Programs

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Programs

Public programs are held on a regular basis, publicized in local newspapers and media and e-mailed to members. If you would like to be added to this publicity list, please notify Kay Soldier, Publicity Chair, at kso48@aol.com.

Saturday, January 22 9 a.m. to noon Windham Public Library   Barns   In January, Don Perkins will present a program about barns. He has a passion for barns. A former carpenter and woodworker with a longtime interest in timber framing, Don now puts his knowledge to the printed page revealing the history and craft of our barns. A freelance writer since 2005, in 2007-8, Don penned a series on local barns for a Gray-New Gloucester weekly that garnered much interest; it ran for some 20 weeks. He now writes a weekly column on people and events for the Portland Press Herald Don says Maine is fortunate in that it still has an abundance of these iconic rural structures. Our barns reveal much about the immigrant groups that originally settled the region, and through their evolution, barns enlighten our rural culture. From small buildings built right atop the ground, to mammoth, multileveled marvels of engineering, our barns stand as living testaments to New England and the people who worked them.

Saturday, February 26 9 a.m. to noon Windham Public Library   Historical Moments   Five or six (more or less!) brief presentations about a unique acquisition, a unique person from Windham’s past or a newly discovered artifact. “Historical Moments” evolved from the traditional “Show & Tell” of years gone by. Always something new – come and enjoy this special mid-winter program.

Saturday, March 26 9 a.m. to noon Windham Public Library   Cumberland & Oxford Canal   Take a trip on the Canal of yesteryear and learn how it began, where it went and what happened and see displays of maps, a couple of canal boat anchors as well as a scale model of one of the canal boats. The Canal opened up the countryside and made transportation possible all the way to the Atlantic Ocean! Remnants of the Canal are all around us and this presentation will reveal their locations.

Beginning on April 18, programs and meetings will be held on the 4th Monday each month at the Historical Society headquarters, 234 Windham Center Road with the program at 7 p.m. followed by a business meeting. Take a few minutes and check out the latest displays!

Special events for 2011 include Summerfest
on Saturday, June 18

The annual town celebration goes all day on the high school grounds in the center of Windham. Beginning with a pancake breakfast, a huge parade, entertainment, music, demonstrations, a craft fair, antique auto show and booths galore – the Society is always a big part of this event!

Past programs have included

• 

  World War II

• Immigrants

• Windham’s first Rescue Team

• Dairy Farming

• Shiloh

• Parson Smith House

• Underground Railroad Quilt

• Photography

• 

  Restoring Toy Trucks

• Doll Collecting

• Ram Water Pumps

• Little Sebago Lake

• Cumberland & Oxford Canal

• Gunpowder Mills