It has been almost 20 years since I actually went on a trip; more than 50 miles away from Windham constitutes a ‘trip’ for me nowadays.
A friend of mine was planning a research and information-seeking trip to Alexander, Maine and asked me to go along – and so I did. It was a good weekend for such a venture, since it poured nearly all the time and I would have been frustrated, had I stayed around here. Alexander is a small place, much like Windham used to be, and is not far from Calais.
Genealogists and those who love to study their roots, were on hand with their many books and papers. It was a lot of fun and always reassuring to get away from the endless wire-linked poles and cars and rude drivers, and onto a highway which seems like a tunnel through deep, thick forests for miles on end. Several as yet unidentified big hills (I can’t call them mountains, having lived out west) and miles of bogs and swamps and rambling brooks seemed to never have an end. It gave us a good idea of what the first Scots-Irish settlers were faced with, in the 1700s, when they landed in the section of our state that is known today as Washington County – or Downeast. Some settlers came willingly, some were “brought,” and some actually ran away from the British military during the Revolutionary War. Descendants of most of them still live throughout Washington County.
I haven’t seen any lightning bugs (or fireflies) yet this year – perhaps like the browntail caterpillars, they were rained out! It’s a tradeoff. There has been (and is) a wicked healthy supply of mosquitoes, though. And tiny ants. They seem to be active at all hours, making Deet a necessity.
The economy may be on the upswing, if the news reports are to be believed, but Monday night about 5:30, there was no room to park at Windham Human Services building. Either there was a huge meeting going on, or 50 or 60 people were at the Food Pantry, parked on both sides of the long driveway, right out to the road. Last month when I was over there one day, the volunteers told me that there were over 50 people who stopped by.
This – to me – is a better indicator of how the economy fares in Windham. This food pantry is a real life saver for some of Windham’s residents, young and old. The volunteers who give their time, and the generous organizations, churches and individuals who donate food, are appreciated by many of us.
No trips this week, but more mysteries of history to be uncovered, and written about.
See you next week.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
