BETHEL – “The Grange in Maine” Conference Coordinator Stanley R. Howe of the Bethel Historical Society has announced that the deadline for registering for the two-day session on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 12 and 13, will be Tuesday.

All registrations received after that date will be confirmed only if space is available. The conference will provide an opportunity to learn more about the organization, which has been a force in Maine life since the 1870s.

For more than a century, the Maine Grange numbered more than 50,000 members in more than 400 locations throughout the state.

Active on behalf of Maine rural residents, the Grange became an advocate in the Maine Legislature, where many of its members served, to secure improvements in rural education and the farmer’s lot through reform of the tax system to make it more equitable. The Grange also established its own mutual aid program and cooperative stores.

A new exhibit, opened on July 1 at the Bethel Historical Society’s Regional History Center, offers insights into the organization and its role in Maine’s past. Titled “To Improve the Farmer’s Lot: The Grange in Maine,” the exhibit is free and open to all Tuesday through Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m., through July and August, then by appointment throughout the year until May 31, 2010.

The conference, to be held in conjunction with the exhibit, will include a Grange supper plus an overview of the Grange in Maine on Friday evening, along with some keynote observations made by a scholar of Maine’s agricultural past.

Following a continental breakfast Saturday morning, there will be three presentations on the Grange (women and the Grange, a case study of a particular Grange, and a look at Grange halls) as well as an opportunity for discussion and questions.

In the afternoon, following a lunch at Lakeside Grange 63, a sample meeting conducted by the officers of the Maine State Grange and a panel discussion focusing on the history and future of the Maine Grange will take place.

The conference will begin at the Bethel Historical Society’s Dr. Mason House Exhibit Hall at 4:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12, with registration and a social hour. After the continental breakfast and morning presentations on Saturday, those attending will leave for Lakeside Grange in Harrison and the afternoon activities.

Attendance is available to anyone paying the conference fee of $30 for the Friday session, which includes the Grange supper and the registration fee.

The Saturday only session is also $30, which includes the continental breakfast, lunch and conference fee. For those wishing to attend the entire conference, the fee will be $45, which includes meals and registration fee.

To register, send a check made payable to the Bethel Historical Society to the society, P.O. Box 12, Bethel, ME 04217-0012 by Tuesday. More information is available by calling 800-824-2910.