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.

Rebecca loves the Grange!

Truly a local organization with down to earth people.

Rebecca Wentworth, Halcyon Grange #345

What about you?

Do you love the Grange? Can you explain what’s great about being a member? It only takes a minute to click the button and tell the world!

I love the Grange!

Membership Moments — September 2022

By Rick Grotton,
Membership Committee Director
207 582-5915

September and October are my favorite months of the year. The warm days and cool nights are refreshing and the colors of the changing foliage (also football games) are my favorites. State Grange session is almost upon us. This is also a great time for autumn events at your Grange. Also, many of us spend much of our time at various agricultural fairs displaying our crops and handiwork to compete for that elusive blue ribbon and cash to fund our projects.  Publicity runs high in these two months and we should be proud of our products out there for public view. Be proud of displaying your wares and be grateful for the admiration of others who enjoy the result of your hard work throughout the year. I have seen some beautiful displays and it makes me proud to be a Granger. Also, harvest suppers and “trunk or treat” Halloween gatherings are fun for the community and for ourselves.  Keep up the good work Brothers and Sisters!

Remember, adding new members is a top priority and should be a constant venture. Without water, we and other living things wither up and die; without new members, our Grangers do the same. Membership is our lifeblood, and we should constantly be working to increase membership. Does your Grange have a membership committee? If not, you should. No matter how small or large your membership is, adding new members is always needed, just as the blood pumps through our veins and the sunlight helps our plants to grow.

How did you come about becoming a member? If you joined other than by family, you were recruited as was I. My life changed immediately for the better as I had a whole new family to meet and to create lasting friendships. Growing and learning were constant and I felt grateful for the changes that I endured (some beyond my control). Early on, I had not envisioned myself as a leader or a public speaker and especially as a State Grange Master (President).  Think of your own experiences. Wouldn’t you want others to feel the same way you do about Grange? The passion when speaking to others will certainly be noticed and felt by them. Encourage them to visit and invite them to events. Even ask them for their ideas about how to run a particular project or their opinions about an event. Make them welcome and be open to their ideas. Positive energy yields positive results. So, get out there with a smile and a goal; to bring in the new members! I hope to see you at State Grange session in October.

Junior Report — September 2022

By Marilyn Stinson
207 380-3901
and Terry LaCombe Stevens,
207 356-2492
Co-directors

It’s been a summer of historical events for the Juniors. They’ve been to Old Fort Western and cut wood for the fires, cooked as the colonists did, carded wool, and learned about feather beds as well as had a picnic and played on the playground in Augusta. Had craft times and fun times at MSG Headquarters. Then they visited The Knight House, which is the oldest house in Androscoggin County, and learned more about historical times, including kitchen tools and games from Revolutionary Days. The two boys, ages 12 and 13, played hopscotch and enjoyed each other’s company. Many thanks to Danville Junction for hosting their meeting in August.

Their crafts have been mostly judged and the stars going to BigE were sent for judging there. We still have their Sand Art crafts to be judged, which have been displayed at the three fair exhibits to earn money for their activities and donations. Their photos and drawings will be part of the State Lecturer’s contests in October.

Hopefully, there will be someone to continue exhibiting at the fairs next year. Marilyn is willing to help but is physically unable to continue the setup. They earned $341.00 at fairs near Marilyn – Pittston, Windsor, and Litchfield, and she has enjoyed promoting the Juniors, showing they are alive and involved. We need to find someone to set up more exhibits in other areas. Can you do it??? Marilyn will help with writing posters and emailing them to anyone able to print and display them.

They have practiced a song for their program after the banquet at State Session in Auburn and plan to get together at the hotel where the Co-directors are staying to go over last-minute stuff and use the pool. There will be a table to show what was exhibited at the fairs, and the kids can pick up whatever they’ve made at State Session.

Between now and then, they will meet for their “Grow Juniors” meeting at Tranquility Grange in Lincolnville Beach so the SW kids can meet with the NE kids in a central place.

Many thanks to the committee members who worked so diligently this year, and prayers for the ones who will be involved next year.

Let’s continue with the “Spring Challenge” meeting in the spring and the “Grow Juniors” meeting in the fall. All to help with the Junior Motto of “Improvement”

Winthrop Grange Estate Sale and Lite Luncheon

October 1, 2022, 8 am – 2 pm

Save the date for our fundraiser! On October 1, 2022, from 8 am-2 pm, The Winthrop Grange will host an indoor Estate Sale and Lite Luncheon. The Grange was the lucky recipient of an estate clean-out that will help us raise funds for future projects and community activities.

In addition to the sale inside, The Grange will serve the following food options- clam chowder, tomato basil soup, hot dogs, and grilled cheese sticks.  Homemade apple crisp and cookies will also be available for purchase as well. 

Make sure to stop by and visit us, have some lunch and maybe take a few things home with you. We are located at 601 Old Lewiston Road, just down the road from Charlie’s Chevrolet and Rt. 202.  For more information, please feel free to reach out to Kathy at 207 500 9864  or email gwamme@gmail.com.

Highland Lake Grange October Turkey Supper

Saturday, October 8, 2022, 4:30 to 6:00

Highland Lake Grange will be having a roasted turkey drive-up, take-out only, dinners on Saturday, October 8, 2022 (and Saturday, November 12, 2022) from 4:30-6:00. There will be roasted turkey, green beans, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, bread, cranberry sauce, and cake. The cost is $10.00 per person. Please have the exact price for the meal(s) you want.. You will drive up, pay and receive your meal. No substitutions or pre-orders. If a long line of cars develops, serving may start earlier for safety. The Grange is located near the corner of Rt 302 and Hardy Road, Westbrook.  FMI Joann Levesque 207 233 7119.