Patrons of Husbandry – a website dedicated to the Granges located in Maine
Saturday, July 27, 2024
Lunch at 12 noon, followed by worship service at 1:30 pm.
Vermont Grange Center
308 West Street
Brookfield VT
RSVP for Saturday Lunch to Ruth Hovey-Sicely of the Vermont State Grange. Reservations must be made by July 8, 2024.
Stay the weekend at the Grange Center!
For reservations, contact Ruth Hovey-Sicely 802 223-7961 by July 8.
What’s happening at your Grange? Submit your event for publishing on the Maine State Grange Website! It’s not much of a party unless you invite people!
Notes from National are gleaned from an email provided by Phil Vonada, National Grange Communications Director.
This is just too funny and too creative not to share! The USDA in Montana has developed a fun way to test the fertility and health of your soil. “Just bury a pair of cotton underwear around June and dig it back up after at least 60 days. It’s the quick and dirty way to test the microbial activity in your soil. The more the underwear is deteriorated, the healthier your soil!” Complete instructions are available here. There’s even a guide for judging the results.
I could see this adopted as a local Grange Promotion, with results being brought to the hall for judging. It would certainly be fun to create a certificate of accomplishment for the winner and a great way to generate curiosity about the Grange!
Spend the whole day celebrating! — July 13, 2024
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!
The June Bulletin is now available for download and printing! You can find recent issues of the Bulletin on the Program Books and Information Page.
There have been several changes to the Junior Grange Meeting Schedule. Please make sure you have the most recent information!
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.
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.
Every Friday, from June 7 through October 4, 2024, Trenton Grange Farmers Market, 3 pm – 6 pm. 1134 Bar Harbor Road in Trenton. Vendors contact Beth Warner at 207 664-4164 or zeppa@ aol.com. Free admission. (Vendor/booth fee).
As a reminder, this new publication replaces Patrons Chain and View from the Hill.
We’ve added two new links to the site. One for “TroopOns” and one for Maine Fair Information and Dates.
Do you have a printed list of the programs your Grange offers?
“If you don’t help with the milking, you’ll forget the cows names.”
Amish Proverb
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!
A dairy farmer recently shared his thoughts and feelings regarding his favorite cow, Judy. A terminal illness meant a tough decision on his part. Explaining that decision, he observed, “ I do not own these cows. I am their steward.” He added that meant he was obligated to decide in the best interest of Judy and not on what he thought, felt, or wanted.
“It is required in Stewards that they be found faithful.”
Opening statement when installing the office of Steward
A simple definition of “steward” is one who manages the property of others. So we could rightly ask the Installing Officer, “To whom am I expected to be faithful?” The remainder of the charge given by the installing officer describes the steward’s obligation to the overseer, to “new workers,” and to “keep safely and in proper order the property of the Grange,” noting, “It requires good judgment on your part.” That might be an understatement.
I often visit a local dairy farm where we buy our milk—not quite directly from the cows, but from their steward. But I do get to pat the girls and scratch them under their chins. If the steward happens to be around, we talk about them and sometimes talk to them. I learn a lot. He describes himself as their caretaker. And, while we might be guilty of anthropomorphizing a bit, we are both convinced they trust his care. He points out, “They’ve got it made.” It seems to be a “good deal” for everyone. The milk they give is amazing!
Just maybe that epitomizes stewardship. I shared with him an Amish Proverb. “If you don’t help with the milking, you’ll forget the cows’ names.”
A few years ago, there was a movement (I don’t know where it started) to stop Grangers from saying “my Grange.” I suppose it was a well-intended effort to stop implying ownership. “It’s not your Grange; it belongs to everyone.” Personally, I never had a problem with the words. What’s critical is what we do, not what we say. If a farmer wants to call them “my cows,” that’s okay as long as he or she remembers it’s about stewardship and practices accordingly. Words don’t mean; people give meaning to them. If you tell me about your Grange, I am willing to assume that you live as a steward of it.
The Grange Way of Life is ultimately that of stewardship. During the Second Degree, the Chaplain reminds the candidate for membership, “In no other occupation does a man’s daily labor bring him into such close companionship with the Great Creator as in the cultivation of the soil. Therefore, guard against selfishness. If thine enemy hunger, feed him. Do good, hoping for nothing in return, and your reward shall be great. Love one another.
Love and stewardship are not always easy. One of the most memorable lessons of the degrees for me personally happens in the First Degree, when the Master displays a few kernels of corn and says, “Behold these inanimate kernels of corn! But the germ has life—the future plant is there. We loosen the soil—we bury the seed, and in so doing, impress upon our minds the truth of the immortality of the soul. There is no object in which, to appearance, life and death border so closely together as in the grains of seed buried in the earth; but when life seems extinct, a fuller and richer existence begins anew.”
Are you (in your Grange and in your life) helping with the milking? Do you know the cows names?
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.
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.
There are many things that we do on small farms that seem logical to us, but are not necessarily logical to commodity farmers. Alongside the enterprises that earn us money, we homestead. We keep a garden, fruit trees, and cane fruits for our own larder and to share with friends. We tap maple trees to boil sap and sweeten our mornings.
There are certain things that resonate with any food grower. The excitement of the first fresh greens, the sun-warmed first tomatoes, the crisp, tangy bite of an apple while you stand beneath the tree.
Since we eat seasonally, these are things we don’t enjoy all year round, but we can extend that excitement pretty far.
We have been eating a lot of potatoes recently. We do love potatoes, but there is also an urgency for consumption this time of the year. Our supply, while holding out in quantity, is slowly degrading in quality. Today, for our second meal with potatoes in it, I uncovered our last half-bushel. I’m fairly certain that these are not potatoes of unusual size, but after fishing through the dregs of the last container for every last usable spud, they seemed like whoppers to me. A two-bite home fry! The excitement of the last of the potatoes will soon give way to the longing for new potatoes with firm crisp flesh, but for now a gigantic, medium-sized potato will do very well.
As we were relishing our good fortune, Benjamin related a story about a farming friend of his eating apples in June. Wrinkly, soft fleshed June apples from your own farm! Nothing better, until…
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.
Jon Thurston writes, “I belong to a group dedicated to preserving heirloom seeds in Maine. We are planning a large bean supper this fall and were wondering what the favorite bean varieties were in each county for traditional bean suppers. Any information you may have would be appreciated.”
While this isn’t exactly the data we collect or have available on the website, it is an interesting question! Feel free to comment here or contact Jon directly!
By Roberta Meserve, MSG Ag Director
(207) 998-3857
It feels like summer weather has arrived. I hope you all have had a successful planting season and that the weather cooperates to give your seeds and seedlings a good start.
As you planted, did you put in an extra row (or at least a plant or two), to share with others, or for your Grange’s fair exhibit?
If your Grange lacks the people power or items for a full Ag or Domestic fair exhibit, consider an Educational Fair Exhibit. These can give your Grange exposure and presence at the fairs but can be done with fewer items and workers. Check with your local fairs to find out the size and shape of the exhibit space, and get ready to educate the fair visitors about Grange and agriculture.
The MSG Ag Department Handbook, which is available on the MSG website, contains rules, guidelines, suggestions, and scoresheets for all fair exhibits.
Remember to support your local farm stands and Farmers’ Markets, and enjoy all the wonderful, fresh treats that summers in Maine provide us.