| September 1, 2019 -- As the fall season approaches, this is the time of year that Grangers are putting on their local and major fairs in Connecticut. The Eastern States Exposition, known as the Big E, runs from September 13th through the 29th. Grange Day will be Sunday, September 22. The New England Grange Building will be having a float in the parade again this year. Come and join us to celebrate the day. The New England Grange Building will be open all 17 days selling jams, jellies and homemade articles donated by Grangers throughout the Northeast. If you would like to help in the store, let Noel Miller or myself know. We could always use help! Hope to see you all at the Fair.
Sharon and I attended the Northeast Lecturer’s Conference in Devens, MA. It was hosted by the Massachusetts State Grange. There were 14 members from Connecticut that attended the conference. The theme for this year’s conference was “Down on the Farm.” There were several workshops throughout the three days. On the first day there was a workshop/panel discussion on how to meet your local agriculturalists. The panel was made up of a dairy farmer, orchard operator, hydroponic lettuce grower and an Alpaca farm owner. The farmers gave an outline of their farms and conducted a question and answer session.
The lettuce grower was very interesting. He has 5 acres under glass for growing just lettuce. He is planning to expand his business by adding on more greenhouses.
On the second day we toured the Jordan Dairy Farm in Rutland, MA. We toured the dairy facilities and the digester they use to digest their manure and the methane runs a generator that runs the farm. Excess energy is sold to the power company. At the end of the tour we all had ice cream before heading back to the hotel. With the leadership of the Massachusetts State Lecturer Janet Segur, the seven State Lecturers worked together to put on a great program for the three day conference.
Unfortunately, it is sad to report that Norwich Grange No. 172 has sold their hall and will be turning in their Charter. This will be the fourth Grange that has closed since I’ve been your State Master. I hope that the Norwich Grange members will find a new home in a nearby Grange.
Todd, our State Secretary, has sent out the Call to Session for the upcoming State Session from October 17 to 19 in Norwich. It would be great to see each Grange have a delegate at this session. All Grange members are welcome to attend. The Sixth Degree will be conferred on Saturday, October 19th at 3:00 P.M. We are hoping for a well-attended State Session for fun and productive meetings.
I’ll see you then.
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