| DECEMBER 1, 2025 -- The 159th Annual National Grange Convention was great! Convention at Sea was different than usual, but doable and fun. I applaud those who had the courage to take a new route in convention planning. First of all, most of the Grange hall paraphernalia was absent and after the opening in the Seventh Degree, the dress code for regular sessions was more casual. Only the officers wore sashes, but not the delegates. While I like the tradition, it was refreshing to be different. This was my first cruise and the ABC islands were new to me and interesting. I got in some birding between Miami and the three islands and saw over 20 new species of birds. I met and talked to new poeple on the Carnival Horizon and on the islands as well. It was definitely a learning experience. across the trip, I was able to put my French and Spanish to use and found I could understand the local local language of Papamiento to a large degree, especially in the written form. Some of the birds seen were Boat-Tailed Grackle and Wood Stork in Miami; and on the islands, Magnificent Frigate-Bird, American Flamingo, Tricolored Heron, Yellow Oriole, Venezuelan Troupial, several kinds of doves, and my favorite due to its name, the Bananaquit, a colorful and pretty little bird known as the chickadee of the tropics. Also Great Blue Herons, Ospreys, House Sparrows and Northern Waterthrushes which we have here. The sparrows sound different than ours.
My stateroom was on Deck 1. The Meridian Restaurant where Ted, Stephanie and I shared dinner every night was on 3 and the Marketplace buffet on 10 where we ate breakfast and lunch. I got my exercise by taking the stairs (yes, 10 flights), except for 2 or 3 times. The head chef we were told was Asian Indian so the food was great and varied. I attended several shows and they were fantastic. The group of eight putting them on was called the Playlist Players. Three shows I saw were Amor Cubano, Celestial Strings, and The World Works Here. You cand look them up on YouTube under “Carnival Playlist Productions” and catch short snippets from the different shows. We got to meet the cast as well.
The staff on board the ship as well as our tour guides for all excursions were all very nice. On Aruba, I went to Eagle Beach where I looked for birds and ended up having a conversation with three young people (a young Aruban lady named Shaqsedy) and two gentlemen, James and another (missed his name) at a concession stand for kayaks and jet-ski rentals; on Bonaire, the tour took us to the Kaminda Lac wetlands where we saw flamingos and a Crested Caracara (hawk) and the beach beyond ringed by mangroves; on Curacao, I took a Highlights of Curacao and Mambo Beach tour. Mambo Beach is a shopping arcade on the beach. On the way, we stopped at Senior and Co. Distillery where Curacao liqueur is made. The Chukalati chocolate flavored liqueur is tasty, but so is the orange flavored one. The capital of Curacao, Willemstad, is both picturesque and a very Dutch looking city.
Some highlights of the 159th Convention follow. Concerning resolutions, the one concerning dues increase passed even though we voted against it as this was your will. Regardless, the fact is that we need to increase dues to come into modern times. The resolution to keep the convention in the 48 contiguous states was voted down. A new program to be introduced by National Grange is PIP or the Performance Improvement Plan to strengthen existing Granges by increasing membership and push states to open a new Grange. It is to follow the SMART goals paradigm: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. I believe that PIP will dovetail with our new Mentoring Program. Our officers of CSG have been assigned to Granges and meetings will be held to discuss and settle upon duties they will perform as mentors. The mentoring most likely will differ Grange to Grange as needs of Granges are different. The new Grange Engage platform was rolled out and is the new digital platform to connect Granges across the land. This year was an election year and there were some changes. Chris Hamp was re-elected as President. However, Walter Hartley of RI moved from Assistant Steward to the Executive Committee to replace Lynette Shaeffer of IL while Dwight Baldwin of IA replaced Walter. Richard Stonebraker of MD replaced Tom Gwin of WA as Lecturer. The professionally-produced recorded version of the Seventh Degree was shown for the first time with the cast wearing the old costumes one last time before they are retired due to their fragile condition. The production was well done and well received. The issue of how to distribute the recording for viewing in the states (or not) was assigned to a study committee. Also in that discussion is the possibility of recording the other six degrees. Jody and Jodi Ann Cameron did a remarkable job acting as convention liaisons to put all this together. They had good people at Carnival Cruise Lines to work with. National Grange President Chris Hamp and her officer team put on a great convention, smooth and efficient. Congratulations on re-election Chris. Back to our 140th Annual Session here at home. I want to thank all for making this a successful event. In January, Ted nd I plus some others will head up to Colchester, VT (near Burlington) for the Northeast Leaders Conference, Jan. 9-11. In May, National Leaders Conference will beheld in Reno/Sparks, NV. The next National Convention, the 160th, will be held in Broken Arrow,
OK.
Those of you who were at State Session got to see the presentation on the new book “Perseverance: Connecticut Granges Make Their Mark on History.” You know how much work has gone into this project. Between State Session and National Convention, I proof-read 355 pages of the some 500 pages of the book. I found it very interesting and learned some new things too. For instance, Jerome Keech of Pomperaug Grange, Past State President 1965-66, instituted a bicycle safety program. I remember taking part in such a program at the Alice Peck Elementary School in Hamden while in 4th grade ca. 1972 on my metallic red Schwinn banana bike. Reading the biographies brought back many fond memories of both departed and living Grangers, especially Past State President Duane Wetmore, a close family friend for years. I saw how Sister Lin Erickson recommended term limits for state officers to try to involve more poeple in the CSG. I can’t wait for the release of the first edition! I encourage every Granger to buy a copy, and every Grange to donate a copy to their local library. Granges with sufficient funds might consider buying extra copies to donate to libraries in surrounding towns. There are 169 towns in CT and only 29 community Granges and three Pomona Granges.
Connecticut State Grange was one of two State Granges (the other was Wisconsin) to receive an award for community service reporting of hours. While there has been internal controversy over collection of hours and their manner of reporting to our community service chairman and his reports to the National Grange Community Service Team, I assure you that our methods have been endorsed by those at National as OK.
I encourage all to put this issue to rest and would further rask that all work together amicably. Sometimes, we don’t agree on all, but let us ever heed the motto, “In essentials, Unity, in non-essentials, Liberty, and in all things, Charity.
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