2026 Fall Events Reap Fun, Food, and Friends!
by Haley Pal
The Roosevelt Trail History Tour
The Windham Historical Society had a busy fall season! We had two wonderful events where we welcomed guests and showed off our Village Green. The first was on September 12 when the Green came alive for the 2026 Roosevelt Trail History Tour.
Our Society, along with 11 others, greeted guests from all around the Lakes Region for a day of exploration and learning about history. To celebrate the 250th birthday of our country, we had the Green decorated in red, white, and blue with giant flags made by member Gary Plummer scattered throughout the grounds. A delicious 250th birthday cake made by Society docent Barbara Graves was handed out to visitors along with 250th birthday commemorative flags and booklets about Windham in 1776.
Visitors were impressed with all our buildings and Windham’s rich history. Some even dressed up as Patriots and had their pictures taken in Colonial garb. With bright blue skies above, it was a perfect day for having fun with history!
The Fourth Annual Fall Harvest Festival
Our Fourth Annual Fall Harvest Festival on October 10 was greeted with clear skies and a crisp Autumn morning. By 8:30, the grounds were bustling with activity. Vendors were arriving, the kitchen was being set up, and the Village docents were preparing themselves for the guests that would start arriving at 10. The Lakes Region Strummers were ready to go, ukuleles in hand.
Promptly at 10 a.m., Master of Ceremonies Walter Lunt took center stage. He welcomed our guests, thanked our sponsors, and talked about the activities that were planned throughout the day. As the morning progressed, the Strummers played, relay races took place, and schoolmarm Paula Sparks hosted her first living history class of the day. Windham Parks & Recreation was busy supervising the relay races and handing out prizes to participants, and antique cars were in place and ready to greet visitors.
At noon, the Windham Middle School Eighth Grade Orchestra performed on the gazebo and the kitchen and cookie booths were filled with hungry people ready for lunch. At 1 p.m., the pie-eating contest, a festival favorite, began with Town Clerk Anthony Blasi acting as judge.
Our Village buildings saw a good number of guests all day long, some from faraway places, others from the local community, young and old alike. Linda Lunt and her staff of volunteers at the White Elephant table were busy all day long, and most of the vendors reported good sales. The gusty wind was a struggle for some of them.
This year, in addition to a wonderful Maker’s Market of gifted crafters, we also had appealing raffle items from photographer and former Society Vice President Brien Richards, local artist Patrick Corey, Roosevelt Trail Garden Center and Broadway Gardens, On the Docks, and member Valerie DeVuyst who donated a beautiful platter masterfully crafted by her late husband Yuji Yasui. Fire and Ice also supplied a gift certificate to support the cause.
Windham teachers Marc and Rebecca Miller and their two children, Cora and Colin, manned the fundraising booth and were instrumental in bringing visitors in to look at the raffle items and try on Colonial costumes for pictures while handing out scavenger hunt questionaires to inquisitive kids and taking donations. The booth raised close to $700 to help with Old Town House renovations.
Demonstrating their skills were resident blacksmith Sam Simonson, stonecutter Leo Ruel, and chainsaw artist Ron Richardson.
In the afternoon, the Saco River Jazz Band took the stage. Always a highlight of the day, people were tapping their toes and dancing to the sounds of this wonderful nostalgic big band.
It was a fun, productive, and satisfying day. The spirit of community was overflowing and we proved once again that history can be fun!
