Possums, coyotes and bears, oh my

Sometimes we yearn for the good old days of our youth when Windham was truly a country town. You know, dirt roads, not much traffic, cows getting out and the sweet smell of hay. We didn’t see possums and skunks getting into the trash in those days – they still had plenty of acreage to make their homes. But everything changes, good or bad. It is still quite disconcerting to open the kitchen door and see an evil-looking possum not four feet from you! And worse, he had to climb the stairs to get to my second-floor apartment. Must be desperate time for the woods animals. Coyotes – about three times as big as the ones I got used to in South Dakota – are fairly common and today, I heard about a black bear in the Newhall neighborhood. That would be quite a surprise on one of those genteel Sunday afternoon strolls on the walking trails! Don’t leave any food around! Maybe Mother Nature is sending a message!

Land trust ?says thanks

The board members of the Windham Land Trust would like to thank everyone who attended the semi-annual chicken cookout on June 5. There was a great turn out and many folks said how good everything was. Windham has great cooks and the land trust would like to thank them all again for their delicious contributions of potato salad, cole slaw and of course, the wonderful pies. The servers and clean-up crew are all very much appreciated. Thanks also go to the folks that contributed money to buy supplies including Shaw’s Supermarket and Walmart. Watch for flyers and news for the next cookout in the fall.

School’s out breakfast needed

From the Food Pantry and Clothes Closet, comes this request. School will soon be out and the children will be at home. Many parents are working hard to make ends meet. Let’s help them. The Food Pantry could use donations of breakfast items like Pop Tarts, frozen breakfast combos and cereal. The free Clothes Closet is collecting gently used jeans, tees, tops and very gently used sneakers for children primary through high school in preparation for the return to school. Donations of food and clothing may be dropped at the Human Resources Building between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. daily.

Among the stacks

Pick up a bingo sheet with choices of activities at the library. Just like regular bingo, complete five activities in a row, bring to Barbara or Inese and receive your choice of a small prize. Each time you complete five activities your name will be entered in a drawing to be held Aug. 18. Prizes include a $10 Borders gift certificate, a Water your Mind T-shirt or a Water your Mind memo cube. Book Discussion is held on Tuesday, June 29, at 6:15 p.m. at the library. Friday, June 25, at 2 p.m., a special family event will be held with Make a Splash Magic Show. For more information on these programs, call the library at 892-1908.

Jazz scholarship

The annual Don Gordan Music Scholarship jazz fundraiser will be held on Sunday, June 27, from 5-9 p.m. at Events on Broadway, South Portland. Musicians appearing include Port City Jazz, Rick Gordan, Don and Al Doane, Tom Snow, Bob Barratta, John Hunter, Gerry Wright, Rusty Quinn, Joe LaFlamme and many others. For information and reservations, call 699-5855. Tickets are $15. Don Gordan was a Windham High School graduate and a top notch musician! Proceeds benefit a scholarship fund for a Windham High School senior who is studying music.

Texas Hold’em

Windham Veterans Association will sponsor a Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament on Saturday, June 26. Registration is at noon, play begins at 1 p.m. All players must be at least 21 years of age; $100 buy-in plus a $5 chair fee. Players limited to the first 100 to register. The pot consists of 75 percent of the total buy-in registration. All players making the final eight table will share in the pot. Food, snacks and non-alcoholic beverages will be available at a reasonable cost. There will be two scheduled breaks as well as a supper break. 50/50 tickets will be available throughout the game. Be a player and support the Veterans Center. A successful tournament will result in regular monthly events.

New Veteran’s Advocate

Wednesday, June 23, from 9 a.m. to noon, Phyllis D’Orsay, a seasoned Veteran’s Advocate from Portland, will be available to assist veterans and dependents with questions about benefits and other information at Windham Veterans Center. She will be on hand on the second and fourth Wednesdays each month. If you have questions of a military nature, stop in and get some answers. The Veterans Center is off Route 302 in back of the Windham Mall.

New map display, open house

A new display of vintage Windham maps dating from the 1700s will be the feature of the June 26 Open House at Windham Historical Society at 234 Windham Center Road. The hours are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Come see the very first maps which include the so-called Indian lots as well as the division-by-division maps showing how the town grew. Some maps show each house and the homeowner’s name. Others are hand-drawn maps which can be compared with contemporary views. Much help on this display was provided by the town of Windham, as well as society members Norma Rogers, Izzy Gilman, Penny Loura and Dave Tanguay. Tours will be provided at the Old Grocery museum, an 1820 former grain store and cobbler shop located at the intersection of Windham Center Road and Route 202. Here you can visit new displays of old tools of all kinds, view the canal boat anchors and the original horse-drawn hearse, in use until 1914, and many other interesting displays reflecting Windham’s past. There is no charge but donations are always welcomed to help the nonprofit society continue its educational work in the community.

Park opens for season

Dundee Park is open for the season. Rates are $4 per day for adults, $2 for children. Passes may be purchased at the Parks and Recreation Department at Town Hall during working hours. Dundee Park has many amenities including a great beach area, plenty of picnic tables and grills, a volleyball area, a basketball area, rentals for canoes and paddleboats, all you need for a great family outing. Mona Dodd and Bruce Keary are returning as park managers for the 2010 season. For more information, contact the park at 893-2415 or the Parks and Recreation Department at 892-1905.