UPDATE: Here’s a note received from Basil’s Hospice Angel:
I cannot thank you enough! I had the pleasure of personally delivering the book and letter to him! Along with it was a handwritten card from the National Grange! He loved these gifts! Our team (social workers, chaplains, volunteers, nurses) now get to sit with him and read a section of your book to him with each visit! He so much appreciates all of this! Thank you again!
Who among us remembers card showers? In spite of postage increases, they remain a Grange Tradition.
I was recently contacted by a hospice nurse with the story of a 94-year-old man who is in an assisted living facility and “talks about the Grange and his 70+ year membership on a daily basis.” She wonders if “this friend could possibly get visitations or
information from the Grange mailed to him on a regular basis.” Due to circumstances, he’s a long away from home. But he’s somewhat close to us.
First, that’s one amazing hospice nurse, isn’t it? She’s been listening, and she took the time to do some searching. I’m not sure how she found me–I think it was through the Maine State Grange Website, but what’s most important is that she did. That’s the sort of caring and compassion that represents “the Grange Way of Life.”
I’m sending him a complimentary copy of my book, Exploring Traditions. I’m asking others–whether or not you’re a Granger–to find a card and a stamp and send it to:
Basil Clements
Emilio Estates
465 W Corinth Road
Corinth, ME 04427
It just may be the best 66¢ (you already have the card, right?) you’ve spent in a while.
If I close my eyes, I can picture a small group of Grangers getting out of their car at Emilio Estates and putting on their sashes… They aren’t worried about knowing what to say. They are planning to listen to him talk about the Grange and his membership.
Walter Boomsma
Valley Grange #144 
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