On JULY 10th and 11th, the Junior & CWA Departments will be holding a joint Yard Sale at State Grange headquarters. The hours on Friday will be 9-1 and on Saturday they will be 8-2. There will be lots of items for sale including; material, craft patterns, yarn, books, toys, sewing machines, homemade items and chairs.

Workshop leaders are needed for Junior Camp. If you have a workshop that you would be willing to lead during Junior camp, August 9th to 14th, contact Sue Hackett. Topics must be of interest to children 9 to 13 1/2 years old, and meet criteria designated by the Junior Director.

Volunteers are also needed to cook meals on a daily basis, to help with crafts and to help with outdoor activities.

These volunteers will not be staying overnight as space is limited.

To volunteer call Sue at 666-8849 (no answer, leave a message please) or email jennsue@suscom-maine.net. I check email at all hours of the day and night!

Junior craft contests will be judged at the Family camp out weekend, on Saturday July 25th at 9:30 am. If anyone would like to be a judge please call Sue at 666-8849 or email at jennsue@suscom-maine.net to volunteer.

The Juniors will be holding a 50/50 and a Silent Auction, if you have anything to donate to the auction we will be grateful.

We will be drawing the winning tickets on the raffle for the $100.00 Visa card, crocheted afghan, and a snuggie during the Saturday evening activities. Don't have your tickets??? Buy them soon!!! Just $1.00 each or 6 for $5.00.

We have managed another successful Dress Revue, Baking Contest and Dress –A—Doll
Contest. Thank you to all who participated in the contests and those who
attended the event, and congratulations to the winners. I want to especially
thank those members of the State CWA Committee who came and gave so freely of
their time and efforts to make this the success that it was, again this year.
Without them, I would be sunk, for sure. I also want to thank our Worthy State
Flora, Sister Vicki Huff, for leading us in the devotional and the Flag salute.
She always brings out something special. Of course, I would be remiss if I
neglected to thank our Worthy State Master, Brother Jim Owens, and Worthy State
Secretary, Sister Sharon Manley, for hosting us for the few days we were camped
out at State Headquarters. I wonder if anyone realizes all that these two do
behind the scenes to assist the various committees’ activities. We are looking
forward now to our First Annual CWA Craft and Yard Sale at State Headquarters on
Saturday, June 21st. We would appreciate any new or gently used items in
salable condition that anyone would care to donate. A really big draw to the
sale will be all those lovely books of craft, sewing, knitting and crochet
patterns that Sister Karen Flagg has so generously donated. The patterns are in
individual sheet protector sleeves in large binders, and will sell for 25 cents
per sleeve. Come on down and take a look. We would appreciate the support.
Speaking of support, we are still looking for members to make cool-ties for the
Troops; if we think summer is hot here, we should consider those brave men and
women in harm’s way for the sake of the freedoms and principles which we hold
dear, and do what we can to offer them a modicum of comfort. If you do not sew,
you might consider donating fabric. We need 100% cotton, ONLY, and we can get 5
cool-ties from 1 yard. The troops on the ground need tan color fabric only, but
any masculine color can be used by those on ships. There is also a need for
hats and slippers for wounded troops recovering in hospitals. We have been
informed that due to the sensitivity of their healing skin that ONLY Caron brand
yarn is soft enough for these particular projects. Caron brand is made from
recycled plastic bottles. I found it at Walmart. This is only one of the many
projects that we have ongoing. This really is some way for everyone to help. If
you cannot make, you can buy so others can make more. Other projects include
“Mainers for Babies” and “No Sun for Babies” hats, cancer turbans and caps for
hair loss, breast cancer post-op pillows and drain bag covers, pillowcases for
children in treatment, and the Linus project blankets. Let us not forget the
items for sale needed for the upkeep of the New England Grange Building at
Eastern States Expo. One of the needs mentioned was the hanging kitchen towels.
There are several methods of making these, either with a knitted or crocheted
top, or a fabric apron-type top, or a folded pot holder as the top. We even came
up with using the knitted dishcloth in place of the potholder. Also needed are
the larger men’s sizes of mittens and 3 piece baby sets.
Please keep in mind the date of the CWA Conference, August 29. It is early this
year, to avoid Labor Day weekend and be in time for the start of The Big E. We
plan to have demonstrations of several of these projects. I would appreciate
having in attendance every CWA chair and committee member at each level if at
all possible. We will have a luncheon for a minimal donation plus door prizes
and raffles, as well as disseminating information for the various contests and
patterns for the projects we ask you to support.
Until we meet again, Be Well and Do Good. Thank you for all you do for and in
the name of the Grange.
Fraternally,
Diane Carol Pinkham
Director of Women’s Activities
Maine State Grange

The Junior Department is holding a raffle for a $100.00 Visa Card. The winner may use this card for anything they wish. 2nd prize is a beautiful afghan, and 3rd prize is a "snuggie".

Tickets are $1.00 each or six for $5.00.

The funds will be used to support Junior prize money and camp.

Please support us by purchasing some tickets. The winning tickets will be drawn on Saturday evening of the Family Camp Out Weekend. July 25th during the variety show and award presentations.

Junior events for the summer include: Lecturer’s Poetry entries due by July 1st to Sherry Harriman at 280 Kennebunk Road, Sanford, ME 04073, two age groups, 5-9 and 10-14, ask your leader or call Sue for an entry form. July 10 to 12 Northeastern Regional Youth Conference at Union College in Schenectady, New York for juniors participating in the Manual Spelling and Share a Talent or Skill Contests, call Sue for a ride and all details. July 24 to 26 the Family Camp out weekend will be held at Silver Springs Campground & Cottages, 705 Portland Road (Rt. 1) Saco. Come for the day or for the weekend. Remember this is when all the junior crafts (except pumpkins) are judged. Contests to be judged are: Cooking contest (Canada Day Cookies), Banner contest, Nature Project, Napkin holder, Host State Study – Michigan, Collage of Pictures, Creative Writing, and Creative Art. ADULTS you may enter the napkin holder contest, no age limit! Judging will take place on Saturday morning at 9:30 am sharp. All entries must have an entry form on the bottom, labels will be available the day of judging or if you need one before that print your name, Junior Grange, birth date and telephone number on a piece of paper. If you can’t make it to the weekend send your items with someone who is coming or mail them to me and I will make sure they get there. REMEMBER: there is prize money and ribbons involved. You could potentially earn the money you need for camp by entering these contests. By this time everyone who wants them should have pumpkin seeds if you don’t please contact the State Grange office or Sue. We started with 5,000 seeds and had to order an additional 1000 so we should get a multitude of entries! There is no age limit on this contest but you must be a Grange member. Two categories decorated and undecorated. Age groups 5-7, 8-10, 11-14, 15-21, 22-35, 36 & up. Judging for decorated will be based on creativity, originality, and use of materials to decorate. Judging for undecorated will be based on lack of blemishes, size, weight and stem attachment. Junior Grange Camp will be held August 9th to August 14th. The Model Meeting will be held at 7:00 pm on Friday, August 14th after which the campers will be going home. We will be holding camp at State Grange headquarters in Augusta. Plans are firming up very well and I am sure that the campers will have a fantastic time. Each day will be different with field trips and surprises! “NEW” this year is the Junior Ambassador Contest. The Ambassadors will be chosen at camp. Campers should send in their registrations as soon as possible to be sure they reserve a place. The cost of camp is $75.00. Camperships are available; campers must pay the first $25.00 themselves or help on a fundraiser. Upcoming or ongoing fundraisers are a raffle for a $100.00 Visa card, Chinese Auction and a 50/50 raffle at the camp out weekend, and the Brick fundraiser. Call Sue for details on how you can help. Of course we will be most appreciative of donations towards camperships. The yard sale held on May 23 made a profit of $394.40 for the junior fund. Sale of the raffle tickets have been going very well and Memorial flags have been selling well since this is the third year for them we have approximately 20 of them left. Get yours while there are some left.

May 26, 2009 at 6:00 P.M. * Annual Dinner: High Street Congregational Church, Auburn *

· May 26, 2009 at 7 P.M.* Location: High Street Congregational Church, Auburn *

Speaker: Local author: Douglas I Hodgkin Topic: The Settlers versus Col. Josiah Little * It has become necessary to change the announced topic of the Androscoggin Historical Society’s lecture on Tuesday, May 26. Local author Douglas I. Hodgkin will speak about “The Settlers versus Col. Josiah Little” at 7:00 P.M. at the High Street Congregational Church in Auburn. Did you ever think about frontier life in Androscoggin County? During the late 1700s, new settlers were busily establishing their homes and farms here. However, besides the hardships of carving out a living in a wilderness and surviving our cold winters, the settlers also faced the usual frontier problems of conflicting land claims and establishing law and order. Col. Josiah Little, the father of Edward Little, was a Pejepscot Proprietor. He demanded payments for land and for rents from those he viewed as squatters. The settlers fought back, including acts of violence, property destruction, and intimidation. Hodgkin will draw much of his information from his research on Lewiston history published in his new book, Frontier to Industrial City: Lewiston Town Politics, 1768 to 1863. The talk will include descriptions of incidents throughout what is now Androscoggin County, including Minot, Danville, and other towns, as well as Lewiston. A professor emeritus of Bates College, Hodgkin is a native of Lewiston who received his education at Lewiston High School and at Yale and Duke Universities. He has authored several works on Lewiston history, including Lewiston Memories, The Grange at Crowley’s Junction, and Fractured Family. He is editor of the Androscoggin Historical Society newsletter and a member of Lewiston’s Historic Preservation Review Board.

The Agriculture Committee of the Maine State Grange is pleased to announce that they are having a raffle again this year to benefit the Agricultural Scholarship fund. Tickets are $1.00 each or 6 for $5.00. Prizes are as follows with possibly more to be added: Char-broil gas grill from Lowe's, 19" Polaroid HD LCD TV/DVD Combo, $100 gift certificate from Ingraham Equipment & Painting by Shirley Hatch. The winners will be drawn at State Grange in Augusta on Sat., Oct. 17, 2009. The Agriculture Committee wants to thank the sponsors as well as all who are purchasing tickets.