Valley Grange Wants Five Minutes

(Click the arrow on the bottom left to begin the video.)

During their recent celebration of community, Valley Grange named Roger Ricker Community Citizen of the Year. Roger passed away last December but left behind a legacy of constant and lifelong support for his community.

After honoring Roger, Valley Grange Program Director Walter Boomsma challenged attendees to consider the impact of spending just five minutes a day in support of their communities. A five-minute video provided examples of the Guilford Grange’s programs and supporters. Boomsma noted, “If you buy a raffle ticket from us, you’re also buying a dictionary for a third grader.”

“We are restarting some of our programs suspended due to COVID. You don’t have to be a member to help and support us. When we asked people to ‘Sock it to us’ with donations to help provide socks to kids throughout the county, we received support from as far away as Pennsylvania and West Virginia.”

He also pointed out that five minutes a day isn’t much. “But it adds up. If there are 2,000 people in your community and just half (we’ll excuse young kids and people over 80) of them give five minutes per day, that equates to having nearly thirteen people working full time, making your community stronger. Based on the average salary in Maine, that’s worth over $700,000 to your community. Just five minutes every day. Of course, the ultimate value is not in dollars and cents. It’s in the difference you will make in individual’s lives.”

Just Five Minutes.

Mill Stream Grange Places Flags

Mill Stream Grange members (l-r) Ingrid Grenon, Debbie Lavender, Jill Sampson, and Wendy Leighton (plus Paul Lavender taking photo) placed American flags on Veterans’ graves at three cemeteries on the Tower Road in Vienna. This is Mill Stream’s annual Memorial Day community service project honoring Veterans. If anyone visits the cemeteries and your loved one did not get a flag, please call 293-4960.

Stay Smart, Stay Safe!

The attempts to scam innocent people are running rampant. Fortunately, the scammers aren’t always the brightest bulbs on the string!

National Grange recently posted a warning in Patrons Chain regarding emails appearing to be from National Officers and Staff. Facebook is overrun with stolen profiles and hacked accounts.

By nature, we often go on “autopilot” when processing information, and it becomes very easy to click “reply” to emails or accept friend requests on Facebook. Slow down. Stay smart, stay safe.

From the Deacon’s Bench – May 2023

By Clay Collins, MSG Chaplain
207 837-0564

The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace.

Psalm 29:11

I hope you are having a very productive spring season getting your vegetable and flower plants ready for planting. I, also, hope that any frost that is going around the state hasn’t affected you in any way.

As it is the month of May, we, as Grangers, ready ourselves and our meetings for memorials. Memorials for loved ones and those service men and women who have passed on to the “Great Grange above.”

It is fitting that we remember loved ones, and members of the armed forces, but instead of just remembering the military in one group, may I suggest that you include four newly commissioned Lieutenants in the army who gave their lives so that many would live.

 They are known as the “Four Chaplains,” and they died on February 3, 1943, when the USAT Dorchester was torpedoed carrying troops to Europe during World War II. As the ship was sinking, and the troops were getting to the lifeboats, these chaplains (1-Rabbi, 2-Protestant ministers, 1-Priest) were passing out life preservers. When the preservers ran out, they gave up their life preservers to the next four men in line.

Survivors said later that they witnessed the four chaplains on the deck, arms linked, feet braced against the deck, praying and offering encouragement to those men in the lifeboats.

During this time of remembrance in your Grange and in your personal life, please remember the heroism and selflessness of these four men of God. Also, remember that they were of different faiths “working” for the same God. If we choose to emulate these four chaplains, what a difference we could make in the little world around us.

Remember, God loves us all!!

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

Benediction: “Father, please don’t help us get over it; help them get through it.  Amen.”

Thought for the month: May the saddest day of your future be no worse than the happiest day of your past.

An Irish Blessing for Health and Prosperity

Quick Tip – Stop Summer Slide!

Cool Idea
Share your ideas with other Granges!

submitted by Walter Boomsma

As most know, Valley Grange is very much involved with our schools in regard to literacy and reading. Studies have validated what is called the “summer slide.” Children who don’t read or who read rarely over the summer encounter stagnation or decline in their reading skills. At least one estimate suggests this can be overcome by children reading just five grade-level appropriate books over summer vacation.

Can your Grange encourage this? Absolutely! You might consider partnering with your local library–many have summer reading programs and events. Or how about a community potluck supper with a side order of reading? This could have all sorts of variations: kids who bring a book they are reading eat free… or maybe there’s a “book exchange” where you invite kids to bring books they’ve read to exchange with others. At Valley Grange, we keep a milk crate of children’s books in the dining hall… whenever a child visits us for a supper or a program they are invited to take a book home as long as they promise to read it.

Don’t just think about reading to children–a key component of Valley Grange’s bookworm program is that we have the kids reading to us! Several months ago a second grader started a book with me that we didn’t have time to finish. When her turn came up again recently, she brought the same book and remembered exactly where we’d left off. This is a kid for whom reading is important. It’s nice to feel our program is contributing.

Just get something started–it doesn’t have to be massive and complicated.

“You’re never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read with a child.”
―     Dr. Seuss

Quick tips from Granges and Grangers are always welcome… on any topic that might improve or make things easier for other Granges. Use the submission form or email yours to the webmaster for consideration!

Fraternal Concern — Robert Smith

Submitted by MSG Master/President Sherry Harriman

Once again, our Grange family has had a loss of our Brother Robert Smith, Deputy of the Maine State Grange. He entered into that great Grange above on May 11th and received his welcome plaudit “Well done, good and faithful servant.”  He will be missed by all.  

Funeral Services will be held at Harland Harnden Masonic Hall 70 Bryant Road, Wilton, Maine June 3, 2023, at 1 p.m. Arrangements are under the care and direction of Dan & Scott’s Cremation and Funeral Services, 488 Farmington Falls Road, Farmington, ME 04938

View the complete obituary here.

2023 Northeast Youth Conference

The Northeast Regional Youth Conference will be held July 15-16, 2023, at the Vermont Grange Center in Brookfield, VT. The conference is designed for Youth Members aged 14-35, but all are welcome to attend. The cost to attend is $35 and the registration deadline is July 1, 2023.

Additional information and registration form is available here.

President’s Perspective – May 2023

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

I hope to see many of you at one of the Information/Instruction meetings I have scheduled. Or invite me to your Grange or Pomona area if you are interested.

  • May 15, Evening Star in Washington, 6:00 pm refreshments; 7:00pm meeting
  • May 17, Winthrop, 5:30 pm
  • May 21, Harraseeket in Freeport 1:00 pm 
  • June 17, Arbutus in Surry 1:00 pm
  • June 22, Paugus in Fryeburg 6:30 pm
  • June 27, Granite in Searsport 1:00 pm, Also Conferring the Fifth Degree Obligation Ceremony
  • Victor in Fairfield has invited me, we are working on a date.

RESOLUTIONS are due to the State Grange office by August 15 — email or standard mail. 

PROCEDURE FOR ELECTION OF OFFICERS

Yes, Maine still uses paper ballots for each officer, and should be held in June. The committees are named by the elected Master.

  The Master will appoint tellers to count the ballots, and a table or place to count the ballots is set up for them. Paper ballots are passed out to all members of that Grange. Count the members that are eligible to vote.  Yes, the tellers may ballot, if they are from that Grange.

 Then the Master will say:  “The Chair awaits presentations of names for the office of….”  Any member of that Grange may present or suggest a name, the proper words are…“I present or suggest the name of… ”  (nominate is not the proper term).  The Master will repeat the name presented and ask, “Are there any others?”, asking a total of three times, repeating the list of names for that office each time they ask, “Are there any others?”.  Anyone’s name may be presented for any office by any member. 

 A person may decline or withdraw their name for the office, if they wish to, at the time their name is presented. The person declining does not have to give a reason for declining.   (Something to remember, if you are not willing to accept the office that your name has been presented for, it is best to decline at this time rather than after the election.) 

 The Master will repeat the names and say, “You will prepare your ballots for the office of….” After a brief pause, the Master will instruct the Assistants to collect the ballots and may excuse the Assistants from carrying their staves.  Paper ballots are cast by the members, writing the name of the person you wish to elect to that office. You may write anyone’s name even if their name was not presented. 

You do not have to ballot if you do not wish to. You must write the word “Blank” on the ballot if you want to cast your ballot but do not want to vote for one of those names presented or any other name,  but want your ballot to count in the “total ballots cast”. (A plain ballot may have been stuck to another and not intended to be put in the ballot count, plain ballots will not be counted in the total of ballots cast.) 

Once the Assistants have collected the ballots, the Master asks, “Have all balloted who desire to do so?” Hearing no one speak up, the Master will say, “I declare the ballot closed.” The ballot is then given to the tellers, and the Assistants return to their seats.

The tellers will count the ballots and make the report.  Reporting as follows each time: “WM, there were… total ballots cast for the office of…, necessary for choice… (majority, one more than half of the ballots cast), then will list the number of ballots cast for each person or name on the ballots. The ballot is then thrown away after the result is given by the Master.

The final choice is announced by the Master, “By your ballot, you have elected ___________ to the office of ____________.” and the results are recorded. Once a majority has been reached,  the Master will ask the person, “Brother or Sister _______________, do you accept the office of ______________?   If they decline or there is no majority of the ballots cast, the Master will say, “Since we have no majority, you will prepare your ballot for the office of _____________,” repeating all names listed. You will proceed to ballot once again on the same office until a majority is reached.   The same procedure is followed for each office.

Upon completion of the election, the tellers are excused with thanks.   

After the election, the Subordinate or Pomona, the Secretary will provide Officer (Master, Lecturer & Secretary name, address, phone & email) and the same for the Committee Chairs, plus meeting day and time, and Grange address, to the State Grange as soon as possible for the new Roster.

View from the Farm – May 2023

Webmaster’s note: The format of this column has changed a bit, with all of the Quill’s Endians participating at various times and in various ways! This month’s column is written by Phil.

This month will mark 18 years since we moved from Brooksville to Quill’s End Farm.  It seems to have all started with resolve.

And continue forward in the same way.

We bought this farm from the late Paul Birdsall.  He was instrumental in starting Blue Hill Heritage Trust and Maine Farmland Trust.  Paul was a visionary in land transfer to the following generations.  He paid particular attention to the ridge that extends from Orland to Blue Hill because of the soils and traditional use.

Our farm had been vacant for nearly 30 years when he purchased it, the last owner having passed away in the mid-1970s.  When her daughter decided to sell, she remembered that Paul was interested in conserving it as farmland and approached him.  After Paul bought the property, he worked with the Blue Hill Heritage Trust to grant them development rights and certain restrictions that will keep this land as farmland in perpetuity.  He then listed the property through the Maine Farmlink program at Maine Farmland Trust.

We had mostly resolved ourselves, landless farmers as we were, to moving from Maine in order to farm.  A fellow farmer from Brooklin told us about Paul’s search for farmers for this farm.  We met Paul at the farm one bright fall day and walked the fields.  After that first meeting, he offered the Old Nevells farm to us.  He noticed fire in our bellies, he said.

In September 2004, we started to gut the old house, long abandoned by human residents, but certainly not vacant.  The horsehair plaster walls gave way to stories and clues to the past lives of the previous farmers and their families.  The ceiling bays gave way to tons of porcupine scat.  In January 2005, Kenny Jordan and his crew picked the house up and moved it 400′ over 3 days and onto a new foundation where it now rests.  In late March, we welcomed Carolyn into the world.  In May, newly remodeled inside and out, we moved in.

I don’t know that the whirlwind has stopped since or if we’ve merely grown more accustomed to it, but our resolve?

That is still there in the eye of the storms.

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 given us permission to share some of her columns with Grangers. Visit the Quill’s End Farm Facebook Page for more information.