Windham resident turning 100 in September shares tales from her life

By Ed Pierce 

Else Brown of Windham turns 100 on Sept. 9 and
has survived war, starvation, refugee camps, 
extreme poverty, separation from her daughter and
the death of her husband during her lifetime. She
remains in good spirits and has devoted much of
her life to helping others. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE 

Life was never easy for Else Brown of Windham, but she made the most of it and next month, she will celebrate her 100th birthday.

Born in what was then Konigsberg (now called Kaliningrad) in Prussia on Sept. 9, 1922, Brown survived a Russian invasion of her city, World War II, extreme poverty, starvation, life in a crowded refugee camp, learning a new language, emigrating to America, separation from her daughter, and the death of her husband. Through it all, she has retained a unique sense of humor, an indomitable spirit, and a strong desire to help others who are in need.

She was the only child of parents who had moved from a farm to Konigsberg when her father had landed a job caring for horses. That was shortly before the outbreak of World War II and her life suddenly changed when Russian troops seized Konigsberg, the easternmost German city located between Poland and Lithuania. Her mother fled to live with her sister near Berlin and Else went to live out the war in a refugee resettlement camp in Germany.

Life in the refugee camp was harsh and both money and food were scarce. Refugees were so poor that they did what they had to do to survive, including stealing food when opportunities were presented rather than starve to death. She never forgot that feeling of poverty and to this day has a soft spot in her heart for those less fortunate than she is.

After the war ended in 1945, Brown went to work for a U.S. military family stationed in Germany, first as a babysitter and then as the maid in charge of caring for the household. It was while working that job, she met her husband, Lawrence Brown, a U.S. Army staff sergeant who was a friend of the family she worked for.

“I thought he was unusual but good looking,” Brown said. 

The couple married in 1955 and her husband adopted Else’s mentally challenged daughter. In 1957, her husband was transferred by the military back to the U.S. but wasn’t allowed to take Else’s daughter because of immigration rules. She was left behind in a facility for mentally challenged children and remains under care in Germany today at age 76. That enforced separation still hurts Brown years later.

Now living in America, Brown’s husband was discharged from the U.S. Army and then enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. Else slowly learned English and got a job working at the Base Exchange at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts. 

“I wanted to work but my English was not so good,” Else said. “I was assigned to work in the military uniform section. A major came in and asked for a muffler and I told him that we didn’t sell them and that he needed to go to the auto repair shop on base instead. A few minutes later he came back with the manager, and I was told it wasn’t the muffler for a car he was looking for. The manager said this time I really did it, the muffler that the major was looking for was a scarf. I told him, “Why don’t they just call it a scarf then?”

The Browns then moved to Maryland when Lawrence was transferred to a post in Washington, D.C. Else found work at Raleigh’s, a fashionable men’s and women’s clothing store in Washington. She spent 13 years handling the accounting books for Raleigh’s and says she loved her work there.

After 46 years of living in Maryland, the couple thought about moving to Florida after visiting there on vacation. In 2001, while preparing to move, Else’s husband, who was already in Florida looking for places for them, called her and asked if she would go to Windham to help his brother, who lived here and was very sick.

“It was a bad situation,” she said. “He had about 40 cats and his house was really a mess inside. There were cats and cat litter everywhere. It took me a while to get it all cleaned up.”

Then came another blow for Else when she received a phone call that her husband was in the hospital in Tampa and was dying of cancer. 

“I think now that he knew he was dying, and he sent me to Windham where his brother was,” she said. “Lawrence died and a year later I bought a trailer home and have lived here for 20 years.”

Else took up crocheting and started making blankets for friends and for veterans and firefighters when she had time. Once she crocheted 26 blankets for veterans in wheelchairs to use and drove away quickly from the Windham Veterans Center after they were brought inside by a worker there.

“I drove off because I didn’t want them to know who made them for them,” she said. “I didn’t do it for the glory, I did it because I wanted to.”

Over the years, she’s also crocheted quilts, snowmen, and other household items for her friends working at Windham Town Hall.

With her eyesight failing and her hearing not being very good, Else stopped driving just a year ago at age 98 and isn’t able to crochet anymore. She now has help and transportation thanks to her caregiver and friend, Rose Milliken of Windham.

According to Else, Milliken is kind and a throwback to days long ago.

“Where I was born, everybody knew everybody and helped each other,” she said. “People are so different now and they are more about themselves and what they can have rather than being about how they can help others.”

Brown says she isn’t dwelling much about her upcoming birthday and turning 100.

“I don’t really care about having a birthday cake or a birthday party,” she said. “Of course, I’m always looking for a man.” <

Editor's note: An effort is underway to send Else Brown 100 birthday cards for her 100th birthday on Sept. 9. The public can mail the cards to Else Brown c/o Rose Milliken, 45 Pope Road, Windham, Maine 04062.

Determination motivates 2021 WHS graduate to overcome adversity

Vania Murch has overcome many obstacles on the way to her
graduation from Windham High School this weekend. She was
adopted from an orphanage in Haiti at 10 and did not speak
English when she arrived in America but focused on academics
and volunteering to help other students. She has earned a ROTC
scholarship to attend Stetson University and will be commissioned
as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army upon earning her
college degree. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE

By Ed Pierce

If there is one graduate from the Windham High School Class of 2021 that best symbolizes perseverance and the ability to overcome adversity in certainly one of the most challenging years in school history, it’s Vania Murch.

Her story of determination to rise above her circumstances is an inspiration to her classmates and fellow graduates and she truly represents the promise of what hard work can lead to both in education and in life. The moment when she receives her high school diploma on Sunday will be cause for immense celebration for her family and testament to the indomitability of the human spirit and her desire to succeed, no matter what life may throw at her. 

Murch was 10 and living in abject poverty in an orphanage in Port-au-Prince, Haiti when she was adopted in 2013 by David and Anne Marie Murch of Raymond and brought to America. She didn’t speak a word of English at the time, only Creole. With the help of her family and her teachers, she was able to fit in and make the transition to a new life in Maine.

“When she first got here, she had an incredible gift for picking up English quickly,” said her father, David Murch. “Because the orphanage had regular visitors and work teams from the United States, culturally she had few problems adapting to life here, but it was a major change for her.”

Her father said Vania dedicated herself to putting in the time required to master her new language as she started class in fifth grade at Jordan-Small Middle School in Raymond. Before long she spoke was reading and writing in English and became highly adept at speaking comfortably in her new language overcoming a formidable obstacle.

As she moved up to Windham High School, Vania made new friends said that she set a goal of learning as much as she could in school and seeing where that would lead to.

She’s actually done so well academically that she’s earned a ROTC scholarship to Stetson University in Florida and will be commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army when she completes her studies in business administration and obtains her college degree.

“In 10 years, I see myself working in my career in the U.S. Army,” Murch said. “The one thing I’ve learned more than anything else at Windham High School is that if I work hard, I can accomplish anything.”

Along with her focus on academics, Vania said she saw a need to give back to others while attending high school. As someone who was welcomed to the America by her classmates, she wanted to assist younger students and be a role model for them.  

During her freshman year, she played soccer, but gave up athletics after one season to volunteer to help younger children in school.

“I’ve mentored students at Windham Middle School and volunteered my time at Camp Berea,” she said. “I’ve also served as a tutor for students in math and in English.”

During her senior year, Vania was elected by her classmates at Vice President of the WHS Studen Council. She also is a member of the National Honor Society.

“It’s going to be hard to say goodbye, but what I will miss the most about Windham High School is the people here,” Murch said. “I have made so many great connections with teachers and have made so many great friends at this school.”

She said it was difficult to single out the most influential teachers she’s had along the way but credits her eighth-grade teacher at Jordan-Small Middle School, Patricia Valley, and her Spanish teacher at Windham High School, Trish Soucy, as among the RSU 14 educators that helped her to reach her full potential as a student.

Of all the field trips she’s taken since starting school in America, Vania says the most memorable for her was a trip her class took to the Boston Aquarium a few years back.

“It was so nice to get away and see a new place while spending time with my friends,” Murch said.

Of the many classes she’s taken at Windham High School, Murch lists AP English as one of the most challenging she completed.

“It was hard, but I kept trying to get a good grade and eventually did,” she said.

Windham High School Assistant Principal Phil Rossetti said that Vania Murch has made an indelible impression upon everyone she’s met there.

“Vania is one of the most authentic and kind students at Windham High School. She genuinely cares about her classmates, school, and community,” Rossetti said. “She has made it her passion to get involved in a variety of activities and has accepted a number of leadership roles while taking a challenging academic load.”

Rossetti said she is not afraid to take risks and looks at any setback as a new challenge.

“Her positive outlook is infectious and helps keep her grounded,” he said. “Vania is a highly motivated student that is driven to be a success and makes each school she attends a better place.”

During graduation when Vania walks across the stage to accept her diploma, she will be one of three members of the Murch Family to receive WHS diplomas that day. Two other girls adopted from the same orphanage in Haiti, Pierre-Line and Jesulah, will join Vania in graduating from Windham High on Sunday.

“We’re proud of all of them,” David Murch said. “I very proud of what Vania has been able to accomplish. A lot of investment into this community has led to her own growth, All the special recognition that she’s received this year is based upon her character.”

Vania says that she does care a great deal about others and has spent many long hours studying and concentrating on her academics, but credits her family, her friends and her teachers for her success.

“I guess you could say perseverance is a good word for what I’ve been able to achieve, but I really ow a lot to the people around me who have helped me to succeed.”

As someone who relocated 1,750 miles away from where she was born, had to learn an entirely new language and then adapt to a different culture all while trying to get good grades and fit in during high school, Murch has overcome many challenges so far with many more ahead.

Her advice for others following in her footsteps at Windham High School is simple.

“The high school experience is what you make of it,” she said. “There are so many things to be involved in. Start by enrolling in the hardest class you can find and go from there.” <

Maine family seeks help with World War II photographs

U.S. Army Tech Sergeant Richard
Perkins of Maine is shown at
Fort Shafter, Hawaii during
World War II. When Perkins 
died at age 92 in 2014, he left
behind a trove of photos taken
of servicemen that his family
is trying to identify and share
with them. COURTESY PHOTO  

By Ed Pierce

When U.S. Army veteran Richard Perkins of Maine passed away at the age of 92 in 2014, he left behind a treasure trove of hundreds of photos he took while stationed in Hawaii after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Perkins was a radio operator who was stationed at Fort Shafter in Honolulu, and he worked at an underground base inside of Diamond Head. Except for a few brief stories, he never talked much about his service to his family.

While cleaning out his house after he died, his daughter Alice Smith and his son Dana Perkins came across a large tin container full of rolls of film negatives that had been developed, but never converted into photographic prints.

Dana Perkins painstakingly scanned the negatives into his computer and converted them into hundreds of never-before-seen historical photos.

The people in the photos include veterans of the Army, Navy and Marines, as well as USO performers, civilians and children who lived in the area around the Army base of Fort Shafter. 

Alice and Dana have spent the last few years learning as much as possible about the people and locations in the photos. They have received a tremendous amount of help from Milton Migita, a curator at the Army Museum in Hawaii, as well as from the general public through online social media groups.

Their goal is to make all of the photos available to the public by compiling them in a book or through a website. The original negatives, photos, and three photo albums will then be donated to either the Army Museum or the National Park Service in Hawaii.

There are still a lot of people in the photos remaining to be identified. It is Alice and Dana's hope that someone in Maine will recognize their father, grandfather, uncle, mother, grandmother, aunt, or some other friend or relative in the photos. The photos can be viewed online at: www.WW2PacificVeteransProject.org

If you recognize anyone, please contact Alice Smith or Dana Perkins through the website, or by writing to them at: World War 2 Pacific Veterans Project, PO Box 789, Biddeford, ME 04005. <

Dream Come True: Korean War veteran receives medals 70 years later

U.S. Army veteran Edward 'Ed' Salmon of
Windham displays medals, ribbons and a
certificate he received during a special
ceremony on Veterans Day at the Windham
Veterans Center. Salmon, 91, never received
the medals for his military service during the
Korean War following his discharge and return
to civilian life in 1952. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE   

By Ed Pierce

Nearly 70 years ago, Edward “Ed” Salmon answered the call to be drafted into the U.S. Army and logged two years creating critical lines of communication for soldiers in combat zones on the Korean Peninsula during the Korean War. When his time in the Army was up, Salmon returned to the United States vowing to make a life for himself, but there was always something missing.

On Veterans Day, Salmon, 91, of Windham, who went on to earn a college degree in civil engineering and served for 20 years as the Director of Plant Facilities for the University of Maine at Orono, was brought full-circle to his military career when he was awarded five medals and two ribbons for his service in Korea.

Born in 1929 in Cornwells Heights, Pennsylvania, Salmon just missed being drafted for service in World War II because he was too young, but as he was approaching his 21^st birthday in December 1950, he was drafted and was among the first soldiers to train for eight weeks at the newly reopened Fort Meade in Maryland. From there Private First Class Salmon was sent to Fort Benning in Georgia for further training and then he swapped places with a fellow solder going home on a hardship discharge and was sent to Korea early in 1951.

“It was brutally hot in the summer there and 20 to 40 degrees below zero in the winter,” Salmon said. “And it rained all spring.”

Working in heavily fortified areas, he learned to climb telephone poles and crisscrossed much of the
Korean Peninsula building, installing and maintaining communications lines. It was tough and dangerous work, under constant watch by the enemy and sometimes being shot at.

Because of the nature of their mission, his unit didn’t receive much recognition by the Eighth Army based in Tokyo and to a man was overlooked for promotions in rank and unheralded for their work under some of the most trying conditions of the war.

“I didn’t particularly care for any of it,” Salmon said. “You were constantly on the move and I didn’t like Korean food.”

After spending almost 13 months in the combat zone, Salmon was discharged and back in the USA by February 1953, feeling lucky to have survived the experience.

He was accepted for admission to the University of Maine and earned a Bachelor of Science degree. He began his civilian career working as a structural design consultant for a Massachusetts firm and then returned to Maine to work for a construction company in Yarmouth.

Salmon married his first wife and they had four sons together. After his marriage fell apart, he met his current wife, Pat, in Portland and they have been married for 37 years, moving to Windham about 15 years ago.

“He didn’t talk about his time in the military,” Pat Salmon said. “About four or five years ago, we started going to the Togus VA Center for a  hearing problem he has and it was then he started thinking and talking about the medals he never received for his military service.”

She said that he knew he had been awarded some medals for his time in Korea but had never physically received them.

“It was something that had passed long ago,” Salmon said. “I did my job and came back. But I had a life to lead and went on with my life. Over the years I forgot all about them.”

Being around other veterans at the Togus VA Center rekindled his desire to obtain his medals, he said.

Pat Salmon helped him fill out paperwork to receive his medals, but a few issues stalled the process.

“His DD 214 discharge papers had his birthday wrong,” she said. “They had his birthday off by one day and getting that corrected took some time.”

The Salmons then met Lin and David Tanguay, who live in their neighborhood. Lin Tanguay told Pat Salmon that her husband David could help in Ed Salmon’s quest to receive his medals and suggested that they join the American Legion Field-Allen Post 148 in Windham.

In his role as Adjutant of the American Legion post, David Tanguay was able to obtain the medals for
Ed Salmon.

During a special ceremony at the Windham Veterans Center on Veterans Day, Salmon received not three medals as he had thought he had coming, but five medals and two ribbons.

He received the National Defense Service Medal Award retroactive to 1950; the Korean War Service Medal, the United Nations Korean War Service Medal; the Korean Commemorative Medal; the Korean Service Medal; the U.S. Army Presidential Citation Ribbon; and the Korean Presidential Citation ribbon.

“I was very pleased to get them and with two of my kids there to watch me receive them,” Salmon said.

The framed medals, ribbons and a commemorative certificate from the American Legion now occupy a prominent place in the family’s living room and are a source of great pride for them.   

According to Pat Salmon, the family is grateful to Tanguay and the American Legion for helping fulfill Ed Salmon’s dream of receiving the medals he earned in Korea and for the camaraderie of being around other veterans.

“He needed the social outlet,” Pat Salmon said. “It has allowed him to meet and talk with others who have shared his experience. We can’t thank David and his wife Lin enough for their efforts in introducing us to the group and helping make this such a memorable time for us.” <