Windham Area Clergy encourages everyone to help neighbors as part of July 4th festivities

Clergy serving churches in the Windham area were meeting for lunch at Rustler’s Steak House last Wednesday when they struck upon an idea: we do a whole lot for our neighbors known and nearby—Monday Meals, the Essentials Pantry, collecting backpacks and school supplies for RSU14 students, the new Fuller Center for Housing chapter renovating low-income housing in the Lakes Region, and so much more—let’s build on that spirit of generosity and provide an opportunity for our community to support our newest neighbors, the asylum seekers currently being housed at the Expo Center in Portland.

So, on July 7, from 8:30 a.m. to noon, at three collection sites (Faith Lutheran Church, 988 Roosevelt Trail, St. Ann’s Episcopal Church, 40 Windham Center Road, and Windham Hill United Church of Christ, 140 Windham Center Road) The Windham Area Clergy Association (WACA) will be accepting donations of toothpaste, toilet paper, bar soap and suitcases/duffel bags (new or gently used, in good working order). They will deliver everything that is donated to Gateway Community Services in Portland for distribution to the families seeking asylum.  (Please note—only those items listed: toothpaste, toilet paper, bar soap, and suitcases/duffel bags can be accepted on July 7.  Current needs and limited storage capacity dictate that only these specific items will be collected.)

“We believe that we are so blessed as American people that out of a response for our many blessings   “On the Fourth of July, we celebrate America’s freedom, the same freedom that drew our newest neighbors to seek asylum here.”
during Fourth of July week, this is one way that we can live the Gospel of Jesus, by responding to the new folks who have joined us in Portland,” said Rev. Tim Higgins, Rector of St. Ann’s Episcopal Church.

The Rev. Sally Colgrove, pastor of Windham Hill United Church of Christ, stated that her congregation’s Board of Deacons wholeheartedly approved of this mission project. “We’re taking part in the collection day on July 7^th as a way of giving thanks for our freedom and independence,” Colgrove explained.

At Faith Lutheran Church (FLC), they have decided to expand their collection to include both the items destined for Portland and items needed at the Essentials Pantry they help to operate with St. Ann’s Episcopal—a pantry that provides items our Windham neighbors who can’t use SNAP benefits (“food stamps”) to buy.  So FLC will also be collecting shaving cream, paper towels and dish soap.

“Jesus was pretty clear,” Faith Lutheran’s pastor, Rev. Jane Field, said, “We are to love our neighbors—no exceptions! And he taught that when we welcome a stranger, we welcome Him. So, we don’t believe expressions of generosity should be thought of as ‘either/or.’ They can be ‘both/and.’ That’s the thing about love—when it’s shared, it isn’t used up; it expands. We can love both our neighbors nearby and our new neighbors.”

Editor’s Note:

For Windham, Raymond and other Lake Region residents, in addition to the local services mentioned
above (St. Ann’s Essential Pantry, Free Monday Meals, etc.) area churches also offer other services for those in need. They are as follows:

*Free monthly meals at Raymond Village Community Church (FMI: call 207-655-7749)

*Thrift shop at North Windham Union Church (Wednesday and Thursday 10 to noon and fourth Saturday of each month, also 10 to noon.)

*Windham Assembly of God will be hosting at Back-To-School event on August 24^th from 11 a.m. to noon. The church will offer free clothing, books, haircuts, and health screenings to students to get them ready to go back to school. The entire event is free and will include food.

If there are other churches in the Windham and Raymond communities that offer free services, please contact the Editor at [email protected].

A tour of Little Sebago: Lake association receives grant to study loons

Look closely and you can see baby loons riding on
 their dad's back as mom looks on. Photo by Jim McBride

By Lorraine Glowczak

The Little Sebago Lake Association (LSLA), located in the towns of Windham and Gray, recently received a $7,500 grant from the Cumberland County Fund of Maine of the Maine Community Foundation to develop a Little Sebago Loon Monitoring Program. The purpose of the program is to study and document loon behaviors, engage and encourage citizen science participation, and implement sustainable conservation actions.

To share information with the greater Windham and Raymond communities, Sharon Young, Pam Wilkinson and Jim McBride, all members of LSLA, invited The Windham Eagle for a tour of the lake. It was a perfect sunny morning last Friday, June 28^th, to be introduced to the world of loons – their nesting habitat and the importance of a loon’s role to lake health.

“Our focus is to measure their reproductive success,” stated Young, who is the LSLA Loon Committee Chair and the author of the grant. “Originally, from 1997 to 2014, Biodiversity Research Institute banded and monitored loons on Little Sebago.  When their program ended, I became entranced with the majestic loon and began recording their nesting activity on my own.”

Why is a loon monitoring program important? Loons are custodians of a lake’s health. They are near    
the top of the food chain, eating fish who eat smaller fish, who eat zooplankton, etc. As a result, their numbers and reproductive successes are indicators of the overall health of the lake. “It’s our measuring stick,” Young said in a recent press release.

In that same press release, it was stated that because the loon population on Little Sebago is vulnerable to stressors, coupled with the potential impacts of climate change, more information is needed on the individual performances (i.e., reproductive health), as well as specific movements of individuals to ensure long term sustainability. Other nearby states have seen sudden, unexplained declines of territorial loons on their lakes, and it is for this reason that a monitoring program is so important.

The grant will allow lake members to collaborate with Wildlife Research Biologist, Lee Attix of Loon Conservation Associates, in a two-year program of volunteer “Loon Ranger” and “data gathering” training, culminating in a locally run effort of ongoing conservation practices to benefit loons and to promote citizen science. The training will provide instruction to sustain the program long term, keeping the costs at a minimum with maximum lake health benefits.

Nest rafting (seen above) helps protect a loon's nest.

While on the tour of the lake last Friday, we learned that it takes approximately 28 days for loon eggs to hatch, and that both male and females will take turns sitting on the nest, while the other feeds and rest. “Sometimes a loon will leave their nest for an hour but will stay close by to protect them from predators,” Young explained. “Also, they must turn their eggs frequently to allow gasses to escape.”

Their nests are located on land, and in the case of Little Sebago Lake, many of those nests are hidden behind bushes or trees along the shorelines of the islands that sit throughout the lake. It is quite a feat for a loon to walk on land because their legs are located far to the rear of their bodies, so they must walk in a “rolling” fashion. But on land, hidden in the trees and bushes, is where the nest is most protected.

Unfortunately, not all nests survive due to predators such as eagles, rodents and reptiles. However, human interaction also contributes to the failure. “At the beginning of the summer, we saw a loon nest failure on Spider Island due to the boat wakes,” stated Wilkinson. “The waves washed up on land, making the soil below the nest mucky, causing the eggs to be sucked into the mud where the loon can no longer turn it.”

To help prevent nest failure, members of the monitor program have strategically placed signs near nesting sites to not only prevent wake damage but to keep people away to avoid chasing the loons off the nest. “When people kayak too close to the nest, it scares the loons away,” Young stated.

If the loon monitors notice there has been a nest failure in the same spot for a couple of years, they will create a “nest raft” to help protect from water damage and/or predators.

Presently, there are twelve Loon Rangers, two who have been volunteering for the Audubon Society’s loon counting program for many years. There is also vet tech and one who is trained in animal husbandry, to name just a few individuals who have already signed up to be Loon Rangers. There is
now a waiting list to volunteer.

Banding the loon and registering it in a shared data bank is part of the activities of the Loon Ranger. This method not only keeps track of reproductive successes but can determine the age of the loon. “The oldest loon on Little Sebago is at least 28 years old, making her the second oldest loon known to us,” Young explained. “The oldest known loon is 30 years old and is on a lake in New Hampshire.”

The Loon Rangers on Little Sebago have given a name to this old loon – The Grand Dame of Little Sebago Lake.

In addition to keeping track of loon health, the program envisions developing a “Loons in the Classroom” curriculum where elementary students learn about the chain of life surrounding Loons.  “Creating interest and impacting knowledge at an early age will further ensure the ongoing success of
the Loon Monitoring Program,” stated Young.

Young recently spoke about loons, using Maine Audubon’s Loon Kit, to a first-grade class in Windham and in a third-grade class in Raymond at their Grandparents Day event. “Many students had encountered loons on Little Sebago or elsewhere and were thrilled to learn more about them and about how to keep them safe,” Young said.

Little Sebago Lake Association’s mission is to protect, restore, and improve our lake’s water quality and fragile ecosystem.  LSLA works to create and nurture a community of lake stewards, educate users on lake safety, always mindful that human needs must be balanced with the needs of the natural environment.

Be sure to catch follow up articles coming soon on boating safety and the milfoil work being completed on Little Sebago Lake.

             

Reconstruction and maintenance to begin on River Road - historical sites preserved

Historical Lot Marker #1 will stay put

By Lorraine Glowczak

Although the exact schedule and start date has yet to be determined, the River Road reconstruction project, which has been awarded to Shaw Brothers Construction, will begin soon. The area of River Road to receive the update includes the Doles Bridge over the Colley Wright Brook as well as a 3 mile stretch of the road, beginning at the Westbrook line and extending north. The entire project is scheduled to last two years with the completion date set at June 19, 2021.

As the reconstruction and widening has been discussed over the past four years, concerns regarding the many historical sites along that portion of River Road have been expressed to representatives of both the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the Windham Delegation by members of the Windham Historical Society (WHS).

In his September 15, 2015 article in The Windham Eagle, reporter and WHS member, Walter Lunt stated that historical sites such as Old Province Fort archaeological dig and the cornerstone Lot 1 marker were among the greatest concerns. “Local historians believe the [archaeological] site is located under the roadway at the top of a hill near the intersection with Anderson Road,” Lunt said in that article. “Society records, two previous archaeological investigations and an educated historical hunch suggested that the middle of the road might be the spot, according to WHS former president Linda Griffin. One dig, in 1982, produced animal bones (possibly a midden, or mounded food remains) and a foreign coin. Griffin said, ‘This road construction may be the only chance we’ll ever have to find the exact location of the fort and learn how the settlers lived during those troubling times.”’

An archeological dig at Old Province Fort is scheduled to begin next month on July 29 and last eight to 10 weeks. In a recent email to Rep. Mark Bryant by MDOT representative, Meghan Russo, stated that tree clearing will begin soon, and temporary traffic signals will be installed along with crash barriers and signage around the archaeological dig area.

“The Lot #1 Marker has been surveyed in its exact location and will remain at this location when the project is completed,” Russo said. “A design exception was granted for the Lot #1 marker to remain as it is just on the edge of the clear zone. It is included on the design plans to not move the Marker. The Marker is just north of the Doles Bridge (Colley Wright Brook). The contractor also may do some of the drainage cross pipes that go under the road this year.”

Preserving a piece of Windham’s history has been considered throughout the entire discussion and process of the River Road construction plans - and important historical sites of Windham are being preserved. “I have been impressed with the MDOT’s thoughtful and thorough approach to listening and working with the community when it comes to road reconstruction and maintenance projects,” stated Rep. Mark Bryant

Walter Lunt is also pleased with the outcome. “As a longtime advocate for keeping the Lot #1 Marker in place, I am more than please to hear this news. Tradition has it that this stone must never be moved.”

And thus, progress and historical preservation work together for future generations.

The Allagash Wilderness Waterway: A Raymond man's tale of adventure

The Allagash Waterfalls

By Craig Bailey

The Windham Eagle Reporter and Registered Maine Guide, Craig Bailey, recently returned from an excursion on the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. This is the first article in a three-part series on the topic.

For anyone considering a truly off the grid experience, there is no more alluring adventure for the outdoor enthusiast than the Allagash Wilderness Waterway (AWW), in Northern Maine.

The AWW is considered one of the last remaining wilderness frontiers on the Eastern seaboard. It is a 92-mile ribbon of protected lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams in the Northwoods of Maine, and one of a handful of rivers in North America that flows south to north.

While it was designated the Allagash Wilderness Waterway in 1966, its history began long before. Henry David Thoreau visited in 1857 guided by two natives of the Penobscot Tribe which he chronicled in his book “The Maine Woods”.

Prior to Thoreau’s visit, the logging industry began leveraging the waterway to move timber from the Northwoods of Maine, south to Bangor for processing. This involved logging companies building a dam system and canals to reverse the waterway’s flow, causing Chamberlain and neighboring Telos Lake to temporarily stop draining north, into the Allagash, and instead head south, at the convenience of the logging industry. In fact, remnants of logging and related equipment can be found at many sites along the waterway. The Woodsman’s Museum, in Patton, ME, makes for a great stop on the way to / from an AWW adventure, to learn more about the logging industry and its use of the waterway.

Today, the primary use of the waterway is by adventurers whose ambition is to spend quality time fully immersed in nature. Whether this involves enjoying the nearly untouched natural setting, viewing wildlife such as moose, deer, bear, and eagles, catching one’s dinner of brook trout or musky to hiking trails along the waterway, there is something for people of all ages and walks of life.

Much of the AWW is smooth paddling on tranquil waters gently flowing northwards. However, there are several points offering adrenalin junkies class II rapids which must be traversed with fully laden canoes.

It should be noted that, while one doesn’t need to be in the shape of a triathlete, it is a rigorous adventure that will tax virtually anyone with the ambition to commit to such an outing.

A multi-day excursion begins by putting-in a canoe or canoes (depending on the size of the group), fully loaded with the gear and provisions necessary to sustain oneself for the duration, at one of the many launch-sites on the waterway.

Determining the starting point of the journey depends on the amount of time one wishes to spend canoeing and camping on the waterway. Durations can range from seven to 10 days beginning at the south end of Chamberlain Lake, to three to four days by launching at the north end of Umsaskis Lake, all finishing at Allagash Village, near the Canadian border, where the Allagash meets the St. John River.

There are over 80 primitive campsites along the waterway available on a first come, first serve basis. Each campsite has a picnic table, tarp poles to enable coverage of the picnic table, a firepit and an outhouse.

While adventurers experiencing the waterway are completely off the grid (there is absolutely no cell service) ranger stations are strategically located along the way such that at least one will typically be passed on each day’s leg of the trip.

Many consider the climax of an AWW adventure to be the scenic Allagash Falls, a forty-foot waterfall located about 13 miles from the end of the trip, only accessible by canoeing the waterway.

Preparing for an AWW excursion should not be taken lightly, as once the journey begins there is no opportunity to obtain anything that was forgotten or to replenish provisions along the way. In summary, one must be completely self-sustaining for the duration of the trip.

Preparation for an AWW excursion is the topic of the next article, which will be followed by an article covering the AWW experience.

Craig Bailey is a Registered Maine Guide and owner of Maine Adventures, LLC. To learn more visit: www.maineadventuresllc.com.

Ron’s Mexican Cantina and Grill will continue to make a positive impact in the community under new ownership

Ron's Mexican Cantina at its new location.

By Elizabeth Richards

           

When Ron Eby of Windham Automotive built Ron’s Mexican Cantina and Grill for the first Summerfest celebration in Windham, he never imagined it would be a catalyst for raising nearly $700,000 dollars for Camp Sunshine. But in the years since he created the food cart, that’s exactly what has happened. And although the cart has now been sold, new owner Jose Chavez of A La Mexicana plans to continue the tradition of giving.

Eby said that when he built the Cantina his goal was to build something that would inspire others as they worked to get Summerfest started.  He then decided that the proceeds raised from the cart would go to support Camp Sunshine. Over the years, the Cantina became somewhat of an icon in the area. 

“It was a huge success,” Eby said. In recent years, however, it hadn’t seen much use. Eby came to a point when it was time to move forward and do something different, he said, so he decided to sell the Cantina.

When Chavez expressed interest, Eby said, “I told him I’d love to see it still used in some capacity to raise money for Camp Sunshine.”

Chavez said that continuing to support Camp Sunshine is in their plan, but they haven’t yet determined exactly how that will happen. He added that he wants to help the community, especially since they have helped him so much.  “I want to give back a little bit too,” he said.

As for Eby, he stated he will continue to raise money in other ways.  “It’s come time to move on and do something different,” he said. 

Eby has been honored for his efforts as a 6 Who Care recipient, and he was one of four finalists for the NASCAR Foundation’s Betty Jane France Humanitarian of the Year award in 2012. That honor came with a $25,000 donation to Camp Sunshine.

The move to A La Mexicana was a great one for the cantina, Eby said. “I probably couldn’t have asked for a better destination,” he said.  He believes the cantina will be beneficial to both the restaurant and the community and he hopes that it will evolve in a way that grows awareness of Camp Sunshine and the work that they do.

Eby said that he’s been able to make a greater impact than he ever imagined. The Cantina started a “ripple effect,” he said.  “That drop was started, and those ripples continue to this day. If it can continue with Jose, that would be special,” he said.

Eby called Camp Sunshine a “diamond in our own back yard.” People don’t realize the national and even international impact the camp has for families, he added.  Being able to make such an impact makes him step back and say “wow”, Eby said. “It started with a little idea, and a little dream.”

World War II pilot’s remains found after 75 years: Memorial services to be held in Windham on Tuesday

Burleigh Curtis

By Lorraine Glowczak

Pearl Grant, a resident of Windham for the past 93 years feels some closure now that her cousin, Burleigh Curtis, can be laid to rest in Windham, next to his parents – 75 years after his death.

According to a DPAA (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency) Public Affairs press release, “Army Air Forces 1^st Lt. Burleigh E. Curtis, killed during World War II, was accounted for on December 13, 2018.”

The press release continued by stating that Curtis, a member of the 377^th Fighter Squadron, 362^nd Fighter Group, piloted a P-47D aircraft on June 13, 1944. On that date, he was assigned to a dive-bomb attack near Briouze, France but, unfortunately, he crashed in a nearby field of the target. 

“Witness reported that he was not seen bailing out of the aircraft prior to the crash,” the press release stated.

“The last time I saw Burleigh was when he graduated from high school in 1939,” Grant said, who spent summers with her cousin and other family members on the family farm on Highland Cliff Road in Windham. “We all had fun. We played games, joked, laughed – a completely pleasurable experience on the farm as a family,” Grant said.

Curtis was born in Freeport, ME and lived there until the Great Depression required his family to move to Massachusetts where his father obtained a job – which was a stroke of “luck” during the hard and difficult times of the late 1920s and early 1930s. “But Burleigh along with his parents, two sisters and two brothers would always come back to Windham on summer vacations to spend time with us on our grandparents’ farm,” recalled Grant. “I don’t have any specific memories – for me it
was just a time with family, and it was something I always looked forward to.”

Grant and Curtis’s grandparents were Fred and Lida Cobb. Curtis’s sister, 94-year-old Madelyn Curtis Klose of Antrim, MA recalls her own memories of life with her brother on their grandparents’ Highland Cliff Farm:

“My grandparents had a total of 13 grandchildren, but there were ten of us who would spend the summers together on the farm in Windham,” Klose began. “One memory I have is the times when our grandfather came home from work at night, he would take all of us to the lower potato field and let us pick the very tiny fresh potatoes to eat raw. They were almost like eating peanuts.” 

Klose continued fondly, “We would play in the barn, sliding in the hay, making a mess of my

Pearl Grant of Windham holds a collage of photographs
 of her grandparent's farm  on Highland Cliff Road
where she spent summers with Burleigh
and her other cousins

grandparents' barn. We would pick bushels of blueberries on their farm and sell them. They would let us keep some of the money and all of us cousins would go shopping in Portland and buy our clothes for the school year. I remember once playing football with Burleigh. He grabbed the ball and ran into my stomach and knocked the wind of me - he wasn't rough or violent - just playing football.  I remember eating around the supper table together every night...and Burleigh sat right next to me....and he loved his mashed potatoes.”

A specific memory Klose shared about her brother is that Burleigh was rather quiet, gentle, thoughtful, she said. “He was just a nice boy. He was popular at school...voted as vice-president of his class all through his high school years.”

In an interview with the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript of Peterborough, NH, Klose stated that Curtis married his high school sweetheart before he was stationed in England, but never returned to her. Initially, it was believed the plane Curtis was piloting had been hit by its own bomb, but the family believes the bomb came from another plane based upon what they have been told from officials. Klose is also stated as saying in that article, “[Curtis] was missing in action for a whole year and then they automatically pronounced him dead, but they didn’t produce any of his remains.”

That is, until the non-profit History Flight took on Curtis’s case in 2017. As stated in the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript, the History Flight “embarked on an archaeological dig of which his plane went down.”

The story in the above-mentioned article detailed that once Curtis’ plane crashed behind enemy lines,
a French cabinet maker who witnessed the accident went to the field and reportedly buried what remains he could find. Those remains are believed to have been dug up by the Army at a later point and buried in a military cemetery in France. Scientists used anthropological analysis as well as historical and material evidence to successfully identify Curtis’ remains.

Klose and her 100-year-old brother, Donald, who lives in California, are the only remaining siblings of Curtis – and now the family can finally lay their brother to rest.

Curtis’ name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Brittany American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Montijoie Saint Martine, France, along with the others missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

“The family has heard from several people in France, thanking us for Burleigh’s sacrifice,” stated Grant. “In fact, one person from France plans to be at the memorial.”

Everyone is invited to a memorial service that will be held at Highland Cliff Advent Christian Church, 96 Highland Cliff Road in Windham at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, June 25. Interment at Chase Cemetery, next to the church. The community is invited to attend the memorial service to honor a great local hero.