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Pauline Labbe

Pauline Labbe was born in Lewiston in 1942. Her mother had worked as a doffer at Hill Mill, and her father worked in the shoe industry. Labbe joined her mother working at Hill Mill after graduating high school. She discusses the presence of French-Canadian culture...

Norm Perreault

Norm Perault was born and raised in Lewiston, where his father worked at the Bates Mill as the supervisor for the boiler room. Norm started work at the Bates mill at 16, but left shortly after to become a lumberjack. A supervisor for the Hill Mill later made a bet...

Noel Morrell

Noel Morrell was born in Waterville in the late 1920s, and grew up with his family in Lewiston. Morrell worked as a printing press operator at Bates Mill from around 1952 until he was laid off in 1983 during the company’s downsizing period. He discusses the...

Jerome Feinstein

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

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...