With data breaches on the rise, we wanted to take the time to remind you to stay vigilant against phishing attempts. Hackers use fraudulent practices to spoof people into giving up their data and or money. The most common technique is email phishing.
Hackers send messages that appear legitimate or look like they’re from someone you trust so that you engage with the message or click on malicious attachments. The National Grange will never ask for money, gift cards, emergency assistance or any financial transaction via email. It is very important to look at the details of any email to make sure it is in fact coming from the person you believe it to be. Two-factor authentication is enabled for all National Grange email accounts, which require a security code to be sent to the mobile phone of the National Grange President or staff member before allowing access.
If something seems fishy…it’s probably phishing. Here are some tips to keep in mind to avoid falling victim and to protect yourself against these attacks. Double-check that the sender’s email address matches who they claim to be. National Grange communication from President Chris Hamp will use the email address champ@nationalgrange.org. Any other variation should not be trusted. Don’t click a link or download from someone you don’t know or weren’t expecting. Don’t reply to a suspicious email or message from an email you don’t recognize. When in doubt, call the person and ask if they sent the email. The “Reply” email address should never be different from the person you believe it to be. Be cautious of slight changes in the email address.
Webmaster’s Note: This is not limited to National Grange email, obviously! We’ve recently been experiencing similar issues here in Maine. Please be vigilant and cautious.
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!
July Bulletin Is Available!
The July Bulletin is now available for download and printing! You can find recent issues of the Bulletin on the Program Books and Information Page.
State Session Page is Available
A page dedicated to the 2024 State Session is now available with preliminary information. This will be a work in progress!
National Grange Digest Is Available on this Site
We have made the 2024 National Grange Digest available directly from the MSG Website. It is listed in the National Grange Section of the Program Books and Information Page. This booklet will answer many of your questions regarding Grange Law and Practice.
Scholarship Information/Application Available
The Educational Aid and Howes Nurses Scholarship information and application is now available on the Program Books and Information Page or this direct link. Note that the deadline for application is September 15, 2024.
Check out the Senior Circle being hosted by Victor Grange! It’s a fairly simple way to get folks into your hall!
Think about this!
“Doing things is not the same as getting things done.”
Jared Silver
Submit News! Be “famous”
Submitting news can be as simple as a photo and “cutline.” A cutline is a brief description–longer than a caption–to accompany the photo. Let’s prove that the Grange is alive and well in Maine! (Photos should be submitted as an attachment to an email.) We get inquiries from people looking for active Granges!
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!
Senior Circle – a potluck for Seniors to get together with others for socializing, networking and a game or two. Held on the 3rd Friday of the month at 11 am. . FMI Deb 207-453-4844 or Sherri 207-815-0615. Victor Grange 144 Oakland Rd Fairfield Center. No Charge.
By Melissa Baldwin, Maine State Grange Lecturer 207 324-4661
After a successful North East Lecturers’ Conference, I am ready to gear up and start planning for next year’s Lecturers’ Contests. I will plan most of the same as in the past, along with any new ideas. I am planning a State Lecturers’ Conference for September 14, 2024, at Manchester Grange from 9 am until noon.
By Margaret Henderson, Director Committee on Women’s Activities 207 948-2762
Committee on Women’s Activities
Wow! It doesn’t seem possible that this year is half over already!
I hope that many of you will be able to attend the CWA conference on August 24, 2024th at 9 am. The new booklet will include dates for next year’s events, new craft projects, and a few other changes.
The CWA committee met and discussed these things and all of us were in agreement on these things. We will talk about all of the changes at the conference. If you have any concerns, please plan to attend the conference.
I am looking forward to seeing all of the wonderful entries in the contests and to seeing many of you at the conference.
Please try to keep hydrated and stay cool in this humidity.
I wonder if I’ll ever cease to be amazed by the number of scams being run on the Internet and Social Media. I can’t resist sharing this one because it might actually be considered funny.
So “Commander Kirkland” has reached out to “whom it may concern” with what might initially appear troubling news. He informs us “...you and your organization, that the Federal Law Enforcement agencies of the United States of America in conjunction with Interpol, the World Security Council and the United Nations Amnesty International Program, are announcing a series of arrests and investigations concerning various Religious and Social organizations using a psychological torture, and brainwashing technique known as a ‘forgiveness tatoo’.
I’m reminded a bit of the old joke “You know it’s not going to be a good day when you find the Sixty Minute News Team waiting for you at the office.”
By the way, “forgiveness tattoos”(spelled correctly) are a real item readily found on the Internet. I don’t pretend to fully understand their value, but as far as I can see, they aren’t about brainwashing or torture.
“What is the scam?” you ask. I don’t know, I didn’t fall for it. But I suspect the first step was to get me to reply to the email. It’s interesting that a Federal Law Enforcement Commander is using a Gmail address. I’ll admit, I almost did reply out of curiosity.
You can fool some of the people some of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.
Attributed to Abraham Lincoln.
The updated version is
You can fool enough people some of the time to make a decent living.
Unknown
Just don’t be one of those people. And, perhaps more importantly, don’t let these attempts get you down. Think of them as an opportunity to demonstrate how smart you are. Just slow down and think! Wouldn’t you think a high-ranking federal law enforcement official would (among other things):
know how to spell the “tattoos” he is investigating
have an email address associated with his agency (and identify it)
No worries. Now, if you see the CNN News Team standing in front of the Grange Hall…
By Rick Grotton, Membership Committee Director 207 582-5915
This year is the 150th anniversary of the Maine State Grange and some of the earliest numbered Granges. What a wonderful way to attract new members! I have attended a couple of anniversary celebrations, which were well-received and provided much history. Let’s advertise this important event to the public through social media, television, radio, and newspapers or by holding open houses to invite the community to see your hall.
Plan a community celebration, contact your local PBS television station to attend, and advertise in the local newspaper. There are many, many people who would enjoy a walk through your history and how your Grange has survived for 150 years. News media thrives on such content and would be very interested in publishing your information. PBS has a show called “Maine Life,” which covers everything about day-to-day living in our beautiful state. They would surely be interested in televising the Grange anniversaries as they are a part of Maine life and have been for 150 years. This is a big chance to show off your successes and hard work and to educate others on how important Grange has been in Maine history and how it has affected the people of Maine. From Eliot to Presque Isle, from Fryeburg and Wilson’s Mills to Alexander and Perry and in between (especially along the entire coast), the Grange covered most of our State at one time. Even today, although we have fewer Granges, the traditions and rituals are mainly the same as 150 years ago, and some of these Granges are doing extremely well by being active and serving their communities. Our Halls signify a safe place for people to gather and were always considered the centerpiece or hotspot of rural communities.
Please continue to attract members as our future depends on it. Have fun!
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.
Peak Summer
With Independence Day upon us, high summer kicked into gear for everyone around here. Our lives become richer with the busyness. Opportunities for leisure and play abound right alongside work. Reconnecting with family from near and far becomes easier with the outdoor temperature and nature in full summer garb.
We also get so many great reasons to complain. The traffic, the lines, the entitlement. No lack of complaints makes for no lull in conversations. And the heat! We northerners can wax eloquently about our near death, 85-degree discomfort with glee for hours. Oh, the misery!
Full swing summer puts Quill’s End Farm into 5th gear. We got somewhere to be, and we aren’t there yet. For the first time in twenty years, even though we are grazing more cows than ever before, the pasture got ahead of us. Benjamin took an acre of it and made hay.
I dream of a time when we can put up all of our own hay. The problem is, I want all of the hay to be as good as the pasture. High legume content, desirable species hay growing on fertile ground. That means that after you pick up your hay, you lay down compost to more than replace what you took, thereby improving soil.
On Friday, after a late night hay gathering, we spread that acre with four-year old compost that looks like topsoil. Satisfaction. Benjamin also spread younger, nubblier compost on next year’s garden plot which will soon get plowed and cover cropped. It made a hot July day extra satisfying.
As predicted, we then received multiple showers and downpours to help everything along. This also helped my state of mind, as taking hay from a pasture mid-season is no light thing. I dread the possibility of feeding hay in late August should the weather turn dry and the pastures slow down too much to keep up with the cows.
As your homes and lives fill up with friends and families, we pray for ease, relaxation, and fantastic meals. Our pork, dairy and veggies are ready to impress your company. Whether grilling or crockpotting, we’ve got something exquisite to fill your plates while your loved ones fill your heart.
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.
I briefly considered taking a sabbatical from writing this column during a summer road trip that spans two months. Then it occurred to me that I might find a connection between the trip and the columns. Plus, I can justify writing about the trip I’m so looking forward to!
Occasionally, I allow myself to speculate on the differences between the “Grange Way of Life” during the formative years of the organization and today. It’s easy to see the differences, but it’s fun and valuable to identify the similarities. An important value of tradition and ritual is familiarity. When we attend a Grange Meeting, we probably park in the same place each time. Our predecessors likely stabled their horses accordingly.
While it wasn’t totally intentional, this summer’s road trip is about tradition. We’ll spend a week among the Amish in Ohio, where we last visited nearly forty years ago. I’ve been warned to expect a lot of change, so I plan to look for things that haven’t changed much. Since the Amish accept change hesitantly and deliberately, what better place to look?
The ultimate objective of the trip is Scott, Michigan–the home of Tillers International. Here I will spend four days learning how to train and drive a team of oxen. Why?
If you’ll permit a digression, many years ago, I was part of a team of Grangers who answered the phones at a PBS telethon. Viewers were invited to call with questions as well as donations. We wrote down the questions and handed them to the celebrity hosts for on-air replies. The program running during the telethon featured classical music including some Italian Opera. During one of my calls, the caller asked, “Why is that guy singing in Italian?” When I showed the question to Rick Tyler, he grabbed the paper and walked towards the camera. I remember it as if it was yesterday. He stood in front of the camera and read the question, then explained, “He’s singing in Italian because he can, Rose.”
At the time, I found it funny. After laughing, I realized it was also insightful. Sometimes we need to do things just because we can–that’s enough of a reason.
In my early explanations of why I was attending this workshop, I often joked, “It may be one of the most useless things I’ve ever done.” I suppose I could just say, “Because I can.” Do we really have to have a reason for everything we do?
Maybe, instead of seeking memorable experiences, we could seek experiences (even ones that seem useless) and then see if they become memorable and useful.
My friends, the person who has been speaking to you is that worst of enemies to progress—ignorance, attended by his companions, sloth and superstition. Give them no heed if you hope to advance.
Assistant Steward to candidates during the First Degree
The Grange Way of Life goes beyond being open to experiences and learning. If we are to progress and grow, we must abandon ignorance, sloth (laziness), and superstition (commonly seen as fear of the unknown). While it’s not limited to vacations, they can be a great time to try something different and, maybe even a little bit crazy.
I’ll let you know how it goes.
They are waiting patiently.
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.
