In Windham, if you need crutches or a hospital bed or a walker and your insurance doesn’t cover this – or you have no insurance — where can you turn? If you live in Windham, you can borrow these items at no cost from the “Loan Closet,” a service provided by volunteers for nearly 70 years.

Back in 1945, the town’s school nurse, Beverly Allen, asked for a little help in the schools. She, along with the Superintendent of Schools Fred Aikins, got some of the help they needed from volunteers, at least one for each school. When Dr. Sidney Branson and Dr. Robert Burns administered the annual physical exams, shots and tests, these volunteers helped. Thus the Windham Health Council was started. Within a short time, the Health Council, along with the medical professionals initiated a Well Baby Clinic and the “Loan Closet,” since there was a need for equipment and this was not a wealthy town.

Seventy years ago, the “loan closet” was a collection of books and toys for children, along with some medical supplies and equipment, and was kept in the Superintendent’s house. As new Health Council heads were elected, the equipment was moved to wherever they could find room. Once it was located in a cleaned-up chicken loft but usually, it was someone’s garage or barn.

The people who ran the Loan Closet and were part of the Health Council for all those decades lived through the discovery of the polio vaccine, smallpox and diphtheria vaccinations in schools, dental treatments with the advent of fluoride, and many disasters from Mother Nature. Today, Medicare covers the purchase of some medical equipment and supplies, but the Loan Closet, which finally has its own building, stands ready to help those without this kind of insurance, and regardless of income.

In 2005, the Windham Loan Closet had acquired its own building, one of the unused “modular” school buildings. Located beside the Windham Public Library, the Loan Closet was renovated and painted by volunteers; the former building, which was a 200-plus-year-old wooden structure was moved to a site adjacent to the Historical Society where it would be cleaned up and somewhat restored. The old building had once been a library, a two-room apartment and at the beginning, a cobbler shop. Once restored, it will be part of a history park.

Volunteers still run the Loan Closet, collecting, loaning and taking care of equipment, much of it donated. The Loan Closet is open Monday-Thursday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Call 892-1907 for information and/or to schedule an appointment with a volunteer.