On Saturday, May 14, I witnessed how it takes a lot of young people to raise a village. I witnessed the magic that PowerServe created when over 292 students and adult volunteers were organized into groups and went all over Windham creating magic. I heard of a cross-country wooden bridge being rebuilt, a rotting refreshment booth being repaired, an elderly veteran’s gardens and lawns being raked, and walls being painted. I witnessed the transformation of Windham Historical Societies’ Village Green.

PowerServe was created to make a difference. Organizers Chris and Nicole spent many hours visiting residents, Windham High School, Windham Historical Society and the veterans organizations to find out what had to be done. Then they recruited local volunteers in memory of (Windham High School student) Shane Donnelly who lost his life last year. The volunteers would show up and help make a difference. They organized the groups by tasks and the fun began.

Our “green team” headed up by Chris, and named because of the Windham Historical Societies’ Village Green, had a lot to do. Our grounds were raked, pots were moved and plants were dug up. Gardens were weeded and three trucks with trailers behind were filled with brush that was taken to the leaf dump. It was a huge job and the volunteers never stopped to take a break.

Our crew worked on moving items from the little yellow South Windham Library to the attics and sheds at our October House nearby. As they emptied the little library and moved items for storage, I told them about our future plans for the building to be soon moved on to a foundation and then used to display things from South Windham such as artifacts from the Oxford Canal, Oriental Hall, John Andrew School and the South Windham trolley that never came to Windham but stopped at the bridge. The new ell to be built on the rear of the library will display artifacts from the South Windham Railroad depot.

The volunteers worked tirelessly and I took some to tour our brick society building and the almost finished one-room Village School. I told them how Windham students will now walk from their schools and have classes here in the way it was in Windham in the 1870s.

In 3½ hours amazing miracles happened and our Village Green looks Great. Thank you, PowerServe, for the huge impact you all made in our community.

Linda C. Griffin
President, Windham Historical Society