We’ve seen a recent uptick in visits to the Scholarship Information Page. If your Grange offers scholarships, please visit this page and make sure the information is current and correct!
Holiday Craft Fairs?
Many Granges offer holiday craft fairs or “makers markets.” Please submit information about yours! We offer statewide publicity and make it easy for you to share information on Social Media. If you submit it before November 15, it will be included in the November Bulletin!
Plan some sort of simple gathering during the holidays. I wrote a “Special Report” last year about a community event we attended last year on Christmas Day. I was surprised at how many were there and what a great time it was.
Think about this
“Voting is the expression of our commitment to ourselves, one another, this country, and this world.”
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! Visitors to the site consult these directories often.
These links all lead to articles on the JED Foundation Website.
A friend recently announced that she plans to keep her son home from school on November 5 (Election Day) and the day after. She is taking the days off from work. They will “hunker down” until she deems it safe to “come out.” Sadly, I find it difficult to challenge her plan. This is an intense election year.
As the day approaches, it seems appropriate to offer some resources to help us manage through these difficult times. The resources listed below come from the JED Foundation, which has existed for 25 years and has a well-documented track record. I originally developed an interest in JED because it specializes in protecting the emotional health and preventing suicide of teens and young adults. They offer excellent programs and materials in partnership with schools, colleges, and parents. In short, I am comfortable and confident in recommending these resources.
Using mental health resources is not a sign of weakness. On the contrary, accessing tools and information indicates strength and builds it. One of the things to like about the JED Website is that it is engaging and extremely easy to navigate. Most of these resources are equally applicable and valuable to older folk!
By Rick Grotton, Membership Committee Director 207 582-5915
When we are encouraging the community to join the Grange we need to understand what we are “selling”. How well do we know what the Grange stands for, and how do we portray those images to others? What do others want to hear? Encourage them to ask specific questions to satisfy their individual needs. Knowing the needs of a prospective new member makes it easier to answer their questions without being too vague or generic. For example, if someone is interested in the agricultural or community aspects of Grange, zero in on those areas, all the while gaining knowledge of the individual needs. Like a jigsaw puzzle, fit that piece into your plans for the growth of your Grange. Soon, your “puzzle” will show a picture and help you to make plans to steer the direction of your Grange. We have many Granges who focus on agriculture; others focus on community service and some balance the two. By listening to a prospective member, you will know how they fit into the “puzzle” and the growth of your Grange.
When seeking new members, use the lessons of the Grange to serve as a foundation upon which to build. Understanding these lessons will make your search for new members easier as they hold valuable information in how you present yourself to the new membership.
Have FAITH. Believe that you are going to be successful in your membership drive. Keep a positive attitude and show others that you believe in your presentation to get them to join. First impressions are vital to your success.
Have HOPE. Go with the impression that success in gaining members will happen, and don’t give up. Of course, there will be rejections, but don’t let it get you down or give up. You just haven’t yet found the right “piece” of your “puzzle.” Be vigilant in your search, encourage your fellow Patrons, or make it a friendly contest that can bring in and keep the most members. Fun? Yes, it can be if you let it be.
CHARITY is important. Give of yourself when telling others about the Grange. Incentives such as helping the community, growing your own food, and explaining how the Grange helped you become a better person are music to the ears of prospective members. Even a small gesture, such as paying for their first year’s dues or a small welcome gift, is helpful.
FIDELITY is very important. The listener always notices your loyalty and devotion to your Grange. How you present yourself, your enthusiasm, and your positive energy are noticed and felt by the listener and will sway the decisions of many new members. Stay loyal in good times and not-so-good times. My pet peeve is when something doesn’t go their way, a member will threaten to quit or not come back. Haven’t we all heard this? If you love the Grange, then you will try to work out the problem, which leads to the last lesson, PERSEVERENCE.
There are always hurdles or problems we need to avoid or face to work out. Face them head-on, find a solution as a Grange, and respect everybody’s opinions and ideas. It will make you and your Grange stronger. In order to succeed, don’t we need to fail once in a while? PERSEVERE and overcome these challenges as a group. Keep the positive energy alive and smile.
With Faith and Hope I present these ideas with a Charitable attitude and showing my Fidelity to the organization. Certainly, these columns don’t always produce results, but my Perseverance holds strong and I continue to present ideas and suggestions to increase your memberships.
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.
Apples!
Apple season presents special challenges at Quill’s End Farm. For one, we all become less efficient at gettin’ where we’re goin’. The daily rituals of walking to the various animals to tend to them now require a detour for walking snacks.
Sometimes just for us.
Sometimes for our charges.
There aren’t too many critters that don’t love apples, and the mere sight of an opposable-thumbed climber triggers a doe-eyed, melting stare from all corners of the realm. The quadrupeds are really hard to resist, and the urgency they convey makes pity swell within us.
We must take care not to be too regular or too clever, or the melting stare’s urgency can become a problem. Cows, goats, pigs, and horses all have nimble mouths. Their ability to check your pockets is uncanny. Goats will even undo a zipper.
We have learned that apple scent lingers, not only on your breath, but also on your hands. Convincing a cow that you are appleless is a special skill only practiced by a minutia of the population. It is a skill that must be learned by trial and error. Failure to convince can lead to slobbering searches.
Much like Klondike bars, there are differing levels of commitment to procuring an apple. I’m not sure that somersaults are off the table; we just don’t want anyone to get injured in their tasty quest.
Apple season also brings extra milk from the late season forage and gives an extra creamy flavor to the milk, yogurt, and cheeses. Our cream separator is also turning out quart after quart of stand-up-in-your-spoon-cream. It is perfect for fall butter making and for whipped cream for apple or pumpkin pies. Carolyn and Ben have just the tasty pie pumpkins for you, with names to tempt your taste buds.
With all the apple trees about, take the detour and find some walking snacks. Bake a pie. Whip some cream to go on top. And just think about your good fortune that no goat will undo your pocket zipper to find your fall treat.
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.
“…reap for the mind as well as for the body. Natural history is replete with both the wonderful and beautiful, and its study enables us the better to carry out the principles we inculcate of Faith, Hope, and Charity. Cultivate an observing mind. It is delightful to acquire knowledge, and much more so to diffuse it. It is sad to think that any human soul should fail to perceive the beauty that everywhere abounds. Nature preaches to us forever in tones of love, and writes truth in all colors, on manuscripts illuminated with stars and flowers.
‘Be faithful, be hopeful, be charitable,’ is the constant song Nature sings, through warbling birds and whispering pines, through roaring waves and howling winds. As Harvesters and Gleaners of this wisdom, teach others how beautiful, how angelic, seems every fragment of life which is earnest and true.
Lecturer to candidates, Lessons of the First Degree
One of the joys of rural living is found in what the Lecturer describes as “fragments of life.” We can often hear warbling birds, whispering pines, roaring waves, and howling winds.
Hearing those may be different than listening to them. Even in the country, we are often overwhelmed by the noise created by competing “fragments of life.” We scroll through social media posts and hear the television or radio calling to us in the background. There is no shortage of things to give our attention.
A gleaner gathers crops or produce left behind after the harvest. As a child, I remember families occasionally being invited to a local potato farm to “glean” potatoes the harvester had missed. The work was hard but enjoyable, and friendly competition was fostered. We came home dirty but bearing a sense of accomplishment.
The lecturer reminds the candidate to “reap for the mind as well as the body.” Just prior to this lesson, the Master noted, “…gather only the good seed. Our associations in life are the fields in which we reap.” A long-standing truism comes to mind: “You are known by the company you keep.”
It’s not a stretch to suggest the lecturer reminds the candidates to be mindful. “Nature preaches to us forever in tones of love, and writes truth in all colors, on manuscripts illuminated with stars and flowers.” It’s a lot harder to find love and truth on a computer or smartphone screen.
I’m not condemning technology, but the Grange Way of Life suggests we keep things in perspective. When we harvest for the mind, we must deliberately consider which fields we harvest and glean. If our purpose is to “inculcate” the principles of Faith, Hope, and Charity, nature is “replete with both the wonderful and beautiful.”
Maybe it’s time to sit in the yard or go for a walk. “Cultivate an observing mind.” It might also be a good idea to take someone with you. Leave the phone at home. Let nature preach. Listen.
Any degree or ritual quotations are from the forty-seventh edition of the 2023 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.
As we begin a new Grange Year, it seems fitting that we revisit a few critical points regarding posting news and events.
We respect copyrights! We can only post or include information that has not been copyrighted by someone else. Listing the copyright owner is not sufficient. Written permission of the owner is required. As a writer, I can make this complicated because it’s a potentially complicated topic. It may suffice to say that where the website and Bulletin are concerned, we will maintain a conservative policy. Violations can get expensive! This applies to articles, photos, and artwork. For example, if the local newspaper writes an article about your Grange, we cannot simply repost it on the website. We can, however, report it and post a link to it. The rule of thumb we apply is “When in doubt, don’t.”
Photographs have implications as well. A general rule of thumb is that the photographer may use a photo taken at a public event, but this, too, can get complicated when we try to define a “public event.” (I’ve had some interesting discussions with folks “in the know” who suggest that a Grange meeting might not be considered a public event.) As many know, I am particularly obsessive on this point when it comes to minors. The Communications Department will not accept photos of children (under 18 years of age) without written permission of a parent or guardian. Again, this can get complicated. There is some additional information in the MSG Communications Handbook.
For example, quite a few years ago, a mom submitted a photo of her daughter accepting an award, asking if we would publish it, and we did, identifying the child. Shortly after that, I received an email from the estranged child’s father, objecting to the photograph primarily because the Mom had used her maiden name as the child’s last name, which was incorrect. I resolved the issue by removing the post because I gently refused to get dragged into the argument.
Much of this can be avoided with common sense and common courtesy, but that’s not always enough. Thanks to my work in schools, I have an appreciation for the fact that common sense may not be sufficient. I occasionally hear, “Oh, they’re Grangers, so it’s okay.” Grangers deserve the same treatment we give non-Grangers!
With all this said, it is certainly not my intention to discourage the submission of news, events, etc. Quite the contrary! Approximately 400 people visit the website every week. Those visitors to our site most often use “resources pages”—the program books and information page is consistently near the top of the pages visited. But directories are used, and the Grange Events Page is popular. These pages are very dependent on Granges submitting the information. We can’t post what we don’t know! Remember, we offer statewide publicity at no cost to you! It’s extremely easy to share event posts on social media from the site. It doesn’t work the other way around! Tell us what you’re doing and keep information about your Grange current and accurate!
By the way, we increasingly depend on “AI” (artificial intelligence) for proofreading and editing, but it is far from perfect! One thing it doesn’t handle well is the word “Grange.” As a reminder, the word should always be capitalized! Note, too, that many visitors to our site are not Grangers, so we want to beware of using Grange speak—terms that non-members might not recognize. I remember a Dictionary Day with third-graders. I accidentally mentioned Grange deputies, and the hands went up with questions. “Do they carry a gun? What does their badge look like?” It did capture their interest, but I don’t think I’ll make that mistake again. Try to explain what a Grange Deputy is to a nine-year-old.
You know, that’s not bad advice. More than half (54%) of Americans between the ages of 16 and 74 read below the equivalent of a sixth-grade level, according to a piece published in 2022 by APM Research Lab. Keep it simple, and make sure it’s complete. Some years ago, I was accosted by someone who insisted, “Everyone knows where the Grange Hall is…” I’m reasonably sure she wasn’t right, but I replied, “Well, it still doesn’t hurt to remind them!”
► FACT: The most frequently visited page in the last twelve months was the Directory of Granges. People are looking for Granges!
Find the button representing how and where you want to share a post.
By Margaret Henderson, Director Committee on Women’s Activities 207 948-2762
Committee on Women’s Activities
So thankful I am not in the Southern States. My younger sister is in Florida. She called me and said she is in a safe shelter and will call me when she is able to return to her home. Keep praying for everyone’s safety.
I am hoping to get the entries back from Eastern States before State Grange so that I can return them to the ladies that entered them. I look forward to seeing many of you at State Grange. Please stay safe and stay healthy.
L-R Brenda Foss of Androscoggin Grange #8 of Greene Kathleen Meade of Harraseeket Grange # 9
Photo by David Colby Young
Brenda Foss and Kathleen Mead took their Fifth Degree Court of Pomona @ the monthly meeting of Androscoggin Pomona Grange #1 held at Danville Junction Grange #65 of Auburn, Maine. They both plan on taking their Sixth Degree next week to be held in Auburn, Maine, and Kathleen plans on going to National Grange in Nov to take her Seventh Degree.
For many Granges, the fall season includes a Words for Thirds Dictionary Program. (“Words for Thirds” is the phrase coined by the Grange to represent participation in The Dictionary Project.)
Your Communications Department is working on some additional resources for Granges that are providing dictionaries to local schools. In anticipation of releasing these resources, it would be helpful to know which Granges in Maine plan on holding dictionary days during the Grange Year 2024-25.
So far, we’ve created a list based mainly on what the folks at the Dictionary Project have listed, supplemented by previous website submissions. I think (hope!) it’s incomplete. Those Granges include:
It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of this program. Valley Grange has reaped many benefits from providing dictionaries in our area for nearly two decades. This will be our twentieth year! We don’t do it as a fundraiser, but it sure helps us with it!
Enthusiasm and communication are key elements. We’ll help with communication resources! You can help by letting me know about your participation. That includes what challenges you are facing, ideas you may have, etc. Right now, I’m especially interested in learning who is participating or considering it!
Simple! Fill out the form below—don’t forget to press [submit] at the bottom! Thanks for your help and support!
