Portland (Me.) -- History -- 20th century

Abstract NA3123 Abbie E. Andrew, interviewed by Martha A. Timothy, May 10, 1984, at Andrew’s home in Portland, Maine. Andrew, born December 26, 1897 in Lisbon, New Hampshire, describes moving to Maine; attending Heseltine School; learning to sew; dressing for town; home-fried vs. store-bought donuts; two family helpers; family life; father’s New Hampshire businesses and notebook; graduation 1917; Simmons Bachelor of Science in Home Economics; Columbia for Masters in Teaching; taught in Africa...

Abstract NA3134 Abraham "Doc" Gordon, interviewed by Cynthia Mack, April 22, 1984, Woodfield Road, Portland, Maine. Gordon, born December 17, 1907, in Bath, Maine, recalls growing up Jewish in Portland; receiving religious education from a Rabbi; Armistice Bath Iron Works; Secret Service guarding the Mosque; opera singer Mme. Melicucci (sp.); Bath Trust Co.; Allen Spear; streetcars; cobblestone streets; horse-drawn fire wagons; Synagogue service; father peddling wares; Sagadahoc Ferry; Prohibition;...

Abstract NA3157 Alice C. Willman, interviewed by Elizabeth M. McCann & Martha A. Timothy, October 1, 1984, Limington, Maine. Willman, born July 25, 1899, describes the home she grew up in; Million Dollar Bridge; Friday Night Club; various grocery stores; visited grandmother at Victoria Mansion; various schools and her education; studied business in New York; Residence Director Portland YWCA; worked at Portland’s Army/Navy Civilian Center; desk person at the Boston’s Pioneer YWCA; Campfire Girl;...

Abstract NA2266 Anonymous, interviewed by Barbara Switzer, February 23, 1984, Portland. Anonymous, born June 30, 1904, talks about being born on Newbury Street; matrilineal names of Sholes and Delano; Richard Foss; previous homes; Ralph Rowe’s hotel on Peaks Island; golf links at Brighton and Falmouth Avenues; skating on Brighton Avenue; Deering Avenue Laundry; grocery store at Woodford’s Corner; O’Toole’s dress shop; horse and buggy trip to Buxton; story about short lobsters; Trefethen-Evergreen...

Abstract NA3129 Barbara R. Cloutier, interviewed by Lucia P. Smith, April 16, 1984, Portland, Maine. Cloutier, born February 14, 1900 in Loughaunbeg, County Galway, Ireland, recalls being an Irish immigrant in Portland; the black and tans (British troops) in Ireland; Commercial Street; staying with her aunt; sister Danforth Street; Bald Mountain and Mooselookmeguntic Lake; life in Ireland; Irish-Americans; vegetarian household; habits of employers; Hibernian Hall; the funnies and Andy Gump; missing...

Abstract NA3136 Dorothy A. LeButt, interviewed by Lucia P. Smith, 1984, Portland, Maine. LeButt, born on June 12, 1905, recalls growing up in Portland; Park Street School; Butler School; Portland High School; Largesse Hall Junior College in Lowell, Massachusetts; the Northeast Conservatory of Music; Waynflete; Rogers Hall Preparatory School; Jefferson Theatre; Keith vaudeville shows; Robert Glecker and Grace Carlisle; City Hall; John Phillp Sousa; Burnham Gymnasium; Mr. Wilson’s Dance School; the...

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NA3152 Dorothy A. Pickhardt Talbot, interviewed by Lucia P. Smith, June 26, 1986, Falmouth Foreside, Maine. Talbot, born December 20, 1897, in New York, talks about moving to Portland in 1922; developing Bright’s disease with her first pregnancy and problems with two others; mansion called Morse’s Folly; remarks how housing and transport have changed in her lifetime; describes heirlooms. Text: information sheet; 3 pp. selective transcription. Recording: C 1023 45 minutes.

Abstract NA3130 Dorothy Mason Craig, interviewed by Margaret M. Crane, May 20, 1988, Portland, Maine. Craig, b. May 27, 1899, talks about her parents (Harry and Maude Cobb Mason); her father managing West End Hotel; her childhood there; education; summers in Bath or Mechanic Falls; Portland; the trolley; automobiles; hotel life; cultural activities; dancing; professional dancing; teaching at the Settlement House at Street Bartholomew’s Boys Club in New York City; Miss Emerson; LA and Peaks Island;...

Abstract NA3149 Dorothy Plummer, interviewed individually by Nancy Herter, February 16, 1985 and Martha A. Timothy, February 27 and March 13, 1985, Portland, Maine. Plummer, born April 4, 1899, describes her life on the family farm near the Nonesuch River; Emerson School; Waynflete High School; Wellesley College; Northern Army at Eastern Promenade; Fat Man’s Club; Red Cross in WWII; Knights of Pithius; Redman club and Moose organization; Saint Lawrence Congregational Church and Sunday School;...

Abstract NA3156 Dr. Alice A. (Skolfield) Whittier, interviewed by Didi Stockly, January 2, 1985, Portland, Maine. Whittier, born in 1898, talks about the history of her relatives; her husband; attended medical school in Brunswick and Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania; father building commissioner at Bowdoin and Bowdoin gym, Hyde Hall; infirmary and athletic field named for him; the Saturday Club; Skofield-Whittier House; her mother’s activities in art and sewing; mother was a League of Women Voters member;...

Abstract NA3124 Dwight Andrew, interviewed by Martha A. Timothy, February 29, 1984, and February 1, 1985, at Andrew’s home in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Andrew, born in Littleton, New Hampshire on October 15, 1900, describes Littleton school; Heseltine School; Portland; preserving food; Center’s Store; varieties of apples; Dr. Albian; Sebago barrels; waterglass formula; The Young People's Society of Christian Endeavour Church; Farmer’s Club; movies and activities at church; gas lights to electric;...

Abstract NA3140 Edward J. Norris, interviewed by Martha A. Timothy, August 8, 1988, Portland, Maine. Norris, born March 21, 1908, recalls growing up in Portland; the Million Dollar Bridge; Delano Park; Fort Williams; DuPont factory; Sticky River; Sebago Lake; Oddfellows Block; Woodford’s Town Hall; Leland School; Longfellow School; Lincoln Junior Academy; Deering High School; Exeter and MIT; Woodfords Corner; Nason’s Corner; the Poor Farm; the Porteous Mitchell Store. Text: 13 pp. partial outline....

Abstract NA3150 Elizabeth Ring, interviewed by Martha Timothy, April 5, 1984, Portland, Maine. Ring, born 1902 in Orono, recalls family history; growing up; taught in Plymouth, New Hampshire; Depression; University of Maine at Orono; founding Greater Portland Landmarks, Inc. and Maine League of Historical Societies and Museums; having major influence on Maine Historical Society; Maine Travel Course and Maine Department of Education; being a Fellow in Economics and Politics at Bryn Mawr; receiving...

Abstract NA3128 Elizabeth Thomas Soule Chapman, interviewed by Lucia P. Smith, October 2, 1984, Foreside, Maine. Chapman, born April 16, 1914, talks about the house; her parents William and Mary Thomas; live-in help; Cyril Durante was butler; pony stable on Chadwick Street; two attics; two cellars; chauffeur; governess Annie Mundy from England; plant room; small garden with fountain; pony carts; took ponies to Waynflete; decorating the house with real greens for Christmas; Miss Chrisfield and...

Abstract NA3125 Eva O. (Curtis) Bowering, interviewed by Barbara Switzer, April 3, 1984, at Eva’s home in Sebago Lake. Bowering, born on December 25, 1908, talks about sea captain grandfather’s days at sea; grandmother’s hard life in Harpswell; singing hymns in evenings; mother; maternal grandfather (bookkeeper for Portland-Rochester Railroad Company); Scotland, England, and Belgium; neighborhood growing up; Baby and cherry tree; Harry Marr (Portland’s Fire Chief); neighborhood Catholics, Jews,...

Abstract NA3155 Evelyn F. (Littlefield) Watson, interviewed by Margaret M. Crane, March 8 and May 8, 1984, Portland and Peaks Island, Maine. Watson, born June 16, 1893, recalls her youth in Portland; attending the Monument School; Marada Adams School; Portland High School and Gray’s Business College; James Bailey Automotive; Munjoy Hill; moved to Peaks Island in 1955; Flu Epidemic of 1918; Congress Street Methodist Church; Community Building on Peaks Island; trolleys on Munjoy Hill; Ladies’ Aid...

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NA3146 Francis Charlotte (Wilson) Peabody, interviewed by Helen W. Munro, October 17, 1984, Portland, Maine. Peabody, born April 18, 1903, in Washington, D.C., recalls childhood; Episcopal Church; remembers epidemic; northern Pueblo Indians; Girl Scouts; Rockefeller Foundation; 1973 restoration of Portland home; SPNEA. Text: information sheet; 7 pp. index. Recording: C 1010 90 minutes.

Abstract NA3137 Greta Kerr, interviewed by Bertha C. Gulliver, March 26 and 29, 1984, and April 13 and 21, 1984, Portland, Maine. Kerr, born on June 6, 1890, recalls, in great detail and descriptive phrase, life in Portland: South Portland Bridge; Victoria Mansion; Constance Southworth home; Cutler House; Cutter House; Talbot House; Dyer House; Mussey House; Swett Mansion; Rufus Deering home; Rufus Deering Lumber Yard; High Street Bridge; Keating House; O’Brian’s Antique Book Store; Vice Consul...

Abstract NA3154 Harvey E. Wallingford, interviewed by Vaun E. Born, March 12 and 29, 1985, South Portland. Wallingford, born August 4, 1893, in Alfred, Maine, recalls growing up; moving to Portland in 1916 with wife Sarah; Boston and Maine Railroad (retired 1958); recalls youth on Alfred farm; 1918 Flu Epidemic; Riverton Park; Cape Elizabeth Casino; Keith’s and Jefferson Theatres; Union Station; Cliff Island; Portland and Rochester Railroad and the Inter-urban to Lewiston; colony of Shakers in...

Abstract NA3148 Helen Hartley Pease, interviewed by Bertha C. Gulliver, May 8 and June 1, 1984, Peaks Island, Maine. Pease, who summered on Peaks Island from the age of 10 on, describes Peaks Island; Gem Theatre’s all-women orchestra; Great White Way; Pilgrim three-decker; the boardwalk; the Boston and Maine Railroad; Beacon Camp for Girls; Vassar College; Andy England’s Shop; Sebago Lake; Swampscott car ferry; Methodist Church; Fort on back shore; Blackman’s farm. Text: 4 pp. index; 1 pp. field...

Abstract NA3133 Helen Teresa (Allen) Dwelley, interviewed by Martha A Timothy, May 10, 1984, Portland, Maine. Telephone interview. Dwelley, born on September 15, 1900, talks about being a 10th generation French Canadian; growing up Catholic and poor; moving to Portland in August 1915 at 15; the YWCA; Porteous; Hebert boarding house; Stroudwater canoe house; Riverton boat house on the Presumpscot River; Flu Epidemic of 1918; Fort Devens; Armistice; National Biscuit Company; marriage in 1922; son in...

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NA3144 Hilda Libby Ives Palmer, interviewed by Didi Stockly, March 22, 1984, Cumberland Center, Maine. Palmer, born May 29th, 1909, recalls growing up in Portland, Community Chest (United Fund); Carrol Street School; Butler School; Waynflete Academy and Dobbs and Wheelock; Sebago; Portland vaudeville. Text:15 pp. index, partial transcript, partial written notes. Recording: C 1011 90 minutes.

Abstract NA3147 Isabel K. Pease, interviewed by Margaret M. Crane, March 8 and 20, 1984. Pease, born November 9, 1900, recalls childhood; changes in neighborhood; Coyle Mansion; Nathan Clifford Grammar School; Deering High School; Smith College (1922); Westbrook High School; Harvard; Riverton; Cape Elizabeth casino; Woodfords Church; State Street Church; Smith College; Portland Symphony Orchestra; Middlebury College. Text: information sheet; 14 pp. index with field notes. Recording: C 1030, C 1031...

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NA3153 Jennie E. (Means) Thompson, interviewed by Carol C. Norris Foord, March 8, 1984, South Portland, Maine. Thompson, born in 1892 in Nebraska, talks about being sent to Maine at 7-8; brought up by grandparents; attending Dana Hall Preparatory School in Wellesley, Massachusetts; attending Waynflete School; Flu Epidemic of 1918. Handwritten partial notes. Text: information sheet; 16 pp. index with selective transcription and notes. Recording: C 1009 90 minutes.

Abstract NA3142 Josephine O’Hare, interviewed by Ann M. K. Munch, March 26, 29th & April 13, 19th, 1984, Portland, Maine. O’Hare recalls growing up in Portland; Kavanaugh School; Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception; parochial schools; open trolley cars to Riverton Park; Cape Cottage Park; Cape Elizabeth; Back Bay; Women’s Suffrage; Baxter Library; Portland High School; Dr. Spaulding house; Women’s Chorus of Portland; Exhibition Building; Garden Concert in City Hall; Eastern Promenade; Lewis...

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NA3141 Katherine Norris, interviewed by Carol C. Norris Foord, April 9, 1984, Portland, Maine. Norris, born June 7, 1901, and who moved to Portland when she was 9, talks about growing up in Portland; MIT; Sunshine Club; Campfire Girls; Vassar; recalls 1918 flu epidemic; catwalk on the Quebec Bridge; the St. Lawrence River. Text: 17 pp. index, partial transcript. Recording: C 1006, C 1007 90 minutes.

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Photographs of Ku Klux Klan activities and members in Maine, probably in the 1920s. One photograph is identified as being in Portland, Maine. A photocopy of an article entitled "Way Down East with the K.K.K." from Collier's, the National Weekly for Dec. 15, 1923, accompanies the photographs.

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NA3145 Marion Brown Payson, interviewed by Alice Mary Pierce, January 23, 1992, Cumberland Foreside, Maine. Payson, born in Portland in 1896, talks about the Westover School and Waynflete Academy; Congregationalist Church; describes neighborhood; Red Cross in Halifax; Nova Scotia; starting a canteen at Delano Park; working in a sick house during the 1918 Flu Epidemic; Bangor Theological Seminary. Text: 25 pp. transcript. Recording: C 1019 45 minutes (incomplete).

Abstract NA3127 Mildred A. Cameron, interviewed by Josephine P. Marr, March 29, 1984, Portland, Maine. Cameron, born at home (Munjoy Hill, Beckett Street) on March 7, 1908, talks about growing up; Fort Allen Park and Promenade; Long Island, Shailer School; Portland High School; Maine Eye & Ear Infirmary; Registered Nurse; Flu Epidemic of 1918; Mercy Hospital; Portland; entertainment in Portland; automobiles; formal education; religion; advice for the youth of today; Portland Library (Baxter...

Abstract NA3132 Mira L. Dolley, interviewed by Anne Powell, May 29, 1984, Raymond, Maine. Dolley, born October 1, 1897, talks about moving to Maine 1907; Grand Funk and Santa Fe trains; Harvey Restaurant; Longfellow School; Deering High School; Colby College; White Sisters at convent; teaching in Pittsfield; France in 1925; teaching at Deering High School; Big Belt trolley in Portland; chores in Victorian household; maids in Falmouth; Village Congregational Church; Victrola phonograph; family...