Maine State Grange

Communication Shorts 8-1-2023

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!

August Bulletin Reminder

The August Bulletin deadline is August 14, 2023. Remember, you can always find recent issues of the Bulletin on the Program Books and Information Page.

Welcome Pleasant River Grange #492

Pleasant River Grange in Vinalhaven now has an Internet presence! Check out their website and Facebook Page. (Links have been added to the list of Subordinate Grange Links.) Remember, if your Grange has a site or Facebook page, let us know! We’ll help promote your Grange an your events, but you have to tell us about them!

What Can You Say Other than “WOW!”

In the past thirty days, the most visited post/page was the article about Mill Stream Grange’s Tool Lending Library–nearly 300 visits! It is the top-ranked post for the month, beating out everything else–even the program books and information page! There might be a message in this for us–when we are meeting community needs in a practical way, people are interested! Way to go, Mill Stream Grangers!

National Farmers’ Market Week

Did you know that August 6 – 12, 2023 is National Farmers Market Week? Now in its 24th year, National Farmers Market Week (August 6-12, 2023) is an annual celebration that highlights the vital role farmers’ markets play in our nation’s food system. For additional information and resources, look here!

Ideas for Granges

Most aren’t anxious to start thinking about fall, but maybe we can let the fun continue! Could your Grange sponsor a Harvest Festival–a celebration of the season and the harvest?

2023-2024 Events Calendar

This is a great time to start planning your programs and events for the next Grange Year. Please submit the information for posting on the MSG Website Calendar.

Thought for You…

“Each of us has about 40 chances to accomplish our goals in life. I learned this first through agriculture, because all farmers can expect to have about 40 growing seasons, giving them just 40 chances to improve on every harvest.”
Howard Graham Buffett

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!

Subscribe to the Maine State Grange Website

St George Grange August Public Supper

Public Supper at St. George Grange 32 Wileys Corner Road in St. George, ME, on Saturday, August 12, 2023, at 5 pm.
Enjoy lots of homemade food with Grange members, family, and friends. All welcome! We have public suppers on the second Saturday of each month until October.

Parkman Grange to Award Scholarships

Saturday, August 12, 2023, will be the ninth annual Minnie Welts Bridge Memorial Scholarship Supper, sponsored by Parkman Grange, 4:30 – 6:30 p.m., at the Grange Hall, State Highway 150, and North Dexter Rd. The supper, featuring smoked pork loin, baked beans, salads, and desserts, is open to the public by donation. All monies will go to the Minnie Welts Bridge Memorial Scholarship Fund. 2023 Scholarships will be awarded at the supper.

Minnie Bridge was a lifelong resident of Parkman, ME, a retired school teacher, and a life member of the Parkman Grange. In her memory, the Grange established the Minnie Welts Bridge Memorial Scholarship Fund to benefit deserving SAD 4-area students continuing their education beyond high school. The Grange annually awards one or more Scholarships of $500 each, funded through donations and the annual suppers in Minnie’s name. To date, the Grange has awarded $13,000 in scholarships to deserving SAD 4-area students. For more information, contact Sue Manchester at 277-3942.

Valley Grange Thanks MHFCU!

Twice a month, the employees from each of the six offices of Maine Highlands Federal Credit Union dress casually for “Caring for Community.” Each employee pays $3 for the privilege of wearing jeans and a Caring for Community Shirt. The total funds collected on these dress casual days benefit a local non-profit organization. Valley Grange of Guilford was recently named the recipient of those funds. Thank you, Maine Highlands Federal Credit Union Employees, for supporting our programs! Members and friends of the Grange, please say “thanks” when you visit one of the MHFCU offices!

Grange Love at Guilford RiverFest

Valley Grange is located in Guilford, Maine. This is excerpted from their recent Grange Gram to members and friends.

Are you ready to give and get some love? Riverfest is just one week from today!

All you have to do is be in the Valley Grange tent at RiverFest on Saturday, July 29, 2023. Judy has volunteered to help with setting up. If you are coming for the parade (which starts at 9:30) and are willing to come a little early, your hands would be welcome! To beat the traffic, Walter plans to be there at 8:30 to unload and set up. The goal is to be set up before the parade starts.

Our tent may be “unstaffed” during the parade—unless someone would like to hang out there. We open formally at 11 am. The official schedule is posted on the Valley Grange Website. ”Working” in our tent is fun! You might get some hugs… and all you have to do is offer information about the Grange (we’ll have printed support material) and a free pin to give away. If you can sell a raffle ticket in the process, that would be awesome! While it’s not on the schedule, traditionally, the expectation is we remain “open” until 3 pm, but unless it’s busy, most start packing up around 2:30. Help with that is always welcome, although it usually goes a lot quicker than setting up!

Of course, you can just show up, but if you’d like to let Walter know what you think you’re planning, that will be helpful!

We’ll also be kicking off our annual raffle that day. Information about the raffle is now available on the website. We have five great prizes this year! We’ll be mailing tickets to all members and friends later this summer—if you’d like some now, let us know! You can also pick up extras to sell at RiverFest. Janice will be our primary ticket distributor and collector—if you need tickets, contact her by email or phone 343-1496. Another great option will be at the Valley Grange Picnic on August 15^th. That info will be coming next week!

Good News!

Maine Highlands Federal Credit Union called—they have a donation for us! Employees donate as part of their dress-down day, then select a cause to give the donations, and we’re it! I’ll be picking it up next week!

More Good News!

Many of you will remember Lilly, the Junior Granger from Connecticut we supported during her battle with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia by doing card showers and encouragement. She’s doing great! She was actually placed on the “Make-a-Wish” roster back in 2018. After making it through 25 months of chemo, double hip joint replacement, and then being on the Covid waitlist, it was great to see her wish come true this past week finally! She and her family finally got a “wish trip” to Alaska together! This is one amazing kid! It’s great to have shared in and supported her battle. What an honor! She and her Mom are now supporting the Make-a-wish Foundation. Earlier this year, they did the “Walk for Wishes.” By the way, Lilly is now 18 years old.

Exploring Traditions – July 2023

Meandering Around the Grange Way of Life

Tradition — Resources or Restraint?

By Walter Boomsma, Guest Columnist

Warning: I am joining a Sister Granger in her Facebook Rant. As a guest columnist, I think it’s permitted.

We have several Granges here in Maine that are shining examples of what the Grange can be. Ironically, they receive a fair amount of criticism. Accusations include statements like, “They are trying to change the Grange.” (Saying it like it’s a bad thing!) and “They are not ‘doing’ the Ritual and following proper Grange procedure..” I could go on. But, as my sister notes, she is “sick of hearing this [sort of comment] with no action behind it.” The expression that comes to mind is that we must walk the talk.

The Grange is replete with rich traditions. We need to stop using them as a restraint and figure out how to make them the resource they should be. If we took the time to understand Grange tradition fully, we might realize that creating excitement with new programs that benefits our communities and members is not “changing” the Grange. It is returning the Grange to its original passion and contributions to society. If we studied the early history of the Grange, we would discover that during its first few decades of explosive growth, it made several major changes to policy and practice.

Instead, we’re like a bunch of old hippies, trying to decide whether to “hang on to the old or grab on to the new.” No, that’s not right. We’re like a bunch of old Grangers, trying desperately to hang on to the old. In so doing, we’re actually rejecting what’s great about the Grange.

Another way of thinking about it is to ask ourselves if we are embracing the important traditions and keeping our priorities straight. I have often said and written that I don’t think our forefathers created the Grange so they could create Ritual and Degree Work. I think they created the Grange to cause positive change in rural communities and members. We need to see the irony of the resistance to change—and lack of support for it—in an organization that was meant to create it.

I think I smell tar heating and see feathers being gathered. Let me assure everyone that I deeply appreciate the Grange Tradition. I think the teachings of the Grange in the Ritual and Degree Work are amazing. Just yesterday, while I was weeding and replacing some “drowned” plants, I was reminded not to fight nature but to work with her.

How appropriate! Instead of fighting change, we need to at least work with it. We might be best served by embracing it, but for some, that’s apparently too much to ask.

I have two questions we should be asking and one suggestion for you. Whenever we encounter someone from another Grange we ought to ask:

What’s the most exciting thing your Grange has done recently?
Who is the most exciting person in your Grange?

It hopefully goes without saying that we should listen carefully to the answers. I suggest we visit or talk to some of the more exciting Granges—and maybe some other local organizations with a positive story to tell. Then we need to start writing our own story.

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 – July 2023

For the Good of the Order

By Walter Boomsma
207 343-1842
Communications Director

Here’s a strange irony! I wrote my July Column over a week ago, stuck it into the draft of the Bulletin, but never posted it on the website! My excuse is that I’m also posting a slightly different version on my blog. Oops! A few days late, but here it is!

We recently returned from vacation—most of it spent in “Amish Country” in Pennsylvania. I do have some stories to tell, but they’ll be posted on my website. I will share that, as I do every year, I picked up a copy of the Budget Newspaper. The Budget is a weekly newspaper published in Ohio for and by members of various plain Anabaptist Christian communities, including the Amish, Amish Mennonite, Beachy Amish, and plain Mennonite and Brethren communities.

There is no online version, and they do not maintain a website. That will not be surprising if you know much about the “plain people.” What may surprise you is that it has been around since 1890 and, in spite of the failure rate of most print newspapers, shows no signs of weakening or losing “market share.”

Since this is not going to qualify as a heavily researched article, suffice it to say that the Amish are organized into an estimated 600 districts around the country and Canada. I’m mentioning that because the newspaper is structured based on those districts. A simple description is that “scribes” (reporters) from each district submit news about their district each week for publication. It appears that most articles are submitted by snail mail or fax machine. (Most Amish are not big fans of technology.)

For one interested in communication and newsletter publishing, it’s a fascinating publication on a number of points. To oversimplify it’s fascinating that it works and how it works. I’ve speculated that it works in a large part because of the absence of technology. But more importantly, the publishers understand and meet the needs of their market. A typical report from a district will include important details like which family hosted church most recently, who is getting married, who is recovering from illness or an accident,
who is visiting relatives, and who is being visited by relatives. There’s often a mention of the weather and how the crops are doing.

Amish belief and culture place a great deal of importance on the community. The editors of the Budget know the information critical to maintaining a strong community, and they provide it. I recall one article reporting a recent farm accident and listing the schedule for the neighbors who are helping.

Those who remember The Maine Granger (a monthly printed newsletter) may sense a resemblance. When it was published, each Grange was expected to have a reporter to record and submit news about their individual Grange and its members. Since technology was still not widely adapted many submissions were typed and snail mailed.

There might be a question of comparison of the two publications. But the bigger question is what communication do we need to keep our community Granges thriving? Some of the Amish Districts I am familiar with are spread out geographically. Travel is often by horse and buggy. If there are telephones, their use is highly restricted. Yet somehow, those scribes know or find out and share information important to their community. It’s not instantaneous, and it’s not available online. But it seems to work.

We, Grangers, are much more comfortable with technology. (Yes, there are exceptions.) Similar to the Amish, we value communities—our local Grange is a community located in a larger and more diverse community. How are we doing with communicating the information that’s important to our communities?

I am not suggesting we should bring back The Maine Granger. But I am suggesting with the resources we have available, we might do well to ask ourselves how well we’re doing with communicating information that
keeps our Grange Communities informed and healthy. Are there any suggestions “for the good of the order?”

► FACT: So far this year, the MSG website was viewed over 8,000 times by over 3,400 people. The two most visited items were the Directory of Granges and the Program Books and Information Page.

Tell us why you love the Grange!

Communication Shorts 7-16-2023

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!

July Bulletin Reminder

The July Bulletin is now available for download and printing. Remember, you can always find recent issues of the Bulletin on the Program Books and Information Page.

Questions We Get About Your Events…

We occasionally get questions about Grange events… if your event isn’t listed on the MSG website, we can’t answer them. Remember that it’s easy to list your event–use the submit tab on the site or just send an email! If do get a question we can’t answer, we’ll send ’em your way, but we recently had a question about an event at a Grange that doesn’t appear to exist!

2023-2024 Events Calendar

This is a great time to start planning your programs and events for the next Grange Year. Please submit the information for posting on the MSG Website Calendar.

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!