Oral history

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;...

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The records include a history of the organization, membership information, correspondence, financial records, and information about special projects and events.

Abstract NA3728 Aniko Fulep, interviewed by Pauleena MacDougall, May 16, 2005, in Fulep’s home, Hampden, Maine. Fulep talks about being born in Hungary in 1971; coming to the United States in 1996; emigrating from Budapest, Hungary to Maine; benefits of rural Maine compared to life in Budapest; view of Maine people compared to most American people; learning English in Hungary; life during the fall of Communism in Hungary; adjusting to American culture; speaking English around children vs. speaking...

Abstract NA4205 Annia Warner, interviewed by Darlene Metcalf-Bergeron, February 22, 2008, in her house in Bangor, ME. Warner, age 48, talks about her early life in Costa Rica (CR); her family; moving to San José; meeting a Maine family; visiting ME on vacation; meeting her future husband and staying; the scarcity of Costa Rican immigrants; her parents’ reaction to her staying; becoming pregnant; getting married; her husband and two sons; learning English with Mr. Rogers; raising her sons bilingually;...

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 NA3725 Delia Michaud, interviewed by Pauleena MacDougall, June 21, 2005, at Michaud’s home. Michaud talks about being born in San Juan, a province of Argentina; coming to the United States in 1970; living first in Houston, Texas and then moving to Maine; cultural differences between Argentina and the United States; struggle of switching over from speaking Spanish to speaking only English; first experiences with Maine winter; highlights of Argentinean culture; family life in San Juan;...

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;...

Scope and Contents MF167.1 consists of interviews conducted by Edward D. "Sandy" Ives on Prince Edward Island between 1969 and 1970, as part of his work to document the folk songs of Prince Edward Island, specifically the songs “made by” Joe Scott, Larry Doyle, and Larry Gorman. Material included in this collection served as source material for Ives’ later publications, Lawrence Doyle: The Farmer-Poet of Prince Edward Island (1971); Larry Gorman: The Man Who...

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 NA3724 Eric Li, interviewed by Elizabeth Hardink, June 5, 2005, at his home, Bangor, Maine. Li talks about bieng born in Hong Kong, China; living there until he was 8; comparison of Chinese and American cultures; favorite foods; came to the United States with his father around 1989; lived in New York; moved to Madawaska, Maine when he was in sixth grade; father owns Chinese restaurant in Madawaska named Tang’s Palace; comparison of city life in New York and Hong Kong; discrimination toward...

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 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...