Valley Grange’s collaboration with PCSWCD and Piscataquis Umaine Extension… bringing hands-on agricultural activities to the classroom.
Chief Valley Grange Fair Booth Creators included Mary Annis, Janice Boomsma, Irene Thomas, Judy Ricker, and Pat Engstrom. They came up with something different this year–a display featuring information and items relative to all the different programs and projects Valley Grange does! The Pomona Grange Booth includes information about the Granges in the area. (Click on any image to see it enlarged.)
Posted by Walter Boomsma on August 28, 2023
https://valleygrange.wordpress.com/2023/08/28/valley-grange-at-the-fair/
We had our annual election of officers… the site has been updated but there weren’t many changes! Amy Larrabee was elected Ceres, Kevin Annis was elected Steward, and Janice Boomsma was elected to the Executive Committee. Kevin Annis was appointed Membership Director. You can check out a list of leadership positions and responsibilities here!
Pat Engstrom reported that she delivered 21 Linus Blankets–work resulting from our “Blanketeering” event back in April and several individuals who’ve been working on them sense. Thanks to Pat’s “blistered fingers” we are also delivering three lap robes to the CHCS Hospice Program. Walter admits he’s become a big advocate of the program, particularly the service they are providing veterans. Lap robes (afghans) and quilts are needed! If you’d like to help, contact Pat or Walter!
As a reminder, we substitute the Piscataquis Pomona Picnic Fun and Fundraiser for our July meeting. It is scheduled for July 13, 2021 at the Boomsma Abode! For more information, contact Janice or Walter.
We also voted our annual donation to House in the Woods and Home for Little Wanderers from the CWA Fund.
While it presents some challenges, we also agreed that we will create a fair display this year–both for Valley Grange and for Piscataquis Pomona. We need ideas for the Valley Grange display—and willing workers for setting up (August 25, 2021) and tearing down (August 29, 2021). Mary and Janice will be organizing, please let them know you are willing to help!
Help is one thing we always can use more of! And members! For various reasons, we recently lost several and we truly need to consider a “membership drive” of some sort. Joining Valley Grange is not difficult or expensive. Just ask any member!
As things return to “normal,” we are looking forward to gearing up more of our traditional programming such as Bookworming, GrowME… our community celebrations… and we hope you’ll want to be part of it!
Posted by Walter Boomsma on June 13, 2021
https://valleygrange.wordpress.com/2021/06/13/june-meeting-notes/
Posted by Walter Boomsma on June 21, 2018
https://valleygrange.wordpress.com/2018/06/21/what-valley-grange-does/
We can’t resist sharing a few notes we’ve received from Mrs. Gokas’ Third Grade Class at Piscataquis Community Elementary School! The kids wrote them as part of wrapping up this school year and getting ready for summer.
Dear Valley Grange,
Thank you for all you do for our school. It means a lot to us. We enjoy all the stuff you help make happen. For example, Bookworm, Arts Alive, Words for Thirds, and GrowME.
I have a lot of fun doing all of these programs you help with.
I like the dictionary that you gave us.
Thank you for letting us read to you and be able to have Arts Alive and other programs like Arts Alive.
K.W.
(We think she really likes Arts Alive!)
Dear Valley Grange,
Thank you for all that you have done for our school. We really appreciate it.
The GrowME Program was really fun. My grass plant is still alive.
The dictionary, Words for Thirds that you have given third grade has been really helpful for me in the time that has passed.
The Bookworm Program has been really enjoyable in the passed two years. It has taught me to read more comfortably with other people each time.
The Arts Alive Program that you’ve helped with over the years have made it very enjoyable for our school.
Thank you so much!!
Sincerely,
D.W.
Dear Vally Grange,
Thank you for all the stuff you do for us.
A few things you do are GrowME, Word for Thirds, Bookworms, and Arts Alive.
You do that for our school.
From,
A.H.
Dear Valley Grange,
Thank you for all of the things you have done for us.
One thing you have done that I know that all of us appreciate is you giving all of us a dictionary. I know we use it a lot.
The next thing you have done for us is that you put on the program GrowME. For example, this year we built dirt babies. That was really fun.
My favorite part is when you come in and have us read to you. I love to read with Bookworms.
Sincerely,
C.L.
Dear Third Graders,
Thank you for your letters. We are glad you enjoy and appreciate the things we do together.
We really like learning, working, and playing with you. We have fun too!
Have a good summer. We’ll see you in the fall!
Sincerely,
Valley Grange Bookworms and Members
Posted by Walter Boomsma on June 8, 2018
https://valleygrange.wordpress.com/2018/06/08/kids-write/
At least one second-grader from Guilford now knows it does NOT come from brown cows!
We completed activities at SeDoMoCha Elementary (353 students), Milo Elementary (121), Greenville Elementary (77 students), and Piscataquis Community Elementary (79 students) for a total of 630 students and 40 classes in four districts.
As impressive as the numbers are, we also should take pride in the impact we have on kids and teachers. Mrs. Kimball’s letter speaks to that… and our experience confirms it. For example, in several butter-making classes, we had “teachable moments” that included some math. In one case, the teacher and I “co-taught” a couple of math lessons… reinforcing my belief that relevance and curriculum fit is what makes this program work. In one kindergarten class, a young “farmer” shared that he has “6,000 horses” which he “rides and feeds every day.” (I whispered to the teacher, “I’ll bet you’ve told him a billion times not to exaggerate.”) I think he represents enough excitement for agriculture, farming, and the GrowME program that we may forgive him for his distortion.
A surprise visit from Channel Five and Channel Seven kept Mrs. Bosworth and I hopping during our last day of activities in Guilford. While Mrs. B tried to hide, she did end up in the story… and you’ll have to laugh at some of the faces the kids made while tasting apples:
Link to WABI TV5 Story:
http://www.wabi.tv/video/?vid=478695593
Link to Fox22/7 Story:
https://www.foxbangor.com/news/item/24685-growme-project-teaches-elementary-kids-farming-skills
A sincere thanks to those who contributed time, materials and support to this program. There’s always lots of growing in GrowME!
Posted by Walter Boomsma on April 4, 2018
https://valleygrange.wordpress.com/2018/04/04/where-does-chocolate-milk-come-from/
Maine State Grange Past Master Rick Groton drew the winning tickets from the large rotating basket made by Roger Ricker:
Special thanks to McKusick Petroleum and Will’s Shop ‘n Save for their generous support of or annual meat or heat raffle! Those who participate help us keep the lights on and our community service programs running.
Posted by Walter Boomsma on November 19, 2017
https://valleygrange.wordpress.com/2017/11/19/raffle-winners-announced/
Third graders at PCES were already pretty excited because Valley Grange volunteers and bookworms Mrs. Boomsma and Ms. Erwin were coming to help them make “dirt babies” as part of the GrowME Collaboration. But they became even more pumped when they saw WABI’s Caitlin Burchill and a camera operator headed their way. One teacher asked us to pop in and say “Hi” to the kids… and a third grader came rushing up to Cait with a quickly made card for the “wether woman” that said inside, “I love you!”
The resulting video can be viewed on the WABI TV 5 website.
GrowME is a collaboration between Valley Grange, PCSWCD (Piscataquis Soil and Water Conservation District) and UMaine Piscataquis County Extension to build a truly local program of agriculturally themed, hands on activities for kids led by local volunteers. This year’s volunteers included Grangers, Master Gardeners, 4-H Club Members, and community citizens interested in GrowingME, growing kids, and growing plants!
Posted by Walter Boomsma on March 28, 2015
https://valleygrange.wordpress.com/2015/03/28/wabi-tv5-crew-visits-pces-and-growme/
While it might be difficult to think about gardening and farming in mid-January, a group of volunteers are doing just that as they are preparing a fourth year of the GrowME program. The program is offered to K-3 teachers and schools in Piscataquis County and the surrounding areas. The program is organized by a collaboration between Valley Grange of Guilford, PCSWCD (Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District) and UMaine Piscataquis County Extension.
GrowME aims to utilize local volunteers who will work with teachers to schedule an agricultural activity in their classrooms during Maine Agriculture Week (March 24-28). Ana Bonstedt, Home Horticulture Coordinator for Piscataquis County UMaine Extension is particularly excited over the “hands on” aspect of the activities. “Thanks to our rural nature in Piscataquis County, we don’t have the ‘nature deficit’ that some more urban areas experience,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be offering our kids an opportunity to involve all their senses and get some hands on learning.”
Walter Boomsma, program director for Valley Grange agrees. One of his specialties is visiting second graders at PCES to make butter. “We have fun and the kids almost don’t realize they are learning–some have even asked for instructions and then made butter at home as a family activity.” Volunteers also conduct seed planting activities, apple tasting and create animal graphs. “We also spend some time just talking with the kids—many have chickens and gardens and it’s fun to share experiences.”
Boomsma notes that last year volunteers visited with over 60 classrooms and 800 kids “from Greenville to Dexter to Milo,” but says there should be no shortage of volunteers and resources thanks to the collaboration. “We’ve got master gardeners and farmers available through Extension Programs and PCSWCD includes partners and resources that are committed to good stewardship. Our continued goal is to keep this informal, local, and a true partnership between our schools, teachers, and volunteers. It’s not so much that we have a program to offer—it’s more about working together to make good use of our resources. Our volunteers will have the sort of agricultural experience and background to be especially relevant to students while providing insight into the importance of agriculture in our area.”
The group focuses on kindergarten through third grade but is willing to consider requests from teachers of other grades.
GrowME volunteers visit for about thirty minutes and work with students on a simple, grade appropriate activity. Teachers and administrators who are interested need only furnish contact information: teacher’s name-email address and grade. Interested teachers may email or call Boomsma at 343-1842. An online sign-up form is also available at http://growmehelp.wordpress.com.
Posted by Walter Boomsma on January 28, 2015
https://valleygrange.wordpress.com/2015/01/28/growme-2015-sprouts/
Mr. Boomsma making discoveries with Kendall Kimball, one of his many young friends at Piscataquis Community Elementary School. (Kendall’s chosen career is to be a pop star when she grows up and she readily agreed to be photographed for the article, already proving she is a “media darling.”)
Known to the kids as “Mr. Boomsma,” Valley Grange Program Director Walter Boomsma is the subject of a special article in the October Issue of Maine Seniors Magazine. Maine Seniors is a high quality magazine published right here in Maine and distributed throughout the state featuring “community icons” and “prime movers”—seniors who are making a difference in their communities and state.
Starting on page 32 of the October Issue, you’ll find a well-illustrated article about Boomsma’s passion for kids and how he discovered it after joining Valley Grange. “Each Grange can choose its own projects, reflecting local needs and interests. That’s how the Valley Grange, whose area stretches from Monson to Milo, came to focus so strongly on children. And how Boomsma—who talks with his hands and quotes Socrates—built a life around it.”
A digital copy of the article will be available on http://wboomsma.com and the entire issue will be accessible at http://meseniors.com before the month is over. The article features some of Valley Grange’s initiatives such as Words for Thirds, Bookworming, and the GrowME project while telling some of his favorite stories about working with kids.
But it also makes clear the fact that Mr. Boomsma believes it’s not about programs. The programs he likes “are really just an excuse to do the real work.”
Written by Donna Halvorsen of Portland, an accompanying article expands and explains the role of the Grange—a Historic Tradition—in Maine.
Posted by Walter Boomsma on October 10, 2014
https://valleygrange.wordpress.com/2014/10/10/mr-boomsma-featured-in-maine-seniors-magazine/
Photo courtesy of the Piscataquis Observer includes Walter Boomsma, program director, Bill and Julie Orton, and Jim Annis, master.
Julie Orton, principal of PCES (Piscataquis Community Elementary School) was named Valley Grange’s Community Citizen of the Year during recent Community Night activities.
Program Director Walter Boomsma noted that Mrs. Orton gets credit for a number of collaborative programs between the school and Valley Grange. “It started with Words for Thirds and just took off from there,” he announced. “We quickly added bookworming and Newspapers in Education. Our GrowME collaboration truly started with a program at PCES that’s become huge–this year volunteers visited nearly 5o classrooms and interacted with at least 850 students in the area.”
The event was attended by Mrs. Orton’s fellow teachers, staff, friends, and parents of children attending PCES who spoke of Mrs. Orton’s compassion, leadership, and strong work ethic. Many considered the event somewhat “bittersweet” as this will be Mrs. Orton’s last year leading PCES–she’s retiring and looking forward to a slightly more leisurely pace. She does plan, however, to continue educating and nurturing children and may be back at school to substitute teach.
A “Just Five Minutes” slide program challenged those attending to consider the value of a daily five-minute commitment to communities. Boomsma pointed out that if “each person in our county between the ages of 20 and 80 spent five minutes per day, “the dollar value is over six million per year and equates to 188 full-time workers.”
Valley Grange was the recent recipient of some community service and honors were bestowed on the “Helping Hands” team from Mountain View Youth Development. Audience members quickly rose to a standing ovation after learning of the amazing makeover the kids and their supervisors completed to the Grange’ dining hall.
Maine State Grange Master Vicki Huff made a surprise appearance for the occasion and presented secretary Mary Annis with a certificate recognizing twenty-five years of membership. Annis is also the Grange’s Community Service Director and responsible for many of the programs Valley Grange runs to support our communities.
Photo courtesy of the Piscataquis Observer. Mary Annis, Linda Erwin and Vicki Huff celebrating Mary’s quarter century of membership.
Posted by Walter Boomsma on May 22, 2014
https://valleygrange.wordpress.com/2014/05/22/mrs-orton-named-community-citizen/
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Walter Boomsma
Valley Grange #144 