I hear lots of talk about people’s perceptions of Windham. Based on almost 70 years of Windham memories, some of those perceptions are a bit skewed but some are trying to retain the good, old days.

Interested town management and residents are discussing a town-wide day or days of celebration, an annual event such as we used to have many years ago. We called it Old Home Days from the early 1940s on, and from what I can remember, it began as a simple neighborly get together and “day off” before the arrival of tourists.

It was held in the center of town, and there were also neighborhood events, like parades. The first I remember featured such old-fashioned things as a decorated doll carriage parade, a decorated bike parade, firemen’s muster, softball games and various track events like broad jump and even a sack race! There were no rides or games of chance. Families brought picnic lunches and visited with other people for hours. It wasn’t really an organized event, just something everyone did each year.

As time went on and more new people moved to town, Old Home Day gradually changed. People wanted to be entertained; they wanted different things, so booths were built and some rides were brought in. Town nonprofit groups sold souvenirs, food and other items. Organization became necessary. Volunteers were vital.

Toward the end, Old Home Day was an annual event which was one of the major fundraisers for local service groups and nonprofit organizations. Kiwanis, Lions, Chamber of Commerce, church groups, Historical Society all participated. Concerts and fireworks were added; the original Old Home Day became a memory and another thing changed – volunteering became a rare thing. Those who did volunteer found themselves with a very small core group. It became impossible to put on an event without spending thousands of tax dollars. The good old days were gone!

Old Home Day and its successor celebrations are now memories, but a move is afoot to resurrect a day of celebration. That’s a good thing; we just hope that we’ll see a new crop of enthusiastic volunteers ready to do their part toward the success.

In Windham, we are also talking about a community park. In my opinion, this would be a great thing to have. Let’s face reality – more than half the households in town don’t have any kids and so skate parks, football games, concerts by kids – what is the appeal if they’re not your kids or grandkids?

A lot of us are adults, some of us senior citizens, without kids. We’d like a place to go where we didn’t have to park on the street, where we could eat a picnic lunch, enjoy the outdoors, walk safely and perhaps hear a concert outdoors. Some of us would like to ice skate, some would like to shoot a few baskets. Right now, unless you visit in someone’s home, there is no place to just go and visit. The library is a busy place with lots of kid-oriented activities. The senior dining center is only available weekdays. A whole lot of us seniors work during the week and the weekend would be a great time to meet friends at the park and just sit and talk or walk around. We don’t all go to McDonald’s or Chute’s or Thayer’s or other gathering places.

So I say to all of you “newcomers” who yearn for that community feeling – get involved in producing a community celebration day – entertain us, those of us who worked on those events for decades. Speak up for a community park, as much for grownups as for kids. Those kids will grow up and then where will they go?

See you next week.