Secretary Helps – July 2023

By Sharon Morton
MSG Secretary
207 485-6197

I hope you are all enjoying your summer, with lots of picnics, vacations, and relaxing at the beach or by the pool!

The secretary’s job can be a challenge and requires a lot of hard work.  It is imperative that accurate records are kept in your Grange.  Thank you to all the Secretaries for Subordinate and Pomona Granges!

As a reminder, your Second Quarterly Dues as well as the Annual Pomona Yearly Reports were due after the last meeting in June and now are currently late.  Please get them in as quickly as you can.

Election of Grange Officers should be complete and the request to provide me with your Subordinate/Pomona Roster Information should be returned by July 15, 2023.  Please complete by typing or printing legibly.

Membership Recognition Application forms are available from State   Headquarters, and the most current form is on the State Grange website on the Program Books and Information Page under Secretary Resources. Years of membership recognition can start at 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 35, 40, 45, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75 & 80 years.  Silver Star Certificate (25 years) $12.00, and payment for the Silver Star Certificate is made out to the Maine State Grange.  Golden Sheaf (50 years of continuous membership) $12.00; 75-Year Diamond Certificate and Folder is $12.00; 80-year letter & 85-year letter in a folder with a letter from National President are $12.00 each.  Make checks payable to The National Grange.  There are respective Years of Membership Pins available from the National Grange.  Please remember to mail all requests to me.

Until next time, be safe!

Bee on the Lookout!

Bees are among the most important pollinators, pollinating 2/3 of the food we eat, ensuring food security and healthy ecosystems for both humans and wildlife. But some species are becoming rare or even extirpated. With a 90% decline in numbers and range since the 1990s, the rusty patched bumble bee is the first bumble bee protected by the U.S. Endangered Species Act. 

It has not been seen in Maine since 2009, but we are hopeful this important pollinator is still out there and we need more eyes looking! 

You can help us find it by carefully observing the bumble bees you see and learning how to distinguish the rusty patched from similar-looking Maine bumble bee species (it’s not hard!) If you think you’ve found one,  snap one or more close-up and in focus photos (or a video to select the best photos) and submit them to either iNaturalist or Bumble Bee Watch where a group of experts will confirm the identification.

Reposted from an email from Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Communication Shorts 7-8-2023

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 deadline for the July Bulletin is July 14th! 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!

Spreading the Word…

Remember, it’s easy to spread the word when there are posts on the MSG website. Just scroll to the bottom of the post and find the icons for some of the most popular social media platforms. Click the icon for the platform you want to share to, and technology takes care of the rest!

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!

Ideas for Granges

Host an art show! Invite local artists to set up easels and paint live during the event. Serve refreshments… have some activities available for kids?

Thought for You… REPLACE

“I really miss complaining about the cold.”

Many people in Maine

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

Grange Heirloom — July 2023

Grange Heirlooms are snippets from the lessons of the Grange as taught in the Rituals and Declaration of Purposes.

Use the icons below to share this Grange Heirloom on social media and help others understand what the Grange stands for! If this heirloom has a particular meaning for you, click the “leave a comment” link at the left and share your comment with us!

For additional information and resources regarding the Heirloom Program, visit the Heirloom Resource Page on the Maine State Grange Website.

From the Deacon’s Bench – July 2023

By Clay Collins, MSG Chaplain
207 837-0564

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.”

Genesis 1:1-3

Sometimes it does feel like the beginning of time when God created heaven and earth, but it isn’t. We have just gone through what seems to be the wettest month ever, but we have survived, and we will continue to survive. We just have to be determined and have faith that God has not and will not forget us.

We just have to remember just who is in charge! It is NOT us. This is just one of God’s plans for us. If you want to make God chuckle, just tell Him your plans for the future!

Remember, He will not disown us and leave us stranded by the side of the road like a sack of grain. We are all His children. He loves us. So cheer up, the sun will come out again to brighten our days and lives. While we are waiting, why don’t we all look around to see if there is something we can do to brighten someone else’s life? By doing this, we will probably feel good doing it!

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

Benediction: “Gracious Father of us all, help us to remember that we are all able to brighten the day for someone, if not ourselves.  Amen”

Thought for the month:

May good luck be your friend
        in whatever you do
And may trouble be always
        A stranger to you.

An Irish Blessing for Health and Prosperity

Glad Echoes From the Grange

The Grange has a rich heritage of song, with a number of songbooks published starting in 1874. Katherine Rhoda loves to share these songs celebrating agriculture, rural life, and the pursuit of the common good. You can learn more about this music at her website.

Katherine has several performances of Vintage Grange Songs coming up this month. The first is this Sunday, July 9, 2023, at 3 PM, at the Standish Historical Society, The Old Red Church, 55 Oak Hill Road, Standish, ME. Donations to the SHS Building Fund are welcome.

Next is Friday, July 21, 2023, at 7 PM at the Effingham Historical Society, 1014 Province Lake Road, Effingham, NH. Admission is free, though donations are welcome.

Songbook images courtesy of Katherine Rhoda

Celebrate Independence Day

The Fourth of July – also known as Independence Day or July 4th – has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1941; but the tradition of Independence Day celebrations goes back to the 18th century and the American Revolutionary War.

On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress voted in favor of independence. Two days later, delegates from the 13 colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence, a historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson.

The Declaration of Independence allowed Congress to seek alliances with foreign countries, and the fledgling U.S. formed its most important alliance early in 1778 with France. Without France’s support, America might well have lost the Revolutionary War.

The war waged by the American colonies against Britain, which began more than a year earlier in April 1775 at Lexington and Concord near Boston, would eventually end when British forces surrendered in Yorktown, Virginia. Yet the Declaration and America’s victory had far-reaching effects around the globe as other nations saw a small novel nation win its freedom from the greatest military force of its time.

From 1776 to today, July 4th has been celebrated as the birth of American independence with festivities ranging from fireworks, parades and concerts to more casual family gatherings and barbecues. This year’s Independence Day will be on Tuesday, July 4, 2023.

Reprinted with permission from a newsletter published by Senator Stacey Guerin, District 4.

July Events Around Maine

July isn’t just the month for Independence Day. There are plenty of other great holidays observed around the world! July 2nd is World UFO Day, while July 3rd is Stay out of the Sun Day. In the US, July 6th is a pretty delicious day, as it’s National Fried Chicken Day! At the end of the month, we also have International Tiger Day on July 29th. And there’s even more going on in Granges around Maine!

July is National Junior Grange Month!

Music Mondays, every Monday at St. George Grange at 7 pm. Bring an instrument and play with others. Weekly until October.

July 1, 2023, Deadline for registration for Northeast Regional Youth Conference.

July 4, 2023, Pancake Breakfast at Harraseeket (Freeport) Grange, 7 am until 10 am. Contact freeportgrangegmailcom.

July 7, 2023, East Madison Grange Open Mic Night on the first Friday of every month at 7 PM. Refreshments are available, free to the public, but donations are appreciated. Contact hideandgopeepgmailcom or 207 716-6441.

July 14, 2023, MSG Bulletin Deadline — columns and posts are due.

July 14, 2023, Parkman Grange Minnie Bridge Scholarship Applications are due. For more information.

July 15-16, 2023, Northeast Regional Youth Conference in Brookfield, VT.

July 23, 2023, Maine Open Farm Day

July 29, 2023, Wayside Grange Concert, doors open at 6:30 pm, concert at 7:00 pm. FMI visit Wayside Grange Facebook Page.

July 29, 2023, Makers’ Market at Enterprise Grange, 9:30 am until 4:00 pm.

July 29, 2023, Valley Grange Outreach Booth at Guilford River Festival, 10:00 am until 3:00 pm.

Community Granges are reminded to submit information about your events for publication and listing on the Maine State Grange Website! Use the Submit Tab or send us an email!