May 2024: Soldier’s Uniform Jacket

In honor of Memorial Day this month, our object for May is a soldier’s uniform jacket. While textile factories like Bates chiefly produced bedspreads along with a variety of other household linens, Lewiston’s industries also played a role in multiple war...

April 2024: The Creation of a Woven Bedspread

  Our April object of the month is this Bates educational poster titled “The Creation of a Woven Bedspread.” Most likely from the 1950s, the poster provides a step-by-step guide to the intricate process of producing a bedspread from raw cotton. It...

March 2024: Rosie the Riveter lunch box

In honor of Women’s History Month, our object for March is a “Rosie the Riveter” lunch box currently on display in our 2024 exhibit, “Unseen Hands, The Hidden Elements of Labor.” Over the last several decades, J. Howard Miller’s design of a female worker dressed in a...

February 2024: Dye Tubes

It’s February, which means our 2024 gallery “Unseen Hands, The Hidden Elements of Labor” opened to the public! This month, we’re highlighting dye tubes from the Bates Dyeing Facility, offering a glimpse at just one of the dozens of objects we...

January 2024: Ward Bros. Womens Cloche Hat

Our object of the month for January is this women’s cloche felt hat from the iconic Ward Bros. store once located on Lisbon Street. Founded by cousins Larry Ward and David Mersons, Ward’s was one of many stores owned and operated by Lewiston’s Jewish population. Wards...