Cecile Brodeur was born and raised in Lewiston, she speaks about growing up in a big family and having to work in the mills with her 11 siblings at 18 in order to support the family. She worked in the card room at the Bates Mill, and she talks about her experience...
William ‘Bud’ Lewis worked as an engineer for the Bates Manufacturing Company Inc. from 1949 to 1985, then became a consultant until 2000. In this interview, he discusses growing up during The Great Depression in Portland, Maine, the history of the...
Ray and Rita Thibault worked various jobs in the shoe mills. Ray discusses his job as a pattern maker and Rita talks about her childhood and work as well. Both speak positively of the shoe industry.
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.
Emeril Bergeron worked in the mills for forty years. He discusses both the differences in the communities of Lewiston and Auburn and the community of the mill. He also details the generational differences between education and his family’s views on it. Finally,...
