Iolanta Biderman, interviewed by Pauleena MacDougall
Scope and Contents
Maine Folklife Center and the Hudson Museum at the University of Maine proposed to study and present the ways that immigrants in central and eastern Maine connect themselves with their ethnicity.
Dates
- February to June 2005
Creator
- From the Collection: MacDougall, Pauleena (Interviewer, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
For digitized items free from access restrictions, we are working to upload this material (pdfs, mp3s, jpgs) for public access, but it is an ongoing project. If you don’t find what you are looking for here, contact Special Collections (um.library.spc@maine.edu).
Extent
From the Collection: 16 items
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Abstract
NA3729 Iolanta Biderman, interviewed by Pauleena MacDougall, February 14, 2005, Pauleena’s office at UMaine, Orono, Maine. Biderman talks about living in the U.S.S.R. until she was 4 years old; living in the Ukraine and Kazakhstan with relatives; Kazakhstan culture; moving to Moscow at 17 to go to college; Soviet turmoil and the effect on Russians in Latvia in 1989; working for a shipping company in Latvia; Russians being removed from Latvia; meeting her U. S. husband in Latvia through the Coast Guard; depression in Moscow leading to loss of jobs; moving to the U. S. and wanting to teach at a Florida University; moving with her husband to Maine for his job; raising her Latvian son in U. S. culture; wanting her son to learn world literature and history like she did in her childhood schools; going back to school at UMaine; Russian culture’s less strict structure for young people; economic struggles in Maine and her job as a tutor in Bangor Education Department; difficulty finding a job in Maine due to being Russian and a woman; desire to leave Maine because it is not for Russians; difference in Russian and U. S. cooking. Text: 20 pp. transcript. Recording: mfc_na3729_c2657_01, mfc_na3729_c2657_02, 57 minutes.
- Education Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Emigration and immigration -- Maine Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Food habits -- Social aspects Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Moscow (Russia) Subject Source: Local sources
- Oral history Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Russian language Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Soviet Union Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Ukraine Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Women -- Employment -- Maine -- History -- 20th century Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Repository Details
Part of the Northeast Archives of Folklore and Oral History Repository
5729 Raymond H. Fogler Library
University of Maine
Orono ME 04469-5729 United States
207.581.1686
