Valley Grange Collects!

Valley Grange is located in Guilford, Maine

At our September Meeting, we created some piles–PB&J for the Bangor Savings Bank Drive, Lap Afghans for the Veterans’ Operation Gratitude Program, and raffle tickets! We also added 350 knitted hats from Blistered Finger Knitter Roberta in New Jersey. Do knitting needles ever wear out?

An order of dictionaries for our annual “Words for Thirds Dictionary Day Project will be placed soon. Since starting the program in 2004, we’ve provided nearly 3,000 dictionaries to students throughout the area. If COVID cooperates, we hope to do more “in-person” presentations this year.

We forgot to put the hats in the picture!

Raffle tickets are on sale and available from any member, or call Janice Boomsma at 343-1496. We’ll be drawing the winners at our November meeting and look forward to handing out $250 in prizes! Community support is needed and appreciated!

Our schedule for the rest of the year:

  • Friday, October 21, 2022, we’ll have a potluck supper at 6 pm and a meeting at 7 pm. This is usually the meeting at which we prepare for dictionary days by labeling the books, assembling the hats and mittens from our Blistered Finger Knitters for distribution, and resisting our second annual “Sock it to Us” efforts. The program was so successful last year we may be “good to go” this year! Jim and Mary are Grange Bees* for this meeting.
  • Friday, November 18, 2022, will include the usual potluck supper at 6 pm and program at 7 pm and include drawing our raffle winners. Walter and Janice are Grange Bees for this meeting.
  • Friday, December 2, 2022, is our Fellowship Breakfast for Supper–you can come in your jammies! This is always a fun night… we start at 6 pm by enjoying some breakfast specialties such as homemade muffins, breakfast casseroles, “Walter’s French Toast,” and assorted treats and surprises. It’s all about food, fellowship, and family… you won’t want to miss it!

Get those dates on your calendar and plan to join us for any or all of these gatherings! We plan to keep our hall open through the winter and appreciate all who help and support us in some way.

Unfortunately, another Grange in our area is closing–St. Albans now joins Garland Grange as “closed.” Valley Grange would certainly welcome members from these two Granges with open arms. If you were a member of St. Albans or Garland Grange and would like to join us, contact secretary Mary Annis (564-0820), and she’ll make it happen!

*Grange Bees are the unofficial hosts for a meeting who make sure the heat’s on, the hall is ready, and we have everything we need. If you’d like a turn, we’ll not only show you how we have a checklist!

Some October Events

Are you submitting your events to the MSG website calendar?

  • October 1, 2022, Winthrop Grange Estate Sale and Lite Luncheon, 9 am – 2 pm at Winthrop Grange.
  • October 1, 2022 Irish Dance and Ceilidh at Ocean View Grange in Port Clyde. Contact Larry at 207 372-8075 for more information.
  • October 5, 2022, MSG Ag Luncheon and Banquet Reservations are due.
  • October 6, 2022, Piscataquis Pomona Grange meets at Valley Grange at 7 pm. FMI contact Pomona Master Bill Bemis at 924-4123.
  • October 8, 2022, Drive-up, take-out Turkey Supper at Highland Lake Grange.
  • October 8, 2022, Flea Market at Ocean View Grange in Port Clyde. Contact Maryann at 207 372-8629 for more information.
  • October 14, 2022, MSG Bulletin Deadline — columns and posts are due.
  • October 15, 2022, Degree Day (9 am) and Officer Installation (1 pm) at Mill Stream Grange. For more information and to R.S.V.P. with the number attending, please call Judy Dunn at 293-2330.
  • Photo, coloring, and art lecturer’s contest entries are due at State Session. Contact MSG Lecturer for more information.
  • October 20-21, 2022, Maine State Grange Annual Convention at the Auburn Masonic Hall. Complete information is available here!
    • October 20, 2022, Look for the Stars Banquet at 6 pm
    • October 21, 2022, Ag Luncheon at 12 noon
  • October 29 Jonesboro Grange Spooktacular 9 am – 2 pm at Jonesboro Grange.

The Ocean View Grange View

Ocean View Grange is located in Port Clyde ME

Ocean View Grange Makes Fall Plans

At their recent meeting, members and friends of Ocean View Grange laid out plans for a number of events and programs. They began by noting their recent bean supper grossed over $1,000. A special thanks was issued to Lecturer Emily, who enlisted her entire family as helpers–including four children.

  • October 1, Irish Dance and Ceilidh (pronounced Kay’lee) will feature Gabriel Donohue and his team.
  • October 8, Flea Market is being organized by Mary Ann Swittlinger. Contact her at 207 372-8629 for more information.
  • November 5 will be another bean supper, this one honoring Vets.
  • November 26 is the potential date for a Christmas Craft Fair at the Harpoon.

Annual dues ($23 per member) are payable now. Please send a check payable to Ocean View Grange (write “dues” in the memo line) to Diane Bailey, PO Box 204, Port Clyde ME 04855

Jonesboro Grange 5k=+10k!

Cancer Crush 2022 5k Raises over $10,000 to Help Crush Cancer

On Tuesday, September 20, Jonesboro Grange President John Cox Jr. and Jonesboro Grange Lecturer Andrew Cox traveled to the Beth C Wright Cancer Resource Center and Sarah’s House of Maine to present the funds raised at the 2022 Crush Cancer 5k held back in June. The Crush Cancer 5k is a Jonesboro Grange community service project. 

After race expenses such as portapotties, shirts, and race timing software, a total of $10,526.94 was raised at the 2022 Crush Cancer 5k on a back road that leads to the ocean in Down East, Maine! Funds raised were split between the two non-profits. 

Many thanks to all the incredible volunteers, sponsors, and participants who helped make this possible. Without YOU, we could not put on this event to help others! Jonesboro Grange #357 has put on the race the past two years. 

The Crush Cancer 5k was created by Rebekah Hodgson and Andrew Cox, after John, their father, was diagnosed with cancer. It was a way for both Rebekah and Andrew to channel negative emotions from watching their father battle cancer into a beautiful event that would raise funds to help others in Eastern Maine who are facing a cancer diagnosis. 

Jonesboro Grange #357 is already planning the 3rd Annual Crush Cancer 5k to be held in June 2023! 

Program Books and Information Page Updates

This is the time of year when we “clear out the old” and bring in the new. There are two key documents for most committees.

An annual report for the previous Grange year (October 2021- September 2022) summarizing the committee/department’s activities and accomplishments.

A program book for the next year (October 2022 – September 2023) with important information such as contest rules, important dates, and resource material for that committee/department.

We are in the process of receiving and posting these to the Program Books and Information Page. For the next several weeks, it is important to pay attention to dates! If you are looking for information about this year’s contests, forms, etc., you’ll want this year’s (2021-2022) Program Book. We leave the books on the site for exactly that purpose–some forms and information are potentially needed right up until State Session in October. If you are planning for next year, be sure to download the book for that year (2022-2023.

Annual reports should be of interest to all members–it’s your way to discover what has happened in the previous year in the department/committee. The information can be of particular interest to those who are delegates attending State Session. The annual reports are provided in the delegate packet as well as available to all members on the website.

Both annual reports and program books are being uploaded as received from directors and committee chairs. Note that some annual reports are not usually available until State Session due to the close of the fiscal year on September 30, 2022. So far, we have annual reports from

Next year’s program books received so far include

Stay tuned! There’s certainly more to come! And don’t forget this:

Degrees start at 9 am… Officer Installation at 1 pm… come for the day! Lite lunch will be served! See the original post here!

Victor Grange September News

Victor Grange is located in Fairfield Center Maine

The latest Victor Grange newsletter leads with a photo of their nice “new” shiny floors! This was truly a community effort!

They are now looking into starting exercise classes… maybe as a result of moving all that furniture out and back in!

“We have about 80 chairs from the original Grange 1880’s purchase We’ve gotten organized, and now you can help out by buying them, some even come with a great sample of DNA from the past, (no kidding) $10.00 each and the money will go towards the building fund. We still have many projects to do, however, every little bit counts.”

The “Fairfield Senior Circle” celebrated its twentieth anniversary on August 19th… lunch, ice cream cake, member certificates…

Check out the complete newsletter for photos, a list of events, contact information and much more!

Exploring Traditions — September 2022

Meandering Around the Grange Way of Life

by Walter Boomsma, Guest Columnist

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Keep the eye of the mind open…

“Let me caution you, that you keep the eye of the mind open among your members. Encourage improvement; remember that Nature’s motto is ‘onward.’ She never goes backward.”

From the Installing Master’s Charge to Masters

The installing officer’s charge to the masters being installed is one of the longer ones. As a result, it’s easy to stop listening. As with the Grange Ritual in general, there is much to learn.

Not every member is destined to hold the office of master, but every member could benefit from what masters are taught during the installation ceremony. I’ve chosen just a few sentences for consideration.

“Keep the eye of the mind open…” is a skill that can be developed. Here, we are talking about being observant of our members. That’s consistent with being a fraternal organization. By most definitions, a fraternal organization is a social club or membership organization formed around a common bond, ideology, or personal background. We might do well to consider how strong that bond is. But one of the things that makes it stronger is “keeping the eye of the mind open” or, in other words, “keeping an eye on each other.” Can you answer these questions?

  • Who, now, is the happiest person in your Grange?
  • Who, now, is the most discouraged person in your Grange?

You get the idea, right?

“Encourage improvement.” I suspect this is a two-word sentence by design because it allows us to be broad in our thinking. What do we want to improve? This is not subtractive thinking designed to get us focused on what’s wrong. It’s opportunity thinking. What can we make better? I’ve thought it would be fun (a lecturer’s program, maybe) to spend some time during a meeting asking everyone to identify one thing relative to the Grange he or she could improve. It doesn’t have to be monumental. Does the fridge need cleaning?

“Nature’s motto is ‘onward.’” Sometimes I think the Grange is stuck in the fall season and has become focused on declining. One of the saddest emails I’ve read recently included, “Our Grange seems to be falling apart… how can I bring back the excitement that I still feel in our Grange?” It’s a simple but not easy question to answer. “Encourage improvement and remember that Nature’s motto is onward.” Nature uses fall and winter to her advantage. We often think of winter as a time for rest. In Maine, we may well “hunker down.” But just as sure as winter arrives, so does spring together with an awaking and a time for growth and blooming.

“You may encounter difficulties. Overcome them, remembering that difficulties are but opportunities to test our abilities. As Master of this Grange, your fellow laborers will look to you to devise work. A judicious Master will use due care that no time is lost in labor. Let all labor and all time tend toward improvement. Your laborers will come in contact with their minds; if they are left uncultivated, if neglect is allowed, the moral weed crop will baffle and torment you.”

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.

Communications Column — September 2022

By Walter Boomsma
207 343-1842
Communications Director

Looking and Acting

Over forty years ago, a good friend of mine launched his own consulting business. One of the first things Jack did was purchase a late model Lincoln Town Car he couldn’t afford. Even more years ago, I had a potentially boring college class on Friday afternoons starting at 3 pm. Professor Peters started each lecture by leading the class in a chant, “Act enthusiastic and you’ll be enthusiastic.

I’m happy to report that Jack had, by all counts, a very successful consulting career. I also never fell asleep in that Friday afternoon class. We usually ended up standing up, jumping up and down as the chant became a cheer.

How we look and how we act communicates not only to others but also to our subconscious self. Jack wanted others to see his success. (There were times he’d get a friend to drive him to a meeting while he sat in the back seat.) But he also wanted to feel successful. Professor Peters wanted us to get “wound up” before he started his lecture. But he also knew he’d catch our enthusiasm and present more energetically.

These dynamics apply to organizations as well as individuals. We might do well to consider how we are looking and how we are acting as an organization. I recently received an email from a website visitor who will be in Maine in October. He hopes to attend some Grange suppers even though he’s not a member. His question made me take a look at what was going on. I realized I didn’t see much! Our Maine State Grange website calendar was looking empty. It didn’t look like we were doing much.

So I put out the call, encouraging Granges to submit their events. Several responded enthusiastically. Their enthusiasm wasn’t an act. Our future visitor emailed this morning—he’s checking the website every day “to see what is happening.”  So I guess it looks like we’re doing things!

I’ve recently added to the website calendar (which is also reproduced in the Bulletin) so it lists events and important dates through September 2023. We ought to start filling it up! As directors complete their program books for next year, I’ll add dates and deadlines based on those. But we need to go beyond that.

Before the pandemic, we limited the calendar to regional (including Pomona) and statewide events in an effort to keep things manageable. However, we “opened it up” to further support local Grange programming and activities and show off those Granges that are alive and well. We could say, “looking and acting well!”

We seem to be gaining several benefits from the calendar’s expansion. One is that some are thinking more “long-range” and planning ahead. The calendar makes it possible to avoid schedule conflicts. Two, the site is being viewed and accessed more, both by members and non-members. The Conferences and Dates Page is among the top ten posts and pages visited.

It’s easy to submit events to the calendar using the “submit” button on the website. The calendar listing keeps things very basic: the event’s name, date and time, location, and a source for additional information. These short listings can be supplemented with a detailed post about 4-6 weeks before the event itself. Some are using flyers for the event for this. Just send your event flyer as an attachment to an email addressed to webmaster@mainestategrange.org.

Pomona Officers: Even though Pomona Meetings aren’t usually “special events” of interest to the public, we’d like to have them listed on the calendar. Please follow the same criteria: date and time, location, and a source for additional information.

Some years ago, Valley Grange had a special event—I honestly don’t remember what it was, but I’ll never forget a visitor from a Grange about an hour away. She asked me, “Where are all your members?” (We had some obvious “empty chairs.”) She was quite surprised that we didn’t have more, explaining, “With all the things you do, I thought you had at least a hundred members.” I’m not so sure her perception was a bad thing. Desperation isn’t pretty. We need to be cautious about “looking desperate.” People may stay away simply because they fear what getting involved might mean!

Enthusiasm is contagious. Maybe we should add to the ritual. During our meetings, after the Steward assures “all present are correct,” we could challenge that with a little Professor Peters activity. “All present are properly credentialed. Let’s check our level of enthusiasm. Repeat after me, ‘Act enthusiastic and you’ll be enthusiastic…’”

Changing the way we look and act may change the way we look and act. That’s more than a play on words. There’s a degree of “fake it until you make it” involved. Those Friday afternoon college classes did not begin enthusiastically. So we faked it and at some point (which Professor Peters seemed to recognize intuitively), we were no longer faking. We didn’t just look and act enthusiastic, we were enthusiastic.

► FACT: Your MSG website was viewed nearly 2100 times during August 2022

Tell us why you love the Grange!

View from the Farm — September 2022

By Heather Retberg, Quills End Farm

It has not been many weeks since I wrote about making lemonade out of the drought and how the lack of pasture would be a chance to add fertility to places in need.  I planned to roll out round bales of hay concentrating animal pressure (and their leave-behinds) where they would be the most useful–an expensive planting for the future, but lemonade nonetheless. 

Since then, I hauled a load of round bales and quite cleverly placed them in the field at just the right intervals, and facing just the right way, so that rolling them out would be efficient and easy.

In the meantime, we received two plus inches of rain.

I know intellectually what happens in a dry spell in plants.  The grasses and legumes triage.  Energy gets stored in the roots for better times, the growth stops, and they brown above ground.  And that did happen.  What I had not experienced before was the release of that energy in real time.  On a rainy Tuesday in August, when we received well over an inch of rain, Benjamin and I witnessed nearly four inches of new growth from morning to evening.  Two days later…orchard grass with 6 to 8 inches of new growth.

It may stand to reason, with the pastures gaining, that one would not need to put a whole load of round bales, staged ever so conveniently, in the field.  But that plan was in motion and stayed in motion. 

Three days after I put 9 round bales, ever so cleverly, into the path of the oncoming bovines, they refused to eat hay.  They much prefer green grass.  I found myself moving the bales that, mind you, were ever so cleverly placed, out of their way.  Then I set to picking up what they did not eat (not so efficient or easy) and putting it back in their way. 

After all, how was the resiliency of nature going to get in the way of my clever plans? It is amazing what a cool drink of water can do to revive, well, anything.

Editor’s note: Phil continues to write “View from the Farm” while Heather recovers from her surgery. Send her a card/note at Quill’s End Farm, 192 Front Ridge Road, North Penobscot ME 04476

Heather and Phil Retberg together with 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.

Mill Stream Grange Degree Day/Officer Installation

Saturday, October 15, 2022

Mill Stream Grange in Vienna will hold a Degree Day and Officer Installation on Saturday, October 15, 2022. The Four Degrees will be conferred in the morning, starting at 9:00 am. Installation of Officers will begin at 1:00 pm in the afternoon. A light lunch will be served following the Degrees. For more information and to R.S.V.P. with the number attending, please call Judy Dunn at 293-2330.