Middlebury Register

GARDNER FOR GOVERNOR.
Maine's Popular Past State Master a
Gubernatorial Candidate.

Obadiah Gardner, past master of the
Maine state grange, has been in the
field since July 15 for gubernatorial
honors.
Maine is the state where there is a
Patron for every thirteen inhabitants
and where "the growth of the grange
is limited only by the number of resi
dents in the state who are eligible to
become members." where 366 of the
419 subordinate granges own their
halls, where the grange has a total
membership of
57,000 and where
the grange has
succeeded during
the past few
years in putting
$28,000,000
of
property on the
tax
duplicate
which had previ
ously been es
caping all or a
part of its share
of the tax bur
den. The won
derful part of the
OBADIAH GARDNER.
grangs growth
and increase in influence in Maine has
taken place largely during the past
decade under Mr. Gardner's leadership
as master. When he became master
in 1907 there were only 150 granges in
the state with 20,000 members as com
pared with 419 granges with 57,000
members when he retired last year
Mr. Gardner's home is at Rockland,
Me., where his thoroughbred Jersey
herd is engaged in supplying the local
market and islands around about Rock
land with a fine quality of milk. This
herd has often been exhibited and has
usually carried off the first premiums.
He has an up to date dairy plant.
Brother Gardner is a Michigan man
who went east instead of west. He
was born at Port Huron, Mich., Sept.
13, 1852, and went to Maine in 1865.
He joined the grange in 1883. In 1884,
he became a member of the Maine
state grange executive committee. in
which he continued until 1895, six
years of this time its chairman. In
1897 he was elected master of the state
grangs. For six years he was a mem
ber of the Maine state board of agri
culture, the last three of this time its
president. From 1899 to 1903 he was
overseer of the national grange.
Brother Gardner's superior executive
ability is proved by his building up a
fine private farming business and by
the wonderful grange growth in Maine
during the ten years of his leadership.