Jerome Feinstein moved to Lewiston from Massachusetts after graduating from high school in the late 1930s. Feinstein worked in the shoe industry, moving across seven different roles in the factories. Eventually, he went on to be a shoe salesman. Feinstein discusses...
Irene Harvey was born and raised in Lewiston in Little Canada. In 1960, when Harvey was in her teens, she left school to begin work in order to contribute to her family. She soon followed in her father’s footsteps, and began working in the shoe factories alongside...
Roger Farnum came of age in Lewiston and Turner during the 1940s. After marrying, he began working in the shoe industry in Lewiston. He discusses his role buying materials from suppliers to sell to shoe companies, unions strikes, and explains how he was impacted when,...
Kyle Rancourt was born in 1984 to a family who had owned shoe businesses for generations in Lewiston. Kyle discusses his memories of his parents’ business from when he was a child, to now, as he’s followed in his their footsteps to work in the shoe industry. He...
Herb Koss was born in Lewiston in 1935 following his parents’ arrival to the area. They were originally from Russia, arriving in Massachusetts first before moving up to Maine. His father and his uncle pulled together money to open their own shoe shop up here in...
