Mulford Honored by Town Council

By Michael Ryan

WINDHAM - It is merely a mention in the official Book of Minutes and the respectful gesture might make Margaret Mulford miffed.

Windham town council members did it anyway, setting aside a “Page in the Record” during a recent meeting, honoring Mrs. Mulford who passed away in early March.

She was a month shy of her 99th birthday, but she was never bashful about throwing her weight around, even if there wasn’t much of it.

Mrs. Mulford was a diminutive woman, not a whole lot bigger than the desk she commandeered for many years as a 4th grade teacher at Windham-Ashland-Jewett school.

To say she was strict would be a bit of an understatement. Grown men, long after graduating from WAJ and passing her in the street, would abruptly pay much closer attention and studiously smile.

They also spoke affectionately of her, including the late town supervisor T. Patrick Meehan whom Mrs. Mulford remembered as “always cheerful, a real joy to have in the class.”

Mrs. Mulford was among the last of the “school marms,” tough as nails outside and tender inside, as was her colleague Stanley Christman.

They were Old School and not afraid to ensure the students were listening, for good reason. “I suppose I was strict,” Mrs. Mulford said in a local radio interview when she was barely 91 years old.

“I don’t know how else to describe it. That’s just the way I was. Of course, I wanted the children to learn what they were taught.

“I wanted them to behave but I also wanted them to have a good time in school, not always have it be work. Sometimes I was not so beloved, maybe, but I cared about the children.”

Teaching was as much a part of her as breathing. “I played school all the time when I was a child,’ Mrs. Mulford said. “I just loved it.”

She was also fond of the New York Mets. Growing up between New York City and the mountains, “my father, brother and I used to go to baseball games at the Polo Grounds.” Mrs. Mulford said in the interview.

“It was the New York Giants back then {before they moved the franchise to San Francisco]. Afterwards, I became a Mets fan. I watch every game on television. They are dear to me.”

Nearer and dearer was the Windham Public Library, serving as a Board of Trustees member and its president for literally generations.

“Oh yes, I was always an avid reader. I love that library,” Mrs. Mulford said. “Through the years, we became a Five-Star library.

“A lot of that is due to [library director] Candy [Begley], and Carol is a treasure,” Mrs. Mulford said, referring to her fellow board of directors member Carol Spear.

None of those accomplishments and acquaintances would have been possible if her parents hadn’t moved the family from the Big Apple to Windham, back when life was quite different.

“When I was in school, I would go to class here in September and October, go down to the City for the winter months, then come back up here in May and June to finish the year,” Mrs. Mulford says.

Far from being a deterrent, it became a deep determination and dedication. “Lots of times, when I’m out walking,” Mrs. Mulford said, “I look at the sky and say ‘thank you mom and dad for bringing us up here.’”

In other matters:

—Town council members reported a dramatic discrepancy in a recent water bill for a local business, emphasizing it was dealt with quickly.

A water meter at the Chicken Run Restaurant appeared to indicate the use of an extraordinary 3 million gallons of water over a 6-month period.

“The meter went crazy,” town supervisor Thomas Hoyt said, piling up several thousand dollars in undue charges.

“This isn’t the first time something like this happened,” Hoyt said, noting the meter was fixed and the bill was appropriately adjusted, basing it on prior use over a comparable period of time.

—Town council members unwillingly but gratefully accepted the resignation of part time police officer Cody Rogers.

Rogers worked full time for Windham early in his law enforcement career before transitioning to the Greene County sheriff’s office.

While working full time at the sheriff’s office, taking a position as School Resource Officer at Windham-Ashland-Jewett, he continued to work part time with the Windham police department.

That has now changed. “Cody has a toddler and cannot do it all anymore,” Supervisor Hoyt said. “We don’t want to see him go, but he does a great job for the town at the school.”