Jerry Roussaeu was born in Auburn in 1930 to a French Canadian family. After receiving his Social Security card when he was thirteen, he began working in the brickyard to contribute to his family. He discusses what daily life was like growing up in the 1930s and 40s...
Born in 1925, Lucille Barret was raised in Little Canada and shares her experiences having grown up there. She worked at the Bates Mill for a very long time, starting in 1952 until 1995. She was a stitcher for the bedspreads for about 48 of the 50 years she worked...
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.
Ray St. Pierre worked for the Bates Mill in accounting, sharing a lot of internal information about how the accounting side of Bates operated as well as how it changed as the years went on. He worked there as the mill was closing down, talking about how the mill...
Aime Foisy shares his background in the military, having served in World War Two as an engineer and being captured as a Prisoner-of-War. Aurore was born in Canada as one of 14 children, working in the mills in Lewiston. Both share their history together, and all the...