I’ll bet my old friend Ken Cole has written about pussywillows, those delightful fuzzy little catkins which grow in ditches and at the edge of roads at this time of year.

I hope he and his good wife saw the three-foot-long stems for sale at a local store for over $3 each! Countless bunches of these, and sometimes purple Trilliums, have been carried home to mothers by their children, for decades. Those Trilliums were also called Stinking Benjamins by local folks. I have no idea where the name ever came from, but once you’ve inhaled their odor, you’ll know where the first part originated.

It takes dedication to pick pussywillows, for it always means getting your feet wet. A mother’s response to a child’s gift is always worth it, though.

Getting ready for the 50th reunion of the Class of 1955, Windham High School, prompted me to look through the Windonian for that year.

In particular, I read with interest the report of the girls’ annual Triple C Swimming Meet, held at the Portland Boys Club. When I read the article in last week’s Lakes Region Suburban Weekly (on the fledgling Windham middle school swim team, and about the goal of being the first swim team ever in Windham’s history) I thought that the dreaded old-timer’s disease had enveloped my memory.

I thought I remembered swim teams, boys and girls, or whatever the PC terminology is today. I’ll bet lots of our readers remember swim teams, too. Yes, folks, we didn’t have a pool then, either, but we turned out some champions. I wish those who participated in swimming would drop a note to this paper and be heard!

I’m looking at a picture in my 1955 yearbook of those who were involved in this athletic event at Windham and they include many folks still around this neck of the woods. (You’d never recognize them from the photo, however!)

But for the record, in the fall of 1954, Windham girls entered 6 of 11 events at the Portland Boys Club. Windham placed 3rd in the freshman relay; Ann Reynolds set a new record in the 50-yard freestyle (32 sec.). She also placed 2nd in the 25-yard backstroke and went on to attend the National Swim Meet at Yale University where the Windham girls team placed 4th in the national competition in February, 1955. Ann’s sister, Betty, recalled for me that their mother used to take them in Portland to practice, where Harold Paulson was their coach.

Windham students participated in swimming for decades. Whether or not it was school-sponsored, or part of another organization, there were trophies won and records set, and Windham in the headlines.

The Historical Society loaned some of the old swim trophies to be on display at the open house when Windham’s new high school opened last fall.

I don’t know when swimming ended as a recognized sport in the athletic program, but it’s good to see it emerging again, and we encourage these young students in their endeavor – and carry on the Windham tradition! Good luck!

We’ve been getting more calls about when the historical society will open the doors this spring. I can definitely say it will be soon, but the exact days and times have not yet been determined. You’ll see it here when it happens!

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