For an hour last week, the talk on TV was all about dirt roads, undeveloped fields, the price of gas, telephones with party lines, working for less than $5 a day and how life was before electronics.

Windham’s local cable television station features a program called “Speakout,” hosted by Bill Diamond, a longtime resident. Usually the topic is one of current interest or political issues but occasionally, Speakout takes a look at how we used to live. It was my privilege to be part of a 4-person panel discussing changes in my hometown – and in all aspects of our lives including employment and industry, education, community amenities, technological advances, wars, and childhood. My companions included a retired teacher who was born in the oldest house still standing in town; a woman whose family emigrated from Canada before 1900 and a former legislator, lifetime resident who has served the town in countless ways for decades.

It was great fun to reminisce about the days when the town was mostly fields, brooks and dirt roads.

We remembered how we earned our first paychecks by picking beans, helping neighbors hay, babysitting and driving a truck before the age of 16. We recalled the many dirt roads and the trials and travails of school bus drivers back in the day when students could not drive their own vehicles to high school. These were the same days when the girls’ basketball team walked to North Gorham to practice! We talked of the championship teams we had in the day when the only sports played were baseball, softball (for girls), basketball, track and swimming.

It was difficult to come up with a list of town leaders who made a difference – but we all agreed that the town meeting days when the community center gym was filled to overflowing – those days are gone, indicating to some of us that few residents care about how the town and schools spend taxpayers’ money.

We agreed that in some ways, things have improved but the sense of community and “knowing everyone” is almost gone. A few events maintain the old-time closeness – the annual Alumni Banquet held in May; reunions – and sadly, funerals – and of course, programs like Speakout.

Next time we won’t wait so long.