Grange Songbooks Exposed!

As most know, Grange Friend Katherine studies and performs vintage songs of the Grange. After completing exhaustive research, Katherine has published an extensive history of Grange Songbooks and Sheet Music on her website. Where available, links to digital copies are provided, as well as more in-depth information. Like so much of Grange History, there is much color and a few surprises! Did you know, for example, that The Grange Polka was written by Frank Howards and published in 1874 by John Church & Co.?

On the introductory page, Katherine reminds us of one song that proclaimed the motto of the the Patrons was “Plow Deep.”

Bold monopoly and faction we’ll ever keep at bay
“Plow deep’s” the motto of the Patrons!
And dishonesty shall tremble when farmers clear the way,
“Plow deep’s” the motto of the Patrons!

George Cooper

Like many of the lessons of the Grange, a motto proclaimed in our early history and still applicable today!

We are grateful to Katherine for “plowing deep” and providing this labor of love. Not only do we learn a lot about Grange music, but her complete history provides insights into how the Grange worked many years ago.

Contact Katherine
Katherine’s Website
Katherine’s Fac

ebook Page

Communication Shorts 03-24-2024

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!

Happy Anniversary to Whom?

We’ve had a request for information regarding any 150th Anniversary Celebrations being planned. If it’s your Grange’s Year, let us know!

Save This Idea!

It’s too late for this year, but the town of Falmouth, Maine, is sponsoring an April Stools Day event (that’s not a typo). Volunteers will clear the Falmouth Community Park trails for spring (with special attention to dog waste). Trash bags and gloves will be available for participants. The event will have a party atmosphere and fun prizes.

Grange Rideshare–New England Lecturers’ Conference

We have at least one person seeking a ride to the NELC in June who is willing to share expenses. The conference is June 21-23 in Norwich, CT. If you are going and have some room, let’s see if we can create some connections!

Submit Events! Be “findable”

The MSG website is easy to find and gets a lot of use! In the last seven days, 132 people visited the site after searching on Google. It really does make sense to submit your events and make sure your information is correct in the online directory! We especially need working email addresses that are checked regularly!

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!

April Events

(Before we leave March, don’t forget this weekend [March 23-24, 2024], is Maine Maple Weekend!) April is Grange Month, with celebrations throughout the month. Here’s some we know about!

  • April 2, 2024, Open Mic Night at Trenton Grange. Doors open at 5:30 pm, and the event is from 6:00 to 8:30 pm. $5 donation cover. Trenton Grange Website.
  • April 2, 2024, Piscataquis Pomona Meeting at Valley Grange Hall. Contact Bill Bemis FMI. (Note different day of the month.)
  • April 5, 2024, Community Potluck Supper at Trenton Grange, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., 1134 Bar Harbor Road in Trenton. For more information, see this post or visit the Trenton Grange Website.
  • April 6, 2024, Benton Grange Craft Fair and Flea Market, 9 am until 2 pm. Call 207 453-4796 for information.
  • April 6-7, 2024, Community Bazaar (crafts, farmers’ market, yard sale…) at Trenton Grange from 9 am until 2 pm both days. For more information, see this post or visit the Trenton Grange Website.
  • April 8, 2024, Solar Eclipse Day Are you safe?
  • April 13, 2024, Kennebec Valley Grange Take-out Dinner, starting at noon. For more information, see this post.
  • April 13, 2024, Parkman Grange Daddy Daughter Dance starting at 6 pm, see this post!
  • April 14, 2024, Deadline for the MSG Bulletin
  • April 14, 2024, Cumberland Pomona Degree Day at North Scarborough Grange starting at 1:00 pm. Contact Yvonne Johnson FMI. (603 506-1374)

The Patrons Chain 3-22-2024

Articles in this edition include:

  • Recap of the Virtual Legislative Fly-In
  • Grange Month materials available
  • Youth & Junior Director honored, thanked for service
  • Photo spotlight: Leadership Team takes to Capitol Hill
  • This week: Rural Minds and National Grange present webinar
  • Duplicate Charter Application now available
  • Grange Supply Store: Digital Downloads – vintage cookbooks
  • Grange Supply Store: 4th Degree Pin
  • Grange Member Benefit: Budget Rental Cars 

Click the button below to read and/or subscribe to the Patrons Chain!


Note that all recent issues are available on the National Grange Website. Occasionally, a weekly issue isn’t sent, so the fact that one hasn’t been posted on the MSG website doesn’t necessarily mean we skipped it! You can double-check using the link (Read the Current Issue) above. Effective 2024, we will only maintain one year of issues on the MSG website.

Parkman Grange Springs into Spring!

The Parkman Grange has a busy spring planned, starting with its Daddy Daughter Dance on Saturday, April 13, 2024, from 6-8 PM. Young ladies are invited to attend with their dad or an important person in their life. D.J. Steve Boddy will spin tunes and have fun dance games with prizes. Light refreshments will be available. A keepsake photo will be taken to remember this special night. Admission is $5 per person at the door.

The popular Mother’s Day Tea will be on May 11, 2024 from 10 to noon.  Kelly Brasier is the guest of honor.  Tea sandwiches, sweets, and beverages will be served. Live entertainment and lots of door prizes make this a special occasion which has become a spring tradition for family and friends. Admission is $5 per person, under 5 free. Reservations are required at 207-717-6248. 

Applications for the Minnie Bridge Scholarship are available at the Parkman Town Office or anytime on the bulletin board on the porch of Grange Hall. These $500 scholarships are for SAD #4 area, second-year higher education students. The deadline is July 12, 2024. 

 The Parkman Grange meets on the first Tuesday of the month at 5 PM at the Grange Hall. If you are interested in these and other community-based events, come join them; you don’t need to be a Parkman resident. The hall is located on the corner of State Hwy 150 and North Dexter Road in Parkman

Jonesboro Grange Featured on WABI

Jonesboro Grange is recently featured on WABI-TV5. Watch the story online!

and don’t forget their Easter Basket Festival March 22-24, 2024!

  • Free Easter Egg Hunt for ages 12 and under with 7,000+ Eggs on March 23rd1
  • Free Photos with the Easter Bunny
  • $50 Door Prize
  • 50/50 Raffle

Communication Shorts 03-15-2024

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!

March Bulletin Now Available

Get it here! Remember, the past few Bulletins are available for downloading and printing on the Program Books and Information Page. We also occasionally accept “guest posts” on topics of interest to Grangers. See the guidelines!

Starling Hall Auction

Have you placed your bids yet? (There’s a copy of Exploring Traditions available and it benefits a good cause!)

Update on Subscription Feature

This isn’t going to be a quick fix! In the meantime, I’ve instituted a manual workaround and will be creating regular emails to subscribers. These won’t be daily and will be based on posting activity. Communication will not stop! It may be a little slower, though. Thanks for your patience.

Grange Month Resources Available

The traditional resources (proclamation, sample press release, posters, etc.) are now available on the National Grange Website.

Deering Grange Website

Check out the new Deering Grange Website! It’s great that another Grange now has an Internet presence.

Ideas for Granges

Is it time for some spring cleaning? Can your hall and grounds become a community effort? Is there a local garden club that might help with landscaping?

Thought for You…

“I find my greatest freedom on the farm. I can be a bad farmer or a lazy farmer and it’s my own business.”

Robert Frost

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 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!

The Patrons Chain 3-15-2024

Articles in this edition include:

  • Legislative Fly-In puts focus on advocacy for all Americans
  • USDA Finalizes Voluntary “Product of USA” Label Claim to Enhance Consumer Protection
  • Grange Month materials available
  • Save the Date: Rural Minds and National Grange to present webinar
  • Join Membership Matters
  • Grange Spotlight: White Clover Grange “Pie Day”
  • 2024: The Road Ahead to Connect America
  • Grange Supply Store: 4th Degree Pins
  • Grange Supply Store: Community Citizen Awards
  • Grange Member Benefit: Start Hearing 

Click the button below to read and/or subscribe to the Patrons Chain!


Note that all recent issues are available on the National Grange Website. Occasionally, a weekly issue isn’t sent, so the fact that one hasn’t been posted on the MSG website doesn’t necessarily mean we skipped it! You can double-check using the link (Read the Current Issue) above. Effective 2024, we will only maintain one year of issues on the MSG website.

Community Service/FHH – March 2024

By Brenda Dyer, MSG Community Service/FHH Director
(207) 608-9193

March is when Spring officially starts. We are on Daylight Savings Time, and the days have more daylight. Many have started seedlings for themselves, neighbors, or a community plant sale. Craft fairs are starting to spring up. EVERYONE is Irish for one day. The opportunities for community service are endless.

There are many services that will overlap with other Grange committees. Please make sure to include these in your report ( ie. The CWA committee may make a quilt to be used for a community service event.) This should be reported in the Community Service report under the event and the CWA report. 

I am receiving some Coupons for the Coups for Troops. Keep sending them! Thank you Valley Grange and Lakeside Grange. 

Family Health and Hearing

March  Women’s History Month
             17th   ST. Patrick’s Day
             30th   National Doctor’s Day

April Grange Month

          Maine State Grange is 150 years old as well as several Subordinate Granges. 
          Have an open meeting and invite the community to learn about the Grange. CELEBRATE!
          Follow the National Grange Theme. Make sure to take pictures.

If you email me, please text me to let me know so it won’t go to spam and/or get deleted. Thank you. Happy Spring!

View from the Farm – March 2024

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.

At Least There’s Still Bacon…

Two years ago I resigned myself to the reality that, despite my best intentions, I would just never get to the task of improving an overgrown two and a half acres on the farm, the “Hidden Field”. I had cleared and rocked it 15 years earlier, but never improved its fertility so that it would produce good grass. I looked away for a second and it grew trees.

I had to come up with a plan that put me down in the Hidden Field every day because, as the adage goes, “A farmer’s feet are the best fertilizer.” The first step was to level the alder patch.

A friend of ours had just started a land-clearing business with a machine that literally shreds trees and incorporates them back into the soil. It is a beast of a machine that exists only for tree death. After he finished his work, and I was still ruminating potential uses for the new clearing, it grew nasty woody shrubs. Time for action.

With Benjamin’s return to the farm from college last spring, uses for that piece of land started to become more possible, so… I called in the hogs. 

We have now rotated hogs over about half of that ground. They match my friend’s machine in disruptive power, but also fertilize and produce pork on the side.  How clever am I?

Coming into this “winter,” I had to choose whether to leave the hogs on that patch or move them closer to the barn. Getting feed and water to them 1/3 mile away and across our main field could prove difficult in the shoulder seasons. I thought I’d order up two different weather scenarios in order to cover my bases. Old-fashioned Maine winter with frozen ground for easy transport of food and water OR mild, dry winter for less easy, but not all that messy, transport.  

I got mixed results with my order and got a mild and wet, wet winter. Not the ideal that I ordered up. Getting a truck to them has become tricky, and has churned more soil than I like. I’m afraid that working that two and a half acres has now become slightly more.  I’ll have to clean up my mess come warmer weather. My cleverness thwarted, at least there’s still bacon.


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.