Windham Veterans Association (WVA) owns 4.5 acres of property behind Windham Mall beside the parcel where Home Depot is now under construction.
About 10 years ago, Windham veterans (with a whole lot of community support), built a 40×80-square-foot building which has been home to the Windham VFW, the Windham American Legion, Troop 805 Boy Scouts, and more recently, the Windham Lions Club.
The Windham Veterans Association has managed to reduce a $55,000 mortgage to $25,000 by renting the hall for weddings and other functions, and from donations. However, the work on paying the mortgage has prevented adding the planned outside monument in memory of veterans who gave their lives defending their country and those veterans who returned home after serving their country in the military.
The Association has applied to the town for permission to name the right of way to the building, Veterans Memorial Drive. A small park next to the building is also planned, and will be the home of the Veterans Memorial Monument which the association will build to honor all veterans from the greater Windham area. Permanent benches will be placed for the public’s use while visiting the monument. The park will also be landscaped.
In preparation for the installation of this monument, the Association has begun the task of “sprucing up” the grounds around the center. A Boy Scout from Troop 805 did his Eagle project by building a large sign, visible from the Mall parking lot. Another Scout is currently working on his Eagle project by doing landscaping on the front side of the building. This should be complete by the end of September.
There will be much more yard work to be done on the front end of the building before that area is ready for the placement of the monument.
The dirt access road to the property is currently a right of way leading from the paved Mall parking lot to the large gravel parking lot in front of the Veterans building. Three bids have been secured for paving the access road and parking lot. All of the bids are larger than the existing mortgage, which makes it financially impossible for the Veterans Association to handle this project by itself.
The design and construction of the monument will be completed by us living veterans in honor of our living and fallen comrades, but the paving of the access road and parking lot is beyond our means. Also, there is considerable road preparation work that needs to be done, prior to paving, that will involve the use of heavy equipment.
The approximate cost for the paving is $30,000. The veterans have contacted the work crew at Home Depot and understand that they will be paving their new facility during October. There are attempts at setting up a meeting with representatives from Home Depot with the hope that the firm would be able to “lend a hand” to the Association, since part of the cost of paving includes moving the heavy equipment needed onto the site.
At this point we need to ask as many people as possible for help and hope that someone – or several “someones” – will step up and help us finish this project by the first of November.
The Windham Veterans Association is planning an open house on Veterans Day, November 11. After all these years of hard work, all the vets are hoping that part of this special day will include the dedication ceremony of Veterans Memorial Drive and the Veterans Park.
Contributions may be sent to Windham Veterans Association, P.O. Box 1776, Windham, Maine 04062. Also, for offers to help or ideas on how to get the paving done, please call the Veterans Center at 892-1159.
WVA President Donald Swander
Send questions/comments to the editors.
