Link to Master’s Address

In our rush to release state convention information at least one mistake was made. In the original “news,” the link to the Master’s Address actually led to the Treasurer’s Report! Apologies for any inconvenience. The link in the story has been corrected and is provided here!

So far we’ve uploaded 25 documents and created links for them. That’s not a case of whining, just creating perspective. If this is the only mistake, it’s not TOO bad. Thanks to Brother Rolf Staples for reporting it!

Sorry for any inconvenience!

2023 Resolutions Report

For the sake of brevity, only the resolves are listed. For additional information, contact the Legislative Director.

Nonsmoking National Grange Events, submitted by Bingham Grange #237

Resolved, when future sites for the National Grange Convention or National Grange-sponsored conferences are chosen, only sites will be considered that are totally non-smoking.

The Good of the Order Committee recommended this ought to pass, and the delegate body agreed.

Activate Cameras at Major Intersections, submitted by Androscoggin Pomona #1

Resolved, that the Maine State Grange support legislation to activate the cameras that are at intersections and install cameras wherever they are needed.

The Legislative Committee recommended this ought not to pass, and the delegate body agreed.

Automatic Lights on All Vehicles submitted by Androscoggin Pomona #1

Resolved, that the Maine State Grange support legislation that all new vehicles have automatic lights.

The Legislative Committee recommended this ought not to pass, and the delegate body agreed.

Officers Elected, 2023-24

The delegate body elected the following officers during the 150th Maine State Grange Convention.

Master, Sherry Harriman
Overseer, Mike Griffin
Lecturer, Missy Baldwin
Steward, Ben Edgerly
Assistant Steward, Rick Grotton
Lady Assistant Steward, Roberta Meserve
Chaplain, Christine Hebert
Treasurer, Laurie McBurnie
Secretary, Sharon Morton
Gatekeeper, Peter Ivers
Ceres, Betty Huff
Pomona, Kathy Gowen
Flora, Deborah Ivers
Executive Committee, James Meserve – 4-year term

Directors and Committee Chairs will be announced upon receipt of information. If you have been elected or appointed, please be certain that we have your contact information by checking the online officer directory.

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State Session News

A complete summary of the State Session will come in several forms over some period of time. Of course, the official is the Journal of Proceedings, which will be posted when received.

A first priority is the Master’s Address, in part because it’s easy to do! In fact, it’s done! Click this link to download and print a copy of the Master’s Address!

Second are the results of the election. It may, however, be a while before directories are updated with complete contact information. Gathering that information tends to be the biggest challenge. If you were elected or appointed to an office, it will speed things up if you send me your email address and phone number!

Third are the “missing” annual reports. (Some are not available until the state session. You can check the program books and information page. I should have all reports that I’ve received uploaded within a day or two of this post.)

Fourth are the results of the three resolutions considered by the delegates.

Fifth will be some things I’ve requested from people. One example is the MSG history facts prepared by Margaret Morse as “filler” during the elections while counts were being done. Some were very interesting!

Things may not appear in exactly the order given, but my goal is to have at least one through four completed before the end of this week (October 28, 2023).

If you subscribe to the site, you’ll get an email when new posts are made! Thanks to the delegate who told me he loves how easy it is to get information from the site, especially the emails!

Lastly, please continue to submit your events! When I have multiple submissions, I prioritize local Grange events and news first. You matter! Use the submit tab, or send an email!

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Winter Heating Guide and Tips

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Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

FHH Committees: You could this part of your Family Health and Heating Report! (Read carefully!)

Maine’s Energy Office has prepared a Winter Heating Guide to help Maine people stay warm this winter and know where to find assistance if needed. This includes steps to receive emergency fuel if necessary, sign up for automatic fuel delivery, or find support for energy bills or to help insulate your homes. If you need to order heating fuel, we advise contacting your supplier before your tank falls below one-third full, to give busy fuel delivery companies time to schedule your delivery.

Extended periods of low temperatures can result in frozen water pipes.

To prevent water pipes from freezing, try these methods:

  • Keep garage doors closed, especially if there are water supply lines in the garage.
  • Open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors to allow warmer air to circulate around the plumbing, especially if your sink is on an exterior wall. (If you have small children, be sure to remove any harmful cleaners and household chemicals from the open cabinets.)
  • Let the cold water drip from the faucet of the exposed pipes. Running water through the pipes, even at a trickle, helps prevent pipes from freezing.
  • Keep the thermostat set to the same temperature during day and night. A cold snap is not the time to set back the thermostat at night to save a few bucks on your heating bill.
  • If you plan to be away during cold weather, leave the heat on in your home and set to a temperature no lower than 55 F.
  • For the long term, add insulation to attics, basements, and crawl spaces. Insulation will maintain higher temperatures in those areas. To prevent drafts, seal cracks and openings around windows, doors, and at sill plates where the house rests on its foundation.

If your pipes do freeze, you can safely thaw them with the following actions:

  • Turn on the faucet. Running water through the pipe, as cold as it is, will help melt ice in the pipe.
  • Apply heat to the section of the pipe using an electric heating pad wrapped around the pipe, an electric hair dryer, or a portable space heater (kept away from flammable materials). Do not use a blowtorch, a kerosene or propane heater, a charcoal stove, or any device with an open flame as high heat can damage the pipes or even start a fire.
  • Apply heat until full water pressure is restored. Check all other faucets in your home to see whether you have additional frozen pipes. If one pipe freezes, others may freeze, too.
  • Call a licensed plumber if you are unable to locate the frozen area, if the frozen area is not accessible, or if you cannot thaw the pipe.

Some Membership Wows!

The most recent Grange Membership Year runs from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023.

According to the Membership Annual Report, 19 Granges in Maine had net gains that year, taking in some 75 members.

The top three membership gains were:

  • First: Huntoon Hill Grange #398, located in Wiscasset, showed a net gain of 16 members. According to the 2022-23 Roster, Russell Marr is the Master/President.
  • Second: Jonesboro Grange #357, located in Jonesboro, showed a net gain of 10 members. According to the 2022-23 Roster, John Cox Jr. is the Master/President.
  • Third: Trenton Grange # 550, located in Trenton, showed a net gain of 9 members. According to the 2022-23 Roster, Peter Lazas is the Master/President.

Congratulations and well done! Wow!

Are you aware of any “Wows” (new members, funds raised, successful events, other accomplishments) we should announce? Send a few details!

Communication Shorts 10-15-2023

By Walter Boomsma,
MSG Communications Director
207 343-1842

Communication Shorts are brief (short) but important items posted for your information and use. Send us your ideas and thoughts!

October Bulletin Reminder

The October Bulletin is complete and available for downloading and printing. However, with the State Convention happening this week, there may be some delay with the actual mailing. Remember, you can always find recent issues of the Bulletin on the Program Books and Information Page.

Planning a Holiday Event?

Are you planning a holiday event such as a Craft Fair or Party? Don’t forget to submit the details for a website post and event calendar listing!

Need an Absentee Ballot?

You can request a Maine Absentee Ballot online. Election Day is November 7, 2023.

Ideas for Granges

Rory Feek of Plain Values Magazine recently wrote an article on gardening and included a photo of his daughter’s “rolling garden.” It’s a child-sized “box” on wheels with child-sized “tools” kept on a port or deck. What a great idea! A Grange could make some as a fundraiser… provide a version for senior citizens… put your thinking caps on!

Thought for You…

Between what I think, what I want to say, what I believe I say, what I say, what you want to hear, what you believe to hear, what you hear, what you want to understand, what you think you understand, what you understand…They are ten possibilities that we might have some problem communicating. But let’s try anyway…

Bernard Werber

Do You Love the Grange?

The world wants to hear about it! Fill out the simple I Love the Grange Form… it only takes a couple of minutes! Thanks to all who have shared so far!

Online Directories Available 24-7

  • 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!

Do You Have FOMO?

“FOMO” is, of course, a Fear Of Missing Out. One strongly recommended treatment is to subscribe to the Maine State Grange Website. We’ll send you a daily summary whenever news and columns are posted, and we won’t share your email address with anyone!

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Communications Column – October 2023

Annual Reports and Parties

By Walter Boomsma
207 343-1842
Communications Director

As most know, the “Grange Year” ends on September 30th. One of the communication tasks I have is to post annual reports and program books on the website. Annual reports should highlight the activities and accomplishments of the person or department. Program books should be a resource for all Granges and Grangers. For this month’s column, I’d like to share a few paragraphs from my annual report as communications director.

The website is now in its thirteenth full year of operation in its current form. The objectives for the redesign in November 2010 were simple. Some of the more important included:

  • To encourage prompt posting and maintenance of information and resources,
  • To control that posting process with some level of moderation and quality control,
  • To allow users to find basic information and resources (such as applications, manuals, etc.) readily and
  • To allow users to subscribe to the site and receive email versions of posts.

We continue to achieve those objectives. Site views have decreased by 3.0% over the previous year. There have been 20,840 site views from September 1, 2022, through August 31, 2023—an average of nearly 1,700 monthly. However, these visits do not include subscribers who are receiving the posts without necessarily visiting the site.

Considering the decline in Granges and Grange membership, the site is doing well. Some of that success can be attributed to the site design and content. The site is resource-rich and appeals to both members and non-members. The top pages visited are the information pages, such as the directory of Granges, program books, etc. This year, however, several posts about Community Grange Events and programs received a lot of attention. This tells us how to maintain interest in the site.

I would go one step further and suggest that this also tells us how to maintain interest in the Grange. In a word, it’s “communication.”

The Communications Handbook is designed to help local Granges do just that. You can download a copy from the Maine State Grange Website or request one be mailed. Grangers help each other. Please let me know if there’s some way I can help you and your Grange achieve more in 2023-24.

For your part, please use the website! One of the largest pages is the “Program Books and Information” page. You’ll find annual reports, program books, and assorted resources listed by department or committee. But an even more important part you play in the website’s success is communicating your news and events. Are you having a craft fair during the holidays? If you send the information, you get a free “ad” and a listing on the Events Page. Will everyone who sees it attend? Of course not. But I can assure you that people who do not know about it won’t come!

Don’t be guilty of having a party and forgetting to invite anyone! And remember, this is not just about events. When you share news about your Grange, you give people a reason to be interested. You could even write an annual report of your activities and accomplishments and include some of the things you’ve got planned for next year!

► FACT: During the first week in August, there were 513 emails delivered to website subscribers. (The most subscribers get is one email per day.) A big advantage for subscribers is that they don’t have to remember to check the website and can choose which posts they are going to read entirely.

From the Deacon’s Bench – October 2023

By Clay Collins, MSG Chaplain
207 837-0564

“And He saith unto them, ‘Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?’ Then He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.”     

Matthew 9:26

Friends! Have you ever taken the time to determine just who your friends really are? Who are your rainy-day friends? Who are your casual friends? Who are your good friends? The ones who are there for you when they are needed no matter what the problem or situation?

These are just a few questions to help you put your friends into the right perspective. Not all friends are alike! There are friends from work or school who are more casual acquaintances than friends. There are those friends that would drop everything and come running (literally) if you should need help of any kind. Then there are those friends that will stick by you when all of the other friends have long gone.

We must cherish all of our friends, as they each have a purpose in our lives. God would not have given us the friends that we have if there were not a purpose to it. It has been said that friends are like a fine wine; both add comfort to a significant situation. For if it weren’t for good friends, how would we be able to cope with our day-to-day lives?

Friends are a gift from God that we cannot overlook. I am thankful every day for all of my dear friends, for without them, I could not appreciate the true gifts from God. Thank you one and all for being my very dear friends. Remember, always, “Life has many gifts – take time to unwrap them all”!

Until the next time, 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 pray for their safe return to their families!

Benediction: “Gracious Father, thank you for our friends for without them, life would not be worth living. Help us to realize that our friends are really a true and loving gift from You. We give our thanks in Thy holy name. Amen. ”  

Thought for the month:

May your neighbors respect you,
Troubles neglect you,
The angels protect you,
And Heaven accept you.

An Irish Blessing for Health and Prosperity