Machias means “Bad Little Falls,” and
is the hub of Washington County, the easternmost and second
largest county of Maine. The Machias Valley Grange, our
hive, is in the center of this small, yet big-for-Maine,
town. This historical building looks out across those bad
little falls, a convergence of huge waterfalls feeding
into an ocean bay. The
Machias River harbors one of the last runs of Atlantic
Salmon in the U.S., and is embroiled in heated
throes of debate to enforce its
status as an endangered species habitat. The politics of
water rights, and all the critters and plants that depend
on, or live in it, are one of the major debates in our
community.
Machias is a half hour drive from the
border of New Brunswick, Canada. The devastating affects
of “free trade” on rural Maine’s economy
and environment are highly evident, and the awareness most
folks have of this often makes it easy for us to connect
to our neighbors on a political level.
Yep, it’s Whiteyville. Unfortunately,
Maine is the second “whitest” state in the
U.S. ... however, Washington County has one of the most
diverse populations in the state, in part due to the many
people of color that come to work as migrant labor in the
blueberry fields and fish factories. Many of the folks
that rake berries are from Latin America, the Carribbean,
and Native Americans from the area, nearby reservations,
and Canada.
The opportunities to be of service to
people of color in our local community, and the extremely
strong class conciousness of Washington County, are two
of the major reasons we chose this area as a base for the
Beehive. The bees passionately feel that challenging racism
and classism should be the top priority for any group or
individual working for positive social change. Although
we feel this overwhelming sense of urgency, and have dedicated
our international graphics campaigns to this fight, we
are taking things much more slowly on a local level. We
recognize that it might take years to build all of the
solid relationships needed for our local community organizing.
So for now, our goals are to be a consistent, respectful
resource to our community, while focusing our decentralized
campaigns on unraveling the beast of patriarchy and white
supremacy with a ferocious commitment to education and
imagination.
It’s hard to explain, or grasp until
you’ve experienced it, the extent of the class consciousness,
and divisions in our community. Washington County is one
of the most “economically devastated” areas
in the Northeastern u.s.. The economy is largely based
on wildcrafting, be it lobsters, fish, clams, trees, blueberries
or christmas wreaths, and many of these industries have “collapsed” due
to overharvesting and international economic pressures.
Meanwhile tourist development, rising property taxes and
gentrification create even more pressure for a population
deeply scarred with unemployment, serious drug and alcohol
problems and “youth flight.” The
Hive is constantly processing our role in this situation,
by listening, learning and adapting to our responsibilities
as stewards of a space that has a long tradition of community
service.
Not being born in Maine, or sometimes
even not having generations of Mainers in your heritage,
earns you the instant label of being “From Away.” We
respect this viewpoint, and are constantly struggling to
act in the most appropriate manner given this role. Therefore,
our policies that all 
events
and activities at the Grange be “free to the public,
all ages, and drug-and-alcohol free,” and the effort
to conduct all of our fundraising activities out of state,
are reflective of our solidarity with the working class
in our community. Thus far, people are excited and supportive
of our endeavors. So please be forewarned, these concerns
are something that we are deeply committed to and will
expect you to educate yourself about as you spend time
in the area.
All of downtown Machias is within walking
distance of the Grange, as is a small branch of the University
of Maine. Though
we are right across from an ocean bay, within 11 miles
is the open ocean, and many other beautiful places to hike
and swim. Within driving distance is Canada, and a few
different national parks. The nearest bigger city is Ellsworth,
an hour and twenty minutes away, Bangor (where the greyhound
bus lets you off onto a smaller local bus) is two hours,
four hours to Portland, six to Boston, and seven to Montreal. Most
political organizing in Maine is done on a state wide scale,
so we pretty frequently have a couple bees drive or hitch
to other parts of Maine for events or meetings. The solidarity
and support that the Beehive receives is on this state
level, something a little hard to conceive of if you’ve
been an organizer in a city. Because we leave to crosspollinate
so frequently, we hardly feel isolated when in Machias,
yet if you’re a junkie for the nightlife of the big
city, you might get disappointed fast… You’re
welcome to come try rural living, but please keep in mind
it’s not for everybody, so ultimately it will up
to you to keep it interesting for yourself..
One of the things the bees like most about
Maine is being amongst people with a strong tradition of
self reliance. Many people grow their own food, heat
with wood, and in general, live close to the land. We’ve
been told that in the early seventies, during the “back
to the land” movement, “the hippies that
had their parents money moved to California, and the
ones that didn’t, moved to Maine.”
LINKS
TO SOME OF OUR ALLIES IN MAINE |
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Many of
those “homesteaders” that
went to California sold out, but we’re constantly
meeting more folks from this generation in Maine that
still live in the woods, and have stuck with their principles.
These people are heartened by our presence, and are the
backbone of our support in the area.
About Workspace...
The Machias Valley Grange,
Our Hive
“The soil is the source from whence
we derive all that constitutes wealth; without it we would
have no agriculture, no manufactures, no commerce...The
art of agriculture is the parent and precursor of all arts,
and its products the foundation of all wealth.”
-Preamble
to the Constitution of the National Grange 1874
In the late 1800’s, as an outgrowth
of the “Populist movement,” the “Patrons
of Husbandry” was formed. The farmers of this movement
began organizing to keep agriculture local, work more cooperatively,
and hold off the pressures of the corporate monopolies,
known in those days as the “robber barons.” The
Patrons, also referred to as the Grange, began as a movement
to build cultural and organizing centers for farmers, and
quickly spread throughout the country, with Maine as a
stronghold. In it’s heyday in the early 1900's,
there were over 400 Grange Halls in Maine alone. Unlike
the Society Halls built for the Masons or Oddfellows, a
unique aspect of the Grange movement, from it’s inception,
was its strong desire to involve women and youth at every
level of the organization’s decision making and ritual.
A certain number of positions of power in each group are
seats that can only be held by women, and in their assemblies,
these positions are likened to the three muses of agriculture,
with a heavy, pagan-like, emphasis on human’s connection
to the soil. The Granges were, and still are, a place for
folks to come together in a non-religious setting to sing,
dance, eat together and dedicate oneself to community service.
The legacy of this energy is very much present in our building,
and often gives us chills. This history, like much of the
amazing labor movements of that time, have been ignored
by the history books, and stolen from our collective consciousness.
So the Machias Valley Grange was built
in 1904, and was in consistent use by the local Grangers
until about ten years ago, They had been forced by economic
circumstances to instead meet in the next town over, and
eventually made the decision to sell the building and use
the funds to build something better suited for the needs
of their smaller, and aging, group. Over the years, many
of the offers to buy the building came from a trucking
company that wished to rip it down and put in a road… but
because of a clause in Grange policy that stipulates that
the money must go to a trust fund at the State Grange (unless
the local Grangers wish to rebuild). a situation was created
where there was no incentive to sell the building to developers.
When the Grangers were approached by the bees, and we shared
with them our desire to open the space back up to the community,
and coordinate a huge mural project about the history of
agriculture… there was a exciting realization that
we were the sort of folks they were holding
out for! Some amazing synchronicity… that we still
get all tingly about, as do the elder Grangers that
are thrilled to see our dedication to reviving the traditions
of this special place.
Two years ago we had a big reunion, with
the Grangers having their first meeting in the building
in ten years. After a potluck in the dining hall with over
80 people of all different ages… folks with wheelchairs
and canes were helped upstairs to the ballroom, where all
the original tables, chairs, flags, props and piano were
arranged for an open to the public Grange ritual and meeting.
We had dug up some old Grange songbooks to find the songs
that would mesh our politics and theirs, and we spent that
very emotional night all singing together… Grangers
from all around the area and about twenty of us bees….
It is amazing the beautiful condition
that the Machias Grange is in considering its vacancy for
many years. The building is two tall stories, with most
of it’s original wooden chairs, benches and tables. Downstairs
is a large, postless room that functions as a dining hall,
with a piano, an accessible bathroom and is home to our
public events. There is a well equipped kitchen, with both
wood and gas stoves. Upstairs, there is a dancehall/ballroom
space with a high pressed tin ceiling, stage, movie screen,
another piano, and lots of natural light. The second floor also
has a hallway set up as a reading room, a small “anteroom”, and a balcony/third floor
that looks out over the dance floor and functions as an
office for up to eight desks. The building itself sits on less than one acre. The
waterfalls, ocean bay, and park directly across the street
functions as our spaces to play or work outside.
