Patrons of Husbandry – a website dedicated to the Granges located in Maine
Real Maine offers statewide promotions (print, radio, web, and news stories) to encourage visitors to meet participating members and support Maine agriculture year-round. There is no fee for farms to join Real Maine or the voluntary promotional opportunities. Members can refer to DACF’s agritourism resources to help their event planning. More information here.
Maine’s Open Farm Day happens, rain or shine, on the fourth Sunday in July. Save the date: The 35th event will occur on July 28, 2024.
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.
As humans, we want to hold on to the good things: A perfect day. A good hearty laugh. A job well done. Satisfaction. A great meal. Love.
And yet, as humans, we also hold that all good things come to an end.
I had to let one good thing come to an end last week. As far as things go, a Toyota Tacoma with 356,000 miles on it is at its scheduled end. Perhaps beyond it, since it came to Quill’s End uninspectable several years ago. Alexander got it back on the road, and for 50,000 miles, it served me well. It also served as a great memory, as it was passed onto us by someone we loved, whose time came to an early end.
Now, I vacillate over this little truck’s future. I want to think that it can continue on with the right fix. I want to take it for granted and have it last forever, to hold on to the good thing. I want to know that I’ll still think of my friend while driving down the road, and smile at his relentless kindness.
But for now, I’ll pass it twice a day, still buried in the mud from its last attempt to bring water to the hogs in the lower field, its frame cracked from the force of trying to separate it from the suction of the saturated soil.
Can I take consolation from a search for my next Tacoma? The excitement of the possibility of another good thing? Perhaps another story, another memory can accompany me as I drive and work.
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.
Happy Anniversary, Harraseeket Grange!
By Sherry Harriman,
Maine State Grange President/Master
207 490-1029
Richard asked me to say “thank you” for the cards, calls, prayers and words of encouragement after his recent colon surgery. He is mending well, getting about more and more and eating whatever takes his fancy and appreciates your support.
State of Maine Corporation Fillings: The State Grange office has been printing and sending the annual corporation forms for your Granges. Granges are required by law to be incorporated. These forms are to be made out and returned with the $35 filing fee to the Secretary of State, which is a State of Maine Government Agency. Please be sure to send the form and fee together to the proper address.
Reading and Adopting Minutes: Records from the meeting are required to be read aloud at least one time during the meeting which must be open in full form to adopt them. The previous minutes are to be read as the third order of business and may be adopted at that time or read for reference. The records may be read and adopted at the end of the current meeting, just before closing, but must be read and adopted during the business of the Grange one place or the other in the order of business. You may read both previous and current during the order of business where prescribed.
Election of Officers: Full elections are required in each Grange and yes, we use paper ballots for each officer. After election the reelected or newly elected Master will appoint and give the names of the committee chairmen to the Secretary asap after election, so the Subordinate or Pomona Secretary can provide the info to the office. I have included written procedure to follow for election.
Resolutions: These are due by Aug 15 to the Maine State Grange office by email or standard mail. Resolutions must have a title on the resolution provided by the Grange presenting them; we cannot give it a title, and the entire resolution must be written out in full. If you use initials in your resolution, the words must also be written out. The resolution must be voted on & supported by the Grange to be submitted to the State Grange.
Spring in Maine, even with the surprises Mother Nature throws our way, its nice to see the green shoots of the jonquils, daffodils, tulips, and hyacinths, the variety of colors in the crocus beds and patches of green grass showing up here and there, even though those little shoots may still be shivering during the chilly nights, and buried under more than a foot of snow, the sun is warming them more and more. With spring comes reopening. Spring is also clean-up time outside and inside for our own yards, but this should also include our Grange halls. Get the gravel raked off the lawns, pick up the branches and trash lying around, clip the grass and bushes around the steps and foundation, get the tattered plastic off the windows, and maybe even wash the reachable ones. In another month, get some new plants in the window boxes and garden. Repaint your sign, the steps, railings, and even the door. We all need an occasional facelift, and get ready to provide a welcoming place for your neighbors to come and trade seeds, and starter plants, and get gardening advice.
Articles in this edition include:
Click the button below to read and/or subscribe to the Patrons Chain!
Note that all recent issues are available on the National Grange Website. Occasionally, a weekly issue isn’t sent. For example, the last Friday of the month is usually a View from the Hill week, so the fact that one hasn’t been posted on the MSG website doesn’t necessarily mean we skipped it! You can double-check using the link (Read the Current Issue) above. Effective 2024, we will only maintain one year of issues on the MSG website.
At least one company is collecting used but undamaged Eclipse Glasses. They will be sent to schools in Latin America so children can view the October 2024 Eclipse.
Could your Grange start a collection program as a community service? (The answer is “yes.” All it takes is a box and commitment to ship what you collect by August 1, 2024.)
The shipping address is Eclipse Glasses USA, LLC, PO Box 50571, Provo, UT 84605, and the deadline for shipping is August 1, 2024.
If your Grange decides to do this, please let us know! We’ll post a list of Granges that are “drop-off points.” (Leave a tote on your front porch. Keep it simple and easy!)
Articles in this edition include:
Click the button below to read and/or subscribe to the Patrons Chain!
Note that all recent issues are available on the National Grange Website. Occasionally, a weekly issue isn’t sent. For example, the last Friday of the month is usually a View from the Hill week, so the fact that one hasn’t been posted on the MSG website doesn’t necessarily mean we skipped it! You can double-check using the link (Read the Current Issue) above. Effective 2024, we will only maintain one year of issues on the MSG website.
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.
Christine Hebert, MSG Chaplain
(207) 743-5277
By Clay Collins, Guest Columnist
I guess there is no such thing as a permanent retirement. Our State Chaplain recently contacted me and asked me to fill in for her this month as she had some other pressing business to take care of. Being a good Granger and a man of my word, I said of course I would be delighted. I hope you enjoy!
“He is not here: for He is risen, as He said. Come see the place where the Lord lay.”
Matthew 28:6
As I write this column, it is one day past Easter Sunday. All the Easter eggs are found and candy is devoured, family dinners are finished, and family and friends have gone home.
Now what? Do we go back to what we were doing before Easter with no thought to what the resurrection really means? Think about what Christ endured that last week of His life.
The weight of the cross that He had to carry could represent all of our problems. The crown of thorns could represent our lies, indiscretions, and deceitfulness. He died for our sins. All He asks of us is that we don’t turn our backs to Him.
All He asks of us is that we live our lives for God. When we are faced with people needing help, we need to lend a hand with no expectations of reward. I am sure you can come up with other examples of things you can do to make life better for the unfortunate. Remember, when things look darkest for you, there are others worse off. May we always have compassion for our fellow man.
I leave you with this: Remember that Jesus forgave us our sins! We should try to do the same!
Until we meet again, I continue to pray for good health for you and yours, and remember, “Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.”
Don’t forget to thank a veteran for his/her service in the defense of our country and their safe return to their families! Amen
Benediction:
Gracious Father, thank you for your gift of everlasting life. May we be grateful for your gift. “He is not here: for He is risen, as He said. Come see the place where the Lord lay.” (Matthew 28:6) Amen.
May the sun shine all day long,
Everything go right, and nothing wrong.
May those you love bring love back to you,
And may all the wishes you wish come true.
Irish Blessing
As we reported last month, millions of Americans will have an opportunity to see a total solar eclipse when the Moon’s shadow will sweep across the nation on April 8. The last time the U.S. saw a total solar eclipse was in 2017. However, this time the path of the eclipse will travel right through the heart of Maine.
Towns from Jackman and Greenville to Millinocket and Houlton are preparing for heavy traffic and thousands of tourists who will travel north to see the first total solar eclipse in Maine since July 1963. This year’s eclipse, or “path of totality,” will begin its North American journey in Mazatlan, Mexico, at 9:51 a.m. MST.
The first Maine town to see the partial eclipse will be Jackman beginning at 2:18 p.m. EDT. It will leave the U.S. through Houlton at 4:41 p.m. EDT. The total eclipse begins roughly 70 minutes after the onset of the partial eclipse.
According to recent news reports, some of those towns are depending upon eclipse tourists to salvage what has otherwise been a dismal snowmobiling season. The expected event turnout has even led to changes in school schedules, as some districts will release students early to allow them to watch it and address traffic safety concerns.
Schools in towns like Houlton and Jackman will be closed entirely. Both are directly centered in this year’s path.
Aside from its path, the major difference this year compared with the eclipse in 2017 is the size of the path of totality and the duration of the eclipse itself. According to NASA, this year’s path will be much larger than in 2017, ranging 108 to 122 miles wide since the Moon is closer to Earth.
That means the duration will be longer at about 4.5 minutes at its peak. When the total eclipse rolls through Houlton, it should last 3 minutes, 21 seconds. Totality lasted only 60 seconds in 1963.
For more information about this year’s total solar eclipse, visit NASA’s website.
Do NOT look at the sun/eclipse without protective eyewear! Please remind children – several times – of this!