Many incumbents fall in general election races

By Ed Pierce

It was not politics as usual in the 2026 general election as incumbents were ousted in Windham and Raymond and referendums proposed by the Windham Town Council were defeated.

Republican State Rep. Barbara Bagshaw, who had served in the Maine House for two terms, lost by 139 votes to Democrat Bradley Youngs for the right to represent part of Windham in the House District 106 race. Youngs, a former golf professional, restaurant manager, stay-at-home father, received 2,637 votes to Bagshaw’s 2,498.

Democrat Joseph Campbell also won the Maine House District 107 seat representing part of Windham by defeating incumbent Republican Mark Cooper. Campbell, a substitute teacher, received 2,631 votes to Cooper’s 2,318.

In Raymond, Democrat Abigail Geer leads incumbent Republican Rolf Olsen by 30 votes with 98.2 percent of voting reported for the House District 86 seat, representing Raymond, Casco, Frye Island, and Poland. Geer, a community organizer, received 2,536 votes to Olsen’s 2,506. If that margin holds, Olsen could request a formal recount.

For State Senate District 26, representing Windham, Raymond, Casco, Frye Island and part of Westbrook, incumbent Democrat Tim Nangle won a third term defeating Republican challenger Kenneth Cianchette. Nangle, an IT Help Desk lead, received 11,307 votes to Cianchette’s 7,876.

In a statement to the press, Nangle said he was ready to get back to work in Augusta on behalf of his constituents.

“I’m honored that the people of Senate District 26 are once again trusting me to fight for them in Augusta,” Nangle said. “I’m ready to get back to work to lower costs for Maine’s working families and seniors, defend our rights and freedoms and build a strong future for the state we all love.”

State legislators will be sworn in on Dec. 2 with the 133rd Maine Legislature convening in Augusta on Jan. 8, 2027.

The top two recipients receiving the most votes out of four candidates were elected to RSU 14 Board of Director positions representing Windham for three-year terms. Winning re-election to the RSU 14 Board was incumbent Marge Govoni, who received 3,769 votes. Also winning a RSU 14 Board position was Megan Potter, a Case Manager Lead, who received 3,617 votes. Incumbent Joseph Kellner was third with 3,266 votes and Adam Zajac was fourth with 3,223 votes.

Two unopposed candidates were elected for three-year terms to serve on the Windham Town Council. Mark Cobb, a business owner, and incumbent Mark Morrison, a financial advisor, will be sworn in by Windham Town Clerk Anthony Blasi. Morrison received 7,068 votes to represent Windham’s East District on the council. Cobb received 7,629 votes to serve in an at-large position on the council.

Both Windham Town Council and RSU 14 Board of Directors positions are non-partisan.

In Cumberland County races, incumbent sheriff Kevin Joyce was unopposed for re-election as was Probate Judge Paul Aranson and both will continue to serve in those roles following the election.

With about 89.2 percent of precincts reporting, incumbent Cumberland County District Attorney Jacqueline Sartoris was leading Stephanie Anderson by more than 36,000 votes and appears to have won re-election for a second term.

In Windham, three referendum measures were rejected by voters.

The first referendum would have modified the Windham Town Charter to scrap the annual town meeting held every June on a Saturday where the municipal budget is discussed and voted on by residents. It would have changed municipal budget approval to a public vote held on Maine Primary Day on the second Tuesday in June coinciding with the annual RSU 14 school budget voting. Voters defeated the proposal with 5,637 voting no and 3,821 voting yes. 

The second referendum would have raised the threshold requiring voter approval for off‑budget spending from $25,000 to $500,000. Windham Town Councilors said this measure would give the council flexibility in presenting either a single up‑or‑down budget vote or departmental line items. They said raising the threshold requiring voter approval for off‑budget spending would have allowed the council to approve purchases up to a $500,000 limit without going to a town-wide vote for approval. Councilors said this measure is currently being used by surrounding towns and the current limit of $25,000 no longer provides for emergency operations or acquisitions in a meaningful way. Voters defeated this proposal with 5,310 voting no and 3,943 voting yes.

The third referendum asked if the town should purchase Windham Middle School for $1 from RSU 14 once it becomes vacant in the fall of 2027 and then repurpose the building into a Community Center and housing for town offices and the Windham Public Library. The cost would be estimated at $19.5 million by issuing general obligation bonds for the project and includes design work, engineering, professional services, site preparation, construction, renovation, operating expenses, and other improvements and furnishings as may be required in connection with the project. The proposal included leveraging up to $2 million of the town fund balance as the Windham Town Council deems reasonable and necessary to reduce the borrowing amount and directly pay costs of the project. Voters defeated this proposal with 5,267 residents voting no and 4,548 voting yes.

Despite the Community Center referendum failing, the Town of Windham does retain the right of first refusal for the purchase of the Windham Middle School building once it is vacant. <

Cub Scout Pack 805 organizes food drive

By Ed Pierce

The father of scouting, Robert Baden-Powell once wrote that a scout's duty is to be useful and to help others. With that in mind, Windham Cub Scout Pack 805 will be conducting a food drive at the Shaw’s Supermarket in Windham to assist those in need.

Members of Windham Cub Scouts Pack 805 will conduct a
food drive from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14 at
Shaw's Supermarket, 770 Roosevelt Trail, in Windham.
Known as 'Scouting for Food,' the initiative will benefit
the Windham Food Pantry and St. Ann's Episcopal Church
Essentials Pantry. This year's theme is "Fill the Boat,' with
a boat on hand to hold all donations before delivery.
SUBMITTED PHOTO  

From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, Cub Scouts Pack 805 will be leading a food drive at Shaws, located at 770 Roosevelt Trail in Windham. The initiative is known as "Scouting for Food" and every item collected will benefit the Windham Food Pantry and the St. Ann's Episcopal Church Essentials Pantry.

This year's Scouting for Food theme is "Fill the Boat," with a boat on hand to hold all donations prior to delivery.

Josh Smeltzer of Cub Scouts Pack 805 says participating in the food drive instills character, citizenship, personal fitness and leadership in young scouts.

"One way Pack 805 does this is through teaching kids how to not only respect and safely enjoy the outdoors but also respect and give back to their country and their community through projects like Scouting for Food,” Smeltzer said. “The aims of Cub Scouts Pack 805 are character, citizenship, personal fitness, and leadership. One way Pack 805 does this is through teaching kids how to not only respect and safely enjoy the outdoors but also respect and give back to their country and their community through projects like Scouting for Food.”

He said that joining the Cub Scouts is the first step in a journey to become a responsible citizen who cares about their neighbors and the community.

Smeltzer said 2026 marks the 41st anniversary of the national Scouting for Food program. It was launched in 1981 as an Eagle Scout Project by Christopher DuBois of Boy Scout Troop 643 in St. Ann, Missouri, and the program was officially implemented as a council-wide project of the Boy Scouts of America, Great Saint Louis Area Council, in 1985.

In 1988, Boy Scouts of America (now Scouting America) adopted the program, rolling it out nationwide, Smeltzer said.

Both the Windham Food Pantry and St. Ann's are in need of canned vegetables and meats, fresh fruit and vegetables, pancake, cookie and muffin mixes, pasta and rice, prepared meals like Hamburger Helper, cold and hot cereal, peanut butter, jelly, and bottled water and juices, he said.

“Thank you for your help this giving season,” Smeltzer said.

Cash donations and gift cards will also be accepted during the Nov. 14 food drive at Shaws.

For more information about Windham Cub Scout Pack 805, send an email to [email protected] or visit www.beascout.org. <

Windham resident to compete in ‘Million Dollar Affordability Showdown’

By Ed Pierce

Kaullen Winter of Windham is one of just 12 nationwide finalists set to compete in the “Million Dollar Affordability Showdown” in Georgia and a chance to walk away with a $1 million prize.

Kaullen Winter of Windham, right, is one of
12 nationwide finalists competing in Atlanta,
Georgia in the 'Million Dollar Affordability
Showdown' and hopes to win a $1 million
prize for his wife, Kassaundra, and their
family.  SUBMITTED PHOTO

Winter, 32, works for Cintas in Westbrook as a maintenance technician and has worked as a maintenance technician for the past 13 years. He first heard about the contest while online.

“I found the program via an ad on Instagram I believe,” he said. “There was a commercial or reel that was talking about the affordability crisis and if we thought we knew why everything is so expensive. All I had to do was take a quiz and I would be entered in a sweepstakes drawing to compete in Atlanta for the grand prize of $1 million.”

The “Million Dollar Affordability Showdown” is held in Atlanta, Georgia and is the culmination of “The Million Dollar Question,” a national initiative that challenged Americans on their knowledge of economics, affordability and the issues affecting everyday life.

As just one contestant out of hundreds of thousands of participants from across the country, Winter made it to the final 12 contestants and will be flown to Atlanta to compete in the live competition. This summer, he answered questions at the “Million Dollar Question Official Site” covering a range of affordability topics like housing, wages, healthcare, groceries, childcare, and government spending.

The “Million Dollar Affordability Showdown” contest is sponsored by The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) which launched a national campaign asking Americans a question they're already asking themselves: "What's Behind the Affordability Crisis?"

The questions that were posed in the online quiz this summer were designed to enable respondents to understand the economic forces causing America's affordability problems such as inflation, tariffs, indebtedness and soaring interest rates.

National finalists were randomly selected by The Foundation for Economic Education to compete in the "Affordability Showdown" game show taped finale in Atlanta hosted by comedian and political satirist Andrew Heaton.

"Affordability problems are often bottleneck problems," said Diogo Costa, FEE's President. "If we do not build enough homes, train enough doctors, produce enough energy, or make it easier for businesses to serve people, the result shows up as higher prices and tighter family budgets. The ‘Million Dollar Question’ asks Americans to look at the bottlenecks behind the bills."

For FEE, the contest is a bridge to teach Americans about the real economics behind rising costs of living, Costa said.

Founded in 1946, FEE has been helping Americans understand the real economics behind what they're living through. FEE’s mission is to inspire, educate, and connect future leaders with the economic, ethical, and legal principles of a free society. These principles include: individual liberty, free-market economics, entrepreneurship, private property, high moral character, and limited government.

"Affordability isn't abstract," Heaton said. "It's rent, groceries, childcare – stuff people deal with every day. This quiz turns that daily pressure into a national conversation and, for 12 people, into a shot at the Affordability Showdown finale in Atlanta with a $1 million prize."

Winter says he has no expectations for the national finals but welcomes the opportunity to travel to Atlanta. 

“I hope to win it all more than anything, but enjoying the free vacation is also part of the experience,” he said.

As the father of five young girls, Winter spends a lot of time when he’s not working playing with his children, playing video games, working on equipment, and enjoying whatever life has to offer.

He says he’s looking forward to competing in the “Million Dollar Affordability Showdown.” Taping of the national finals will take place later this month.

“New experiences are always a bonus,” Winter said. <

VFW’s Veterans Day observance nearing in Windham

By Ed Pierce

For the men and women who have worn the uniform of the United States of America, a federal holiday recognizing their service and sacrifices to the nation, Veterans Day, is observed on Nov. 11 every year, symbolic of the 11th Hour of the 11th day of the 11th month marking the end of World War I. In Windham, the public is invited to a special event on Veterans Day to remember those who have stepped up and given of themselves in the defense of liberty.

This year’s Veterans Day ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11 at the Windham Veterans Center and will feature a guest speaker and the student winners of this year’s local Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10643 essay contest.

The event is part of national celebrations of Veterans Day, which was originally known as “Armistice Day.” The commemoration of a special day to pay tribute to military veterans was launched on Nov. 11, 1919, one year after the end of World War I. U.S. President Woodrow Wilson declared “Armistice Day” to take place annually in America on the “11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour” to remember the end of what was known as “The Great War,” now called World War I.

In his original proclamation President Wilson was resolute about creating a day to pay tribute to American veterans.

“Reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations,” Wilson wrote in his original proclamation to create “Armistice Day.”

In June 1954, the U.S. Congress officially changed the name of “Armistice Day” to Veterans Day to honor those Americans who perished in World War II and Korea since “Armistice Day” had first been observed. In 1975, U.S. President Gerald Ford designated Nov. 11 as the permanent Veterans Day holiday because of its historical significance for the nation.

VFW Post 10643 Commander Jeff Cook of Windham is a retired Navy Seal and will serve as the Master of Ceremonies for this year’s Veterans Day event at the Windham Veterans Center.

Cook was 40 years old when he first went to serve in Afghanistan.

“I was part of the group that was sent to build the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan which was the epicenter of the war against the Tailban and al-Queda for 20 years,” he said. “During this time, many military service young men and women tasked with this job, died. It is important that we remember them for their sacrifice.”

The Veterans Day observance will include patriotic songs and Windham Boy Scout Troop 805 will assist with seating and the Presentation of the Colors. Members of Windham’s state delegation and the Windham Town Council will attend.

Cook will announce the winners of this year’s VFW-sponsored essay competitions who will read their essays for the audience in attendance for the Veterans Day observance. The theme of this year’s Patriot’s Pen contest for students in grades 6 to 8 and for the Voice of Democracy contest for students in grades 9 to 12 is “What a Veteran Taught Me About America." 

Veterans Day is a federal holiday recognized each November to celebrate and honor all U.S. veterans, those who are deceased or living. No matter what day of the week, Veterans Day always falls on November 11 each year and is recognized as a federal holiday nationally.

The Veterans Day event in Windham is free and open to the public at the Windham Veterans Center, 35 Veterans Memorial Drive in Windham. <

Voters casting ballots on three separate referendums in Windham

By Ed Pierce

Voters are casting ballots on three separate town referendums in Windham in the Nov. 3 election and each one carries significance for residents if passed.

Besides Windham Town Council and RSU 14
candidates, Windham residents are voting on
three separate referendum items, including
changing the way the annual town budget is
raising the threshold requiring voter approval
for off‑budget spending from $25,000 to
$500,000, and purchasing Windham Middle
School when it becomes vacant and then
converting the building into a Community
Center, town library, and consolidating
town offices there in a $19.5 million project.
PHOTO BY ED PIERCE          

The first referendum modifies the Windham Town Charter to curtail the annual town meeting held every June on a Saturday where the municipal budget is discussed and voted on by residents. It instead changes municipal budget approval to a public vote held on Maine Primary Day on the second Tuesday in June. This would coincide with the annual RSU 14 school budget voting.

Since the town charter was adopted and the town council form of government was put in place in 1975, public participation at the Windham Annual Town meeting has dwindled to less than 150 residents out of more than 12,000 registered voters in town over the past two years.

During Windham Town Council meetings for several years, councilors discussed the legal aspects of making a charter change with the town attorney. They learned that to make a change to the charter, an amendment was needed and it is required under Maine law to propose an amendment through a formal process that includes public notice, public hearings, and ultimately a vote by town residents at a regular or special election.

Another alternative for the council would have been to form a charter commission of appointed or elected citizens who would research the existing charter, potentially comparing it to those of other municipalities, and drafting a proposed amendment.

After lengthy discussions, councilors chose to increase public participation voting on the municipal budget through an amendment that moves away from an in-person town meeting to a balloted referendum vote.

A second referendum item before Windham voters raises the threshold requiring voter approval for off‑budget spending from $25,000 to $500,000. Councilors say this would give the council flexibility in presenting either a single up‑or‑down budget vote or departmental line items.

Raising the threshold requiring voter approval for off‑budget spending will allow the council to approve purchases up to a $500,000 limit without going to a town-wide vote for approval.

Councilors say this measure is currently being used by surrounding towns and the current limit of $25,000 no longer provides for emergency operations or acquisitions in a meaningful way.

In developing these two referendum items, members of the Windham Town Council chose to implement the “Charter Amendment” method before voters which can be used when a specific existing section of the charter is desired to be changed. That way the changes being proposed will not drastically affect the charter in its entirety.

During this year’s Annual Town meeting held at Windham High School on June 13, Windham Town Council Chair Mark Morrison said that the low participation of voters at the town meeting is evident and that is why a charter amendment is needed to change the budget process to a public vote by secret ballot like the annual RSU 14 budget vote every spring with the goal of increasing resident participation.

Some who oppose the proposed charter amendments say that voters are being asked to cast their ballots without full information or completely understanding complex or legal language contained in referendums that they are voting on.

The third referendum issue Windham residents will vote on is if the town should purchase Windham Middle School for $1 from RSU 14 once it becomes vacant in the fall of 2027 and then repurposing the building into a Community Center and housing for town offices and the Windham Public Library there. The cost would be estimated at $19.5 million by issuing general obligation bonds for the project and includes design work, engineering, professional services, site preparation, construction, renovation, operating expenses, and other improvements and furnishings as may be required in connection with the project.

The proposal includes leveraging up to $2 million of the town’s fund balance as the Windham Town Council deems reasonable and necessary to reduce the borrowing amount and directly pay costs of the project. 

The existing Windham Middle School building first opened in 1974 and was intended for a capacity of 483 students. That number has grown in the past 52 years to 650 students and some sixth graders being housed for classes at the adjacent Field Allen School, which was built in 1949.

In November 2023, a plurality of voters in the school district, which encompasses Windham and Raymond, approved a referendum to build the new Windham Raymond Middle School with about 77 percent of construction costs paid by the Maine Department of Education’s Major Capital Construction Program. The total project budget to construct the new school is estimated at about $171.5 million, with the state funding $131.7 million of that expense and residents of Windham and Raymond paying the remaining $39.8 million.

As part of the language in that referendum in November 2023 to obtain $131.7 million in state funding for the new middle school, RSU 14 voters agreed that the existing Windham Middle School could not be used as a school again, since the state had already contributed funding for substantial repair costs over decades of the building’s use and the school does not have a fire suppression system.

A 20-member Middle School Repurpose Advisory Committee looked at ways to best use the soon-to-be vacated school building and found that the basic structure of the school was sound and that it offered 80,000 square feet of available space, the committee looked at the existing town buildings with long-term replacement costs and short-term maintenance, parking improvements and repair costs and decided that a number of municipal services could be relocated to the site for a fraction of the cost of renovating or replacing current buildings.

In putting forward the Community Center referendum, Windham Town Manager Robert Burns said that although the benefits of the Windham Middle School Repurposing Project come with a cost, in the long run it will be cost-effective for the town.

He said this proposal would move Town Hall offices there, along with Windham’s Social Services Office, which houses the Windham Food Pantry, the Windham Public Library, Windham’s Medical Loan Closet, and create a Community Center.

“This building represents an opportunity for us to move forward,” Burns said.

According to Burns, approval of Referendum 3 represents a total mil rate increase of 37 cents. He said the impact will be spread over five years by using up to $2 million in fund balance to limit the average annual mil rate impact to roughly 7.4 cents. This is equivalent to an annual tax increase of about $33.30 on a $450,000 home for five consecutive years with no further tax increase after the fifth year. <

In the public eye: RSU 14 videographer provides narrative of school district activities to community

Editor’s Note: This is another in an ongoing series of Windham and Raymond town employee profiles.

By Ed Pierce

Gary Harriman prefers to work behind the scenes but his videography and photography document the up-close-and-personal actions of RSU 14 students, teachers and staff while keeping the school district’s websites current.

RSU 14's Webmaster/Videographer Gary
Harriman has worked for the school
district for 14 years and his videography
and photography document the 
day-to-day special activities and projects
of students, teachers and staff and he
also keeps RSU 14 websites current.
SUBMITTED PHOTO  

His official title for RSU 14 is Webmaster/Videographer but Harriman says that’s a bit of a misnomer.

“An accurate description should really be Web Content Manager/Videographer,” he said.

Harriman’s duties fall into two areas.

“First, I maintain the content of the school district's eight primary websites. This includes creating/updating/maintaining directories, photo and video galleries, recent news, department webpages, public facing calendars and individual school links and special areas. I’m available to all staff as a resource to help develop and promote their content on the web,” he said. “And second, I shoot and edit video and do still photography to promote events district-wide on the district websites and to support teachers and administrators in the schools. This can range from recording concerts or meetings, to recording, and archiving professional development materials for future sharing, to documenting classroom practice and special projects, to providing sports and event photos for use on the school websites.”

He’s worked for RSU 14 for 14 years and says the best part of his work is that telling stories about the school district helps to create positive opinions of educators in the community.

“I think one of the most important aspects of any community is the quality of its school system,” Harriman said. “My job does two things. I play a role in supporting students and staff in the day-to-day education process. And I get to help to provide a narrative for RSU 14 by documenting and promoting its successes to the community. In today's media landscape an organization needs to be proactive and involved with informing the public’s perception.”

Staying “in the loop” day to day with all of the schools to keep the websites current is the most challenging aspect of his job.

“Many people look at the school systems as a nine month per year business. In reality, there is no true down time anymore,” he said. “While the bulk of the students leave for a couple months in the summer, the work of the school district continues. Summer is the time for maintenance and upgrades. Summer programs, both academic and athletic, linger into July and come back by mid-August. My position is no different. Summer is when we examine every page and link all the websites for improvement and relevancy. Toward the end of summer, we’re updating all the staff directories and teacher pages. This coming July we’ll be launching the new webpage for the new middle school. During the summer we’ll be prepping it for the first day of school.”

According to Harriman, one of his most memorable times with RSU 14 came in his first year, producing one of the first long format videos he put together for Windham High School.

“It was a feature on the Simond sisters. Three sisters whose time in high school overlapped and they were all ‘all conference’ soccer players,” he said. “For a period of about six years there was at least one sister playing for WHS and during that time the Eagles were a dominant power in Class A. Everything about that story was positive. Great kids, great students, excelling at what they loved to do. Having come from the world of commercial television it was a really rewarding experience.” 

His family is fully supportive of Harriman working for a school district.

“They share my feelings about the importance of the local schools to any community,” he said. “But I think what they like most about the job is that I really like it and enjoy going to work every day.”

Harriman says the most important thing he has learned while working for RSU 14 is a deeper understanding of just how challenging being an educator can be.

“Teachers, administrators and staff spend enormous amounts of time developing and implementing strategies to provide the best possible education for our children,” he said. “They are constantly looking for that additional ‘edge’ that will improve their students' success. In return for their investment, communities rightly expect excellence, but until you live in the education environment, it’s hard to even imagine the constant commitment given by education professionals.” <

Windham in the 1950s: Ghostly happenings

By Max Millard

In February 1958, when my family moved into the Goold House in Windham Center, we quickly sensed an otherworldly presence. The house, which is now on the National Register of Historic Places dates back to the 1770s, and throughout the 1800s was occupied by several generations of the Goold family.

Unexplained occurrences have left Max Millard, who grew
up in the old Goold House in Windham Center in the 1960s,
to believe the home and tomb on the grounds may be 
haunted by an otherworldy presence,
PHOTO BY MAX MILLARD 

To the Millards' six children, the house seemed like an old Gothic mansion. The tower rising from the end of the long, narrow ell gave the place an enchanted feeling. Adding to the atmosphere was the Goold cemetery, located at the edge of the property, far back from the house. It was the resting place of about 60 souls.

In October 1958, my family got a surprise visit from a reporter for the Portland Press Herald. He interviewed us for an article titled “Will Ghost Walk, Bell Ring? Windham Family Will Be Listening On Halloween.”

He wrote: “Tradition has it that a bell long since gone from the bell tower … still peals a melancholy alarm to ears attuned to such spirit sounds. … The old bell was believed used to signal Indian raids, or perhaps to sound alarms during the War of 1812.”

My sister Frances, then 14, was the only child who scoffed at the idea of ghosts but admitted: “I hate to go into the tower to feed my pet hamster, Squuffy. It's spooky in there.”

Growing up, I never saw a ghost. But when I was 12, I moved into a small bedroom just above the garage. As I lay there in the darkness, I could hear the distinct sound of footsteps coming up the stairs toward my door. I'd hide under the covers, leaving just a small opening for breathing.

Since then, I've often wondered if the footsteps were real. But my belief was rekindled in September 2026 when I stopped by the house with two old friends from the neighborhood. We were warmly greeted by the current owner, Steven Blankschein, who purchased the house in 2024 with his wife Ruth. He invited us inside and gave us a tour.

A Navy veteran who spent 20 years as a cargo ship captain, Steven is a skilled carpenter and handyman who loves spending his days restoring the house's interior. Our conversation soon turned to the supernatural. Steven told of objects disappearing, then reappearing somewhere else, and a light that flickered on and off because the bulb kept getting partially unscrewed.

These incidents might have an easy explanation, but not when a female guest in an upstairs bedroom released an ear-splitting scream in the middle of the night. She sobbed out that she had seen a man in the room staring at her. A moment later, he vanished. She refused to return to the room, and never again stayed in the house overnight.

Some guests in the ell testified that they'd awoken to the touch of a cold hand rubbing against their cheek. In the downstairs room where I'd slept as a child, local plumber Lee Tubbs was doing some work next to a hole in the floor when someone – or something – pushed him in. He wasn't injured, but when he looked up, the room was empty.

To cap our visit, Steven led us to the graveyard, which is anchored by the imposing tomb of William Goold, dated 1890. The oldest grave is an above-ground crypt that reads: “Here lies all that is mortal of Benjamin Goold, who was born in the part of Kittery afterwards Elliot, in 1749. … He whose dust lies beneath came to Falmouth in 1768, and from thence to this town in 1771. He cleared a farm and built a house 130 rods directly south from this monument, where he died of consumption November 12th, 1807, aged 58 years.”  

Hardly anyone visits the graveyard anymore. When I was growing up someone would come on Memorial Day and plant a flag on each veteran's grave. That has since been officially abandoned, but Steven now takes up the task himself. Several graves are for young men from Windham killed in the Civil War. The most recent gravestone is for my sister Bronwyn, who tragically died in 1974 at the age of 22.

William Goold's tomb, nestled under a mound, is guarded by a thick slate door and an iron gate. Unfortunately, vandals over the years have punched a roughly circular hole in the center of the door with a crowbar. The hole is big enough so that one can see the interior quite clearly with a flashlight. There are no skeletons – just coffins.

Back at the house, Steven related that he often hears footsteps coming from the ell when no one is there. But he is unbothered by the unexplained phenomena because “they don't seem to be harmful spirits,” and he senses only good vibes coming from them. As he continues restoring the house, he might be encouraged by the thought that his work is getting a quiet assist from beyond the grave.

Max Millard is a retired journalist and teacher in San Francisco, California. Email: [email protected] <