It is said there’s nothing new under the sun.

Well, there may be a few things that are technologically new, but overall, we are doomed to repeat ourselves. That’s where history comes in. If we know the history, we can prevent repeating mistakes, and as farmers say, going over plowed ground.

Cleaning out a file cabinet at home last week, I discovered a report an inch thick, the result of one of my many volunteer stints on a town committee. This report was on the future of housing needs for Windham.

I hope that when the town council realizes the dearth of affordable housing in Windham, especially for senior citizens, it will prompt them to look at this report, funded by the state, and review the cold facts.

The committee presented this report to the council five years ago, and some of us sadly predicted it would be shelved. Anyway, I didn’t toss the report out, as it represented many hours of extensive serious research into the future of housing in our town and what will be needed. Who knows, while we’re talking about town-wide retrofit, we might want to consider what the future holds.

I also kept other reports including one from the Cemetery Land Search Committee, another unglamorous topic but one which can’t be ignored. You know what they say about death and taxes. Given the growth of the town, the need for cemetery space is inevitable. While we’re filling up fields with houses, we might want to consider some other use.

There was another committee some years back, called something like Municipal Building Committee. Concerned volunteers went around examining and measuring all town property, assessing needs and evaluating uses.

The final report summarized every building and department space; every piece of property was evaluated as to possibility for parks and public use. The revamp of the council meeting area and town hall is an indirect result of that study. The expansion of the public library also resulted from this study, and the work of the subsequent committee of volunteers who did the legwork, obtained grants and much donated work, to double the size of the library at a predetermined limit of cost.

The Historic Preservation Committee, on which I served for years, was the result of an ordinance spearheaded almost single-handedly by a citizen. The ordinance is still on the books, but the committee is waiting for volunteers who would be responsible for enforcing the ordinance.

Preserving areas or sites as historic, requires a whole lot of dedication, time and work, as well as many public hearings and support at the polls, a difficult thing to attain in the current atmosphere. Windham is one of a few Maine towns with no historic preservation district. Those districts and all that happens within their boundaries must comply with the ordinance. That concept did not float well with our citizens in the past but maybe times have changed.

There’s a lot to be learned from history. It’s clear that a ton of work by many unpaid volunteers can sometimes produce small miracles. That possibility is why many of us keep raising our hands and saying, I’ll help on that.

Right now, dozens of volunteers have come together in a group to provide help for citizens in critical need. Windham Neighbors Helping Neighbors is a prime example of what can be accomplished with committed volunteers. Another group is raising money to buy tulip bulbs for a hope garden. Funds generated will go toward cancer research. Many people, especially during their parenting years, provide hours of donated labor and many dollars to support young people in athletic and intellectual pursuits.

This atmosphere of helping has always been the Windham way. Dundee Park was built by volunteers. Many athletic fields, much work at the Veterans Building and landscaping at the rotary – all volunteer work.

All these volunteers in history have provided good role models. Let’s repeat that kind of history.

See you next week.