Raymond Village Library makes annual appeal

By Briana Bizier

Sometimes it feels like the COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything. As we adjust to working from home or working while wearing a face mask, helping our children with hybrid and distance learning, and the awkwardness of Zoom dinner parties, our community connections have become more important than ever.

The Raymond Village Library is not fully funded
by the town of Raymond and nearly half of
the library's budget comes from grants and
private donations collected during their fall
Annual Appeal, now under way.
FILE PHOTO

One of those community institutions is now asking for your help. Unlike many similar libraries, the Raymond Village Library is not fully funded by the town of Raymond. Nearly half of the library’s budget comes from grants and private donations. This means that the funds used to purchase new books, pay for subscriptions, and support their wonderful librarians come directly from generous community donations during their fall Annual Appeal. Raymond Village Library cannot function without the financial support of its patrons and donors.

This investment in our community is especially crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Raymond Village Library has played an essential role in helping Raymond residents navigate this strange and unprecedented time.

As soon as Maine’s COVID restrictions allowed, the Raymond Village Library began offering curbside pickup of books, movies, and children’s materials. The initial curbside pickup program was incredibly well received.

“Our pick-up was so popular we started running out of bags for the books,” said Allison Griffin, Director of the Raymond Village Library. This service is still available through phone, email, and the library’s website at www.raymondvillagelibrary.org.

As the entire world stayed at home and much of our lives moved online, the free internet connection offered by Raymond Village Library became more important than ever. Generous community donations this fall allowed the library to provide additional outdoor seating around picnic tables so that the wi-fi was easily accessible even if the library was closed. In addition to providing internet service, the library also has a professional Zoom account, so that library events, such as the monthly book club or community classes, can be held safely online.

Some of the most perennially popular activities at the Raymond Village Library are the weekly baby and toddler story time hours. When social distancing requirements made those gatherings impossible, Children’s Librarian Karen Perry got creative. The library now offers weekly Story Time At Home kits complete with crafts, books, and songs to help encourage a love of literacy in even the littlest library patrons. These kits, as well as teen and tween crafts, are available every week and are always free of charge.

In addition to the take-home Story Time kits, Perry also created two popular outdoor Story Walks. The first, Jack in the Beanstalk, wound its way around the Raymond Community Garden this summer while the second, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, follows the store window fronts in the Raymond Shopping Center.

All of these activities are only possible thanks to the generosity of Raymond Village Library patrons. Unfortunately, even as the pandemic has made so many library services invaluable, it also has disrupted many of the library’s traditional fundraising activities. The Raymond Village Library truly needs our help this year more than ever.

The library’s 2020 Annual Appeal aims to raise $40,000. This amount will allow the library to expand staff hours in addition to continuing regular (or, regular for the pandemic) services. Donations to the Raymond Village Library are accepted in person, through the mail, or at their website: www.raymondvillagelibrary.org. Contributions of any amount will allow the Raymond Village Library to continue providing books and activities to babies and toddlers, internet access to students completing their work online, new books to homebound seniors, and classes to all members of our community. Together, let’s make sure our library remains available for all our friends and neighbors during this difficult time. <

Windham Town Council elects new chairperson, makes committee appointments

David Nadeau has been elected
chairperson of the Windham
Town Council. FILE PHOTO

By Ed Pierce

In the aftermath of this month’s election with two members sworn in and taking seats on the Windham Town Council, councilors elected a new chairperson and sorted out committee appointments in a meeting via Zoom on Nov. 10.

Councilor David Nadeau was elected as the new council chair, succeeding Jarrod Maxfield, who was voted as the new council vice-chairperson. Councilor David Douglass was chosen as the council parliamentarian.

Nadeau is a retired electronics engineer who has served on the Windham Town Council for eight years and was a member of the town Planning Board for 10 years. In September he was presented with the 2020 Planner of the Year Award by the Maine Association of Planners.

The council also chose Nadeau to serve on the Finance Committee along with Councilors Mark Morrison and Nicholas Kalogerakis. Elected to serve on the Appointments Committee are Councilors Douglass, Kalogerakis and Maxfield.

Morrison, who was elected Nov. 3 as an at-large representative, will join Maxfield in serving as the council’s representatives to the Windham Economic Development Board.

Douglass and Kalogerakis will represent the council on the Marijuana License Fee Committee, while Maxfield and Nadeau will serve on the Public Dire Road Sub-Committee.

The council elected Maxfield to serve as a member of the Highland Lake Leadership Team and Nadeau to serve on the Long-Range Planning Committee.

Councilor Tim Nangle was elected to serve on the Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee, while
Douglass was chosen to serve on the Natural Resources Advisory Committee.

Councilor Brett Jones, who was elected to represent the East District on Nov. 3 will serve on the Public Easement Advisory Committee. Maxfield and Nadeau will serve on the Smith Cemetery Committee.

Councilors also appointed Elizabeth Hall, James Ross and Ken Dolby to serve on the Smith Cemetery Board.

Jacqueline Roux was appointed by the council to serve a three-year term on the town’s Board of Assessment Review. <

Service Dog Strong an admirable force for those experiencing RR-PTSD

By Lorraine Glowczak

Laynie Danforth, a RR_PTSD
survivor, trains her new service
dog, Doug, all due to the help
of Service Dog Strong located
in Windham. Danforth says
that Doug has given her the
confidence to start living her
life again. SUBMITTED PHOTO

Service Dog Strong’s mission is to provide trained service dogs free of charge to individuals who experience PTSD related anxiety due to sexual trauma, otherwise known as Rape Related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (RR-PTSD). This includes military veterans who experience MST (military sexual trauma).

Service Dog Strong (SDS) officially became a non-profit in June 2019. Simone Emmons, along with co-founder Kristen Stacy, have been working for over a year on a volunteer basis to provide support to others who have experienced pain and suffering due to sexual assault. The Windham Eagle newspaper spoke with them in August 2019 and shared their story. (http://frontpage.thewindhameagle.com/2019/08/service-dog-strong-organization-to.html)

“I started this organization because I simply wanted to help other people who have been through what I have,” Emmons said during that August 2019 interview.

The Windham Eagle reached out recently to see how the non-profit has progressed.

“Since we spoke last, SDS celebrated our one-year anniversary, launched our website, gained many new followers and supporters and we were finally able to financially support our mission,” Emmons said, whose service dog Gunner has eased the angst of anxiety attacks she experiences as a result of personal MST.

“SDS was awarded a generous local Maine grant as well as donations from loving individuals to fulfill our mission,” Emmons said. “We are able to take our survivors who had been on our wait list for almost a year and start our first ever Service Dog training class.”

SDS adopts dogs from kill shelters with the right temperament and places them in a training class where the RR-PTSD survivor is taught to train the dog themselves. They work under the instruction of an expert Windham trainer and veteran police officer, Dominic Rizzo, known as “Detector Dog Northeast.”

Laynie Danforth is one of those individuals who is helped by this organization.

“I had heard about the benefits of having a service animal [with those experiencing RR-PTSD] so I set
out to find an organization that would help me,” Danforth said. “I searched many hours on the internet and all I found were very expensive programs or programs solely dedicated to veterans. Eventually, I came across SDS and there was finally hope for the future. Not only do they help veterans, but they also help survivors like me.”

Danforth and her new service dog, Doug, have been in training together since mid-August. Doug will officially be hers at the end of the 20-week course that ends in January 2021.

In this short timeframe with SDS and Doug, Danforth has experienced a positive and healthy approach to life.

“Before SDS and Doug, I found it very difficult to be around crowds,” Danforth said. “My PTSD was heightened in the dark and I would spend nearly every night suffering from nightmares or sleeping hardly at all. I was on a few medications that my doctors felt would help keep my panic and other symptoms more under control. Unfortunately, they offered little relief. Now, having Doug in my life he helps me in a number of ways- not only to feel more secure when I am alone or in a crowd but he helps me by doing pressure therapy when I am sleeping so that I don’t have as many nightmares. He also turns on the lights when I need him to, alerts me to the changes in my anxiety even before I notice so I can use alternative methods to calm down. I have been able to get off almost all medications. Doug has given me the confidence to get out and start to live again. It's like a world that I thought was gone forever has started to emerge again.”

SDS, a 100 percent volunteer run organization, works with a local shelter, The Green Ark. They hand
pick dogs to fulfil the mission of SDS, and at the same time giving the rescue dog - who would have been euthanized, not only life but a sense of purpose and calling.

“If readers would like to participate in our journey and support the SDS mission, we have two ways currently they can show their support and be strong with us,” Emmons said. “We encourage them to go to our website at www.sdsmaine.org and donate via PayPal or they are free to visit us on Facebook and donate from our page. The cost to put one survivor through our class is roughly $3500.”

Emmons would like to thank the local community and The Windham Eagle newspaper for their continued support and looks forward to more possible assistance.

“We hope our format catches on nationwide and we see changes in options in treating PTSD; having service dogs become a viable option for people looking for a sustainable, non-pharmaceutical tool to lessen the effects of PTSD,” Emmons said.

As for those who may be suffering from RR-PTSD but are hesitant about coming forward for help, Danforth offers this advice:

“You are not what happened to you,” she said. “There wasn’t anything you did to encourage it and I promise that it was not your fault. As scary as it might be to get help, living in fear or in shame is so much worse. Once you take that first step toward healing, you render your attacker powerless and life can begin again.”<

Donations help create outdoor dining area at Windham High School

Donations of materials and labor from Lowe's
and SOS Towing helped create a new outdoor
dining space for students and staff members at
Windham High School using available courtyards
at the school. Students wanted to use this
opportunity to thank those involved with
the project, which was complete earlier this fall.
SUBMITTED PHOTO

By Ed Pierce

Hard work, generous donations and a little bit of ingenuity has helped create a new outdoor dining area for students and staff members at Windham High School.

According to Phil Rosetti, Windham High assistant principal, administrators had been looking for ways to update their available outdoor courtyard space at the school so students could enjoy some fresh air at lunchtime.

“Lowe’s reached out seeking a benefit to the community via the Heroes Project,” Rosetti said. “I met with several members of Lowe’s and shared a couple of areas that we hoped to improve. The chief one being the courtyard and adding benches to the team locker room areas.”

The Lowe’s Heroes Project allocates funding to each U.S. and Canadian store for a project in their community that associates can complete together. In addition, the company provides “Give Back Time” by encouraging Lowe’s associates to take a day out of the year to volunteer with organizations and on projects that are important to them and their community.

In 2019, Lowe’s associates across America contributed 330,000 hours of community service through volunteering and work on Lowe’s Heroes Projects.

Rosetti said that Lowe’s donated three heavy duty picnic tables, two benches and completely renovated the access point by building a ramp easily accessible to everyone at Windham High School.

“Since completion this fall, the courtyards have been heavily used by students and staff,” Rosetti said.
“It’s a great opportunity to be outside and enjoy lunch.”

Freshman Dylan Sperry said he appreciates having the outdoor space and visits it every day he attends classes at the school.

“I like how I can sit outside and breathe the fresh air,” Sperry said.

Another freshman, Scott McDonald, said that the area is extremely popular among his classmates.

“I like sitting in the area because you get some sort of fresh air,” McDonald said.

After being cooped up in the classroom for hours, freshman Briggs Valliere said that the outdoor space is a great amenity for the school.

“I use it every day,” Valliere said. “I like it outside and I like being able to sit outside.”

 The actual project began a year ago prior to the pandemic and was completed earlier this fall.

“The process due to weather and COVID-19 hurdles took some time to complete,” Rosetti said. “The
primary work was completed by Gerald Woods from Lowe’s. He was assisted by a variety of crew members from Lowe’s. Mike Bryant of SOS Towing generously volunteered time and materials to install a welded handrail.”

The renovated outdoor space includes additional heavy duty and weather-resistant picnic tables and an updated access point featuring a concrete ramp with a steel-welded handrail. The school also received two benches to install outside of their locker rooms.

“The generous donation of resources, time and energy has allowed our students and staff the opportunity to enjoy the courtyards during a time when it is needed the most,” Rosetti said. “We cannot thank Lowe’s and SOS Towing enough for their efforts to support Windham High School.” <

Art classes provide creative outlet for elementary students during pandemic

RSU 14 Art Teacher Julie Clark gives an outdoor
art lesson about contrast to fourth-grade students
at Manchester School on Tuesday. School
administrators say art is an important subject
for students right now as it provides a type of
learning that may keep them more engaged during
the pandemic, PHOTO BY ED PIERCE

By Elizabeth Richards

For many young students, art classes are a safe space where they can create and explore. In this unusual school year, providing these opportunities remains a priority for the elementary schools in RSU14.

“The value of art in challenging times is especially important,” said Manchester School Principal Danielle Donnini. “When planning our return to school this September we never considered not providing access to the arts and physical education for our students. We quickly began to plan for how we could bring art to our students with all the CDC guidelines in place and focused on providing materials so each child could have the art supplies needed to reduce sharing.”

Other school administrators agree. 

“Art can be a passion and outlet for some of our learners,” said Windham Primary School Principal Dr. Kyle Rhoads. “We can’t always predict what kids are going to latch on to and have a passion for,” he said, so providing opportunities that allow that passion to grow is important. “Art is something they can be involved in their whole lives.”

With so many things happening that can cause a child to disengage from school right now, he said, it’s important to provide as many opportunities as possible for the types of learning that may keep them more engaged.

Kids are bringing a lot of anxiety and worry to school in these uncertain times said Raymond Elementary School Principal Elizabeth Peavey. Art classes are a calm, peaceful setting where students can set that aside and be creative, she said.

“Artistic exploration and creating offer a positive outlet for children, some of whom are experiencing
significant stressors since COVID disrupted schools, families and the economy last spring,” Donnini said. “Our art classes this fall have helped our students to feel connected to the school community as they collaborate on projects that support our whole-school culture and identity,” she added.

With the hybrid model and CDC guidelines, there have been some big changes and challenges for art teachers, which administrators say they are handling well.

Rhoads said teachers are doing a great job keeping things as normal as possible, while knowing they need to operate differently due to the guidelines.

One of the challenges, Peavey said, is teaching while staying physically distant.

Typically, the teacher would be close to students helping them through their challenges, but because they need to stay distant as much as possible, children need to use verbal communication a lot more, Peavey said.

Julie Clark teaches art at the Manchester School, as well as two classes at WPS. Space issues at Manchester do not allow for classes to be held in the art room. Instead, she takes an “art cart” to the student’s classrooms.

“This changes my curriculum quite a bit as many of our art projects in the art room encouraged collaboration between students, shared materials, as well as providing enough space to work on larger projects,” she said.

Another big change for all the elementary schools is that art classes are rotating in six-week blocks between two groups of students. Typically, students have art class once a week all year long, so this is a significant reduction in the time they have in class.

Both not having students in class for a full year and the inability to share materials due to COVID guidelines, are big challenges, Clark said.

“It greatly limits their experiences with a wide variety of art materials and the depth in which I can teach a project. I have less time to teach and they have less time to create.”

To address the diminished time that students have in class, teachers have also recorded video lessons that both remote only and hybrid students can access, Rhoads said.

Remote students also received art kits at the beginning of the year so they would have the materials
they needed at home to create, Clark said.

Rhoads said he is excited that they’ve been able to continue their annual Silver Graphics fundraiser, which puts student artwork on products like mugs, pillows, and this year even masks. The limited amount of art that children are currently producing at school created a challenge, he said, but the company sent directions for families to do it from home. WPS art teacher Jennifer Vasiliauskas also created a step-by-step video lesson of a project for students to complete and families can upload.

An electronic flyer will go out to families about this fundraiser, Rhoads said, and the store will open this week.

Even with all the challenges, Clark said, students have stepped up and adapted to the new expectations and changes.

“They are amazing, and I have been so impressed by their attitudes and efforts to make the best out of this situation,” she said.

Art classes continued even at the beginning of the pandemic last spring. Art teachers, like classroom teachers, had to quickly adapt to new technologies available to reach out to their students, Clark said.

“We created engaging projects that students could do at home with limited supplies and provided digital resources for them to explore more if they chose. This has been a learning curve, but I feel like it has prepared us for a variety of situations that might arise for learning and creating in the future,” she said. <

Outdoor ‘European’ Christmas Bazaar coming to Windham in December

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish will
host an outdoor European-style Christmas
bazaar on Friday, Dec. 4 and Saturday, Dec. 5
on the church grounds in Windham.
SUBMITTED PHOTO

With COVID-19 precautions upending plans for many Advent and Christmas festivities this year, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Windham will take a new, yet old-fashioned approach to celebrating the holiday season.

During the first weekend of December, the parish will host an outdoor Christmas bazaar in the spirit of traditional Christmas markets found in Austria, Germany, France, and other European countries. 

The bazaar will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4, and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5.

It is anticipated that Santa and Mrs. Claus may stop by on Saturday evening. Current plans also call for live music on Saturday.

The Rev. Louis Phillips, pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, proposed the idea, having had the opportunity to experience the markets while taking a Danube River cruise a few years ago.

“The Europeans begin celebrating Christmas beginning the first of December with wonderful evening outdoor ‘markets’ featuring food, beverages, and crafts, amid colorful Christmas lights and sounds of the season, undeterred by the cold and snow,” he said. “We’re going to try to replicate this tradition with a scaled-down and more social-distanced, spread-out version of our own.”

“He comes up with these wonderful ideas,” said Carol Kinney, a volunteer. “I don’t think anybody has tried it, and that’s what we’re doing. We’re just trying it to see if it works.”

The bazaar, which has been planned since August, will be spread throughout the grounds of the church, located at 919 Roosevelt Trail in Windham. When people arrive, they will be given a map showing them the different sections and where to find them.

Offerings will include a Christmas Shoppe, a children’s area, a pie booth, baked goods, designer gift baskets representing different European countries, wreaths, Christmas trees sold by the Knights of Columbus, raffles, and Italian and Bavarian food, packaged to go.

“A Bavarian kitchen went along with the European market theme. We will have sauerkraut and hot German potato salad,” Kinney said. “We’ll have bratwurst and knockwurst and pretzels with different mustards. For desserts in that area, we’ll have apple cake, while over in the Italian section, we’ll have Italian cookies.”

Participants can also expect to find pasta, pizza, and homemade minestrone soup in the Italian kitchen, while in another area, visitors will be able to enjoy coffee, tea, hot cider, and hot cocoa. And there will be s’mores kits for sale, which children can either take home or roast over a fire pit.

“We’re in the process of getting fire pits that will be manned at different locations around the campus, so people won’t be all running to the same fire pit to stay warm,” said Kinney.

In addition to social distancing, face masks will be required. If visitors fail to bring one with them, they will be given a free, disposable one to use. There will also be cloth ones for sale.

The European bazaar replaces the parish’s Christmas fair, and while Phillips says he hopes it will bring in some revenue, he says that isn’t the primary purpose.

“We see the value in building community at a time when we need to be innovative and creative in bringing people together in celebration and joy,” he said. “A number of parishioners have taken on this ‘project’ with great enthusiasm.”

For more information about the upcoming Christmas Bazaar, contact Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish at 207-892-8288. <

 

Windham’s famed ‘Tuskegee Airman’ a genuine champion for equality

Fred Williams dies at 98, was Maine’s first black attorney

By Ed Pierce

As a trailblazing member of the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II, Fred Williams of Windham wasn’t content to let racism stop him from achieving his dreams. As the first black attorney to ever practice law in Maine, a former Windham Town Council member, a Baptist minister and a law professor at Saint Joseph’s College, Williams continued to shatter stereotypes right up until his death last weekend at the age of 98.

Windham's Fred Williams is 
shown during his training as a
Tuskegee Airman during World
War II. The 98-year-old veteran
went on to a long and distinguished
career becoming the first black attorney
to practice law in Maine, serving on
the Windham Town Council and
teaching law at St. Joseph's College. 
Williams died last weekend at the 
Maine Veterans Home in
Scarborough. COURTESY PHOTO    

Born in 1922, Williams dreamed of someday attending flight school and was the first member of his family to ever be issued a birth certificate. He joined the U.S. Army Air Corps upon graduation from high school in New York City, but because of the enforced segregation in the U.S. Armed Forces at that time, Williams was assigned as a cadet in a new pilot training program for African Americans at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.

Nearly 1,000 black pilots and about 15,000 black air support personnel trained in the program and became known as the Tuskegee Airmen, the only black pilots to fly combat missions during World War II. They flew more than 15,000 individual missions in North Africa and Europe during the war, earning more than 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses for valor and paving the way for the eventual integration of the U.S military. 

"I wanted to be in a bomber, especially a B-17,” Williams told members of Windham’s American Legion Field-Allen Post and VFW Post 10643 during a memorable visit with local veterans at the Windham Veterans Center in 2017. “It was hell getting in, but we were proud.”

Williams told the audience how the Tuskegee Airmen never saw their race as an impediment or barrier to defending their nation in wartime.

He hailed the decision by President Harry Truman to desegregate the U.S. military in 1947 as monumental to achieving equality in the American’s armed forces.

“It’s one Army, one Navy,” Williams said. “It all shows we are one nation. Greek American, Japanese Americans, that’s race, not Americans. Color is not a race. White is not a race. Black is not a race, it’s a beautiful color.”

Williams was recalled to military service for the Korean War and then returned to New York City once he was discharged, where he studied and earned degrees from the City College of New York and the New York Law School. He also worked as a U.S. Federal Treasury Department agent.

Moving to Maine, he passed the bar exam and in doing so, Williams became the first black lawyer ever in the state in 1969, beginning first as an attorney for Casco Bank and then going on to launch his own private practice. Later he served as the president of the Bar Association for the State of Maine.

Making his home for decades in Windham with his wife, Laura, and their four sons, he was elected to serve on the Windham Town Council in 1971 and also was a proud member of the Windham Lions Club, where he eventually served as a district governor for the Lions International organization.

“Fred was one of only two Tuskegee Airmen I have ever met and that, in itself, was certainly an honor,” said Willie Goodman, VFW Post 10643 commander. “Fred was an engaging man with a twinkle in his eye and was very passionate about what he believed in.  Fred was proud of what he accomplished in the military and as a lawyer in Maine.  I feel honored to have had a special friendship with Fred and I am thankful and happy for the visits my wife and I had with him that we'll always remember.”

David Tanguay, adjutant of the American Legion Field-Allen Post 148, said Williams was a charismatic life figure who was honored to become an honorary member of the American Legion post in Windham.

“I recall a veterans coffee meeting one Wednesday when Fred dropped in.  He captivated the veterans with his stories of the Tuskegee Airman during World War II and Korea and made a larger-than-life impression on all,” Tanguay said. “I was impressed with his varied care path from military pilot to lawyer to Town Council member to advocate in the community. He will be missed." 

Never wavering on his commitment to civil rights or forgetting his family’s social justice struggles when he was young, Williams marched in Selma, Alabama in the1960s with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and championed equality, justice and liberty for everyone, regardless of race or ethnicity.

He taught Business Law at Saint Joseph’s College in Standish for many years and spent his final days at the Maine Veterans Home in Scarborough.

Williams is survived by his four sons and their wives including Manuel (Jill), Fredrick, II (Roxanne), Keith (Arlene), and Kenneth Williams; five grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. His wife Laura passed away in 1988.

Funeral services for Williams will be private. <

Windham veteran salutes community for honoring his military service

Charlie Melanson of Windham, 89, shows a
photograph of his days serving in the U.S. Navy
aboard the USS Coral Sea as a sailor during the
Korean War. He is at the far left on the top row of
the photo and says he's grateful for continually
being recognized and honored as a veteran by
the community. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE

By Ed Pierce

By his own admission, Navy veteran Charlie Melanson of Windham, 89, has accomplished a great deal in life, but he wants everyone to know that on this Veteran’s Day, he owes a huge debt of gratitude for those who have honored his military service in so many unique ways.

It seems wherever Melanson goes in the community while wearing his USS Sea Coral cap, people have honored him by purchasing his lunch, paying for his tab at Lowe’s or buying his dinner. In the past year he’s been the recipient of an Honor Flight to the nation’s capital and was brought to tears when a group of women stopped at his home and presented him with a handmade “Quilt of Valor” thanking him for his service to the nation.

“There’s just something about that USS Coral Sea hat,” Melanson said. “I don’t put it on to show it off, I put it on because I’m proud of it. I am just looking for a way to say thanks for everything that people have done for me and to let them know I am so grateful for remembering my military service.”

Originally from Massachusetts, Melanson was born in 1931 and was raised in a foster home. He was too young to serve in World War II, but when the chance arose to join the Navy in 1948, he gladly welcomed that opportunity.

“Joining the Navy was like going to heaven,” Melanson said. “The foster home was in was like living in hell and I truly loved being on the water and away from there. I liked the food and didn’t mind the military discipline. It was my freedom from growing up as a foster kid.”

His first assignment was to serve as a crewman on board a Navy destroyer, a rusty World War II-era warship that sailed across the Atlantic Ocean bringing U.S. Marines to Europe. When an opening came up to train for 18 weeks as a refrigeration technician at Great Lakes Naval Base in Illinois, Melanson volunteered and after mastering  that skill, he was reassigned to the USS Coral Sea, a Midway class aircraft carrier during the Korean War.

“The USS Coral Sea was so much larger and much more modern than the destroyer I was first on,” Melanson said. “It was such a huge vessel and at that time, the Navy was transitioning from AJ-1 propeller bombers to F7U Cutlass fighter jet aircraft.”

Besides working on refrigeration units and air conditioning systems on the USS Coral Sea, Melanson also helped maintain aircraft catapult systems aboard the aircraft carrier which helped planes take off
and land on it while at sea and he did small engine repair work. 

But when his enlistment was up, he decided it was time to return home.

“I had four years in the Navy and thought it was pretty good, but I was ready for the next step,” Melanson said.

In Massachusetts, he met and married his wife Dale and they moved permanently to Maine in 1952. Settling first in Westbrook and then later in Windham, the couple raised three sons, including one they adopted.

Charlie performed construction work for local companies and eventually founded his own construction firm, Melanson & Son. In 1970, he designed and built a facility on Route 302 in Windham to serve as the company offices for Melanson & Son. It is now the home of the Windham Flower Shop.

Diagnosed with prostate cancer which may have spread to his bones, Melanson has been undergoing treatment this fall and has had trouble getting around. He’s been searching for a way to show his appreciation to the public for remembering his status as a veteran.

“I was at Duck Pond Variety because I love their fried chicken and a man walked up to me and started a conversation with me about his father and his father’s time in the military,” Melanson said. “When I went to pay for my fried chicken, the clerk told me that the man I was talking to had already paid for my meal and had left the store. I was stunned that someone I didn’t know would do that for me.”

On several other occasions, while eating at the IHOP Restaurant with his wife, people noticed his “USS Sea Coral” hat and walked over to ask him about his military service.

“When we asked for the check several times while leaving IHOP, we were told that someone else had paid for our dinner and we don’t even know who it was that did that for us,” Melanson said. “It truly touched our hearts.”

Then there was another time when Melanson went to Lowe’s and was chatting with a man in front of him in the checkout line who was with a small boy.

“By the time I reached the cashier, I was told my purchase had been paid for by the man I was speaking with and his son who had already left the building,” he said.

In April, Melanson was among a group of Maine veterans to be given an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. to tour the memorials there dedicated to American military members and he proudly displays a cherished photograph of him leaving for that trip with his active duty military sponsor.

About three weeks ago, Dale Melanson was at home caring for her husband and answered a knock at the door. It was a group of women asking to speak to her husband.

“They were from the Quilt of Honor Foundation and they presented Charlie with a beautiful handmade quilt with a Navy theme and a certificate honoring his military service,” she said. “He is so pleased with it and I am so touched that they took the time to do that for him.”

As someone who has experienced a lot during his lifetime, Melanson said he tried to hold back tears when he received the quilt, but just couldn’t.

“That was such a nice thing to do, I broke down and cried and cried,” he said. “People are so good to me and that quilt came at just the right time and is so warm and comfortable.”

Melanson said he’s deeply moved by all of the expressions of gratitude that complete strangers have shown him.

“When I got of the Navy at Norfolk, Virginia in 1952, I was just another sailor and people paid me no attention,” he said. “I think the terrorist attacks on America on Sept. 11, 2001 really woke Americans up and since then it seems more people appreciate what veterans have done and the sacrifices they have made for our country.”   

This Veterans Day, Charlie Melanson has a message he urgently wants to get out to the public.

“For all these people who have done such wonderful things for me and pay for my meals at no charge, I have no way to thank them. I simply want to thank those who have recognized me as a veteran and have gone out of their way to show me kindness. It truly means a lot to me and I feel blessed to be recognized for serving in the Navy in this way.” <

History on the move: Windham Historical Society relocates storied Old Grocery museum

Building move changes landscape at Windham Center

By Walter Lunt

Once a tailor shop, grocery and grain store and
headquarters for a garden club and community
theater, the historic Old Grocery museum gets
its move on to a new location in the Windham
Historical Society's Village Green History Park.
PHOTO BY WALTER LUNT

Windham’s landmark Old Grocery museum has a new address. For the second time in its 182-plus year history, the wood frame structure, adorned with historic ornaments, one of Windham’s oldest commercial buildings, was plucked from its granite stone foundation on the southwest corner of route 202 and Windham Center Road and moved north about 1,000 feet, presumably to its last neighborhood inside the Windham Historical Society’s Village Green history park.

The process of transporting the 36-foot by 20-foot building involved the use of steel I-beams and wheels. “We literally built a trailer under (the building),” said Cole Watson, who coordinated the move. The procedure took about two hours with minimal interruption of traffic.

Preparations began weeks before the move. Builder Dave Johnson said logistics, permits and site work (including the frost wall at the Village Green site) seemed never-ending. He is credited by everyone involved with the move as performing with extraordinary foresight and workmanship. Fragile antiquities were packed and removed from the building; unbreakable items remained inside and moved with the building to the history park.

The move has been in the making for a long time. Windham Historical Society President Sue Simonson says traffic and congestion prompted the decision to relocate the building.

“The Old Grocery’s current location is too close to a very busy intersection with little room to park a
vehicle or safely hold tours (or do) building maintenance,” she said.

An attached shed, or annex, which was not part of the original structure, did not travel with the museum, but instead was razed several days ago due to its deteriorating condition. The annex had housed the town’s historic horse-drawn hearse (dating back to the late 19^th century) which was moved to the Village Green.  

Asked if any relics or artifacts were found during the relocation process, Simonson announced the discovery of a former cemetery headstone associated with the Hunnewell family of Windham. The brick, granite and cast-iron stone had been replaced with a new one and the original donated to the society. Also found was a section of charred remains from Babb’s covered bridge, which burned in 1973.

Spectators, many wearing winter coats and hats, watched the move from the Route 202 sidewalk and from lawn chairs at the home of Norma Rogers next to Corsetti’s store. All said they favored the building’s move because the museum would be more accessible to visitors. Store owner Donato Corsetti observed that from every angle at the intersection visibility is improved for drivers and pedestrians.

“It’s a major, major improvement. It makes it a lot safer for the kids walking here from school,” he said.

Windham's Old Grocery Store museum, which
has resided on the corner across from Corsetti's
Store since 1838, was lifted from its old
stone foundation and moved to the nearby
Windham Historical Society's Village Green
History Park (indicated by the star). 
GRAPHIC BY BEN PARROTT 

The cost of the building’s relocation, one of the most ambitious Windham Historical Society projects in recent history, exceeded $40,000. That was not an amount, according to Simonson, for which the non-profit could just write a check. It was the result of fundraising.

“One of our wonderful members, Dorothy Samuelson, came forward and offered to head the fundraising project,” Simonson said. “Her love and enthusiasm for history, the society and this building is just what we needed. She raised (the money) from generous individuals from our community.”

The vacant lot at Windham Center is owned by the historical society. Its Board of Directors has indicated no use for the space and will probably sell it. 

Next time, the Old Grocery building has had multiple owners and functions in its over 182-year history. We’ll examine its fascinating history.  <

Windham town council updates traffic ordinance for 21st century

The Windham Town Council amended its Vehicle 
and Traffic Ordinance on Oct. 27, prohibiting 
certain activities such as parking in a crosswalk,
idling a large truck in a residential area and increasing
minimum fines for speeding and vehicle obstruction
offenses. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE   

By Ed Pierce

If you’re cited for speeding by police in Windham, the fine is going to cost a bit more, as the town’s Vehicles and Traffic Ordinance was amended Oct. 27 by the Windham Town Council.

Meeting via Zoom, Windham councilors voted 6-0 without comment to adopt the ordinance amendments, which the town manager said was sorely needed to revise the existing town traffic ordinance.

“This was basically, bringing the ordinance up to date from the last revision dating back to the 1980s,” said Windham Town Manager Barry A. Tibbetts. “So we addressed disability parking more clearly; stopping, standing and parking along public roadways; parking limitations for commercial vehicles on public roadways; obstruction of traffic on public roadways; bridges with weight limits as over time a few smaller bridges have been replaced with advanced culverts so they no longer needed the weight limits; and finally defined “idling prohibited.” 

Councilors also raised the minimum cost of a speeding ticket from $20 to $25 and hiked the fine for obstructing a roadway from a minimum of $15 and maximum of $100 to not less than $25 nor more than $200.

In defining disability parking, the revised ordinance mandates that a person shall not park a vehicle in a parking space specifically designated and clearly marked for persons with physical disabilities unless the vehicle is equipped with a special designating plate or displays a placard issued by the Maine Secretary of State. It also spells out that a person shall not park in an access aisle adjacent to a disability parking space regardless of whether the person has been issued a disability registration plate or removable placard by the State of Maine with disability access aisles marked by painting on the
pavement a rectangular box with white or yellow diagonal stripes.

In revising the rules for Stopping, Standing and Parking, the ordinance amendment prohibits stopping or parking a vehicle on a sidewalk; within an intersection; within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, except as otherwise designated by the Chief of Police; on a marked crosswalk; within 20 feet of the near corner of the curbs at an intersection unless otherwise designated; alongside or opposite any excavation or obstruction when stopping or parking would obstruct traffic; on the roadway side of any vehicle stopped or parked at the edge or curb of a public way; on any bridge or other elevated structure or in a tunnel; or at any place where official signs or yellow striped areas or yellow curbing indicates a restricted, no-stopping or no-parking area.

It also forbids parking within 20 feet of a marked crosswalk and prohibits a person from stopping or parking a vehicle on any public way except on the right-hand side of the way, in the proper direction of travel and with the curbside wheels of the vehicle within 12 inches of the edge of the roadway.

So not to obstruct traffic, councilors also amended the ordinance so anyone parking a vehicle on a public way must leave available 12 feet of the width of the roadway for free movement of vehicular traffic. And where parking places are marked by painted lines, the town says a person must park a vehicle within the lines.

The amendment revision also addressed oversized vehicles by specifying that a driver of a vehicle having an overall length of 30 feet or more shall not stop or park on any public way for not more than eight hours.

Councilors also prohibited parking a vehicle on any public way for the principal purpose of washing, lubricating, or displaying it for sale, or repairing it, except for changing tires or making other emergency repairs.

Parking limitations for commercial vehicles were also established by the ordinance amendment including no commercial vehicle in excess of 10,000 pounds gross weight shall be allowed to stop, stand, or otherwise park upon any street in excess of two eight hours periods, except when in active use for the loading or unloading of merchandise or materials, or for the construction or reconstruction of the said street. It also mandates that such a commercial vehicle parked in violation of the provisions of the revised ordinance shall be prima facie evidence of the unlawful parking of such vehicle by the owner.

The revised ordinance requires that permanent no-parking signs must be placed in no-parking areas in such a manner as to be seen and understood by an ordinarily observant person.

Councilors added a portion of Haven Road from US Route 302, 100 feet from the corner as a no-parking/tow-away zone by approving the revised ordinance.

Lastly, the ordinance amended previous requirements and prohibited the idling of buses, heavy-duty vehicles, heavy-duty recovery vehicles, trucks, tractors, truck-tractor, trailers and semitrailers while stopped, standing or parked in a residentially used area between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. except as provided for in compliance with traffic signals or signs, at the direction of a police officer or while buses are in the act of loading or unloading passengers. <

Unity Center for Spiritual Growth to host award-winning author for online one day retreat

The Unity Center for Spiritual Growth at 54 River
Road in Windham is hosting an online retreat with
award-winning author Mirabai Starr from 10 a.m. to
4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21. COURTESY PHOTO

Many are experiencing a global “dark night of the soul” as we face a barrage of stressors. As a result, there is a deepening hunger among people of all genders and faiths for the nourishing elixir of feminine wisdom.  

To expand generosity of life, spirit of community and a renewed sense of humanity, Unity Center for Spiritual Growth, 54 River Road in Windham, will host an online retreat with award-winning author and internationally known speaker, Mirabai Starr from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21.

“I am drawn to Mirabai Starr for many reasons, some of which include her authenticity, humor, compassion, empathy and brilliance,” Unity Minister Rev. Patricia Bessy said. “When I experience her, the feeling I have is I am the only one she is talking to. She creates a safe container to trust her to show the way into your deepest reality which is love. It is for these reasons we have invited her to lead this retreat.”

As traditionally male-dominated structures topple across the landscape of the human community, the feminine is rising, carrying cups of mercy and spreading flames of truth-telling. Long-buried wisdom teachings and previously ignored women mystics are revealing themselves to be urgently relevant as we pass through a global dark night of the soul and into a radically renewed humanity. With its emphasis on relationship and inclusivity, its tolerance for ambiguity and its intimacy with mystery, the feminine reclaims the body as holy ground and blesses the web of interbeing that sustains us all. The feminine speaks in poetry and song, she worships the earth as cherished relative, she embraces ultimate reality as lover. In this talk, “mystical feminist” Mirabai Starr shares the fruits of many years of investigating, excavating and lifting up female voices in all the world’s religions.

Mirabai Starr is the author of creative non-fiction and contemporary translations of sacred literature. She taught Philosophy and World Religions at the University of New Mexico-Taos for
20 years and now teaches and speaks internationally on contemplative practice and inter-spiritual dialog.

A certified bereavement counselor, Mirabai helps mourners harness the transformational power of loss. Her latest book, “WILD MERCY: Living the Fierce & Tender Wisdom of the Women Mystics”, was named one of the “Best Books of 2019” by Spirituality & Practice. Mirabai is on the 2020 Watkins List of the “100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People of the World.”

To register for the event: https://unitygreaterportland.org/register-for-retreat-with-mirabai-starr/

Unity Center for Spiritual Growth is joined in sponsorship of this retreat by the following organizations: Saint Joseph’s College of Maine, The Bertha Crosley Ball Center for Compassion at the University of Southern Maine, Pax Christi Maine, CHIME: Chaplaincy Institute of Maine, Abbey of HOPE.<

High voter turnout determines elections results

By Ed Pierce

Significant choices made by voters during Tuesday’s general election will shape the direction of the Windham and Raymond communities for the near future.

Through in-person voting, mail-in and absentee balloting, area voters decided the fate of a special referendum in Raymond to withdraw from RSU 14 and chose elected officials to represent Windham and Raymond in the Maine Legislature, the Maine Senate, on the RSU 14 Windham School Board and picked two councilors to serve on the Windham Town Council.      

In Raymond, Town Clerk Sue Look said that a total of 3,149 voters cast ballots in Tuesday’s election.

The Raymond referendum asking residents if they should withdraw from RSU 14 was defeated with 2,048 votes to 1,018 supporting the proposal.

The referendum was initiated over an ongoing concern from some Raymond residents regarding the town’s level of input and the lack of local control about the school district’s decisions and it was part of a 22-step process required by the State Department of Education to set up a new school district. But those opposed to the withdrawal said it would do more harm to students than good and the voters agreed by voting no on the referendum.

In balloting for Maine House District 67 representing part of Gray, part of Casco, Frye Island and a portion of Raymond, incumbent Sue Austin, a Republican, received 354 votes in Raymond, while Democrat Susan Accardi received 328 votes and Independent Mark Grover tallied 80. Austin won the
seat overall with a total of 3,085 votes to Susan Accardi’s 1,669 and Mark Grover’s 913 votes.

Voting for Maine House District 66, representing part of Raymond, part of Casco and part of Poland, incumbent Democrat Jessica Fay received 1,251 votes from Raymond residents to Republican Gregory Foster’s 1,060 votes. Overall, Fay won the seat with 2,884 votes to Gregory Foster’s 2,745 votes.

“I am grateful to everyone who came out and voted today, and in particular to everyone who worked so incredibly hard to make a day with record breaking turnout run smoothly,” Fay said. “We ran a completely positive campaign focused on ideas and collaboration and I am so proud of that. Maine will face serious challenges in the next two years, and I am ready to help us meet them, together."

In Windham, Town Clerk Linda S. Morrell said results of Tuesday’s election are official.

Morrell said that in voting for Maine House District 24 representing part of Windham, incumbent Democrat Mark Bryant ran unopposed and received 4,638 votes, while incumbent Republican Patrick Corey also ran unopposed and retained his seat representing District 25 by picking up 4,334 votes.

In balloting for State Senate District 26 representing Baldwin, Casco, Frye Island, Raymond, Standish and Windham, Democrat Bill Diamond received 7,426 votes in Windham to Republican Karen Lockwood’s 3,784 votes. Voters in Raymond cast 1,779 votes for Diamond to Lockwood’s 1,289 votes and overall, Diamond retained his seat in the Maine Senate.

"I want to congratulate my opponent, Ms. Lockwood, for running a thoughtful and positive campaign.
Mostly, I want to thank the voters of Windham, Raymond, Standish, Casco, Baldwin and Frye Island for your overwhelming support at the polls,” Diamond said. “Once again I’m humbled by your tremendous endorsement of confidence." 

Voters chose businessman Mark Morrison to serve a three-year term as the At-Large position on the Windham Town Council over former town councilor Robert Muir. Morrison received 5,521 votes to Muir’s 3,739 votes.

In the race for a three-year term representing Windham’s East District on the town council, Brett Jones received 5,102 votes to political newcomer Harrison Deah’s 3,621 voters. Jones, a captain in the Old Orchard Beach Fire Department and a longtime Windham resident,  was appointed by the town council in April to fill the remaining months of the East District seat vacated by the resignation of Councilor Rebecca Cummings in February.

“First of all, I’d like to thank all those who supported me,” Jones said. “I am extremely honored to be able to serve the citizens of Windham and I am excited to continue the work of moving Windham forward.”

Also elected during Tuesday’s voting were incumbents Kathyrn Brix and Pete Heansler to three-year terms on the RSU 14 Windham School Board. Brix received 6,864 votes and Heansler tallied 4,315 votes.

Voters also elected Christina Small of Windham to serve a one-year term on the RSU 14 Windham School Board. Small had been appointed to serve on the board earlier this year following the resignation of Dawn Dillon. She tallied 8,570 votes.

“My priorities for this year will be helping to align our procedures with ever changing regulatory guidelines, the improvement of our distance learning program and continuation of our Social Emotional Learning work,” Small wrote about her candidacy in a letter to the editor last month. <