Born in Portland, Maine, on February 9, 1931, Edwina Foster moved to Auburn as a baby. She began working in the mills in 1947 at the age of 16 after she quit school. She worked in the Continental Mill and the Bates Mill, as well as other various textile mills in...
Born on December 24, 1924, Anita Levesque moved from Quebec to Lewiston in September 1946. Anita, along with her brother and sister, worked in the card room in the Bates Mill. Levesque shares her story of living in Lewiston’s Franco-American community, working in the...
Laurent Rivard was born in Lewiston in 1920, and grew up in what was called “Little Canada”. He began working at the Androscoggin Mill at 18 after finishing school, and with the exception of two years spent in the army, Rivard would continue to work in various mills...
Laurianne Hynes was born in Lewiston in the early 1930s, and describes life in Lewiston during her childhood and early adult life, the shops that she and her family frequented, and her family members who all lived nearby. Hynes held a number of jobs throughout her...
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.
