Born on December 24, 1924, Anita Levesque moved from Quebec to Lewiston in September 1946. Anita, along with her brother and sister, worked in the card room in the Bates Mill. Levesque shares her story of living in Lewiston’s Franco-American community, working in the...
This episode shares the story of Lemay, born in Lewiston in 1934 to Canadian immigrant parents deeply tied to the mills. Leaving school after eighth grade, she began weaving at the Hill Mill at the age of eighteen before moving to the Bates Mill, where she worked in...
In 1918, when Ernest Lamontagne was two years old, his family moved from French Canada to Lewiston to work. Lamontagne talks about growing up in Lewiston, describes his family life, and his experience working at Bates Mill.
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...
Laurette Boulay was born in Lewiston in 1920, and she and her family returned to Canada soon after. When she was just shy of 16 years old, Boulay returned to Lewiston on her own to work and live with her aunt and uncle. From when she was 18 to in her early fifties,...
