Oral Histories

Harvey and Rachel Desgrosseilliers

Harvey and Rachel Desgrosseilliers both come from parents born in Quebec, Canada, who immigrated to Maine as young children. Harvey grew up in logging camps outside Bethel in the headwaters of the Androscoggin River as a young boy before moving with his family to the Lewiston-Auburn area, where he helped his mother who worked in local restaurants. Harvey later worked other odd jobs around the Twin Cities before becoming a licensed arborist. Rachel was born and raised in Lewiston-Auburn, graduated from St. Louis University, and studied to become a nun before entering the private sector. She has been a past member of the Maine Tourism Commission, a founder of the popular Lewiston-Auburn Great Falls Balloon Festival, and the former CEO of St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center. Harvey and Rachel also ran Gooseberry Barn and Six Corners Landscaping in Auburn for almost two decades. Rachel is currently director of Museum L-A in Lewiston. Together with Harvey, they remain active in local efforts for historic preservation and economic development. They live in Minot, Maine.

Interview conducted on December 2, 2011 in Minot, Maine.

External links:

Audio: click titles below to begin listening

1. The Androscoggin as a dumpsite - Interview Excerpt #1

2. A lot of people breaking wind and rotten eggs - Interview Excerpt #2

3. The stinking river and tarnished silver - Interview Excerpt #3

4. Class divisions in Lewiston-Auburn - Interview Excerpt #4

5. The power of the river to renew Lewiston-Auburn - Interview Excerpt #5

Boye and Sue Ainslie

Boye and Sue Ainslie were born and raised in Augusta, Maine, where they attended Cony High School. Susan worked for many years in Augusta city and regional government before returning to school to become a certified paralegal. She now works as a legal assistant for the Law Offices of Richard A. Goldman in Augusta. Boye worked as a union-certified laborer in a variety of paper and pulp mills, along with helping to build and maintain many of the associated dams along the lower Androscoggin River, for several decades. Susan’s brother, David J. Rancourt, was a deputy sheriff for the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department, where he served as the captain of the dive team and worked with at-risk youth in the Lewiston-Auburn community. A veteran of the Iraq War, Rancourt died in the line of duty on November 4, 2006 while diving to recover criminal evidence disposed in the Androscoggin near the Veterans Memorial Bridge in Lewiston and Auburn. In 2008, the Androscoggin Land Trust dedicated the David Rancourt River Preserve in Lewiston. Sue and Boye currently live in Vassalboro, Maine.

Eternal links:

David Rancourt River Preserve, Lewiston

Interview conducted on January 2, 2012 in Augusta, Maine.

Audio: click title below to begin listening

1. Deputy Sheriff David Rancourt remembered - Interview Excerpt

Elizabeth Wilkins

Elizabeth Brown Wilkins was born and raised in Rumford, Maine, where her father was a chemical engineer and sales service manager at the former Oxford Paper Company Mill for over thirty years. The youngest of five children, Betty graduated from the University of Maine at Orono with a biology degree. She worked in the same mill for several years before becoming a stay-at-home mom and later a high school biology teacher. An active outdoor enthusiast, Betty has participated in the Androscoggin Source to the Sea Trek. She now lives in Blue Hill, Maine.

Interview conducted on February 14, 2012 in Hallowell, Maine.

External links:

Audio: click titles below to begin listening

1. Mats of foam on the Androscoggin - Interview Excerpt #1

2. Working in the Rumford paper mill in the 1970s - Interview Excerpt #2

3. Being trapped in the paper mill workforce - Interview Excerpt #3

4. The 1980s paper mill strikes and family tensions - Interview Excerpt #4

5. Anger and despair during the 1986 walkout in Rumford - Interview Excerpt #5

6. Fractures in Rumford and Jay over the strikes - Interview Excerpt #6

7. Changing attitudes toward the Androscoggin - Interview Excerpt #7

Jonathan LaBonté

Jonathan LaBonté was born and raised in Auburn, Maine, the son of a longtime local Franco-American family. After graduating from the University of Maine with a degree in chemical engineering, Jonathan began his career in Boston, and returned to Maine to start graduate studies in public administration. He worked for the Maine Turnpike Authority before becoming the executive director of the Androscoggin Land Trust. As executive director of the ALT, Jonathan has worked to boost the river as a recreational destination and promote land conservation along its banks. In November 2011, Jonathan was elected mayor of Auburn, the youngest in the city’s history. He lives in Auburn.

Interview conducted on March 6, 2012 in Auburn, Maine.

Eternal links:

Audio: click titles below to begin listening

1. Difficulty of finding consensus among river communities for change - Interview Excerpt #1

2. Fishing in downtown working class Lewiston-Auburn - Interview Excerpt #2

3. Memories of the Androscoggin River - Interview Excerpt #3

Macauley Lord

Macauley Lord grew up in Louisville, Kentucky. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1978 and did graduate study in natural resource policy at the University of Michigan. He returned to Maine in 1986 to help build the famed fly fishing instructional program at L.L. Bean’s Outdoor Discovery Schools in Freeport. Since then, Macauley has become a world-renowned casting instructor and author of numerous books and articles for American Angler, Fly Fisherman, Saltwater Fly-Fishing, and other magazines. In 2011 the Federation of Fly Fishers awarded Macauley its Lifetime Achievement Award for his dedication to teaching and promoting fly-casting. In addition to teaching at L.L Bean, Macauley is an M.A. student at Bangor Theological Seminary and volunteers as a prison chaplain. Macauley lives with his wife Carol in Brunswick, Maine.

Interview conducted on May 29, 2012 in Brunswick, Maine.

External links:

Audio: click titles below to begin listening

1. First memories of the Androscoggin River - Interview Excerpt #1

2. Fly fishing for smallmouth bass on the Androscoggin - Interview Excerpt #2

3. Fishing in "oddball places" - Interview Excerpt #3

4. What people think of fishing the Androscoggin - Interview Excerpt #4

5. Fishing snobs and "prep school" trout - Interview Excerpt #5

6. Fishing by taxi in downtown Lewiston–Auburn - Interview Excerpt #6

7. Optimism for the river's future - Interview Excerpt #7

8. Finding meaning on rivers through fishing - Interview Excerpt #8

9. Joys of a young boy fishing in downtown Lewiston–Auburn - Interview Excerpt #9

10. Androscoggin as more interesting than "tweed blazer" trout rivers - Interview Excerpt #10

11. The keys to happiness in nearby, everyday places - Interview Excerpt #10