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

NA1122 Addie Weed, interviewed by Bruce Brown, November 3, 1977-November 11, 1977, for AY 125, at her home in Veazie, Maine. Weed speaks about Veazie history, people, entertainment, houses. Text: 41 pp., brief catalogs. Recording: mfc_na1122_t1176_01, mfc_na1122_t1177_01<02, mfc_na1122_t1178_01<02. (T 1176 - T 1178). Time: 4 hours.

Abstract

NA0997 Addie Weed, interviewed by Colleen George (IDL 105), November 2, 1974, at Addie Weed’s home in Veazie, Maine. Weed speaks about her work at the University of Maine: Orono, beginning in 1908, her travel experiences from 1910—1950’s, and the family background. Text: 28 pp. Tape: 1 hr. w/ brief cat. < trans. Recording: mfc_na0997_t1009_01 (T1009).

Abstract NA0969 Addie Weed, interviewed by Edward D. “Sandy” Ives at her home, Veazie, Maine, June 17, 1975-June 19, 1975. Interview with Addie Weed, age 92, about her life history and the history of her home and property where she has lived in Veazie her entire life. At the time of the recording, the Ives family rented and lived on the second floor of the Weed house. Tape: 2 hrs. w/ brief cat < trans. Text: 4 pp. administrative, 76 pp. transcript. Photographs: p00316, p01710 — p01714. Recording:...

Abstract

NA1198 Addie Weed, interviewed by Edward D. “Sandy” Ives, June 28, 1978, Veazie, Maine. Weed talks about life in Veazie; history of the Weed property; and remembrances of her youth. Text: 33 pp., catalog. Recording: mfc_na1198_t1258_01<02. (T 1258 - T 1413). Time: 2 hours.

Abstract

NA1000 Addie Weed, interviewed by Jeff Beebe at her home in Veazie, Maine, October 7, 1975, for a Maine Campus article about Addie and her reminiscences of Rudy Vallee. Text: 6 pp., brief catalog. Recording: mfc_na1000_t1012_01. (T1012). Time: 1/2 hour. Photographs: p00619 - p00621.

Abstract NA3200 Agatha (Schiller) Guthrie and Mary Schulze, interviewed by Carol Toner and Mazie Hough, February 16, 2001. Guthrie talks about enlisting in the Army Nurse Corps on February 2, 1944, completing her training at Camp Coy, WI; being stationed in England and Germany. Schutze talks about completing her training at Fort Devens; being stationed in Manila and later Germany; talking about serving in WWII in the Army Nurse Corps. Text: 31 pp. transcript. Recording: C 2300 (missing). Time:...

Abstract NA3327 Agnes E. Flaherty, interviewed by Melissa Piselli, February 22 and April 26, 2005, South Portland, Maine. Interview 1:35 minutes, interview 2:21 minutes, summary for interview 2, indexing for interviews 1&2. Flaherty, born in Portland, Maine, talks about her parents, Anna and Mark Flaherty; her family’s involvement in nursing; enlisting in the military during WWII as a nurse in the Army Air Core; working out of Grenier Field in Manchester, New Hampshire; her experiences and...

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

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

Abstract NA4421 Ana Lazar, interviewed by Barry H. Rodrigue and Sandra Wachholz, October 20, 2016, at the University of Southern Maine’s (USM) School of Social Work. Also present, Naomi Abrahams, a graduate student in the USM School of Social Work. Lazar provides a summary of her personal, educational, and professional background and how she got into Social Work and discusses her work at USM and the connection between the university’s program in social work and the development of social services in...

Abstract NA3208 Angel Maria Tyler, interviewed by Tiffany Jones, November 5, 2001, Bangor, Maine. Tyler talks about Angel's birth date and birthplace; her parents; her upbringing; her reasons for joining the military; Air Force basic training; service from 1987 to 1992; her reaction to cutting her hair; places she was stationed; her service in Minot, North Dakota and Germany; ranks she attained during her service, being an administrative specialist; being a marksman; experiences as a woman in the...

Abstract

NA3250 Angel Tyler, interviewed by Miranda Coombs, May 5, 2003. Tyler talks about her experiences in the Gulf War. Text: 23 pp. transcript. Recordings: mfc_na3250_c2363_01 (C 2363, CD 2463). Time: 00:57:59. Photographs: p14544-p14548. Restrictions: None.

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 NA4420 Ann Ladley, interviewed by Sandra Wachholz, January 27, 2017. Ladley discusses her experience as a child when her father abandoned the family and they moved from a “fairly secure town” to living in the Pittsburg City Projects which were “rough” and offered bad schools. She speaks about being a civil rights activist, an artist and writer, and female identity. Ladley describes how she came up with an alternative approach to fundraising for the shelter when learning that representatives...

Abstract

NA1126 Mrs. Avon Lancaster, interviewed by Jill Hansen, November 8, 1977, for AY 125, fall 1977, Veazie, Maine. Lancaster, 65, talks about her childhood in Bangor; moving to Veazie 37 years ago; recollections of Veazie from 1939 to date. She also speaks of her house, built around 1800. Text: 7 pp., brief catalog. Recording: mfc_na1126_t1185_01 (T 1185). Time: 1 1/2 hours.

Abstract

NA4418 Anne Heros, interviewed by Sandra Wachholz, December 21, 2016. Heros speaks about the creation of the Center for Grieving Children in Portland, Maine and issues faced in getting financial and other support from the City of Portland for multicultural social work programs. Recruiting volunteers to work with the Center from students in the University of Southern Maine’s (USM) School of Social Work. No transcript. Recording: mfc_na4418_01A & mfc_na4418_01B. Time: 01:01:10

Abstract NA4200 Anne Tenney, interviewed by Elizabeth Bunten, May 7, 2003, in Castine, Maine. Smith, age 81, talks about her decision to join the Navy (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) in World War II; her basic training experiences; being assigned to New York City; her anti-submarine work; marrying and leaving the service after her pregnancy; remarrying another WWII veteran as a widow; public perception of women in the Navy during the war; minorities in the military; and changes in...

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

NA3218 Annie M. McCarthy, interviewed by Robin Arnold and Molly MacLean, November 17, 2000, at her home in Bangor, Maine. McCarthy talks about being a member of a detachment of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps assigned to the Air Force; working as a Radio Operator in Daytona, Florida; serving under the 8th Air Force Strategic Air Command in China and India. Text: 23 pp. transcript. Recording: (C 2321) Missing. Photographs: p14513-p14515. Restrictions: None.

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

3077 Anu Dudley, interviewed by Jamie Moreira, September 19, 2003, at the Common Ground Fair in Unity, Maine. The interview focuses on her 25 years as coordinator for the traditional arts section of the Fair. Text: 24 pp. transcript. Recording: C 2121 45 minutes. mfc_na3077_c2121_01

Abstract NA3216 Barbara B. Collier, interviewed by Elizabeth LaPierre, December 9, 2000, in Collier’s home in Kennebunk, Maine. Collier, 83 at the time of interview, talks about serving as a 2nd class storekeeper in the Naval Air Unit of the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), the women's branch of the United States Naval Reserve, during World War II; serving at the Opa-locka Naval Air Force Base near Miami, FL. Text: 24 pp. transcript. Recording: mfc_na3216_c2319_01,...

Abstract NA4193 Barbara Beal, interviewed by Amy L. Stevens, May 1, 2003, in Maine Coast Memorial Hospital in Ellsworth, Maine. Beal, age 56, talks about her service as an Army nurse in the Vietnam War; her family and friends’ reaction to her deployment; her anxiety prior to deployment; her training experiences; her preconceptions of the war vs. the reality; her emotional experience of the war; her typical day at the medevac hospital; the dangers of the job; her leisure time; socialization between...

Abstract

NA3203 Barbara Beal, interviewed by Laura Wheaton, November 14, 2001, in her home in Ellsworth, Maine. Beal talks about joining the Army Nurses Corps in 1970; being stationed in Hawaii; being sent to Vietnam where she served until 1972; her rank of Lieutenant. Text: 15 pp. transcript. Recording: mfc_na3203_c2304_01, mfc_na3203_c2304_02 (C 2304). Time: 01:06:45. Restrictions: None.

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 NA3232 Barbara Hammett, interviewed by Kristen Frey, November 14, 2001, unknown location. Hammett talks about her experience as an Air Force military working dog handler at Loring Air Force Base in Maine from 1979- 1989; father’s military background; perception of Vietnam; basic training in Lackland, Texas; experience as the only female dog handler at Loring; treatment by male colleagues; view on military policy and gender; perceptions of women in the military. Text: 10 pp. transcript...

Abstract NA4422 Barbara Rich, interviewed by Sandra Wachholz and Barry Rodrique, January 5, 2015, at the University of Southern Maine’s (USM) School of Social Work. Barbara Rich, a social work teacher at USM, talks about teaching a course on substance abuse treatment; attending University Of Maine in Orono, The Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute for Child & Family Development, and USM; graduate school at Columbia; direction of residential treatment agency for young women; her most significant...

Scope and Contents From the Collection:

This collection contains interviews with people associated with the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) and the Common Ground Fair in Unity, Maine. Themes include the process of beginning to farm organically, the early development of MOFGA and its growth; the Common Ground Fair and its expansion; marketing organic food; farming strategies; raising livestock; and MOFGA’s interactions with conventional farmers and the wider community.