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...
Laurianne Hynes was born in Lewiston in the early 1930s, and describes life in Lewiston during her childhood and early adult life, the shops that she and her family frequented, and her family members who all lived nearby. Hynes held a number of jobs throughout her...
Upon graduating from university, David Quinn was drawn to Maine’s natural beauty, and left his home state of Connecticut to teach tennis and work in a local mill in Augusta. Inspired by his childhood nostalgia for slipper socks, and with the help of Ted Johanson at...
John Allard started in the shoe industry at the age of 15, swapping locations here and there. He then worked at Falcon Shoe for about four times, coming back several times after either being fired or quitting. He was a shoe cutter and also a leather assessor. He...
Lorraine Brown has been making shoes for a long time. She was born and raised in Lewiston/Auburn, getting started in shoe-making at the age of 15 when she wanted to raise money for roller skates at the Beacon. She worked at the Bleachery and Libby Mill for a time, but...
