the report.  Reporting as follows each time: “WM, there were… total ballots cast for the office of…, necessary for choice… (majority, one more than half of the ballots cast), then will list the number of ballots cast for each person or name on the ballots. The ballot is then thrown away after the result is given by the Master.

The final choice is announced by the Master, “By your ballot, you have elected ___________ to the office of ____________.” and the results are recorded. Once a majority has been reached,  the Master will ask the person, “Brother or Sister _______________, do you accept the office of ______________?   If they decline or there is no majority of the ballots cast, the Master will say, “Since we have no majority, you will prepare your ballot for the office of _____________,” repeating all names listed. You will proceed to ballot once again on the same office until a majority is reached.   The same procedure is followed for each office.

Upon completion of the election, the tellers are excused with thanks.   

After the election, the Subordinate or Pomona, the Secretary will provide Officer (Master, Lecturer & Secretary name, address, phone & email) and the same for the Committee Chairs, plus meeting day and time, and Grange address, to the State Grange as soon as possible for the new Roster.

View from the Farm – May 2023

Webmaster’s note: The format of this column has changed a bit, with all of the Quill’s Endians participating at various times and in various ways! This month’s column is written by Phil.

This month will mark 18 years since we moved from Brooksville to Quill’s End Farm.  It seems to have all started with resolve.

And continue forward in the same way.

We bought this farm from the late Paul Birdsall.  He was instrumental in starting Blue Hill Heritage Trust and Maine Farmland Trust.  Paul was a visionary in land transfer to the following generations.  He paid particular attention to the ridge that extends from Orland to Blue Hill because of the soils and traditional use.

Our farm had been vacant for nearly 30 years when he purchased it, the last owner having passed away in the mid-1970s.  When her daughter decided to sell, she remembered that Paul was interested in conserving it as farmland and approached him.  After Paul bought the property, he worked with the Blue Hill Heritage Trust to grant them development rights and certain restrictions that will keep this land as farmland in perpetuity.  He then listed the property through the Maine Farmlink program at Maine Farmland Trust.

We had mostly resolved ourselves, landless farmers as we were, to moving from Maine in order to farm.  A fellow farmer from Brooklin told us about Paul’s search for farmers for this farm.  We met Paul at the farm one bright fall day and walked the fields.  After that first meeting, he offered the Old Nevells farm to us.  He noticed fire in our bellies, he said.

In September 2004, we started to gut the old house, long abandoned by human residents, but certainly not vacant.  The horsehair plaster walls gave way to stories and clues to the past lives of the previous farmers and their families.  The ceiling bays gave way to tons of porcupine scat.  In January 2005, Kenny Jordan and his crew picked the house up and moved it 400′ over 3 days and onto a new foundation where it now rests.  In late March, we welcomed Carolyn into the world.  In May, newly remodeled inside and out, we moved in.

I don’t know that the whirlwind has stopped since or if we’ve merely grown more accustomed to it, but our resolve?

That is still there in the eye of the storms.

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 given us permission to share some of her columns with Grangers. Visit the Quill’s End Farm Facebook Page for more information.

Exploring Traditions – May 2023

Meandering Around the Grange Way of Life

by Walter Boomsma, Guest Columnist

When you don’t know what to say…

By Walter Boomsma, Guest Columnist

“Give us patience and wisdom in our counsels as a body, that our work may be good and acceptable in Your sight, and that our labors may be blessed with a liberal harvest.”

(The Chaplain’s Prayer while opening a meeting..)

While preparing for our Grange’s Community Celebration, I found myself distracted more than once by the words used in the recommended “Open Meeting” format, also referred to as the “Subordinate/Community Grange Alternate Opening and Closing.” I found myself occasionally thinking of different words than the ones I was seeing. Given my interest in words, I wondered how precise we ought to be in the Ritual. Is there a noteworthy difference between “declaring” and “proclaiming?” We could have an interesting discussion about that. It is my understanding that the latest (2013) manual made some efforts at “updating” the language. Did they succeed?

I also found myself paying closer attention to the words of the Ritual. One of the downsides to any ritual is how easy it becomes to “perform” it somewhat automatically. That may be doubly true when we have memorized the words. I occasionally listen to a Granger speed through the language and am sorely tempted to interrupt. “What did you just say?”

For reasons I can’t fully explain, I paid closer attention to the Chaplain’s opening prayer than usual. In the included snippet, there are several interesting thoughts or questions.

“Give us patience…” I chuckled a bit because I found myself thinking we are sometimes too patient. Where’s the line between patience and apathy? Of course, that’s not exactly what the Chaplain is asking for and talking about. The key is found in the word “counsels,” which refers to advice. (Think of “legal counsel.”) So we need divine assistance with each other as we work together (“as a body”) as we develop advocacy. I suspect our forebears spent time in friendly, positive debate before formally writing resolutions—or considering whether or not to support them.

Notice also how often the word “labor” is used in both the opening and closing. The Master/President begins, “The hour of labor has arrived, and the work of another day demands our attention…”

Wait. Grange Meetings are work?! I think they’re supposed to be. Come back to the Chaplain’s Prayer. “… that our labors may be blessed with a liberal harvest.” So as we think about the words of the Ritual in general and specifically the Chaplain’s Prayer, there’s an important question to ask ourselves. “What’s this liberal harvest we’re supposed to gather?” We keep referring to the work and the harvest. What is it that we are trying to harvest?

“Give us patience and wisdom” as we consider the answer. We only need to open a copy of the “Declaration of Purposes,” the first general objective. “United by the strong and faithful tie of an agricultural fraternity, yet welcoming all of good moral character to membership, we mutually resolve to labor for the good of our Order, our country, and mankind.” And we get further guidance in the two specific objectives.

When filling the officer of Overseer, I am occasionally tempted to have a little fun. The Master asks, “Worthy Overseer, are the labors of the day complete?” I sometimes want to say, “Can we talk about that?” See, we didn’t gather together for fellowship and fun. We gathered together because “the work of another day” demanded our attention. Did we complete it? What can we expect to “harvest” as a result of this meeting?

Imagine walking to the garden along the same path and sitting there on a regular basis. Sing a song or two. Recite some poetry. If that’s all you do, what will you harvest in the fall? We are still an agricultural organization. We should know how this works.

Any degree or ritual quotations are from the forty-sixth edition of the 2013 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://abbotvillagepress.com, on Mr. Boomsma’s Amazon Author Page, or by contacting the author.

Communication Shorts 5-16-2023

By Walter Boomsma,
MSG Communications Director
207 343-1842

Communication Shorts are brief (short) but important items posted for your information and use. Send us your ideas and thoughts!

May Bulletin

The May Bulletin is now available for downloading and printing. Remember, you can always find recent issues of the Bulletin on the Program Books and Information Page.

Website Links

Thanks to technology, we do get a report of links that are no longer working. Most often, these are links in older posts. Currently, we have been getting a lot of “broken link notices” that involve government/COVID information. In general, we do not investigate and/or repair these broken links. In addition to being very time-consuming, it’s often “old news.” If you happen on a link that doesn’t work and think it is important and should work, let us know, and we’ll look into it!

Nostalgia and History

If you are familiar with eBay, here’s a fun idea. Search for Grange-related stuff. You’ll find some nostalgia and history–things like manuals, cookbooks, jewelry (some very affordable), and even implement cases!

Ideas for Granges

The world wants to hear about it! Fill out the simple I Love the Grange Form… it only takes a couple of minutes! Thanks to all who have shared so far!

Do You Love the Grange?

If your hall has outdoor space, how about a Family Day Picnic? You could include a variety of activities like face painting, music, games, and food. If it rains, move inside! It might be possible to tie into another community event…

Thought for You…

“Even the mundane task of washing dishes by hand is an example of the small tasks and personal activities that once filled people’s daily lives with a sense of achievement.”

B. F. Skinner

Online Directories Available 24-7

  • The ODD Directory features all state officers, directors, and deputies with contact information.
  • The Directory of Granges features all Granges in the state with a contact person. Please make sure your listing is correct!

Do You Have FOMO?

“FOMO” is, of course, a Fear Of Missing Out. One strongly recommended treatment is to subscribe to the Maine State Grange Website. We’ll send you a daily summary whenever news and columns are posted, and we won’t share your email address with anyone!

Subscribe to the Maine State Grange Website

Membership Moments – May 2023

By Rick Grotton,
Membership Committee Director
207 582-5915

Now that Spring is in full bloom and the weather is much warmer, all of us have the itching to go outside and get “stuff” done. This ranges from planting your garden, growing flowers, mowing lawns, and especially spring cleaning. Our Grange halls are also in need of such. In order to attract prospective members, you may want to try the following during this time:

Gather members, friends, and community for a “Grange Cleaning Day.” You never know what “treasures” you may find, especially if your hall hasn’t been cleaned in a while. Have a small lunch or barbecue for the community or just for the helpers. Give them a tour and history of your Grange. Keep applications handy.

Have an open house. Invite community organizations and maybe some child games for fun and to create a pleasant atmosphere. Make plans with these organizations to help the community. Again, have lunch or refreshments, small prizes, baskets for a raffle, or a 50/50 drawing. Invite a motivational speaker or entertainment. Display some of the long-forgotten “treasures” found for others to view. Many people enjoy historical items.

 Host a community night with a talent show, entertainment, music, and fun “stuff.” Advertise a month in advance. Social media works wonders if you have a Facebook page or other forms of advertising.

Use your hall for vendors for an indoor or outdoor lawn sale. It is a good way for you and your members and the community to sell unwanted things that have been found during their own Spring cleanings. Again, have lunch or refreshments for the vendors with maybe background recorded or live music.

Have a jam day or night where local musical talent can get together, and the community can enjoy dancing and socializing. This works well for a Grange (as my Grange can testify). Sunday afternoons are a great time.

Host a meet the candidates night where all parties must be invited, and the public can get to know them. Ask them a series of questions for each to answer concerning important issues, with a time limit per question, of course.

The above suggestions require some work, so recruit family, friends, and the community to help. As you can see, you need to do these things: be active, have much publicity, and awareness, and open your hall to the public. Do they know you exist? The answers will surprise you! Listen to what the public says and jot it down. Membership is the lifeblood of our organization and the number one priority for your Grange. Without members, we cannot grow. Like without food in our bodies, we cannot survive. So, keep motivated, keep talking about Grange, and be educated (and educate others) on Grange history and what the Grange stands for, and how to help your communities grow.

    Mill Stream Grange Members Hosted by Mr. Vernon Baptist Church

    Mill Stream Grange members marked Grange Sunday by visiting the Mt. Vernon First Baptist Church on April 23. Eighteen members attended a nice service and were treated to a lovely brunch spread in the church’s Hall. 

    Communications Column – May 2023

    Are you giving out or getting through?

    By Walter Boomsma
    207 343-1842
    Communications Director

    Someone should do a study to answer this question: How much genuine communication takes place on social media? Stay with me—it’s an important question that actually isn’t limited to social media.

    There’s a quotation from Sidney Harris on the masthead of the Bulletin. The two words’ information’ and ‘communication’ are often used interchangeably, but they signify quite different things. Information is giving out; communication is getting through.” If you have read the Bulletin and didn’t notice it, we’re not getting through. That shouldn’t be a surprise. One-way communication has its drawbacks. And, as a society, we are increasingly relying on one-way communication, whether we realize it or not.

    I had an exasperating exchange on Facebook recently. I won’t bore you with the details as interesting as they might be. I was answering a writer’s question. Another person almost immediately jumped on me, “correcting” me. I responded to his comment by pointing out that I did not say (write) what he was criticizing me for, hoping he would see we weren’t communicating. He then proceeded to take a slightly different approach to telling me I was wrong anyway. I did not respond further and attempted to see some humor in it. Part of the humor was that the person who originally asked the question didn’t take part in the exchange.

    My attacker had no desire to communicate. He was more interested in demonstrating how smart he was. He went off-topic, particularly when I challenged his understanding of what I’d written.

    How often does that happen in our conversations? Are we giving out or getting through? We all want to be heard, and that’s not a bad thing. But we should be equally interested in being understood and at least mildly interested in our listeners. That’s much simpler to achieve in “live” in-person conversation. But it’s only easier if both parties are committed to communicating to create understanding.

    A down-to-earth technique is called “clarifying and confirming.” It’s based on the assumption we should understand both what the other person is saying and why they are saying it.

    “I love ice cream,” seems like a clear statement, at least as far as what is being said. If we want to understand, let’s be a little curious and ask (clarify) why the person loves ice cream. “Because it tastes good.” How’s our understanding? We won’t know for sure until we confirm it. “So what you’re saying is that you like ice cream because it tastes good.” That just might trigger more information. “Yeah, and I feel like I’m getting a treat…”

    This becomes particularly important when our initial reaction to someone’s statement is to reject, ignore or disagree. How we react determines what happens next. A knee-jerk reaction may mean the conversation ends or develops into an argument. The few minutes required to demonstrate a desire to communicate by clarifying and confirming are well worth the effort. If you confirm that you are in total disagreement, understanding the “what and why” equips you to remain friends and perhaps even find a middle ground or compromise.

    ► FACT: Last week, the MSG website was viewed 328 times. The two most visited items were the Directory of Granges and the Mill Stream Grange post.

    Tell us why you love the Grange!