Phyllis Rand worked in the mills for two years. As a Black woman, she speaks about her experiences and the working conditions in the mills, as well as raising children in Lewiston and finding community within the place she calls home.
Vital Gagnon grew up here in Lewiston, moving all over Lincoln Street till ending up at a farm in Auburn, with both parents working in the mills located nearby. Both of them at one point even worked at the Bates Mill together, though his mom later worked as a...
Jim Wellehan and his family have deep ties to the shoe industries located across Lewiston-Auburn. His family operates Lamey-Wellehan Shoes with locations across the state, and the company got their start in 1914 when his dad opened the first store with Charley...
Born about six months before Pearl Harbor in 1941, Jack Tetrault grew up in the period right at the start and after World War Two. He grew up in Auburn, recalling a lot of the things that they used to do for fun back then before car traffic picked up like riding down...
Dot McAtee works for the Maine Heritage Weavers today after working for Bates Mill for about 20 years. Dot worked first in the shoe industry at the age of 16 working part-time with her mother who worked making heels. Starting in 78′, she worked at the Bates Mill...
