View from the Farm – March 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.

One of the finest chores on a farm or homestead is harvesting maple sap.  It is a great reason to spend time in the woods and rewards abound. 

 We simply boil sap on top of the wood stove.  Our house in March is like a sweet sauna.  A forty-degree sunny day finds us in t-shirts with windows open, the sweet smell of maple syrup in the forefront.

 As the sap runneth over, it occurs to me what an exception maple syrup is to the rest of human culture.

We simply partake.

We have not, as far as I know, hybridized trees to make more sap, or bred them to raise the sugar content in their sap.

We simply partake.

In modern agriculture, production has had an 80-year upward swing in “efficiency.” A meat bird’s feed conversion ratio (grain: meat) has been cut in half.  A milking cow gives at least double what she used to. An acre of corn produces 4 times the volume.

 But maple syrup is really beautiful.  We destroy or harm nothing as we are given this marvelous treat that sweetens everyday life.  We do not plow, harrow, breed, or weed.

We simply partake. 

 Every year, the trees share the bounty of late winter with us as a gift we could not have planned, could not have conceived, could not have anticipated.  Yet here it is.

 What a wonderful metaphor for life the trees give us.  When your sap is flowing and you have it to spare, share it with the world.

Make it all a little sweeter.

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.

Communications Column – March 2023

Which Half Are You in?

By Walter Boomsma
207 343-1842
Communications Director

“Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can’t, and the other half who have nothing to say keep on saying it.”

Attributed to Robert Frost

While I’m a big fan of Robert Frost, if he said this, I’m not sure I totally agree—it’s too arbitrary. There’s a third group who have something to say and can say it reasonably well. Unfortunately, it’s a small group.

In the interest of over-complicating this, it also depends on how we define “say” and “saying.” How about “Half the world is composed of people who have something to communicate and can’t, and the other half who have nothing to communicate keep communicating.

With that change, we can note that communication takes place in four basic forms: verbal, non-verbal, written, and visual. A case can be made that listening is a fourth form, but we are trying to keep this simple.

As most of you know, I recently accepted a position as an adjunct instructor at Beal University. I was warned that I would likely be surprised and disappointed by the writing skills of most of my students. I thought I was prepared. I was not.

One of the things I was not prepared for is that many students do not accept the need (or opportunity) for good written communication skills. An even bigger surprise was that most are unaware of the tools and technology available that can help us with writing.

We could have a long and interesting discussion about the future of communication. For example, AI (artificial intelligence) now exists, making it possible to let “the computer” do the actual writing. Part of our discussion would include whether or not that technology diminishes the need to learn the rules of grammar.

Let’s get very practical. Thinking about your Grange and Grange membership, do you have something to communicate? Understand that “you” can mean “you as an individual,” but it can also mean “you as a Grange.”

When my students have a paper to write, it’s usually apparent whether or not they have something to communicate. If so, helping them find ways to say it can be fun, even if challenging. If they don’t have something to say, it doesn’t matter if they can write or speak well. Developing skills becomes somewhat pointless and feels empty without a use for them. That’s why we give assignments. “Write a 500-word essay explaining…”

If we want our Grange to be vibrant and growing, we’d better have a lot to say. “No report” isn’t, by the way, grammatically correct. At a minimum, it should be, “I have no report.” Occasionally, I hear, “I have nothing to report.” That’s also grammatically correct. Are you beginning to see that “no report” is not too far from “I have nothing to say?”

  • Why should I consider joining your Grange? “I have nothing to say.”
  • What are some of your future programs? “No report.”
  • What community services are you offering? “Nothing to report.”

If an assignment would help, here’s one for your Grange. “Write a 250 word description of at least three things your Grange is doing well.” (For reference purposes, that’s less than half the length of this column.) Submit it to the website for publication. Failure to submit (“no report”) results in a zero (F). If you need some help, contact…

Wouldn’t it be interesting to make that a formal program? Assignments carry a deadline after which we’d publish grades—if only as pass/fail.

In college, completing assignments competently ultimately means receiving a degree. In the Grange, completing this assignment  (and some others) means keeping and maybe even growing the Grange. Failure in college means no degree. Failure in the Grange means no Grange.

► FACT: Your MSG website was viewed over 1600 times during January 2023–if you aren’t submitting your events and news, you are missing an opportunity!

Tell us why you love the Grange!

CWA Report – March 2023

By Margaret Henderson, Director
Committee on Women’s Activities
207 948-2762

Committee on Women’s Activities

Warm winter Greetings!!

Well, March came in like a lion, so hopefully, it will go out like a lamb. We got a foot of snow here last weekend, and the weather app says we have another foot arriving on Tuesday and Wednesday! I guess that we are getting our winter all in one month. Oh well, the pleasure of living in Maine! If you don’t like the weather, wait a few minutes and it will change! I am sure this will make the snowmobilers happy.

I am hoping that many of you are working on entries for the contests. It is a good thing to do on a cold or snowy day.

I want to wish all of you a very blessed Easter.  I hope everyone stays healthy and safe.

Grange Heirloom — March 2023

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.

Slam the Scam Day

Courtesy of the Social Security Administration

March 9, 2023

On National Slam the Scam Day and throughout the year, we give you the tools to recognize Social Security-related scams and stop scammers from stealing your money and personal information. Share scam information with your loved ones. Slam the Scam!

Recognize the four basic signs of a scam:

  1. Scammers pretend to be from a familiar organization or agency, like the Social Security Administration. They may email attachments with official-looking logos, seals, signatures, or pictures of employee credentials.
  2. Scammers mention a problem or a prize. They may say your Social Security number was involved in a crime or ask for personal information to process a benefit increase.
  3. Scammers pressure you to act immediately. They may threaten you with arrest or legal action.
  4. Scammers tell you to pay using a gift card, prepaid debit card, cryptocurrency, wire or money transfer, or by mailing cash. They may also tell you to transfer your money to a “safe” account.

Ignore scammers and report criminal behavior. Report Social Security-related scams to the SSA Office of the Inspector General (OIG).

President’s Perspective – March 2023

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

I participated in the annual informative and helpful State Presidents/Masters Conference via zoom on February 17 and 18. Discussions, Presentations, and Workshops included: Show and Tell– Sharing personal Grange “ephemera“ (memorabilia); National Convention Reimagined—and Better than Ever!; Communications Dept.; It’s Not Your Property; Discover Your Website; Why Can’t We Just Get Along?; Juniors + Youth = Growth; Membership Department and Wrap-up. Much of the information covered can be found on the National Grange website which will require the annual password to access some of the information and much of the information is also provided in the web posts sent from National. I will be sharing some of it from time to time with you.

GOALS.  From time to time, I have mentioned goal setting for your Granges. Here are some of my general goals that should be applied in our Granges as well.

**  Strengthen and improve the Granges we already have, increasing membership and increasing the number of active Granges.  Working to improve its individual members and the good of all.  Including community concerns, family and good ritualistic work for opening and degree.  Working together as one unit showing mutual concern and respect for others. Providing programs and projects that keep in step with our changing world and the interests of our members. 

**  Improve leadership skills of the Leaders and the members.  Provide workshops on what is required as a Grange Leader, goal setting, how and what to plan for activities and programs including but not limited to fun things, on the local and state level. Give basic guidelines and suggestions to our Granges for program planning and development. Provide, print and distribute leadership & resource materials and training for all Grangers. Continue with good ritualistic work. Assist in developing programs, contests and activities specifically needed and designed for their individual  Granges.

**  Identify key individuals to assist with specific activities, programs, projects, rides, and other.  Utilizing key people for their skills and knowledge to assist with training others, in a variety of subjects.  Identifying these key people in a resource list for all to refer to, on local and state levels.

**  More cooperation and people support is needed for the Junior Granger Leaders and Members, so they don’t feel so alone at the meetings and activities. Subordinate members work more closely with Juniors on all activities to make Juniors and Subordinate members more familiar with each other as a group and as individuals which will help make the transition between Junior and Subordinate easier, if they already know each other.  Give mutual respect to each other

Scam Alert–again!

We’ve reported this in the past, but here’s a reminder. Here’s an example of an email sent recently that you should ignore and delete.

Several things should raise your suspicion. One is the need for discretion, and another is the no-calls request.

To put in highly technical perspective, “it just doesn’t sound right.”

Just ignore it; delete it. If you are concerned, contact Sherry directly, not by replying to this bogus email. There’s also a similar message occasionally being sent by text message to cell phones. They are not connected to the website in any way, and there’s very little I can do beyond issuing an occasional reminder that folks need to be “on guard.”

Another increasingly common scam is an email with an overdue invoice included or attached. Again, think before you you act. It’s the price we pay for technology–similar to the junk mail that arrives in our snail mailbox! It too is annoying, but we don’t need to regret lobbying for RFD years ago, right? And I don’t think we’re going to give up our mailboxes!

Life has its woes so be on your toes!

Bernard Kelvin Clive

Grange Month News!

Visit www.nationalgrange.org/grange-month-2023 to access and download graphics, headers, calendars, press release templates, and more for your Granges to use. Note Grange Spirit Week is scheduled from April 16-22–Each day is designated to a specific theme or topic and National Grange has scheduled evening Zoom Events.

Jonesboro Grange Multi-day Yard Sale Scheduled

Roque Bluffs/Jonesboro Volunteer Fire Dept & Jonesboro Grange are sponsoring a HUGE indoor yard sale at Jonesboro Grange. Look for the sign that we’re open, and come find a treasure! The sale will be open for ten days!

Funds split between the Roque Bluffs/Jonesboro Volunteer Fire Dept & Jonesboro Grange #357

Contact LouAnn Cox at 434-2131 or 263-3209 and arrange to drop off item donations. 

Item drop-off times are March 1, 3, & 4. Clothing in good condition with no stains, rips, or holes accepted. Furniture, kitchenware, small appliances, toys in good condition, books, etc., are gladly accepted and appreciated! Contact LouAnn Cox at 434-2131 or 263-3209 and arrange to drop off item donations. 

Notes from National – February 2023

Grange Month 2023

Gleaned from an email written by Phil Vonada, National Grange Communications Director

Visit www.nationalgrange.org/grange-month-2023 to access and download graphics, headers, calendars, press release templates, and more for your Granges to use. We will be celebrating Grange Spirit Week from April 16-22, and I hope you all join in! Who knows, there may be some prizes to come for your participation… There are likely to be more events added, so please stay tuned!

Virtual Fly-in Planned for April

We will be holding the Virtual Legislative “Fly-In” on April 26th. There will be more information and registration for this coming soon.

Canva “Zoom-Torial

Make plans to join the 2022 Communication Fellows and me on March 29 as we dive into “Canva 201.” We will be going a little more in-depth on a few things that Canva can offer. If you missed our first Canva Zoom-torial in January, you can access it here: https://youtu.be/xNGwn8hsR_o. If you have questions or an aspect of Canva you would like us to be sure to hit, please let me know.

March National Grange Events

MARCH 2023 – ALL TIMES EASTERN
March 1: GRANGE FOUNDATION MN-IOOO CLUB 8:30 P.M. (ZOOM )
Connect: bit.lv/FoundationZoom
March 14: MEMBERSHIP MATTERS (ZOOM) 8:30 P.M. Open to all!
Connect: bit.lv/mml867
Contact abrozana@nationalgrange.org for more information.
March 19: JUNIOR JIBBER-JABBER (ZOOM) 9:00 P.M.
Connect: bit.lv/jibberjabberZoom
Join National Junior Grange and Youth Development Director Samantha Wilkins for updates about the National Junior Grange Department. Contact Junior@nationalgrange.org for more information.
March 29: COMMUNICATIONS ZOOM-TORIAL (ZOOM )8:30 P.M.
Connect: bit.ly/GrangeZoom
“Canva 201” – Using some of the more in-depth or technologically challenging areas of canva.com. Questions? Email pvonada@nationalgrange.org

National Grange Heirloom Program

Grange Heirlooms are snippets from the lessons of the Grange as taught in the Ritual and Declaration of Purposes. Please share “success stories” about the use of the program with us or if you come up with other innovative ways to incorporate the Program in your Granges. Information and materials are now available on the National Grange Website.

“Notes from National” is based on a monthly email received from the National Grange Communications Department.