Granite State Granger

The official newspaper of the New Hampshire State Grange published quarterly in March, June, September, and December.

For questions, or to submit something to be printed, email Pat Bailey and Pat Lawlor at gsg@nhgrange.org

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The Granite State Granger

By Hannah West (2017 GSG Report at State Session)

In early November somewhere in my house on goes my computer and out comes my mouse.

An e-mail goes out to Directors I choose, “The deadline is coming, please send in your news.”
I find the last issue and make a new copy, change dates on the masthead so it won’t look sloppy.
I highlight the old news and then hit “delete.” The pages now look very empty and neat.
In a state of suspense for the news I then wait. Some Directors are early while others are late.
As the columns come in, I copy and paste. I fix up the spelling and prune out the waste.
Every inch must be filled, no less and no more, in pages that can be divided by four.
An e-mail is sent out to Grange members all, “Send news for the paper, this is the last call.”
Anne Boisvert comes over the pictures to enter. She pops them right in, if I place them off center.

But, as empty spaces begin to diminish, the stress starts to build for the race to the finish.
The pictures are toned and, when they are just right, all is sent to the Monitor’s FTP site.
With the pages submitted, I pick up the phone to tell Kevin Sweet that the paper is done.
Then a message at Concord Bulk Mail I can leave, to reserve EMM trays, each with a sleeve.
And now I must wait, for there isn’t a hint of how many days it will be ‘til they print.
At last it is printed and then we must trundle in the car, off to Concord to pick up each bundle.
Any bundles we drop off, nine, eight, or seven, are speedily processed by Mary and Kevin.
The rest go with us, not always by choice, to be folded by Anne, me, and Marty’s Aunt Joyce.
If he isn’t too tired or busy or mean, then Marty might help with the wafer machine.
He’s the fastest of all, but if he won’t do it, one way or another we all will get through it.
Now folded and wafered on various tables, the papers are ready, but where are the labels?
To answer my e-mail sent off in a tizzy, the State Secretary writes, “Sorry, I’m busy.”
He needs his own life, but I wish he’d remember I want to mail these on the first of December.
When the labels arrive, they have to be counted and then on the papers most carefully mounted.
In order by zip code they go in the trays. This process should take only hours, not days.
And then comes a task that I never must shirk. I download the USPS paperwork.
I call the Post Office in joy, not in sorrow. “What time can I bring a bulk mailing tomorrow?”
We load up the postal form, trays, and a check, and drive off to Epsom, a very short trek.
Then comes a brief pause, for we never do know what the clerk will remember from three months ago.
And then I can do what I’ve often rehearsed; I mail the receipt, so I’ll be reimbursed.
I leave the main lobby and head for the dock to unload seven boxes by eleven o’clock.
And I think as the dolly is rolled out of sight, “The paper is mailed. I can sleep well tonight.