Sign In:


  • Hide
    Maine Granges continue to wane - Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer | of | Share this photo

    Promoter Grace Lommel at the Wayside Grange and Theatre in Dexter. Most Maine Granges are at least 100 years old, and many need new roofs, bathrooms or other fixes.

    Show
  • Hide
    Maine Granges continue to wane - Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer | of | Share this photo

    More than 40 people – all over the age of 50 – attend a meatloaf supper Oct. 10 at the Wayside Grange in Dexter.

    Show
  • Hide
    Maine Granges continue to wane - Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer | of | Share this photo

    Joe Kennedy, 63, of Ripley jokes that he’s “one of the kids” at the Wayside Grange. The group has fewer than 20 active members ranging in age from 30 to mid-80s; the vast majority of members are older than 50.

    Show
  • Hide
    Maine Granges continue to wane - Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer | of | Share this photo

    Wayside Grange in Dexter. In 1873, the first year of Grange in Maine, 64 were built.

    Show
  • Hide
    Maine Granges continue to wane - Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer | of | Share this photo

    Seven dollars buys you a heaping plate of meatloaf, scalloped potatoes, squash, homemade bread, non-alcoholic drinks and dessert at the public supper at the Wayside Grange in Dexter. The admission price even includes a second trip to the buffet.

    Show
  • Hide
    Maine Granges continue to wane - Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer | of | Share this photo

    Wayside Grange head cook Barb Bekier returns to the dining room after taking the trash outside.

    Show
  • Hide
    Maine Granges continue to wane - Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer | of | Share this photo

    Guitarist Dana Collins of Athens plays unaccompanied country blues during a public supper at the Wayside Grange.

    Show
  • Hide
    Maine Granges continue to wane - Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer | of | Share this photo

    Wayside Grange was originally the North Dexter Grange, which closed in the 1990s because of lack of membership. A decade later, a theater troupe expressed interest in the building. The troupe was told it could have it for free if it started a new Grange at the site. A letterboard of events shows a mix of entertainment and Grange suppers.

    Show
  • Hide
    Maine Granges continue to wane - Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer | of | Share this photo

    The late-day sun illuminates peeling paint on the Garland Grange.

    Show