2022 Master’s Address at 149th Convention

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

Worthy National Representative Anne Bercher, Officers. Delegates and Members of the Maine State Grange,

It is an honor to present my 2022 Maine State Grange Annual Address. I would like to thank everyone who helped to make this job easier and keeping our organization moving and to each of you who do so much to make our Granges grow and prosper. It is hard work, no doubt about it, but the rewards are worth it. I certainly appreciate the efforts of our Members, Deputies, Directors and Committees who work diligently on behalf of the Grange and wish us all success in the coming year. Thank you to Jim Owens, past Master, for your advice, guidance, counsel and friendship. A special, thank-you Richard for your support and strength through the good happenings and some very difficult Grange situations & decisions, love you.

Jim Owens represented Maine last November as the delegate to the National Grange participating in all work and activities. I did not attend in person because of my bout with covid just prior to the National Convention, but did participate via zoom for some of the meetings and workshops. I was assigned to the Budget Committee and we did our advance work by zoom before the convention. Jim and I will be going to Sparks, Nevada this year in November. I have been assigned to Agriculture and Jim assigned to Grange law. Again we will do updates by zoom to policy statements and review resolutions before the session opens.

The 2023 National Grange Convention will be hosted by the Northeast Region and will be held in Niagara Falls, New York. The 7 regional states have a good handle on the plans for that event. Many volunteers will be needed for the National convention, for different activities, please help out. We have 2023 Convention T-shirts here for sale as a fundraiser, (we have them here). Each Northeast State is also required to pay a Host Fund Assessment of S4.500, Maine’s assessment was paid this year. This happens every five years.

Headquarters

The Maine State Grange headquarters building in Augusta was taken off the market when the contract expired last year. We had quite a number of showings during the past few years while it was listed and the potential buyers have been very impressed with the size of the building and its appearance for its age. However, they did comment about the cost of converting it over to all offices, other potential uses or upgrading it. Our upstairs tenants, Maine Better Transportation, and Garbacik Surveyors on the first floor have moved, not for anything against us but the opportunity suited them, which leaves us with one tenant and our own offices. We are hoping to rent the spaces once again.

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Saco Grange Delivers Lap Quilts

Saco Grange recently dropped off 13 quilts to Community Health Services for their Veterans in Hospice Lap quilt program. All quilts are headed to Bangor for in-home hospice care. Our wonderful Saco Grange Quilt Club made most of the quilts. Project Linus and some from the community were also received. We strive to donate patriotic quilts for our veterans in Hospice. Always accepting quilts. For more information about the quilt club or Saco Grange visit the Saco Grange Facebook Page.

Valley Grange #144 of Guilford Maine is a proud supporter and sponsor of the Community Health and Counseling Service’s Presentation honoring Veterans as part of their hospice program. Operation Gratitude includes the formal presentation of a pin, certificate, and patriotic lap quilt or afghan attended by Chaplain Char Chandler-Stevens, a military representative, and family and friends. Valley Grange’s support includes promoting the program and encouraging quilters and crocheters to help supply the lap quilts and afghans. For more information, visit the Valley Grange Website.

Vote and Honor a Vet!

MSG Comm Department Logo
This article is reprinted with permission from an e-newsletter published by Paul Stearns, State Representative for District 119.

You may request free of charge a “button” in honor of a family member. The button “I’m voting in Honor of a Veteran” is personalized with the name of a veteran the voter wants to recognize for his or her sacrifices to ensure our important freedoms, including the right to vote. In 2000, over 10,000 citizens honored someone who had served, or is serving, in the military. Maine voters paid tribute to a grandfather or grandmother, father or mother, brother or sister, son or daughter, husband or wife, or a neighbor, friend, or fellow veteran. Limit 3 buttons per address

Maine’s Vote in Honor of a Veteran program was created as a “Promote the Vote” initiative for the 2000 General Election. Because of the program’s popularity, as well as the events of September 11, 2001 and their aftermath, the program continues.

Order your Button!
Vote and Honor a Vet– a Two-Fer

Jonesboro Grange T-shirt Available

Jonesboro Grange #357 is having a t-shirt sale. Shirts are $22 each and are available in both adult and youth sizes. There are 6 colors to choose from. Proceeds from the shirts will be split between the Maine Lobstermen’s Association Legal Defense Fund to help the Maine lobstermen, and some funds will go to our building fund for Jonesboro Grange. 

T-shirt ordering information

“Farmers of the Land and Sea”

From the Deacon’s Bench — October 2022

By Clay Collins, MSG Chaplain
207 837-0564

“Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon. Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that they may be increased there, and not diminished.”

Jeremiah 29:4-6

 Ah, yes! We are now in the Fall of the year. Deep into the season, I hope you all fared well during the recent rains that encompassed the entire state! During the one-day event, we received approximately 7 inches of rain!

Most of you, I trust (I hope), are getting ready for the state session. If you are reading this after the session, let me say that I hope it was a great session and you had an enjoyable time.

This column is going to be a short one as I have to prepare for the memorial service for the session. I hope to see you there and be able to talk to you. I do enjoy meeting with all of my grange friends, old and new, and those that I haven’t met as yet!

The scripture lesson this month, like last month, comes from the book of Jeremiah. The lesson jumped out and grabbed me so much that I had to share. The lesson is one of hope (the lesson of the second degree!)

 I have tried in all of my columns to be hopeful about everything, and to promote hope to you, my faithful readers. If you read the scripture closely (maybe, read a few more verses), you will notice that the Lord is urging you to look toward the future. We are NOT without hope.

We do have bumps in the road, but that is what they are, just bumps. They are not rock walls that we cannot get around. They are just minor obstacles that we have to either climb over or go around. They are NOT permanent!

Do not give up hope, keep looking forward to the future, and do not forget the past. We can only learn from past history to help us move on to the future.

 Until the next time, remember, “Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.”

Benediction: “Gracious Father of us all, help us to realize we need to nurture hope in others while nurturing it in ourselves. Amen.”

Thought for the month:

If God sends you down a stony path, may He give you strong shoes.                                                                        

a short Irish Blessing

Historical Resources Sought

By Walter Boomsma, MSG Communications Director

We get lots of questions about the history of the Grange–and specific Granges in Maine. (At one time, there were some 600!) So it seems like we have an opportunity to provide researchers and reporters with some historical resources. While searching for some myself, I was surprised and pleased at how often the Maine State Grange was listed as a source of information and resource for published articles. We’re putting the Grange back on the map in Maine!

You can help! I’ve created and posted a new page (Historical Resources) on the site listing sources of historical information about Granges in Maine. It’s fairly extensive but I’m sure there are more. If you know of any, please send the details!

Pages and posts like this help bring visitors to the site. More traffic means more interest, and sometimes that interest means more support for our local Granges. Everybody wins because that interest often turns into attendance at local Grange events and programs, as well as interest in membership. Help us open the door to the past and the door to the future.

Email the MSG Webmaster
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Communications Column — October 2022

By Walter Boomsma
207 343-1842
Communications Director

If You Build It…

The opening of this month’s column is a reference to the quote, “If you build it, they will come. I planned to observe that it came from the movie, “Field of Dreams.” Something in my brain said, “You might want to check that.” Well, it turns out that it is from the book of Genesis in the Old Testament of the Bible. It stems from God’s conversation with Noah regarding building the ark. God said to Noah, “If you build it, they will come,” referring to the animals.

I’m using it in part because I just build a page on the website called “Historical Resources.” I also did some restructuring so we have a section regarding “Our History and Heritage.” There are at least two reasons for doing this.

First, I love efficiency. As Communications Director and Webmaster, I receive a number of questions and requests about Grange’s history and heritage. The questions come from the media, historical societies, genealogists, and other researchers. Now I can send a link of resources instead of including a list in my email replies.

The second is far more important. “If you build it, they will come.” Whether it’s an ark, baseball stadium, webpage or Grange Hall, it’s really about creating value. We might more accurately say, “If you build it and it has value, they will come.” God was telling Noah to focus on building the ark and not worry about chasing down animals. “If you build it, they will come.” God knew it would have value.

The fact included in this month’s column is worthy of note. “Your MSG website was viewed nearly 2200 times during September 2022–the highest number for a month so far this year.” We are building; they are coming.

Why are they coming–what do they value? We might draw some conclusions by looking at the most frequently visited pages and posts for the last 30 days. These are the top five.

  1. Our Directory of Granges–Think about it! People are looking for Granges! Can they find yours?
  2. Program Books and Information–Since we’ve been posting annual reports and next year’s program books, this is not a surprise.
  3. 2022 State Convention Information–Again, no surprise since the convention takes place this week.
  4. Conferences and Dates–Hmmm, people are looking for Granges. Since we list events taking place at local Granges, there just might be a correlation here.
  5. Our Site–Frankly, this one surprised me. It’s a page describing how the site is structured, some navigation tips, and policies.

These are the pages that website visitors found most valuable. Notice they are “information-rich,” and the most valued page or post is exclusively about local (Subordinate/Community) Granges. Our website visitors are telling us something, and we need to listen. That should be exciting and encouraging. But it also means we should keep building and providing value.

The Directory of Granges is at the top of the list for visitors, and it should be at the top of our list as well. The only way this stays accurate and has value means local Granges must participate in keeping it that way–especially the person to contact for more information. Too often, I receive emails from people who are trying to contact a specific Grange. “I’ve called and left several messages, and no one is returning my call…” or “The number listed doesn’t work.” Please make sure your listing is complete, and the contact person is someone who can be contacted and will respond!

The Conferences and Dates page is free statewide advertising for local Grange events! Please make sure you are submitting your Grange events to the website! The more that is happening around the state, the more value the Grange offers. You can submit your event from the website or by emailing the information to the webmaster. Don’t forget, once it’s posted on the website, it’s easy to share that post on social media!

Specifically

► FACT: Your MSG website was viewed nearly 2200 times during September 2022–the highest number for a month so far this year.

Exploring Traditions — October 2022

Meandering Around the Grange Way of Life

by Walter Boomsma, Guest Columnist

Keep the eye of the mind open…

“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 every where abounds. Nature preaches to us forever in tones of love, and writes truth in all colors, on manuscripts illuminated with stars and flowers.”

From the Lecturer’s Lesson in the Third Degree

The Third Degree represents autumn and the harvest season. And we are fortunate here in Maine that nature literally “writes truth in all colors” each fall. The candidates are seen as harvesters and gleaners and the lecturer also reminds them that nature sings the song “Be faithful, be hopeful, be charitable.” Interestingly, the chaplain closes instruction with, “Be faithful in gathering, that you may be liberal in dispensing.”

Too often, we think of fall as the ending of summer. Of course, that’s accurate but the Chaplain is not going to let us forget that endings are also beginnings. The changes in agriculture and farming can make it easy to lose sight of that. At one time, harvesting and gleaning also meant selecting and saving the best seed to repeat the cycle by planting it in the spring. We were much more aware of the cyclical nature of life and nature. We didn’t gather and harvest solely to consume. We gathered being mindful of spring when the cultivation cycle would begin again.

“Harvesting” knowledge is meant to be no different. Gaining knowledge is not an end. We gain to dispense or diffuse—to share. The Chaplain also reminds us that “a man’s life consists not in the abundance of things he possesses, but in the right use of God’s blessings… that we may be the stewards of His bounty.” In practical terms, nature teaches us to harvest seeds responsibly, keep some to plant in the spring, and share some with our neighbors. The master reminds the candidates that “your faithful work will soon entitle you to still further advancement.”

One of the distinct advantages of celebrating the Four Degrees at one time is it becomes possible to catch the connectedness of the seasons and the lessons. The Steward describes the cycle. “The seasons of preparation, culture, and harvest have passed. It is in the home that we enjoy the fruits of our labors in the fields of the farm and fields of life. In winter, the season of rest from active toil, we sit down with our families, our friends and neighbors, and enjoy together the good things our labors have brought us…”

We have much to enjoy.

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.

View from the Farm — October 2022

By Heather Retberg, Quills End Farm

What Rests in an Apple

Quite often in the fall, while I walk up from delivering the cows to their latest patch of grass, I swing by an apple tree or three and taste.  Every year it amazes me how such a variety of flavor and experience comes from the same genus.  I suppose it shouldn’t, as the milk from every cow tastes different, makes different cheese and different yogurt. 

However, the apples seem more distinct.  One warms and comforts like a fire, the next refreshes like a cold shower in the summer.  They remind me of why fall is my favorite season.  Food is everywhere!

And apples are a hope for the future.

A pippin is the hope that we will be here to taste, that the world will be at peace enough to enjoy the complexity of flavors, that the land will still yield.  A lot rests in an apple.  Yes, it is immediate alimentation.  However, beyond satiating our hunger there is an inexact map that leads a casual disposal of an apple core to become an act of exploration.  This happened many many times around our haunts, and has led to glory and disappointment, but always hope.  All of the varieties now cherished by our populace were chance encounters with hope, and eventually, with the palate. Tasting fall, with its beautiful foliage and crisp air helps me remember what hope tastes like.

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 Degree Day is Postponed!

Due to “circumstances beyond our control,” the Degree Day and Installation scheduled for this Saturday, October 15, 2022, is being postponed to a future date that will be announced soon. The Mill Stream members, degree team, and installation team are truly unhappy and regret this! Since all Granges were invited to participate and this is short notice, please help spread the word so no one misses this news. A new date will be announced soon.