Patrons of Husbandry – a website dedicated to the Granges located in Maine
The Maine State Grange Office is located at
36 Anthony Avenue, Suite 102, Augusta, ME 04330
The office is open Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday from 9:30 am until 1:30 pm
The email address is mainestategrange@gmail.com.
For website matters, email webmaster@mainestategrange.org.
Suicide prevention is not one moment or one person’s job. It lives in the relationships we build, the support we offer, and the communities we create together.
Week 3: Building Communities of Care Through Connection
If you need to talk, the 988 Lifeline is here!
Fake party invitations are a newer tactic perpetrators use to capture personal details. They send digital invitations, commonly through email, inviting you to a fake gathering. Typically, the email comes from someone you know whose account has been hacked.
The message asks you to click a link to RSVP, confirm your guest information, or buy tickets. Clicking the link can download harmful software onto your device or send you to a fake website designed to steal your financial and personal information.
If you receive an unexpected invitation, contact the host directly to confirm they sent it.
Report scams to local law enforcement. For help from AARP, call 1-877-908-3360 or visit the AARP Fraud Watch Network at aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork.
The webmaster@mainestategrange.org issue is resolved! It may be used again! Sorry for the inconvenience.
In an unrelated matter, fraudulent emails continue to arrive that appear to be from Master Sherry. They are not and you should not respond to them in any way. Below is an example of how to identify them. We can’t control this; we must rely on you to pay attention.
Below is the original email announcing the problem with the MSG webmaster email
In the latest version of “It’s not over until it’s over,” email to webmaster@mainestategrange.org has not been delivered or received since yesterday (9/13). We have a small but complex glitch resulting from the recent transition to a new server. We’re working on a fix, but it may take a day or two.
In the interim, use Walter’s personal email. If you sent something recently, please forward it to this address and use it to submit columns, news, and events.
This does not apply to the Maine State Grange’s Gmail address.
Sorry for the inconvenience. I hope to have this situation resolved very soon. Thanks for your patience!
By Walter Boomsma, MSG Communications Director
This is an intense election year. That’s one thing we can be sure of! The political phone calls and texts seem endless.
As the day approaches, it seems appropriate to offer some resources to help us manage through these difficult times. The resources listed below come from the JED Foundation, which has existed for 25 years and has a well-documented track record. I originally developed an interest in JED because it specializes in protecting the emotional health and preventing suicide of teens and young adults. They offer excellent programs and materials in partnership with schools, colleges, and parents. In short, I am comfortable and confident in recommending these resources.
Using mental health resources is not a sign of weakness. On the contrary, accessing tools and information indicates strength and builds it. One of the things to like about the JED Website is that it is engaging and extremely easy to navigate. Most of these resources are equally applicable and valuable to older folk!
- Election Stress: Tips to Manage Anxious Feelings About Politics
- How to Have Tough Family Conversations
- How to Use Activism as Self-Care
- How to Stop Feeling Hopeless
- How to Cope With Cyberbullying
- Check in With Yourself
- Stick to Your Boundaries
- Enter Debates With an Open Mind
- Remember the Value of Your Relationships
- Take Care of Yourself
Just because no one else can heal or do your inner work for you, doesn’t mean you can, should, or need to do it alone.
Lisa Olivera
In the latest version of “It’s not over until it’s over,” email to webmaster@mainestategrange.org has not been delivered or received since yesterday (9/13). We have a small but complex glitch resulting from the recent transition to a new server. We’re working on a fix, but it may take a day or two.
In the interim, use Walter’s personal email. If you sent something recently, please forward it to this address and use it to submit columns, news, and events.
This does not apply to the Maine State Grange’s Gmail address.
Sorry for the inconvenience. I hope to have this situation resolved very soon. Thanks for your patience!
From the Second Degree
During our Degree Day, someone commented that they wished more people could hear the words from the Degree Work. We continue to share them.
“My friends, the person who has been speaking to you is that worst of enemies to progress—Ignorance, attended by his companions, Sloth and Superstition. Give them no heed if you hope to advance.” [Assistant Steward to the candidates]
On their way to the Overseer, the Steward halts the candidates, but he is not carrying his staff. That’s significant because he is not acting as the Steward. He represents ignorance, sloth, and superstition. This significance is easily overlooked because the Steward stops them to offer good advice. You wouldn’t expect that from ignorance, so the Assistant Steward wants to make sure the candidates “get it.”
We’re going a bit deep here. Let’s look closely at the Assistant Steward’s explanation.
The focus is on ignorance. Ignorance is a noun that means a lack of knowledge, information, or understanding about a particular subject. It is not a synonym for “stupid.” When I work with kids and they say, “I don’t know,” I require them to add “yet.” I don’t know yet. To progress, we must recognize and correct our ignorance.
The word “sloth” also means laziness or a strong dislike of work and physical effort. In traditional Christian teachings, sloth is listed as one of the seven deadly sins. In common usage, it includes apathy and mental laziness. As the Assistant Steward suggests, this often accompanies ignorance. “I don’t know, and I don’t care.”
Superstition is an irrational belief or practice not based on reason, science, or facts, often connected to magic, fate, or good and bad luck. We often think of things like a broken mirror bringing bad luck, but superstition can be much more subtle. Biases can be thought of as superstitions: beliefs not based on facts or reason. Sometimes we are not even conscious of them. (That sounds a bit like ignorance! Sometimes we are ignorant of them.)
This planned interruption in the Second Degree is brief, but powerful. I almost wish the Assistant Steward would say to the candidates, “We’re going to stand here and think about this for a while.” Or maybe, “Let’s go sit down and think about this for a while.”
The interruption begins with the Steward asking where the candidates are going. The Assistant Steward doesn’t say, “We’re headed to the Overseer.” The reply is “We are traveling in search of light and knowledge.”
My friends, whither are you going?
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://wboomsma.com, on Mr. Boomsma’s Amazon Author Page, or by contacting the author.
By Clay Collins, Guest Columnist
207 837-0564
Then Peter came up and said to Him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
Ephesians 6:10-11
Happy Fall! The time of year when summer vacations are coming to a close, and the children are getting ready to start school. Whatever it is, from school or a new career, it will be a challenge.
During this new challenge, we will make mistakes. When we do make a mistake, I hope we will stop and observe the situation for what it is. Try to discover if anyone was at fault or if the incident was truly faultless.
No matter who was at fault (if anyone), do be sensible and kind. Step back, take a deep breath, and be kind. Kindness solved more problems than anger.
Until the next time, remember, “Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.”
Benediction: Gracious Father, bless those who sin against us. Give us the strength to overcome anger wherever or whatever it may be. Help us to forgive quickly, and not hold grudges. Amen.
Thought for the month:
“None of us sit high enough to look down on anybody.”
While Chaplain Christine is burdened with technology challenges, she has invited Past MSG Chaplain Clay to share some spiritual thoughts with our Grange Flock.
This email is NOT legitimate!
This one’s almost believable–if there’s an infirmity Veteran’s Hospice Care Unit. I doubt there is. Just delete the email. Do not reply. It’s a phishing email trolling for gullible victims. We have no control over this type of email other than your alert mind!
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.
We are a bit beat after Saturday, as it marked the end of meat bird season here at Quill’s End. 9 friends came and helped us process the last 250 birds, which are now packed into fridges and freezers awaiting your tables. Soon we will add storage potatoes to our mix. Milk, cheese, yogurt, cream. Eggs, pork, beef, chicken. Garlic, kale, carrots. We’ve got your plates covered.
With mid-September rolling in, the apples are sweetening. Benjamin’s work in the orchard is showing. Our first fall apple, Gertrud’s Pippin, is in its prime starting mid-September. These apples have crisp flesh and a nice balance of tart and sweet. Benjamin says it is everything Wolf River promises and doesn’t deliver. We will be offering Gertrud’s Pippin starting this week.
It has given me hope reading all the tributes and remembrances of Wendell Berry these past two weeks. Here is to action following sentiment!
Webmaster’s Note: Wendell Berry, the acclaimed American novelist, poet, essayist, farmer, and environmental activist, died on August 31, 2026, at the age of 92 at his home in Port Royal, Kentucky. He championed small family farms, local communities, and sustainable agriculture, frequently warning against the harms of industrialization and corporate agribusiness.
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. Quill’s Endians are members of Halcyon Grange and publish a newsletter for their farm’s buying club of farmers in the area, and generously permit us to share some of their columns with Grangers. Visit the Quill’s End Farm Facebook Page for more information.
By Walter Boomsma
207 343-1842
Communications Director
Putting Our Best Face Forward
I left the topic the same as last month because it seems appropriate to share a few things from my Annual Report of how the Communications Department is doing just that.
This is the fifteenth year the website has been in place. Site views have increased significantly. This Grange year, the site has been viewed at least 22,000 times—an average of 1800 times per month and a 25% increase over the previous year.
Several significant accomplishments this year include:
Looking ahead to 2026-2027, some objectives include:
On a personal level, I’ve become more focused on my writing efforts. I’m writing for a monthly local magazine, The Guilford Register. (One column was about the Granges in Maine!) I recently published “Memorials, Monuments, and Memories,” a book that takes readers from Flanders Fields to Main Street America. “Cows, Corn, and Calm” will document what happens when a Maine writer with a lifelong love of bovines loads up his pickup truck, points it toward Amish Country, and signs up to learn how to drive a team of oxen. Also on the list is a sequel to Exploring Traditions that includes Reflections on the Grange Way of Life. If “idle hands are the devil’s workshop,” I’m on good ground.
My complete report is available on the website and will be included in the delegate’s packet at State Session. Please let me know if I can do anything to help you and your Grange.
2025-26 Communications Department Annual Report
Thank you for your continued confidence and support.
FACT: Since we migrated the site to a new server, we’ve had over 5,000 site visits! (Sharing that is putting our best face forward!)