Ray Croteau grew up in a very different Lewiston then today. Born in 1933, his parents worked through the Great Depression with his father as a post-man, the weekly check making sure they didn’t suffer. His mother worked in the Bates Mill from a young age,...
Nicole worked in the textile mills, mainly in the fringe department. She discusses how she balanced being a mother with working and her various jobs in Lewiston. She also discusses the generational differences in her family and her experiences in Lewiston.
In his interview, Charles Poliquin, describes growing up in a big family in Lewiston and the changes in the community. He shares his experience working in the Lown and Falcon shoe shop and trying to support his family after dropping out of school at 15. Poliquin...
Germain Letourneau was a worker at the Hill and Bates Mill. He initially discusses his family and then his jobs as a supervisor at the mills, including a strike he helped organize. He also describes the step-by-step process of making yarn.
Donald Caron was a mechanic in the textile mills from the 1940s to 1970s. He discusses growing up in Lewiston. This includes his schooling, religion, and the community in both Lewiston and Auburn. He also discusses other childhood memories and his experience being...
