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Irene Berube

Irene worked at the Bates Mill in the winding room with cotton. In this interview, Irene discusses the workers at the mill, including what child labor looked like at the time. She also discusses her family’s transition from Canada to Maine.

Jeannine Roy

Jeannine Roy was a shoe worker in Lewiston as a stitcher in the shoe shops. She discusses what she did there and the shops that she worked at. She also discusses places in Lewiston and her family’s immigration to Maine.

Beatrice Caron

Beatrice Caron was a mill worker from 16 to 63 years old. She discusses her family’s transition from Canada to the U.S. and the Quebecois who worked at the mills. The seniority structure of the mill, including how people moved around jobs, is recounted as well....

Vernon Daigle

Vernon Daigle moved to Lewiston at 7 years old in 1943 from Fort Kent, ME. His dad was a lumberjack and his mom was a cook, but they moved to Lewiston to work for the BIW. He explains what it was like growing up in Lewiston; his neighborhood, the stores he went to,...

Lucy Belanger

Lucy Belanger, born in Canada and raised in Lewiston, Maine after a brief period in New Hampshire, speaks in this interview on her and her family’s experience in working with the mills. She talks about growing up and going with her father to work, and becoming a...