The Franco-American Collection maintains a wide variety of oral history interviews conducted with members of the local Franco-American community. Interview dates range between the 1970s and the present. Subjects include: childhood, music, religion, wartime, labor, business, sports, language and more.
Also included in this section are lectures given at the Franco-American Collection about Franco-American scholarship and identity.
These audio and video recordings are provided for research and educational purposes only. No copying of recordings or transcripts is allowed. Permission is required for publication and dissemination purposes.
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Interview with Simone Levesque Deschaine
The Franco-American Collection
Oral history interview recorded by James Myall. Subject is the Marcotte Home. Alternate spelling of last name is Deschaines.
Also included: Transcript and photograph of Simone Deschaine.
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Interview with The Poirier Sisters
The Franco-American Collection
Oral history interview recorded by James Myall. Subject is the Marcotte Home/St. Joseph's Orphanage. Three sisters (Adrienne, Bernadette, and Marguerite) as interviewees, plus daughter of one of the interviewees.
Also included: photograph of the three Poirier sisters.
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Interview with William Larochelle
The Franco-American Collection
Oral history interview recorded by James Myall. Subject is the Healy Asylum and Camp Don Bosco.
Also included: Photograph of William Larochelle.
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Alice Bisson-Barnes Interview
Franco-American Collection
Alice Bisson was born in Lewiston in 1945 to Joseph Felix Theodore "Ted" Bisson and Gertrude Thiel Bisson, the last of sixteen children. She recorded two interviews with the Franco-American Collection.
In the first interview, Alice talks about her father, Ted Bisson (b.1900), who immigrated to the United States from Chartierville, QC in 1918, with his family, after the death of his father. While the rest of his family were employed in Lewiston's textile industry, Ted worked as a pastry chef at the Court Square Restaurant, in Auburn. He catered the opening of St Mary's Church in 1928.
In 1933, he operated a boarding house which had initially been purchased by his brother Louis, on Middle Street, in Lewiston. In 1938 he opened the Middle Street Diner next door, and operated that until 1946, when he sold the diner and opened the Maple Inn on Main Street, Lewiston.
Also included: transcript and photograph.
In the photograph: Ted Bisson, Court Square Restaurant, Auburn, 1919.
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Maurice LaBrie Interview
James Myall
Maurice LaBrie was born in Lewiston in 1931. His father, Lucien, owned the National Tobacco and Candy Company on Park Street in Lewiston. At the age of 16, Maurice started his own business, National Vending Company, selling cigarettes and candy through vending machines. In this interview, he describes how he started his own business, and Lewiston's business community in the 1940s and 50s. He also discusses many aspects of Franco-American life.
In the photograph: Maurice Labrie, National Tobacco & Candy, c.1943. Image courtesy Maurice LaBrie
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Interview with Beatrice Guimond
The Franco-American Collection
Oral history interview recorded by James Myall. Subject is the Marcotte Home (St. Joseph's Orphanage).
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Interview with Betty Dutil
The Franco-American Collection
Oral history interview recorded by James Myall. Subject is the Marcotte Home (St. Joseph's Orphanage).
Also included: Photograph of Betty Dutil.
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Interview with Flora Berubé Cyr and Florence Berubé
The Franco-American Collection
Oral history interview recorded by James Myall. Subject is the Marcotte Home (St. Joseph's Orphanage).
Also included: Photograph of Flora Berubé Cyr and Florence Berubé.
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Interview with Irene Labrecque Coady
The Franco-American Collection
Oral history interview recorded by James Myall. Subject is an orphanage in Lawrence, MA.
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Interview with Murielle Lebrun Mills
The Franco-American Collection
Oral history interview recorded by James Myall. Subject is the Sisters of Charity, the Marcotte Home (St. Joseph's Orphanage) and St. Mary's Hospital.
Also included: transcript.
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Interview with Pauline Lagasse Beach
The Franco-American Collection
Oral history interview recorded by James Myall. Subject is the Marcotte Home (St. Joseph's Orphanage).
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Roger Nadeau Interview
Tina Sirois
Roger Nadeau (born Lewiston, Maine, 10/10/1941) dropped out of high school in the 10th grade. At the age of 15, he began working full-time at Falcon Shoe, one of Auburn's many shoe shops. Nadeau would go on to serve in the US Army during the Vietnam War. As a result of his army service, Nadeau gained his GED, and on retun to civilian life, he implemented a program at Falcon to help other workers gain their high school equivilency. This interview, with Tina Sirois, conducted December 14, 2012, Nadeau discusses his early life and schooling, his 42 years in the shoe industry, and his experience in Vietnam.
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Interview with Pierre Proulx
The Franco-American Collection
Oral history interview (by telephone) recorded by James Myall. Subject is Camp Tékakwitha. Interviewee is French-Canadian.
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Interview with Julie Jipson
The Franco-American Collection
Oral history interview recorded by James Myall. Subject is the Marcotte Home (St. Joseph's Orphanage).
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Interview with Linda Jones
The Franco-American Collection
Oral history interview recorded by James Myall. Subject is the Marcotte Home (St. Joseph's Orphanage).
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Interview with Aliette and Ron Couturier
Franco-American Collection
Interview with Ailette and Ron Couturier as part of the Franco-American Story Bank project.
Also included: Photograph of Ailette Couturier (left) and Ron Couturier (right) and transcript.
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Interview with Jacynthe Jacques
Franco-American Collection
Interview with Jacynthe Jacques.
Also included: Photograph of Jacynthe Jacques and transcript.
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Interview with Lorraine Ouellette and Accordion
Franco-American Collection
Interview with Lorraine Ouellette for the Franco-American Story Bank project. Lorraine was 78 at the time of this interview.
Audio File 1: Interview with Lorraine Audio (follow link)
Audio File 2: Loraine playing accordion and singing
Also included: Photograph of Loraine and her accordion.
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Irene Labreque Coady Interview
Franco-American Collection
Irene Coady was born Irene Labreque in Salem, Massachusetts in 1933. Her parents, who had come to Lewiston from Quebec, moved back to Lewiston during her childhood. In this interview she talks about the importance of music to her heritage and her family's Christmas traditions. She also talks candidly about her experience at an orphanage run by the Sisters of Charity in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
This interview was recorded with the assistance of Story Bank Maine.
Also included: transcript and photograph.
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Interview with Helen Sylvain and Irene Mercier
Franco-American Collection, University of Southern Maine
Interview with sisters Helene and Irene Mercier Sylvain. They discuss their family origins in Canada, growing up in Auburn-Lewiston area, family, and sing. The interview is primarily in English, but there are some brief discussions in French. This interview was part of the Franco-American Story Bank project.
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Interview with Lorraine Ouellette
Franco-American Collection, University of Southern Maine
Interview with Lorraine Ouellette for the Franco-American Story Bank project. Lorraine was 78 at the time of this interview.
Audio File 1: Interview with Lorraine
Audio File 2: Loraine playing accordion and singing (follow link)
Also included: Photograph of Loraine and transcript.
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Jean and Mercedes Gastonguay Interview
Cindy Larock and Kathleen Mundell
Jean and Mercedes Gastonguay are retired school teachers who live in Lewiston. In this interview, they discuss their differing childhoods, the importance of the French language to their lives, and various Christmas traditions. Jean served as the final editor of the French-language newspaper in Lewiston, Le Messager, and Mercedes was an art teacher who organized juried shows of her pupils for many years.
This interview was recorded with the assistance of Storybank Maine.
Also included: additional audio file of the Gastonguay's singing, transcript, and two photographs of Jean and Mercedes Gastonguay.
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Bert Dutil Interview
Kathleen Mundell and Cindy Larock
Bert, a Lewiston native, talks to the Collection about his family's Christmas traditions, his service in the Korean War, and his time as director of the Pine Tree Warriors, a drum and bugle corps.
This interview was conducted with the help of Story Bank Maine, December 16, 2010.
Also included: transcript and photograph.
In the photograph: Bert (bottom row, center left) with the Pine Tree Warriors in front of the U.S. Capitol.
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Francis Gagnon Interview
Kathleen Mundell and Cindy Larock
Francis Gagnon was born in Rumford in 1973. His father, Normand, was a lumberjack in Quebec before moving to the United States to work as a furniture-maker. He began playing the spoons with his father at age 8 and continued to play with him as part of the Normand Gagnon Ensemble and Groupe de Joie. In this in interview, Francis talks about his parent's decision to come to Maine, his family's musical background, and the importance of music to his heritage. The Gagnon family also maintains a pumpkin farm in Rumford.
This interview was recorded with the assistance of Storybank Maine.
Also included: transcript and photograph.
In the photograph: Francis Gagnon.
