Exploring Traditions – November 2024

Meandering Around the Grange Way of Life

by Walter Boomsma, Guest Columnist

All is secure and the labors of the day are complete…

If we are inclined to doubt that the Grange is about a way of life, we might simply pay close attention to the things we say and do somewhat automatically. In one of my teaching assignments, I am responsible for “locking up” the building when I finish. This includes “walking the building” to insure lights are off and no one remains inside. Once I’m outside I “report in” by texting the person in charge. I usually text “All is secure.” In my mind the words “Worthy Master” accompany my message of assurance.

I then call home to report my progress. I’ll admit that I am on occasion tempted to announce at the beginning of the call, “The labors of the day are complete.”

While the language of the Grange can readily become part of our lives, an occasional pause and reminder to make sure we are living the Grange way of life can be worthwhile. The language helps us. “Let us be quiet, peaceful citizens…” I often stop right there. I like the word “peaceful.” Merriam Webster defines it as “untroubled by conflict, agitation, or commotion” and offers as synonyms “quiet” and “tranquil.” Those are some tall orders in today’s society which seems filled with conflict, agitation, and commotion.

The way we end our meetings is mean to ensure “all is secure” but it goes beyond closing the Bible and implement case to include the assurances offered the Grange Way of Life. We are also reminded that we “place faith in God, nurture hope, dispense charity, and are noted for fidelity.” These are the qualities that drive us to “add dignity to labor, and in our dealings with our fellow men be honest, be just and fear not. We must avoid intemperance in eating, drinking, and language, also in work and recreation, and what ever we do strive to do well.”

I can imagine leaving a Grange meeting years ago, riding home and unhitching the horse, and achieving another “all is secure” at home and in the barn. The animals are settled in for the night. The labors of the day are complete. All is secure. The farm and home are quiet and tranquil. The world we are in is at peace.

Any degree or ritual quotations are from the forty-seventh edition of the 2023 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.

View from the Farm – November 2022

By Heather Retberg, Quills End Farm

The Small Joys

Sometimes, it is necessary to notice the small joys that await while working.  That is difficult for those of us who only possess two speeds, full-tilt and stop.  It is also difficult when work is constant, because another task always awaits, often an urgent one.

Farming isn’t always joy filled;  sometimes, I have to confess, my passion does feel rather like work.   This morning, while I milked the cows and after I had finished with Merry, she turned to leave the parlor and stopped to lick my forearm, so I took a second.  She is a lover, and she’d be okay to just sit and kiss and hug, so we did for a second.  

After milking and before the rain started in earnest, I needed to take a round bale of hay down to the hogs.  The last big rain made their paddock soggy where they had rooted up the ground.  The round bale covers the scar, seeds the soil, and entertains the hogs for a bit.  It is also really entertaining to watch happy hogs.

At the first sight of the tractor and the 4 foot by 4 foot round bale, they followed to where I placed it in the paddock.  They lined up and started nosing it instantly, and only moved out of the way as I rolled it slowly and left a swath of hay behind me.  Then came sheer joy as they cavorted and galloped and rolled and smelled and ate and collapsed on the fresh carpet of hay.  It was so like hearing the uncontrolled laughter of a toddler…pure, unbridled joy. As the rain poured down this afternoon, I wasn’t just glad of the moments of pleasure I’d been lucky to provide and witness.  I was also glad that their shelter has a deep layer of hay in it, and that despite the elements, they were snoozing away the day in comfort.  

Editor’s note: Phil continues to write “View from the Farm” while Heather recovers from her surgery. Send her a card/note at Quill’s End Farm, 192 Front Ridge Road, North Penobscot ME 04476

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.

National Grange Convention

Patron’s Chain Daily Issues

National Grange publishes a special daily issue of the Patrons Chain during the Annual Convention. Each issue contains a wide array of articles ranging from convention reports to entertainment. If you’ve been curious about what happens, here’s a way to find out! We won’t be adding a new post every day but will add to this list as the week progresses.

CWA Report — November 2022

By Margaret Henderson, Director
Committee on Women’s Activities
207 948-2762

Committee on Women’s Activities

It doesn’t seem possible that the State Grange session is over for another year. It was great to see everyone. This year seems to have gone by way too fast.

I received the entries back from the Eastern States. I am proud to report that Maine had two winners. Ann Burns won second place for her three-piece baby Set. Ellie Collins won first place for her plastic canvas entry and first place for her adult garment entry. I presented their prizes at State Grange. Nice work! Congratulations, ladies.

I also had the honor to present donations to House in the Woods and to Home for Little Wanderers. Thank you to all of the Granges for your support of these two wonderful organizations.

I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.  Let’s all be thankful for all that we have and let’s be kind to others.

From the Deacon’s Bench – November 2022

By Clay Collins, MSG Chaplain
207 837-0564

“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”  

1 Thessalonians 5:18

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all! Here we are on the downhill side of the Fall season. I just finished raking leaves along the stone wall in front my house, and that is all the raking I plan to do for this season!

By the time you read this, we have already passed Veterans’ Day. I hope that you had the chance to attend some kind of remembrance ceremony for all veterans. I have a chance every day to thank a different veteran for their service. I hope you do, too! They are the reason that we are able to live in a country such as this, and have the freedoms that we so richly enjoy. If I haven’t thanked you personally yet, please accept this from my heart, “I thank you for all that you did in the past, now, and in the future. I appreciate all that you do and have done.”

We have other things to be thankful for in our lives. We should be thinking about them all year long as we go about our daily lives, but we tend to get so wrapped up in our daily lives that we forget sometimes.

The list is long (at least for me, it is!). I can think of many as I know you can, too. Be thankful, first off, for your family, for without them you would be nothing. Next, you fill in the rest. I’m sure those lists will be long, some longer than others.

 I am most thankful for my loving family, and friends that I have, for without them, I would not be the person that I am today. THANK YOU all for everything that you do, whatever it may be.

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

Benediction: “Gracious Father of us all, teach us to be thankful for the good things in our lives. Show us that we must always be thankful for Your love and forgiveness.  Amen.”

May the grace of God’s protection
And His great love abide
Within your home-within the hearts
Of all who dwell inside.                                              

An Irish Family Blessing

President’s Perspective – November 2022

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

Dec 3, 2022 — 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. we will have an Instruction meeting for Ritualistic Floor Work at State Grange HQ, 146 State St., Augusta. (weather permitting) 

Everyone is invited to attend. Those attending will be practicing the work, by volunteer, also switching around it will not just be State Officers and Deputies.  We will cover:

  • Opening & Closing  (Opening the Bible, Presenting the Flag, Introducing Honored Guests)
  • How to properly make the Salutation
  • Balloting procedure
  • Election procedure
  • How to handle Motions and following through
  • The State Secretary will cover reporting, records, funds, and ordering certificates
  • Other suggested Grange business and discussion  

I will also be holding this same workshop/meeting around the State starting in the spring, please invite me to your area or Grange, I would prefer a Saturday meeting during the day but could accommodate an evening if requested.  

Welcome to our 8 new State Grange members who received the 6th degree at our recent State Grange Session. Thank you to the Delegates and Members that attended. I thought the discussions were productive, and I appreciate your participation, input, and respect shown for each other during that part of the meeting. Thank you Bob for moderating. A lot of awards were presented, the Juniors participated, a heartfelt Memorial Service held, very interesting speakers Ann Bercher our National Grange Rep., and Nancy McBrady from the Dept of Agriculture, re-elected Nate Pennell to the Executive Committee and wonderful banquet and luncheon provided. I would like to hear from you what you thought of the schedule and the facilities (yes, I know everyone was cold). Personally, I like it there and plan returning there again next year. There is a lot less work to do to set up for the meeting, degree and sales room plus the price at the previous facility was seven times as much. 

A BIG thank-you to ALL who stepped up to fill in or help out in any way, it was once again a great show of teamwork and helped make a very successful session.  Officers, Deputies, Department Directors, and Committees, thank you for your continued work during the past years, and I am looking forward to working together once again. Thank you to the tellers for election and the Master’s Address committee. Marilyn Stinson and Terry LaCombe-Stevens have stepped down as Co-Junior Directors we sincerely appreciate your years of dedication and hard work to the Junior Grange program, Betty Young will be our new Junior Director. 

The new Department Program Books and Annual Reports were given to the Delegates for your Grange. If you did not have delegates at the session, you may download the programs and reports from the web under “Program Books” or if you want a printed copy, email the office or myself and we will send them to you.  You may request all or just select ones. Agriculture, Community Service, Communications/Web, CWA, Junior, and Lecturers.

Communications Column – November 2022

By Walter Boomsma
207 343-1842
Communications Director

Where did everything go?

It seems ironic that I wrote last month on the topic of building the website, and this month I am reporting the disappearance of some parts! Technology has not been kind recently.

At the risk of causing some MEGO (my eyes are glazing over), I’ll share some background. The site has had some issues since it was hacked this summer. While the site structure is not too complex, we are burdened a bit by the sheer size. We’ve had posts on the site all the way back to 2010, when it was first created. And many of those posts included images (pictures).

For those technically inclined, we had a recent “conflict” between the site theme and the site itself. In short, nearly every image disappeared from the site as a result. By the way, images include documents such as program books.

The good news is that I have maintained a file of those images separate from the site. The bad news is the only way to solve the problem is to replace the images one at a time. With over 3,000 posts and pages, you can well imagine this is not an easy task.

I’ve made the Program Books and Information Page a priority and have focused on the most recent posts.

The more good news is that the mess has created an opportunity to prioritize and “clean up” things. It’s going to take some time, but eventually, we’ll have a streamlined site. I could bore you with how much smoother things become–for example, backups will take less time. In practical terms, we’ll lose posts and images from the distant past. (The site is over a decade old!)

This means some of the older posts will disappear. And those that remain will show broken links where images are involved. Your patience and understanding are appreciated. If you have any questions or concerns, do let me know.

The top priority will be posting new information: your events and news. Please submit!

► FACT: Your MSG website was viewed nearly 2700 times during October 2022–and over 40 posts were placed on the site.

Tell us why you love the Grange!

Membership Moments – November 2022

By Rick Grotton,
Membership Committee Director
207 582-5915

Remember, it is difficult to attract new members if your Grange is inactive. It has been a challenge during the past year, however, many Granges have “switched gears” from the normal “we have always done it that way”. Creativity and new ways of doing routine things have resulted in success for many. My Grange did (with success) the “trunk or treat” on Halloween night. We had many who stopped by to receive a bag full of goodies and many more who drove by waving and honking. It seemed like the adults had just as much fun as the young ones. The publicity from those who noticed us outside having a grand ole time was welcomed. During these difficult times, the members were excited to try different ways and came up with some wonderful projects. This was noticed by the community. It seemed to bring us closer together and strengthened our bonds even with social distancing.

There are many things Granges can be doing as the holidays approach to keep active and to bring awareness to potential new members. Donations to your local food bank, Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets to the unfortunate, help to the veterans, making Christmas cards for the elderly and shut-ins at nursing homes or rehab center, and checking in with members who cannot make it to the meetings are a few things that come to mind. Or you may have your own ideas which I wish you would share so that they can be forwarded to others in future columns.

It has been difficult this year to visit and to do membership drives, however, social media is a great way to boost your publicity and attract new members. Use social media to post events and remind others that the Grange is better than ever and is there to serve. Change happens and change is good. It keeps us thinking of new ideas and gets us out of the annual project rut where we tend to do the same things over and over without enthusiasm or thought. Change keeps us fresh, alive, and productive as well as motivated and excited. Non-members will pick up on that excitement and that will make it easier to attract them. Also, people tend to get stir crazy stuck at home during this pandemic and will be eager to get involved in something positive, new and exciting to get them out of their ruts. That is why communication, social media, publicity and being  active will help you in your drive for new members. Now is a great time to increase your membership. Keep an open mind, a positive attitude and updated planning of new events. Take advantage of these down times to boost your Grange. We will do it!! Remember, I am available to help you with any questions or ideas to help you boost your membership.

May every Granger be safe during the holiday season and wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and a very Merry Christmas! God bless.

Lecturer’s Column – November 2022

By Margaret Morse, Maine State Grange Lecturer
207 439-0413

And the winners are…

The winners of the poetry and book reading club were announced on October 1, 2022

1st place winners in Poetry
Humorous – Sherry Harriman, Bauneg Beg # 382
Stars – Sherry Harriman, Bauneg Beg # 382       
Patriotic – Sherry Harriman, Bauneg Beg # 382 
Other – Barbara Strout, Excelsior # 5

Book Reading Club – Number of Books
1st – Margaret Henderson (164), Dirigo #98
2nd -Janet Nolan (147), Mill Stream #574
3rd – Melissa Baldwin (131) Hollis #132

Book Reading Club – Number of Pages
1st – Janet Nolan (54,062) Mill Stream #574
2nd – Margaret Henderson (49,963). Dirigo #98        
3rd – Gay Anderson (46,141) Mill Stream #574

The winners of the photography, adult coloring and adult art were awarded on October 20, 2022 at State Grange Session.

Animals:
1st Rebekah Hodgson, Jonesboro #357
2nd Laurie McBurnie, Willow #65
3rd Karen Hatch Gagne, Danville Jct. #65

Flowers:
1st Norma Meserve, Danville Jct. #65
2nd Laurie McBurnie, Willow #65
3rd Karen Hatch Gagne, Danville Jct. #65

People:
1st Rebekah Hodgson, Jonesboro #357
2nd Karen Hatch Gagne, Danville Jct. #65
3rd Laurie McBurnie, Willow #65

Structures:
1st Terry LaCombe, Hudson # 457
2nd Laurie McBurnie, Willow #65
3rd Marilyn Stinson, Enterprise #48  

Best in Show:
Rebekah Hodgson, Jonesboro #357
People’s Choice:
Laurie McBurnie, Willow # 65

Adult Coloring:
1st Tim Wilson, Bangor #372
2nd Terry Wilson, Bangor #372
3rd Norma Meserve, Danville Jct. #65

Adult Art (oil):
1st Tina Thurton, Norway #45