With the tag of historian, I often find myself repeating some basic facts about my town. New people are surprised (sometimes stunned) to find that the town hall is 98 years old, an old wood-frame building, still being used today.

So frequent were the requests for the basics of development in Windham, that I made up a kind of chart to highlight major changes. I think that the most changes happened between 1980 and 2000.

One major checkpoint in the recent history of the town, and impetus for its future, was the first subdivision, which is Brookhaven. I was reminded of this recently when a friend said she had moved into the first house built in that neighborhood and that it was a “school” house, i.e., built by the Building Trades class at Windham High School, which was taught by my late father. The class was initiated by the Windham Kiwanis Club. And the date of that first house? It’s 50 years old this year.

In 1910, Windham built its first building devoted to being a high school. The total population in the census of 1900, was just a few more people than 1900. The town had more than a dozen small neighborhood schools. Two school buses transported the youngsters unless they lived within a mile of the school in which case, they walked to school. A gym was added to the high school in 1925; an annex was added (for kindergarten) in 1957.

When the town’s second high school was opened in 1964, the old building became the junior high school until it was condemned in 1977. In 1978 with a $494,000 grant from the Federal Economic Development Administration, the old high school was renovated and turned into the Community Center. It contained nine rooms, the gym and a kitchen.

Many community groups met in the bright, newly renovated building, including all town committees and the school board; senior citizens, arts and crafts, Jaycees, Lions, Boy Scouts, Chamber of Commerce and others. This was the perfect place – but unfortunately, it didn’t last long.

Windham kept on growing and the old brick building became too crowded for municipal and school offices.

In 1980, after nearly 150 years in one spot, the Windham municipal offices were moved from the brick townhouse into the Community Center. (The old brick building is now a museum and meeting place for the Windham Historical Society.) School administrative offices moved into the historic Hanson house which, at the turn of the century, had been a boarding home for teachers and was property of the town.

In 1980, the population was about 11,000. School population was reported to be 2,500 or 23 percent of the total town population. By the year 2000, the census reported about 15,000 people in town, 2,800 of which were in school. That segment of the population had dropped to 19 percent of the total.

During the 20 years from 1980 to 2000 Windham residents approved:

• Doubling the size of the Public Library (opened in the late 1970s)

• Construction of the Public Safety Building

• Construction of East Windham Fire Station

• Construction of the Windham Primary School

• Enlarging and renovating Manchester School

• Enlarging town garage to accommodate school buses

• Renovation of a 1926 vintage school building for a Family Resource Center (taking welfare offices out of the Community Building.)

In the year 2000, plans were under way to build a new high school. Some town officials and residents threatened there will be no new town office until “the new school is built.” We found ourselves trying to respond to the needs of a much bigger – and different – town than 30 or 40 years ago. There was talk about one big municipal building where school administration and town offices would be together in a safe, secure facility large enough to accommodate our growing populace and their demands on town services. Other comments made in 2000 centered on coordinating town and school activities which were similar, primarily the vehicle maintenance and repairs. People said: What difference does it make – it’s the same pocket!

It’s true what they say about history. You really have to see where you’ve been to plan where you’re going. In my opinion, looking hard at history (and having lived through some of it!) we should really look at who is living in Windham and how the character of an average citizen has changed, what we as a town should offer for services to ensure a safe place to live, take a hard look at the declining percentage of school-age residents, and the increasing percentage of those over 55, and plan accordingly. Personally, I see needs of in-town transportation, a community center and adjacent park for all ages, providing meeting places, improvements in the business districts to include sidewalks, benches, plantings, coordinated signage; transitional elderly housing, i.e., to include not just independent living but assisted living, long-term care and hospice; affordable apartments for younger people; children’s parks in community centers (East, South and North Windham) not a pocket park in each development; and the overwhelming need to maintain what we already have.

See you next week.