A waterfall on the Pleasant River that runs through Windham’s Popeville neighborhood was a favorite swimming spot for local kids in the 1960s.  Haley Pal / For Lakes Region Weekly

Unlike last year’s dark, damp and dreary summer when it seemed to rain every weekend, we are having a magnificent summer this year. The sun has been shining and we’ve had just enough rain that gardens are overflowing. Whereas last year we struggled to get out of the 70s, this year we’ve had several days with temperatures in the 90s and air conditioners have been working overtime.

Do you ever think back to earlier years when people had to rely on fans at best and devise more creative ways to cool down in the dog days of summer? When I was a little girl in New Jersey, my family would make trips to the Jersey shore where we’d enjoy the ocean in the daytime followed by a stroll down the boardwalk in the evening. Amusement rides were everywhere keeping the boardwalk alight. Frozen custard stands, pizza, Italian subs, burgers, hot dogs, seafood and zeppoli stands supplied the food. There were also arcades and wheels of chance up and down the main walkway and I won many a record album there for just 25 cents a pop.

I wondered what some of my friends who grew up in Windham did when the heat became intolerable and you simply had to cool down. The first person I asked was Walter Lunt. Walter grew up in the early 1960s and lived in the part of town known as Popeville as a boy. It’s located along the Pleasant River on Pope Road and was once home to a successful manufacturing village. The village was severely damaged by a flood in the 19th century and not much of it remains, but the river still rambles on and it was there that Walter would go on the lazy, hazy days of summer.

“About a half mile below the Pope Road bridge is a small waterfall. The water always stayed cool, no matter how hot the day was,” Walter recalled. “The river widened slightly above the falls and it was the perfect spot of cool in the middle of a summer day. I can still remember that first step off the banking. It was deep; there was no easing in. The cold water shocked the body for a second or two, but then, ‘ahh,’ it felt so good. The best part of the place: the neighborhood girls frequented the spot, too.”

Haley Pal, a Windham resident and active member of the Windham Historical Society, can be contacted at haleypal@aol.com.

Our Town Clerk Linda Morrell grew up in the later 1960s. She remembered summer days when her dad would take her, her mother and cousin to Sabbathday Pond in Gray or out to Crescent Beach in Cape Elizabeth for a day of swimming. “When I was a teenager, my friends and I would ride our bikes over to the North Gorham dam and swim at the beach there. We never went near the dam to swim, but stayed where it was safe. It was fun, but the problem was, after spending a few hours cooling down, we’d have to ride our bikes back home and by the time we got there, we were even hotter than before,” Linda laughed.

Her husband Tim grew up on a farm on Route 202 where he was lucky enough to have a manmade pond on his property. His family was also very much into 4-H, so his mom would often take him to Bryant Pond with the 4-H Club. But one summer was particularly memorable to him. Tim reminisced, “One summer, my brother, cousins and I built a raft and put a small motor on it. We put it in up at Little Duck Pond (now the East Windham Conservation Area) and had a great time riding that raft all around the pond all summer long.”

Rita Bernier was a child of the Great Depression. She was born on the Gorham side of Babb’s Bridge. She lived on a farm with her parents and several siblings. During the summer, the kids were expected to help with chores on the farm, but once their chores were done, they would go to the Presumpscot River and jump in. One of Rita’s favorite childhood memories of those long-ago summers was the family’s annual trip to Old Orchard Beach. After spending the day swimming and enjoying a picnic lunch, Rita’s parents would give each child 25 cents and that could keep them going for the rest of the day. “We’d get a big wad of tickets and went on rides and played games. We all looked forward to that day every year.”

Despite no modern air conditioning or heat pumps to keep the heat at bay, those steamy summer afternoons hold many happy memories for children who grew up in the last century. A good fishing hole or swimming spot or a day at the beach with good friends and family was all that was needed. That was pure perfection.